John Stowell Clinic

John Stowell clinic 3 reasons why solo guitar is import ant: some jobs are available for one musician only- creating your own work playing alone teaches you about chord-melodies, tons of resources available best way to learn/retain chords is through arrangements- then you can use them somewhere else there's a whole world of guitar chords that most guitar players don't use- more pianistic shapes try moving back and forth between chords and single lines as part of a solo do it informally- play for your friends/family rather than go right in to gigs- performance mode in the background Soloette guitar hybrid picking gives you more control- keep attack of pick and fingers equalgo up the scale with voicing check out: Steve Swallow Kenny Wheeler Gene Bertoncini Kenny Poole keep your right hand relaxed no matter what you do- his pick sticks to his index finger playing relaxed: make a conscious choice to do it, be physically present, i.e. if you're tightening up, tell yourself not to do it, keep it flowing. start things as an intellectual choice, keep it consistent, and eventually it'll become part of your approach let chords ring more building chord vocabulary- pick an area of the neck and then find all the notes you might want in that area- goal is know what notes are available before you play think about the top note of each chord when you're comping time: when you're solo you can play out of time, over the bar line- lots of it is by osmosis and playing with great drummers metronome on 2/4 be very conscious when comping about where you place things guitar duos & trios can be awesome- create a network of guitar player friends Using Space: leaving space can enhance conversation breathing, listening to singers and horn players feel the pulse & form of the tune learn Stella/original harmony and some reharms sing the melody to yourself as somebody is playing the changes to try and follow the form

chromatic 2-5s- either way pulling cadence reharms out of tunes and inserting them into other tunes tonic diminished/Lydian #9- triad half-step below tonic chord harmonic minor 3rd above key- both diminished and major create an environment where it's fun to work on music when you're out of school, build a network of musical friends to work on stuff with the journey create a playing approach that works for YOU having the neck up at a higher angle makes pianistic voicing easier to play if your body's telling you it hurts, pay attention to it. play in a way that makes your body feel good don't be afraid to experiment Repertoire: Jobim wrote 400, most people play 3- learn more! create an original repertoire: learn enough of what everyone knows then learn some that NOBODY plays, and write some originals modern repertoire modulation makes tunes interesting learning tunes: learn the melody and then find familiar cadences everyone should have an internet presence create opportunities for yourself to learn tunes- i.e. go to jam sessions inspire yourself to push yourself apply everything you're learning to tons of tunes work with singers because it makes you play in other keys how to deal with frustration: try taking a break, OR grit your teeth and play through it try something different, meet a new player and have them show you something new networking helps you creatively and makes you a living traveling & playing- everyone should have that experience teaching- engage who you're talking to and make it fun and interesting for them you don't have to be famous to travel and play music- just have a network of friends in many different places when you go somewhere, you make connections with people that you wouldn't in the first place lots of follow-up- it's one person that says yes, and you GO. then, talk to a lot of people to make it happen. do whatever you can freelance work is very detail-oriented

shoot for the highest level artistically- play the best you can no matter who shows up, don't compromise quality for anything when you solo, play like a composer. don't just play the changes- connect things together create a body of work that is your own- get recognition as a composer as well as a player collaborate with people and bounce ideas off each other RECORD! you don't have to finish writing a tune in one sitting fretless guitar in tune- play where the fret USED to be find his fretless recordings with b/