Scott Henderson Discussion

[baskoroi]

[Sorry if it's too long, I really need your help! - If you wanna read quick, just get to paragraph 4. Thanks y'all!]

Hi guys, name's Baskoro here, you can call me Bas to simplify things. I had been playing guitar on and off, since age 12. And now I'm 18, and back again playing guitars, since I'm really bored on playing drums. (FYI, I played drums since age 7 or 8 and am self-taught on drums. I play wide range of genres, including jazz fusion)

However I have decent knowledge on guitar gear. My friend is a great guitarist, he taught me about some gear for playing the guitar.
He taught me mostly about getting good guitar tone, some effects like Maxon SD-9 (loving it! That's "super-natural"), the RC Booster, that kind of stuffs. Even I got to search some in the Internet. (Currently am so into the Subtle Volume Control, which is a unique effect! Nice foot swivel, Mr. Scott!)

I knew Scott from my friend, he told me to search for him in YouTube and Google. And I see this forum being one of the friendliest forums out there online. I thought if I can give this topic a try to ask for some time and help from you guys, that would be great and very appreciated.

Okay, now I'm back to playing guitars, retired from my drumming world (temporarily!). And I'm just kinda spaced out on how to really learn guitar from a steadily solid beginning to a content and complete ending.

If I were to rate myself, I think I'm a beginner-intermediate player, sorry about that! I can play some scales (major, minor, pentatonic, blues), and a few chords (feeling bad for not mastering it well). I have decent vocabulary in music theory applicable to guitar, and I have a few knowledge on the guitar fretboard. I have a huge interest in jazz fusion, and am looking forward to be able to play, improvise (since I can do it on the drums!), and obtain sufficient knowledge, practical or theoretical, in jazz fusion guitar-playing.

So, I have some questions:
1. What's the best way for me to learn guitars? What things do I have to learn in order?
2. What books and DVDs do you recommend the most for me to get out of this beginner damnation?
3. How do you guys learn improvisation and anything related to jazz fusion playing?
4. Do you have any strategies for me to be able to learn guitar more efficiently, in terms of ease and effectiveness? (I'm not looking for "10 Quick Ways to Learn the Guitar", or like "Learn Guitar in an Hour" scumbags, I know they provide scums and incomplete info, and too many chats... Just some tips to nail things down much easier in my learning, tho)

So, that's all in my mind for now. Be looking forward to your replies, and they're appreciated. And yeah, thanks to you guys, and see 'ya!

- Bas
_________________
Fender's nuts are too high? Damn.

[randope]

1.Transcribe, transcribe, transcribe (in that order). You should start on songs that you ACTUALLY LIKE (preferably simple songs). Don't try to fool yourself by immediately tackling difficult fusion songs. Don't just learn the song, get a feel for the song and the guitar. Try to play the song with a different vibe (maybe slow it down or play it with a different beat if you're in to that stuff).

2. Scales and theory are important but they are useless on their own. You need feeling to connect them to actual playing. A lot of books and DVDs are mostly about technique and theory. But if you feel like you still need to improve on those aspects Scott Henderson's DVD is a nice one and Frank Gambale's workout DVD is alright (although you shouldn't try to play fast if you're still beginning).

3. Improvisation is like talking. You say what's in your heart using words to share your ideas to whomever's listening. You need cool ideas (licks) and you need to be able to transform them to suit your needs. When transforming licks (changing the beat, using it for tension rather than release, etc.) You shouldn't be too conscious of the process because you should ALWAYS focus on trying to make nice lines rather than thinking, "Alright what can I do with this lick I learned?".

Less is definitely more, not using a lick you just learned is way better than using it out of context.

Ideas/licks are more than just cool notes put together. An idea could be a new bending technique, a whammy bar technique, an effect pedal you use to make wacky interesting sounds or some tapping/sweeping technique (if you're in to that kind of stuff).

Also for me it's easier to think of notes in terms of intervals. Like the blues scale just having an extra flat fifth that the regular minor pentatonic scale, etc.

Don't get confused with the theoretical name of something. Nobody cares about the name of a note, interval, or scale. The name is only useful when discussing theory among musicians, beyond that it's useless. Instead, get to know how the note sounds in relation to what you already know. That's a nice way to approach modes when you want to spice up your vocabulary and even playing outside stuff.

4. There's no cookie-cutter way to learn guitar because it depends on what guitarist you want to become. If you want to play blues you have to work on your phrasing a lot. If you want to play traditional jazz then you need to widen your traditional jazz vocabulary. If you want to play rock/metal then you'd best work on your chops.

IF you want to play FUSION, then you better work on.. everything. Since fusion is a combination of everything music related, essentially you can work on whatever interests you.

For tips I'd say always play what you like. Because if you don't like it you won't want to work on it. You will definitely notice when you're forcing yourself to like something.