The Quest For Tone
(17 Jul 03)
So what to do?
Now, where's the instructional part in this article?!? I have been ranting and rambling for a while now, so let's try to find a solution:
When you play, when you practise, ask yourself: Does this SOUND good?!? I mean, don't worry about the note-choice, or the speed. Ask yourself, do the notes sound good?
Try this: Take a simple, pretty melody you know, say... "Amazing Grace". Transcribe that melody in single notes, and play it. Take your time to memorize the melody so you know it without looking at your transcription. Now, plug in your guitar, turn up the amp, dial in a sound you like and feel comfortable, and PLAY IT AGAIN.
DOES...IT...SOUND....GOOD?!?
Ok, now, play it again, trying to add some slight vibrato. Or add a bend to play certain notes. And... try to pick some notes harder, and others softer. Play the melody very slowly, close your eyes and imagine you're on stage, playing this melody as a part of your solo-spot, trying to really move the audience. Try to squeeze everything out of that melody. Try to put it a lot of heart.
I know that all that sounds a bit weird (Hey, anyone remember "Martian Love Secrets"?!?), but this is just as important as doing mere technical exercises if you really wanna sound good.
I know it sucks to be too honest or critical, but when you play something, judge yourself: does that really sound nice. You don't have to have picking chops like PG, you can make a slow, easy melody sound nice if you simply focus on it for a sec.
Have you ever wondered why, even if you play a simple melody, a simple lick by one of your favorite players, it sometimes sounds bad?
It's fess up-time. When the "Martian Love Secrets" columns by Steve Vai first were published in the Guitar Player mag, I collected them and saved them. One day, I was looking for some different stuff to practise, and checked them out again.
And there was this column where Steve talks about a meditation-style state of mind. He says something like "Take one note, and play this note for one hour. Never deviate from that note, play it and add all different kinds of vibrato to it. At first, your attention will be used up soon, but after a while you might find yourself trying completely new things". (Quoted from memory, go to vai.com to read the "Martian Love Secret" columns...)
Guess what? I did just that. But I didn't focus on vibrato only. I started to pay attention to the way I'd pick the note, too. I noticed that you can get a bunch of different sounds when you move your "picking spot" towards the neck (softer, warmer attack) or towards the bridge (harsher, more treble).
I noticed that the tone changes quite a bit if you change the angle of your pick, or, like i.e. Eric Johnson does it, dig in the pick pretty deep into the strings and pull upwards. Also, and this is tough to describe in mere words, you can get quite a few different sounds (not DRASTICALLY different, but differences in tone often don't walk up to you and grab ya by the throat anyway... it's subtle, but you notice it when it's there) by trying different things with your fretting hand... applying more pressure or less, moving between the fretwires, and of course applying lots of different vibratos... I am not talking phrasing here, it's about the tone.
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