Uncle Larry can’t play for ya today, but he can sure talk. Written by Mutt Lange, all of these amazing backing vocals were multi-tracked by one guy, Johnny Colla • Huey Lewis & The News ... Music is so much better now
sit with a metronome or click track for hours....record yourself, if you can't HEAR that you are rushing then you have bigger problems than just rushing.
i think playing with a looper, after soloing over your base once, listen to it once as is, then when it goes around again add more, slowly trickle in stuff and reflect how it sounds. if you run out of space in just a few passes through slow it down.
Metronome at very slow tempos. Record yourself playing to a metronome. Also play without a metronome and record yourself. Make your own rhythm jam tracks without a metronome so you practice developing your internal clock. Use a looper and try and comp 4-5 choruses of a slow blues. When you start the loop again, see if your tempo moved.
Don't (at first anyway) substitute a drum machine for the metronome. And get a LOUD metronome. Set it at 60 bpm and play the easiest major scale fingering you know... up and down, repeatedly, and try to BECOME the click. Get spiritual, dude. And try to PRODUCE THE NOTES _so precisely on top of the clicks that you cannot HEAR the clicks_ . This ain't easy, and some guys want to speed up the click, to (they think) make the exercise easier. Don't give in to this. One note per click. This isn't easy -- but, if it were easy, you wouldn't be working yer ass off -- which is all worth the work, because this WILL get you there. Every other day or so, record yourself and listen back. Are you "erasing" the clicks with the notes of the scale? If not, slow it down one notch. Proceed. To deal with any boredom, move the scale fingering up and down the neck. Also, change fingerings. Play a simple fiddle tune. And remember to listen to the click -- not so much to the notes, at first. The click is the thing. This could take months, but a couple hours (or more!) a day will make you a kickass time keeper. Good luck, and work hard!
Mick Goodrick, who wrote and taught a lot of the original curriculum at Berklee College of Music, said "Notes are what we use to get form one silence to the next."
Enrolled in a music class in college and on the first day the instructor walked out and said “silence is beautiful”. He said to think about that today and I’ll see you all tomorrow.
The jazz guitarist who taught the great folk guitarist Dave Van Ronk (can’t remember their name) said “why play two notes when one will do, and why play anything when silence will do”
This was an excellent lesson! I think I’ll be watching it a few times in the future. I still grip my guitar way way too hard, but I’m getting better in the other areas you mentioned for sure.
That was a great interview with Rick! That’s actually how i found you and Guthrie. This is gold. Shit like this feels like it shaves months and years off of parts of the learning curve. It would be cool to hear your thoughts on if/how the electric guitar needs to be played differently than an acoustic. Thanks!
Thanks man, such great points. Felt like you were 100% talking to me with the rushing and the squeezing. I know I struggle with that. Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
Can’t get enough of your stuff Mr. B, wish you were local so we could have a friendly beer and a good conversation about this nutty business that we are all in ..!!
I used to stumble my words untill I learnt how to slow down. I applied the same thinking to my playing and I stopped rushing and stumbling on guitar. I also realised I was uncontrollably putting vibrato on everything. If your not confident learning to relax and slow down is a godsend. Great video. Gold
I totally get what Tom’s saying (and Guthrie) but ever since I started following these guy I don’t even want to play anymore because everytime I play anything I’m thinking, “Damn, Guthrie/Tom would have hated that lick” 😂😢
Sage advice Uncle Larry. I was taught to approach rhythm playing like a drummer and lead playing like a vocalistic. It really does save a lot of heartache.
Sage words, Uncle Larry. Don't know if you ever came across the Russian Dragon in your studio travels, but it was a rack unit that could show if the drummer was rushing or dragging (cute huh?). The original version had a "white" switch on it that you could engage to give white drummers a little extra slack, but the switch was soon deemed inappropriate (if not untrue) and removed.
I hope a lot of good player heard these criticisms. Wish Larry had share all of them he new in this one video, that would have been so valuable to have them in one place.
Thanks Tom! 4 great struggles of being a fine musician! A fifth one along with vibrato is when to hold/release a note. So much of all these is managing stress. Looking forward to seeing how the new “critique” series goes! I imagine we’re all in fear of hearing the inconvenient truths about our playing but what the heck do we have to lose except bad habits?!
