Developing Your Musical Vocabulary
One of the most important concepts that I teach my private students is the development of a good musical vocabulary. A good understanding of musical terms is essential, and is often the main difference between just being a ‘guitarist’ and being a ‘musician’. To be able to communicate ideas with other players, you must understand exactly how the language of music works. I have many students who know HOW to play their instruments fairly well, but really have no idea WHAT they are playing. And as much as I applaud them for the physical ability on the instrument, my job as a teacher often means that I must force them to look at the bigger picture, which often leads to the discussion of developing their musical vocabulary.
The most basic aspects of musical vocabulary deal with the types sounds that we create on our instrument. The study of chords and harmony, scales and melody, and beat and rhythm are all part of this vocabulary. The same way that it takes practice to learn a new language like French or Spanish, it takes practice to develop your musical vocabulary. The difference is that you will be able to instantly apply each new idea to your instrument, which in turn will make you a better player.
I will often have a private student say “All I want to learn is these songs by my favorite band. Can’t you just give me some tablature?”
My response is usually something like this:
“Imagine your favorite band (insert name here) actually called you to come and audition to be in the group. You’d be super excited, right? Well, let’s say you get to the audition, and you’ve learned all of the band’s songs note-for-note. But then the band leader looks over at you and asks you to jam along with them on a NEW song that they’ve been working on for the next album. He tells you it’s in C# Minor, and wants you to create your own part to fit this new song. After all, being in a band often means that you must contribute your own parts, right? Well, the problem is, you’ve spent all of your time studying tabs, and you don’t know what C# Minor is - all you know are a bunch of songs! So, unable to figure out what C# Minor is, and unable to contribute to the band’s new song, the audition ends, you don’t get the gig, and you go home”.
“Imagine your favorite band (insert name here) actually called you to come and audition to be in the group. You’d be super excited, right? Well, let’s say you get to the audition, and you’ve learned all of the band’s songs note-for-note. But then the band leader looks over at you and asks you to jam along with them on a NEW song that they’ve been working on for the next album. He tells you it’s in C# Minor, and wants you to create your own part to fit this new song. After all, being in a band often means that you must contribute your own parts, right? Well, the problem is, you’ve spent all of your time studying tabs, and you don’t know what C# Minor is - all you know are a bunch of songs! So, unable to figure out what C# Minor is, and unable to contribute to the band’s new song, the audition ends, you don’t get the gig, and you go home”.
What it all comes down to is this: It’s one thing to be able to play the guitar, but it’s a whole different thing to communicate ides with other players using the language of music. I’ll never forget the first time I went into a recording studio to play guitar on a friend's album. On one particular song, the studio engineer asked me to try playing melodies that had more of a ‘Major’ sound, as opposed to the ‘Minor’ sound that I had been playing up to that point. I knew exactly what he meant, and I proceeded to change the choice of notes I was using to create a different sound or ‘flavor’ for the song. Things ended up turning out great, but I couldn’t help but think that if I didn’t understand what he was saying, I could have wasted hours trying to find the right sound for the song. (A fellow teacher of mine refers to this process as ’slide and decide’ or ’bend and mend’).
As you develop your musical vocabulary, you will find that you will actually have to think LESS about what you are doing. Every little bit of knowledge and practice adds to your musical growth, and the ultimate goal is to unlock your own creative ability to the point where you really DON’T have to think about it - it just happens. Jazz guitar legend Joe Pass once said “Spend a lot of time learning everything you can about music. And then just forget it all and PLAY”. What Joe was saying is that if you really dedicate yourself to studying the instrument, you will instinctively know what to do in any situation, and you won’t have to think about it at all. The same way that you can become proficient in a new language, becoming proficient musically means that you must invest enough time and effort to become fluent with the notes, chords, scales, and rhythms that musicians use. Expressing yourself musically will become second nature once you know the vocabulary inside and out, and being able to 'say' what you want musically becomes much easier.
Good Luck!
Nate
I haven't written in awhile as I have been busy really learning all there is to know about guitar. Music theory takes time to become imprinted on the brain and you must practice on a daily basis to totally comprehend and fully appreciate your instrument. I've now owned my Fretlight for 16 months faithfully practicing & studying each day. I've managed to learn without mistakes 11 songs because of my focus, disipline and most of all patience. Knowing your guitar from the neck down will only make you b sharp (no pun intended. Try to remember why you wanted to play guitar in the first place. Music is valuable to the human soul & spirit. Nurture your guitar and it will respond!
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Can anyone help me with this question? I am trying to memorize the harmonic minor scale. However there is hardly any thing symmetric or memorable about the order of the notes on the frets or geometric pattern that to me is easy to remember. Any pointers to help me get this scale down pat would be greatly appreciated.
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I just figured it out. Disregard my question. By the way. How does one delete their comment? Can it be done?
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