Tour Diary

The Pitfalls of Learning Guitar from Youtube

Hey gang, greets from a jet lagged fingerpicker. I just got back from Singapore and Kuala Lumpur – what a delightful tour it was!

I had the pleasure to meet some excellent young guitar players – and the bizarro moment happened. Kids who were inspired by Sungha Jung playing my arrangements are playing their little butts off! Wow…

I was really surprised to see some super talents who’ve been playing only 3 or 4 years. I met about 3 or 4 young guitar pickers like this and I am sure Asia has a few more than that 🙂

What You Can Learn About Practicing Guitar from a Classical Pianist

By Adam Rafferty 3 Comments

Greetings from Amtrak. Current location – Syracuse NY, in the dining car!

Recently I re-read a short book I bought in my college years called “Basic Principles in Piano Playing” by Josef Levine. Levine was one of the great pianists and conductors of the 20th century.

Whenever I feel that it’s time to focus on playing and improve, I play Bach – sometimes on guitar, sometimes on piano.

Bach is pretty unforgiving…he wrote what he wrote, and the player has to find a solution. It’s not based on “comfy” positions on an instrument. It presents lots of technical challenges.

Commitment vs Flirtation

By Adam Rafferty 2 Comments

Hi Gang! I am back in NYC for a short breather between tours…

On the road recently someone came up to me and said “man, I worked on your version of Superstition for like 5 months and still couldn’t get it perfect.”

My reply was “only 5 months?”

I explained to him that he needs to dive in with a full ongoing commitment and not watch the clock or calendar.

Like this:

I’m gonna play this arrangement no matter how long it takes to learn and practice. If I can play one note, then I can play two. I’ll play those 2 until they sound good, then I’ll add note 3.

I’ll do a little every day and it will surely build. I’ll sand the edges, work on the groove, listen hard, and allow improvements to reveal themselves with time.

I’ll be mindful that my hands feel good and my whole body feels the groove as I play. One day it will sound good.

I’ve been “hammering” at all my guitar arrangements for the past 6 years – and there’s no end in sight.

The real issue is not about guitar….it’s about “commitment” vs “flirtation”.

I can feel in me when I “flirt” with something vs when I totally “commit.”

Things like playing chess, fooling around with electric bass or drums – and even figuring out other guitarists riffs – these are fun things that add richness to my life – but it’s flirtation.

Playing slow scales, practicing my arrangements (and now learning easy Bach Preludes on the piano) and 30 minutes a day of meditation are “commitments”.

Because they are “commitments” I can relax and breathe as I do the work.

I don’t try to practice everything in a day. I am mindful of relaxation in my hands, neck, shoulders and I don’t “overdo”. The fact that I plan to spend the rest of my life on this stuff helps me chill out!

(Please note – I am not saying you have to be a pro and spend hours a day. You can be a hobby player and commit to practicing a piece of music in the way that I am saying.)

Only after a good long period of time do results show. There’s a sweetness to knowing and feeling that I’ve (you’ve) accomplished just a little something by coming back to it again and again.

The moral of the story is….hobbies are ok, flirtation with stuff is fun and ok – but committing is also ok too.

The opposite of immediate gratification is one of the sweetest satisfactions in life! Don’t miss out.

Know where you stand – and if there something you early really want, put it in your focus and never look away! The “out projecting” of your vision will in fact, create the “thing” or experience in real life.

What is Your Musical “Slam Dunk”?

By Adam Rafferty 6 Comments

Greets from the road!

Each tour has an outer experience and an inner experience. This tour has been especially wonderful in terms of the inner journey.

Outer stuff: The shows, posters, Facebook posts, and fan interaction, travel, making new friends, etc.

Inner stuff: What’s going on inside emotionally, reaching for artistic goals, new melodies / tunes that become a fresh “soundtrack” of the tour, where I stand on my scale of inner peace, etc.

The last few gigs have been quite satisfying on the inner plane, and here’s why – I am experiencing a new level of “harmony” between my playing on stage and my core values.

Here are some guidelines which hopefully will stimulate some ideas – and please feel free to disagree with me:

Becoming the Artist You Are Supposed to Be

You can’t get the deep satisfaction I am describing through imitating someone else. (You may have to start there, but that’s not the “goal”…)

Others may inspire you, but the gem and the gift to the world is YOU in your full honesty. It might feel fragile and unfamiliar to you at first to accept the idea that YOU are valuable and precious, but it’s special and that’s what I’d want to hear from you.

The big question you need to ask yourself is “what is my musical slam dunk?”

Examples:

For some, speed is their slam dunk – and that’s fine. If so, then do it to the max!
For some, introspection and a meditative atmosphere is their slam dunk, and that’s fine too. Go for it!
For some, being perceived as the “best” is the slam dunk. Be careful here – as this has more to do with “perception” than “the music” and can be an ego pitfall.
There are many possibilities – so just be clear on what has meaning to you, musically.

Be clear on what your values are, and work at them day by day as you practice. If you are blown about like a leaf in the wind, imitating someone one day, then something or someone else the next day, or employing a “gimmick” – you can’t get to this deep satisfaction I am describing.

Or if your slam dunk is “A” but you are doing “B” because you want others to accept you, you’ll probably never achieve the artistic heights you could – because being an artist is a 360 degree full on, HONEST endeavor.

If you are a beginner or a young person learning who you are and just starting to play, be clear on what you like about other people’s music as you learn the craft of music.

This can be tricky when you are under a teacher’s guidance – as students tend to adopt the likes and dislikes of their teachers.

Just be honest. What do you like and what do you dislike? It’s all ok!

My “slam dunk” is a combination of things…

I want people to hear clear melodies, groove along with me, and get a “variety” of tempos, textures, keys and musical styles along with some friendly entertainment.
I want to hold people’s attention.
I want to see my audiences true bubbling enthusiasm, smiles and beaming faces after the gig. I know when people are really touched as opposed to just offering “obligatory applause.” I want to really tickle them!

After two separate gigs people told me they felt a “warm flow” come over them during my gig as their smiles beamed. Dang, that’s what I’m talking about! I made people feel good – that’s evidence of my slam dunk!

Knowing what I don’t like helps too.

While this may sound grumbly and negative – I am clear on these points.

I don’t like being bored by a performer or by the music.
I don’t like if I can’t tap my foot for at least some of the concert.
I don’t like when a musician tries to “impress” and forgets about groove and melody.
I don’t like “too much” of one thing, it dulls my senses.
I don’t like when a performer hasn’t practiced enough.
I don’t like when someone is too “careful”.
I don’t like music that wanders and has no recognizable melody
I don’t like when I see someone simply imitating someone else, (although I give beginners a break regarding this!)

Only honesty with your own values combined with diligent work of slogging it out day by day, will ultimately bring about a deep, meaningful experience for you and the audience.

What are your values, musically or entertainment wise? (be honest!)

What’s your slam dunk?

7 Essential Tips for a Stress Free Sound Check

By Adam Rafferty 10 Comments

Greets from Somewhere in Germany.

This post is for musicians who get up on stage and play through PA systems for any kind of gig.

Often the sound problems and solutions are in our heads, not in the equipment.

If you…

1) suffer during the soundcheck process…2) get stomach acid ON THE GIG from thinking the sound sucks….

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