Man, I've been trying for years to sort these 3 things out!! I think after WAY too many decades, I might actually be getting there! The hardest part for me was / is gripping way too hard! Working on that has really helped the other two as well - I feel I have TIME to play what I want to now, and leave space when I need to as my touch is much lighter, so the music rings out better. Long way to go, but it's great to hear a great like you point it out :)
That was uncanny, All those points and tips were as if Tom just reviewed my playing style. Video ends and Guthrie walks out of the bathroom and yells “I wouldn’t go in there for a good half an hour “ 🤣
Awesome Tom 👏 I’m writing these 4 points down and sticking on my wall when practicing from now on 😎 A great study of this stuff for me is Jimmy Page on ‘Since I’ve been loving you’ .. trying to learn that with the playback slowed down ..so much there as a study of dynamics, timing, space,, vibrato and telling a story imo. 👍
Best guitar observation of the year. I’m an intermediate (and that’s being charitable) white guitar player striving to lay back for the last 35 years. Still a work in progress.
I used to play with a singer-songwriter who would play so hard on his acoustic that he would always break strings. And I mean the low big strings, not the skinny high ones that you break sometimes from bending. He'd break one, maybe two strings in a song. I once told him I'd pay him $100 if he could break all the strings with a single downstroke. Never happened though. Yeah, you want to relax when you play.
Wise words, I stumbled across your channel randomly and when you mentioned Mr. Trapp I realized who you are. Thank you for the lesson I'm subscribing 😊
Vibrato and all the little bends you can do on guitar are what makes it alive. I practiced it far too little in the beginning. I was somehow convinced that practicing fast and complicated stuff would make me a good player and that the rest would fall into place. If you don't want to waste time, identify what you want and work towards it.
Thank you for this video. I've been playing for 30+ yr...mostly noodling. I've only gotten serious the last 5-8 yrs. I rush constantly...working on that. But what I came here to say is my cynical self expected a beatdown of intermediate level players...but no, he pointed things to work on...not things to make fun of. That's what I needed.
Uncle Larry... speaking of Jesus... you just laid out four gospel laws for all of us intermediates to attend to. Thanks! It's curious in timing, those four are what I've been working on this last chapter of 67 years on guitar. I will double down on these for my next gig in August. Thanks!
Thank you Tom what a fantastic lesson, the highest value to help us, your comments from knowledge and experience and technical expertise are so appreciated by us, we thank you very much
Hey Tom... I laughed a lot listening to you talk about getting older with the Bone Crushing Responsibility of getting Older!! I'm 77 in a few months and I've been adjusting to life's anxiety for the past 15-16 years. I think anxiety is automatic after one comes to the point in life when one realizes how temporary and fragile life is..... Enjoyed this video Tom!!
Great talk Tom! 4 very important items not discussed anywhere else that really needed the light of day as only you know how to say, and said so eloquently too with much kindness and tach.
I am guilty of two of those Hallmarks. I have been guilty of all of them a one time or the other. I must be improving. I remember Vince Gill once told a story of doing a session and playing a solo and the producer told him ( That was great now play it again but only play half of everything you know ) These youtube videos are so great. Saves you years if you just listen.
Such great advice, thanks. Those could have been 4 hallmarks of being intermediate at anything (don't squeeze so hard, don't rush, embrace the lulls and let others absorb your work, just because you have a hammer doesn't mean everything is a nail). Love the channel. Can't wait for that Jesus comeback tour.
One of my favorite types of phrasing is bending a note up a whole step, then adding vibrato. Jeff Beck, Robbie Robertson, B.B. King and Eric Clapton are the players who incorporated this stylistic element beautifully. I’ve worked hard to capture that amazing vibe. Of course technique is involved, but timing is even more vital.
Apart from the excessive pressure comment, I believe all of these stem from not singing in your head what you are playing as you play it. Anyone can slip out of the frame of mind which allows you to do this (the setup for a gig was stressful, you had a bad day, your not happy with your sound or you are doing something at your trchnical limit - like an intermediate guitar player). I believe the best players are both talented and able to get to that frame of mind more often. Putting in the miles and doing a load of gigs teaches you to do this even when your surroundings are a distraction. Great advice as always, from someone who is up there with the very best.
