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Dealing with rhythm glitches

11/12/2021

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It’s been quite a while since I posted an entry that was purely about technique so I thought this might be a good time. Most of this stuff I’ve written about before but these tips are always worth a reminder from time to time, not just for my students but for myself, too. 
 
Rhythm, rhythm, rhythm. It is the foundation upon which you build your musical house and sad to say, 90% of my students since I began teaching over 50 years ago have experienced issues with keeping a steady beat. Rhythm is the single most challenging aspect of playing, even with experienced players. Why is this? Simply because most people have never really thought about it. Most everyone can tap their foot in time with a song and they can clap with a beat but using the fingers and hands in ways that have to change frequently while keeping a steady beat is often quite frustrating. Here are some general tips regarding “locking in” the beat. Some may find them easy; some may find them excruciatingly difficult and frustrating, at first anyway. But they are absolutely vital.
 
The first big mistake I see almost always is a student diving into a song without first internalizing the beat. Counting off a measure or two before playing is the best solution. There are very good reasons why a conductor of an orchestra uses his or her hands or perhaps a baton to count out a measure before the players begin. Same thing with a band in which the drummer clicks his sticks together for a measure before the band starts playing. The purpose is for every player to feel the beat before they start playing.
 
When a player does NOT do that they are instantly requiring their “musical brain” to find the feel and tempo of the song. That will work some of the time, especially if the song has been practiced a lot and is not too difficult. More often than not though, it takes a few seconds or maybe more to be locked in. If you are playing with someone else it might take even longer for both players to be in sync. 
 
The second most common fault I see is not be prepared for the first chord change and the ones that come after that. Anticipating the change is absolutely vital – and that change will usually be upon you very, very quickly. Being ready bookends with the idea of having your eyes “grab” not just one chord but a sequence. Almost all songs in the varied world of American popular music include chord sequences that are repeated many times of the course of the song. This is why I urge my students to separate out those sequences (once they’ve been identified) and practice JUST that sequence before trying to play a piece beginning to end. There are usually a few of these repetitive sequences so identify them and practice them individually, then begin the process of assembling the song.
 
This is much, much better than dealing with a song on a chord-to-chord basis. Doing that often leads to making the same mistakes over and over and your mistakes take up residence in your musical brain. When that happens – even if you know you’re not supposed to stop at a difficult change – you then have to clear that mistake from your brain, a process that is often much more difficult than breaking the song down into sets of chords that are repeated. The basic idea that repetition alone will solve problems hardly ever works. Of course, the first few times you play a brand-new song you MUST deal with it on a chord-to-chord basis; after all, you’ve never seen it written out before  even if the song itself is very, very familiar. But as soon as is humanly possible, identify and work on those repeating sequences, then begin the task of putting the whole song together.
 
Always remember that a song played way slower than it should be – but with a rock-solid, steady beat – will ultimately allow you to bring that song “up to tempo” much sooner than playing easy parts fast and harder parts slowly. I know a painfully slow but steady beat is not as gratifying as speeding up the easy parts but that all-important steady beat for the entire song will yield better results, sooner.
 
So – how do we deal with the minutia that makes hard parts hard? You must identify WHY that change is difficult and more often than not, one finger on your fretting hand is slowing you down. And guess what? It’s hardly ever your pinkie (finger #4) although most people would guess that one is the culprit. In 90% of the cases it is your ring finger (#3). That finger is the most difficult to control due to the simple fact that you hardly ever use it all by itself in every-day life; usually some other finger or fingers help it out. But on the guitar we must teach it to work on its own, arch, and apply significant downward pressure. 
 
One of the most basic concepts I teach is identifying what I refer to as the “problem finger.” In virtually all cases, if you find yourself still setting up a chord after considerable practice rather than placing the fingers down all at once, the LAST finger you place down is the culprit in a blown chord change. What you must do to break the habit of setting up a chord and entirely focus on that problem finger before you attempt the rapid change. Don’t worry about the other fingers, practice moving the problem finger down first, then fill in the rest.  This is the first step in breaking the bad habit and the muscle memory that goes along with it. Complicating this procedure is the fact that the angle and distance that problem finger must move is variable, depending upon which chord you are playing before the change. The goal of course is to place the fingers down all at once, not numerically with the problem finger hanging you up. Just spend some time practicing moving from the previous chord to the problematic one with your entire focus on the bad guy finger. You will conquer that change much sooner, promise!!
 
Another tendency I see quite often is wiggly fingers (!). A player will get to the approximate shape of the chord, often landing almost perfectly but for some reason they don’t believe it, and continue to wiggle the fingers around. They are not pressing down hard enough to get the clear, clean tone they are seeking and somehow some part of their brain wants confirmation they are in fact in the right place before they apply  the right amount of pressure.
 
So here’s deal: you must take a chance, commit to where you are and instantly press down hard!! I call it “jumping into the change” and what it requires is an acceptance that yes, you will make some mistakes and a finger or fingers may end up on the wrong string, overlap the fret (dull tone is the result of that) or a finger may touch an adjacent string. It can be maddening, but look at it this way. What you are doing by making an aggressive planting of the fingertip – no wiggling!! – is locating the problem or problems with that particular chord. You can’t solve a problem if you don’t know what it is; you only know that something is not right and you try to wiggle your way to the best place. That wiggling very quickly becomes a habit, one that is very hard to break.
 
So - go for it! If you make a mistake, know this: you were going to make that mistake anyway and probably on a frequent basis. Re-focus! As you prepare for that change do your best to remember what worked and didn’t work in previous attempts. 
 
