Coverpearls Organon:
I think every beginning guitarist takes lessons with the idea that they will be able to play great songs they've heard... eventually. Unfortunately; so many of us never quite get there. Sometimes; those that fail develop negative attitudes about playing "other peoples' music" --- but that's just a cop-out. The reality is that there is so much we can learn from "other peoples' music" - that it can be daunting.
The 'Coverpearls' method is designed to get us past these problems. I have not found a more effective method to develop our guitar playing than to find out 'what's going on' in our favorite music - and then develop our practice around the situations and musical contexts we encounter in our own music library.
Throughout the Classical Period in music history; composers would often write complete pieces of music that were designed to develop specific skills in technique to be applied to a particular instrument. It was considered commonplace for the musicians of that time to approach all (or most) of the music they performed in a technically precise - 'note for note' fashion. Of course, there were variations in interpretation from one performer to another - but these variations were usually quite subtle as a result of each performer approaching the demands of the music 'note for note.'
The study and performance of our contemporary American Styles of Jazz, Blues, Country, and so many forms of Rock are approached largely by ear... "ear music." In my view, this fact can be, both; a blessing and a curse for aspiring musicians. It can be a curse if you still harbor the old belief that you must 'cover' tunes 'note for note' to receive proper gratification for an endeavor to 'cover' any tune at all --- but, it can be a wonderful reward to realize that there is an elemental language involved in these styles that can be understood and practiced - that will allow you to shoot straight from the heart upon reaching various levels of mastery.
The ability to express yourself in this language leads to the ability to make any familiar tune, progression, or style -- your own. Imagine playing along with one of your favorite songs and having the realization that you are enjoying your own lead guitar phrasing even more than the phrasing on the recording. Even better: imagine that you have developed your 'listening while playing' skills so naturally that you realize your phrasing is actually 'complementing' the complex phrasing on the recording. Now: Imagine what you can do with these skills when working with your own band.
Whatever your musical goals; the 'Coverpearls Course' can assist you with many ideas that will allow you to begin to transform a large section of your music library into the ultimate practice room. It is designed to give you the tools to "get in there" and begin to relate to what you are hearing - in any style of music - with the perspective and knowledge to "keep you in there" -- playing -- practicing -- and answering your own questions --- for periods of time that make the whole endeavor worth your while.
Let's back up a bit to further clarify some of the music history I mentioned previously. Understand: the reason that musicians of the Classical Period (and most other Music Periods in history) approached their performance 'note for note' is, simply, because that is the way music was recorded at that time... instructions on sheets of paper. Though, there are many talented transcriptionists continuing to support this valuable tradition; it has become practically an impossible task to keep up with the explosion of artists and musical styles that have emerged since the invention of sonic recording. We can't always wait for an expert to come along and transcribe our favorite recordings -- we have our ears and our instruments and we get in there and 'hear' whatever we can 'hear'... right? That is what we should be doing.
The 'Coverpearls Course' is designed to get us back to the tradition of learning to climb onto the shoulders of the masters to develop knowledge, technique, and experience with our instruments -- but, this time we will be learning to do it with specific focus and reliance on an educated ear. The greatest result of this approach is that once we learn to relate to the language; our practice can become infinitely more inspiring - more meaningful - more challenging - and more fun --- as we will be actively 'engaging our ears' and attempting to 'complement' the sounds of great music at the same time.
Now, don't get me wrong; I'm not suggesting that learning to read music is no longer an important part of the learning process in contemporary styles of music. What I am suggesting is that developing an efficient method to relate to written music is only a small part of the process of learning to effectively negotiate today's musical environments - particularly, for guitar players.
There are various misconceptions formed by guitar students (and some controversy among guitar teachers) about the degree of importance that should be ascribed to the 'ability' to read standard notation in today's popular styles of Jazz, Blues, Rock, and Country music. The reality is, the degree of our focus on sight-reading abilities hinges on the nature of the situations, people, and projects we find ourselves involved with most often. What I can tell you is that guitar players are, usually, less often relied upon for their sight-reading abilities and more often relied upon for their listening skills - and their ability to complement the style of music being played. Then -- if, and only if, we do these two things really well -- we might get to demonstrate our lead guitar improvisation abilities and develop the reputation for embodying that 'reliance' as well.
The 'Coverpearls Course' is designed to set you up with a method to practice these three things by default: developing your listening skills -- developing your ability to complement the style of music being played -- and developing your ability to improvise 'consciously stylistic' lead guitar. The beauty of this idea is that all of this will happen 'as a matter of course' in your practice. But, don't thank me -- thank the masters who recorded all that great music in your library -- I'm only a messenger who will help you 'get in there' with new perspectives and ideas about how to manage their language.