Excellent help on those 4 points - this way for those seeking to participate in the evaluations, they have been informed in advance to get those 4 things right! Like the teacher telling the students "these questions will be on the exam for sure!"
Can you imagine how lucky we’d all have been if Picasso had taken the time to make videos sharing his experience about art… we are so lucky to have you Tom
Hi Tom have been glued to your youtube & guitar playing since before the virus -lounge guitar blew me away. Good to know we have 1 thing in common - I locked myself in my room too but unlike you, I'm in Ireland & people kept letting me out - slainte & thanks for your wisdom
This is excellent. Especially the silence part. Reminds me of where I'd once read that George Harrison was quite often more interested in finding the right space between the notes, as much as the notes themselves.
Hey Tom! Billy from Corner Music past. Joe H. used to say I sounded out of tune when I played, and you told me about going easy on the neck. Best advice anyone gave me. I'm still mostly shitty, but at least my guitar sounds more in tune.
I certainly have a tendency to both rush and play too hard on gigs due to nerves. If a tune is fast and maybe a little bit out of my "tempo comfort zone" then it will certainly happen. It's something I've been working on for a while now.
Tom I had the problem of gripping the neck way to hard. I corrected this by putting a scalloped neck on a couple of my guitars. It worked. I still have one strat with a scalloped neck and I enjoy playing it for the purpose of reminding myself to lighten up the grip. I am not a good guitar player by any means. Maybe if your serious I would do your lessons and send in a video of me making noise. Thanks so much for all the time you give to us in youtube land. Love the new album by the way. You and Guthrie got something special going on there.
What a great lesson - thanks Uncle Larry - and so appropriate as today is Jeff Beck's birthday who would have been 80. He embodies so much of what you spoke of in the episode. Thanks again
Excited for the Beato thing I would pay you just to repeat those four hallmarks about every 3 months. You have mentioned them before but every time you do it reminds me to work on it... Really thankful for those. I have trouble with the Kung Fu grip and less than intentional vibrato... So helpful
The 4 points kept me thinking of Steve Kimock. First time I saw him was with the NRPS years ago. It was a chill set he did and it shifted basically everything for me. Every new kid should listen and study that dude. In my opinion....a master for sure.
Im not a professional but what you are.talking about is 100 percent true and ive never heard it talked about. Dont play like you be gettin paid by the note.
100% on the distractions of today. I pick up my guitar and play for 15-20 min and need to put it down and go down a rabbit hole for awhile. Then I get sick of that and pick it up again for another short go at it. Lol
One of the very best videos (for me) you've done brother. I have much, soooo much to work on in all four (Yes Four Things Every Intermediate Guitar Player...!!!) 😅(PS: Chris Buck)
Larry, I'm thinking about guys like Charlie Parker and Coltrane who would sometimes play nearly continuous 16th or 32nd notes for 12, 24, 48 bars of solo, and I wonder - do you think their insane-genius-level command of musical architecture and dynamics and tone makes up for the lack of space? Or do you hear those guys and think "I'd be a lot more into this if they'd take a goddamn breath now and again"?
Instagram really ain't helping with trying to leave space in your solos 🤣 It's really hard to do sometimes and I think for me it's literally an addiction to have my fingers on the fretboard, and so leaving 2 seconds of space is like going through withdrawal. Robben Ford is someone who does this extremely well. Each phrase he plays is a tasty little morsel that leaves you wanting more. Intent behind every note. Wayne Krantz did a great workshop on playing over a one chord vamp and phrasing in 2 or 4 bar chunks and then leaving space, and still making it sound like a conversation even though there are no changes.
I’m a hack but I recently saw Mateus Mancuso live and while he had an impressive mastery of the fretboard, he NEVER. STOPPED. PLAYING. It was a torrent of notes, biblical in proportion, assaulting the ears with relentless information. I’m not sure if he’s the player Uncle Larry has in mind, but if not, someone should tell him also: “Take a breath, kid.”
You know I saw him a while back for the first time and thought this guy has some impressive skills.......... but I couldn't listen to his playing for more than a minute or two. Just notes....
@@scottpeterson9609 I think that’s indicative of the Instagram guitar generation where they have a 60-second video to showcase their skills so there’s no time to let things breathe. I’m not sure.
