In Part 1 of this post, we discussed some of the difficulties in transitioning from the basics of guitar to learning to play solos and get creative. Here, I’ll explain why these challenges don’t mean you aren’t talented and what to do to move past them.
The Different Facets of Talent
Technical Talent
Playing talent is just as it sounds. Hear or learn something and be able to recreate it. This is what my friends were able to do. Very successfully. A sharp mind and good work ethic is what you need to achieve your aspirations oF being technically good. That takes a certain talent or skill set. You can see players who have tons of this on Instagram. There are countless players who play at such a high technical level. Amazing musicianship! Technique is an ability. You can play something a certain way at a certain speed. It takes dedication and analytical skills to do this. Mastering technique is not the artistic part of this, though.
Artistic Talent
Have you ever heard that members of the Beatles weren’t really great players? I know, insert the Ringo joke. But honestly, I’ve heard that said about John and George too. Paul was probably the most technically sound of all of them. But isn’t that wild? Three-quarters of the Beatles were “OK” players?! What’s that even about?! If you are looking purely at their technical ability, then that could be said.
There were other contemporaries of the Beatles that were technically more advanced players. Bob Dylan is another person people talk about in that way. Everyone makes fun of poor Bob’s singing. But yet, his songs are some of the greatest the twentieth century blessed us with. Artists like this have not only made a fortune in record sales but many have been knighted by the Queen of England. And Dylan even won a Nobel Prize for poetry for his lyrics. He didn’t show up at the ceremony, though, haha.
These musicians were songwriters. They have a talent for creating something from nothing. No, they aren’t going to dazzle you with their chops. But they created some of the most iconic songs in history.
What is Creativity?
As a child, I loved to draw. I stared at comic books and tried to copy what I saw. I would do it for hours! I wouldn’t say I was super good at all. But I definitely put effort into it. What I really struggled with was coming up with my own image in my head and drawing them. If I saw a picture of Spiderman in a comic, I would copy it pretty decently. If you said, “Draw Spiderman doing this or that,” I couldn’t. People who can do that see the image in their minds. I had no training. And I had no idea how to develop that. I never improved.
This is how I relate to my guitar students who struggle with being creative. When I hear a chord progression, my imagination starts going. I start hearing possibilities in my mind of what I might do. Or where the song should go next. It is like using your imagination. You will fail in the beginning. It takes practice. But you can develop it. I’m not saying you are going to write a hit. But that is how it starts.
Where Technical and Artistic Talent Meet
Have you ever heard a great improvised solo? It could be in rock, blues, jazz, country, etc. I’m talking about someone performing live. Someone taking a solo on a song that is different from what happens in the original recording of the song? They are improvising. They are taking things they know, scales, licks, etc., and using them to create something right on the spot. Sure, some of the things they are doing are the kind of things they have previously perfected. They are not specifically written to be in the song, though. They are in the moment. Expressing what the player is feeling in a moment. It can be a very heartfelt type of thing, like meditation. It’s pure emotion coming from deep within them and coming through the instrument.
Like anything in music, anyone can develop creativity and an artistic sense. But you have to work on it. It’s a different mindset. You need to also connect with your feelings and how the music is making you feel at that moment. You have to be able to feel emotions to express them. Maybe the sound of the song gives you a certain feeling. Happy or sad, perhaps? Or the lyrics are telling a story that allows you to emulate the message into the notes you are playing.
Great musicians do this well because they are both technically accomplished and artistically creative enough to convey their feelings and emotions. The scales, licks, and movements on the instrument become a mode of communication. It’s like becoming one with your instrument in a way. It is absolutely one of my favorite things in music. I love to do it. And I love to listen to other musicians doing it. I listen to a lot of live recordings for that very reason.
How to Start
It has been my experience that the analytical mind needs something concrete at first. So, instead of being “artistic,” let’s be random. Let’s make it a game of chance! Try this little game to try and get some licks happening.
- Pick six licks that are similar to each other. With the same set of strings and frets, and are all in the same key. An example might be the A minor Pentatonic scale. Only using the combinations of the 2nd and 3rd strings, 2nd and 1st strings, or 3rd, 2nd and 1st strings.
- Label each lick 1-6
- Grab dice from a board game(you’ll only need one die) and blank piece of paper.
- Roll the die. Whatever number comes up is the lick you play. Write the number on the blank piece of paper.
- Roll the dice again. Whatever number comes up is the amount of time you’ll play that lick. Write that with the times sign next to it. (ex. Lick 3. 4x)
- Repeat this until you have a few different licks and amount of repeats written on the page.
- Now start your backing track and do what the paper says!
This may be random, but it’s a start. You’ll work on it and maybe find that you want to expand on it or change it a bit. If not, roll again until you get another set of ideas. Maybe try all those ideas together. This is a start!
Have fun! After a while, you will start to hear combinations of licks that work together that you like. And that subjective opinion is, in itself, art. Artistic is expression based on what the artist likes. You will get there! Keep working on it. Have fun!
-JD