And, I almost forgot to mention that by subscribing to this method of focus in your practice; you'll be learning to put a lot of tunes under your hat -- "as a matter of course."
The 'Coverpearls' method is designed to get us past these problems. I have not found a more effective method to develop our guitar playing than to find out 'what's going on' in our favorite music - and then develop our practice around the situations and musical contexts we encounter in our own music library.
Throughout the Classical Period in music history; composers would often write complete pieces of music that were designed to develop specific skills in technique to be applied to a particular instrument. It was considered commonplace for the musicians of that time to approach all (or most) of the music they performed in a technically precise - 'note for note' fashion. Of course, there were variations in interpretation from one performer to another - but these variations were usually quite subtle as a result of each performer approaching the demands of the music 'note for note.'
The study and performance of our contemporary American Styles of Jazz, Blues, Country, and so many forms of Rock are approached largely by ear... "ear music." In my view, this fact can be, both; a blessing and a curse for aspiring musicians. It can be a curse if you still harbor the old belief that you must 'cover' tunes 'note for note' to receive proper gratification for an endeavor to 'cover' any tune at all --- but, it can be a wonderful reward to realize that there is an elemental language involved in these styles that can be understood and practiced - that will allow you to shoot straight from the heart upon reaching various levels of mastery.
The ability to express yourself in this language leads to the ability to make any familiar tune, progression, or style -- your own. Imagine playing along with one of your favorite songs and having the realization that you are enjoying your own lead guitar phrasing even more than the phrasing on the recording. Even better: imagine that you have developed your 'listening while playing' skills so naturally that you realize your phrasing is actually 'complementing' the complex phrasing on the recording. Now: Imagine what you can do with these skills when working with your own band.
Whatever your musical goals; the 'Coverpearls Course' can assist you with many ideas that will allow you to begin to transform a large section of your music library into the ultimate practice room. It is designed to give you the tools to "get in there" and begin to relate to what you are hearing - in any style of music - with the perspective and knowledge to "keep you in there" -- playing -- practicing -- and answering your own questions --- for periods of time that make the whole endeavor worth your while.
Let's back up a bit to further clarify some of the music history I mentioned previously. Understand: the reason that musicians of the Classical Period (and most other Music Periods in history) approached their performance 'note for note' is, simply, because that is the way music was recorded at that time... instructions on sheets of paper. Though, there are many talented transcriptionists continuing to support this valuable tradition; it has become practically an impossible task to keep up with the explosion of artists and musical styles that have emerged since the invention of sonic recording. We can't always wait for an expert to come along and transcribe our favorite recordings -- we have our ears and our instruments and we get in there and 'hear' whatever we can 'hear'... right? That is what we should be doing.
The 'Coverpearls Course' is designed to get us back to the tradition of learning to climb onto the shoulders of the masters to develop knowledge, technique, and experience with our instruments -- but, this time we will be learning to do it with specific focus and reliance on an educated ear. The greatest result of this approach is that once we learn to relate to the language; our practice can become infinitely more inspiring - more meaningful - more challenging - and more fun --- as we will be actively 'engaging our ears' and attempting to 'complement' the sounds of great music at the same time.
Now, don't get me wrong; I'm not suggesting that learning to read music is no longer an important part of the learning process in contemporary styles of music. What I am suggesting is that developing an efficient method to relate to written music is only a small part of the process of learning to effectively negotiate today's musical environments - particularly, for guitar players.
There are various misconceptions formed by guitar students (and some controversy among guitar teachers) about the degree of importance that should be ascribed to the 'ability' to read standard notation in today's popular styles of Jazz, Blues, Rock, and Country music. The reality is, the degree of our focus on sight-reading abilities hinges on the nature of the situations, people, and projects we find ourselves involved with most often. What I can tell you is that guitar players are, usually, less often relied upon for their sight-reading abilities and more often relied upon for their listening skills - and their ability to complement the style of music being played. Then -- if, and only if, we do these two things really well -- we might get to demonstrate our lead guitar improvisation abilities and develop the reputation for embodying that 'reliance' as well.
The 'Coverpearls Course' is designed to set you up with a method to practice these three things by default: developing your listening skills -- developing your ability to complement the style of music being played -- and developing your ability to improvise 'consciously stylistic' lead guitar. The beauty of this idea is that all of this will happen 'as a matter of course' in your practice. But, don't thank me -- thank the masters who recorded all that great music in your library -- I'm only a messenger who will help you 'get in there' with new perspectives and ideas about how to manage their language.
And, I almost forgot to mention that by subscribing to this method of focus in your practice; you'll be learning to put a lot of tunes under your hat -- "as a matter of course."