One final thing. Rejoice in small victories. If after a solid week or two of working on a song it’s not perfect, just….better, you are on the right track. Pat yourself on the back, you deserve it!
 
Peace & good music,
Gene
 
 
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Perceptions: Yes, they matter!

11/10/2021

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IIf playing almost every weekend for more than twelve years at the wonderful Daily Brew Café has taught me anything, it’s taught me to be prepared. I’m thinking I’ll break this down into two categories: my performance, and the listeners’ reactions relative to how prepared I am. Because not being prepared will be noticed, that I can guarantee! 
 
Now, I realize some reading this have no intention or desire to play in front of anyone beyond their immediate family (and maybe not even them). Which is just fine; the reactions of others are really not the way you should gauge your results or the quality of your music, and in the end, just who is it you’re playing for? If you immediately say, “why, myself or course!” you are on the right track. 
 
With that in mind, first I’ll delve into the nuts and bolts of being prepared and how that plays a huge part in the way a performing guitarist is perceived by the audience. The reactions the player can expect to get are variable enough from the get-go, so why start with battling the perception the guy with the guitar looks like he doesn’t know what he’s doing? I’ve seen many supposedly professional guitarists spend way too much time fiddling and diddling with their gear before they play a note. To anyone watching, such a waste of their attention may prove to be fatal no matter how accomplished the player might be. Do a thorough inspection of your gear and of course a very brief sound check well before you intend to start your show. Even with a simple set-up like I use (plugged in guitar, small amp, a few pedals to tweak the sound; a mic, capo, tuner, picks and the all-important bottle of water close at hand) there are always details that must be double checked well before I play. Doing so gives me a few minutes to relax and confirm the first few tunes I’ll be playing.
 
How important is it to know what tunes you’ll be playing? For me, very important. I’ve played with some excellent musicians who abhor set lists, viewing them as an exercise that stifles  creativity. Well, I guess that can be true to a point. In spite of having set lists - especially when I’m playing with one of my students at the Brew - there must be some leeway. Fulfilling requests if at all possible is one time you should always stray from a set list; it’s the best way I know to get the listeners on your side. But NOT having a set list or at least a list of your songs in view (with things such as capo settings) often leads to uncomfortable gaps between songs. DO….NOT….WASTE….TIME…..BETWEEN….SONGS!!! In my opinion, that is the number one shortcoming of most bands and single performers I see. In casual settings that are not anything like a “real” concert the attention of the listener can slip away very quickly. And it can be really, really hard to get it back. Talking to the audience between songs is another thing altogether and these days it is something of a lost art, sad to say. The best performers I’ve ever had the pleasure to hear - both seasoned and sometimes very well known, down to the local guy banging out some tunes, all of them know that there is no better way to establish a connection. Don’t overdo it, though. Random banter can be fun but the people listening want to hear more music!
 
In conclusion regarding audience perception, really the best way to seem like you know what you’re doing - even if you don’t….a little anyway…. is to do your best to give off a positive vibe. The listeners are on your side and if you look like you’re having a good time, they will too. It’s really as simple as that. Don’t ever, ever apologize for mistakes. Make light of them if you can, or just pretend they didn’t happen.
 
Now, on to the question of how the performer stays prepared to ensure he or she looks like they know what they are doing.  
 
You must expect mysterious glitches will happen, even if you didn’t change a thing during and after your previous gig. This is why I normally bring along two of everything, within reason of course. The more electronics you use, the better the chances something will go wrong. It’s almost always something mundane and basic: a connecting cord that suddenly decides to quit carrying a signal; a power cord that you didn’t connect or didn’t push hard enough into a socket; a digital tuner that needs a new battery (remember how you said you were going to change that after your last gig?).
 
The most well-known glitch that goes back to the days - OK, centuries - before any electronics were even in existence: a broken string. Although I don’t have that happen very often these days because I change my strings frequently and don’t strum as hard as I once did, it still rattles me because it’s so shocking when it happens. It was doubly bad when I played an electric guitar about 50% of the time when I was performing with bands because the difference in tension on the neck on an electric guitar when a string breaks knocks most of the other strings totally out of tune. So the choice was: keep going and hope no one noticed how out of tune I sounded or finish the song ASAP and get right to the string change. Little side note here. Always always, always, have a spare set of strings close at hand, maybe a pair of needle nose pliers too. 
 
Seasoned players know how to take that in stride and if you can, chat up the audience while you’re changing the string. I’ve mentioned this before in this space, but one of the most remarkable things I ever witnessed happened when I was playing with a singer/songwriter and we were at Passim in Cambridge, opening for the legendary Tom Rush. It was my first time playing that very, very prestigious club and I could tell a hundred stories about the five nights we played there but they are for another time.
 
Almost at the start of a song, Tom broke a string. He finished the song without batting an eye but the dangling string was obvious to everyone in attendance. Without any fanfare, Tom took a new string out of his case and went through the process, all the while telling the jokes he is famous for and never letting on he was doing anything out of the ordinary. And then he did the most remarkable thing: he tuned up again while STILL joking with the crowd and then immediately launched into his next song! Remember - this was well before the days of digital tuners clipped on the headstock; he had to do it completely by ear. It blew me away and when I mentioned it to him after the show he just smiled and said something like: yeah, I’ve had to do that a few times. (!)
 
He was…..prepared. And the audience appreciated it, even if they didn’t know it, if that makes any sense. 
 
Looking like you are in control 100% of the time is vital if you want to be perceived as a professional, even if you’re not!
 
Peace & good music,
Gene 

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