I've had to do some transcribing recently and, although it was hard work, it was very rewarding.

I find that I go through periods where I'm really into a particular player so they will inspire me to learn some of their licks and figure out how I can work them into my own playing. I'll keep going back to that player and getting something out of their vibe for a week or two in a row. Maybe more. It just kind of hits me out of nowhere where I'm like "Damn, I'm really digging XYZ lately, I want to know what they're doing there.."

Does this happen to you or are you pulling all sorts of different licks from different influences all the time ?

I get alot of that but more from diffrent genrues. One week I'm all like yeah heaps of heavy stuff. Other weeks I'm wanting to do more rock stuff and others more balled kind of stuff.

I waste way to much time thinking of what kinda of style I want to be writting in.

I think that can be just as productive, as long as you feel you're still pulling something useful from it. But you're saying you feel you can't decide what your style is.

That's interesting as you always hear people ask things like 'How can I develop my own style on the guitar ?' but I don't think I've encountered the issue of deciding what style you want to write in. Hmmmmmmmmmm, very interesting.

The most obvious and cliche answer is you would write whatever satisfies you the most. I don't think those 3 things you mentioned are mutually exclusive.. why not do them all ?

I frankly never took the time to transcribe but a few songs from guitar players, simply because I didn't want to get lost in their style too much. for me, things work in a different way - I listen to something A LOT and then I allow my subconsciousness to work and I come up with something in that style but with my own approach somehow - in that way, I get the influence but in a certain 'healthy' proportion. Does this make any sense?

I've never felt like I really struggled with having my own style since I don't spend that much time learning other peoples music I tend to learn scale patterns and chords then think of ways I can use them. Its more of having songs feel like they belong with each other.

I Guess I'm more looking at what I want my next project to be. Really looking at trying to get a huge dynamic going with softer/ cleaner verses and huge choruses. I feel this is the best way to cram as much into a song as I can so it satisfy me.

In saying all that I really do think I should spend more time learning more licks from other players

Yes, that's mainly how I come up with all my 'style of' videos. I'll just watch several videos of that player and listen for any repeating phrasing and idiosyncrasies. I don't 'study' them as such.. I just listen.

But occasionally I'll just get really into a player's style. I went through a big Vai phase a while back.. now I'm re-listening to Jason Becker. It's great to go through periods where you kind of absorb different ideas from a player. I think you kind of need to have an intensive period of it to allow the ideas to settle in enough.



Yeah that makes sense. I often have ideas of projects I'd like to do but then I think 'How many bands do I want to start ? That's a lot of FB and YT accounts to manage !!'

So I can totally get why you want to identify what it is that floats your boat the most.

Very correct I kinda ran away from the 'digging too much in the style of a player' simply because about 8-9 years ago, I had that Steve Vai period in which I wanted to be him - literally - clothing style, playing style, everything. And when I realized what I was getting myself into, I stopped completely Now, I think I'm old enough not to do that anymore, so might be I'll give things a go with some of my favorites, because as you say - one needs to immerse himself into the phenomenon, in order to fully understand it and feel it properly.

That was definitely a legitimate concern you had because you recognised that you were starting to adopt too much of Steve's persona. The good thing is that you became aware of that. So many people never get past that. We can all spot the Yngwie clones in the blink of an eye, right ? They never made it past that imitation stage.

But yes, we've been playing long enough now to immerse ourselves in somebody else's playing without too much worry that we'll stop sounding like us. I don't think I could change my style around now even if I wanted to !

Indeed man - I mean, it's so easy to slip into the dark side of guitar playing You know, I've heard a lot of 20 something players or even younger on Youtube, who can shred the hell out of the guitar, but there's no musical maturity whatsoever. Of course, the age says it all and the experience as well - I frankly think that the healthiest experience is amassed on stage and playing with other people, in situations in which you have to serve the music. After this, slowly, you become more disciplined and you can sort out the stuff that lies dormant within yourself, musically speaking of course.

At what moment in time did you become aware of the discipline needed in a multi people project?

I think learning to listen and realising you're not the centre of attention all the time is one thing you learn (or should learn) when you start playing with other people.

The higher the calibre of musician that you play with, the better. It'll push you even more and cause you to listen more.

I think there's different disciplines involved when working with other people. There's listening, diplomacy, learning not to take musical opinions personally, patience, fairness..... all easier talked about than practised ! Some of these qualities I had earlier and some of them I developed later but the more I learned about myself the more I could relate to others.

I kinda think to myself that I ought to listen to more music than I do. Sometimes I can go days without listening to music - or maybe I'll listen to 1-2 songs on a day. It's not enough! I used to listen to much more music and feel much more inspired. I think I ought to say to myself that, starting now, I'll listen to at least 2 albums each day.

EDIT: That was a bit off topic, but what I was trying to say was that I maybe unconsciously studied some back in the day by listening to a lot of music, which I don't do anymore.

I think this is very applicable.. after all, we have to listen to other people's music or performances to be inspired by them.

I also don't spend as much time listening to music as I used to. When I occasionally think to look for some music whilst performing some boring task on the computer I can never decide what mood I'm in so I end up listening to nothing anyway

I used to feel much more inspired to write and play guitar, and the more I think about it, the more I boil it down to the fact that I rarely listen to other people's music. I used to think: "If I don't listen to anything, I'll create something more original!" and that has kinda stuck with me, even though I now realize it's probably not the best of strategies if it also kills my creativity!

Other than Beethoven (and it was late in his career), most deaf people don't come up with new and original sounding music.
And I can't think of any blind person who's invented a new color.

Listen to music. Lots of it.

I know, I know! I just remember thinking: "all I'm writing sounds too much like Dream Theater... I gotta stop listening to their music!", so I did...and then I wrote nothing!

I walk a lot Luckily, I can do that almost daily and that - spanning between 1-2 hours, is the time dedicated to listening to music on the street. I usually search for a band on Deezer and let the phone do the rest, since I have a very good data traffic deal with my mobile communications provider (4GB traffic/month).

Ben, indeed, I had the opportunity to work with a lot of musicians who were FAR more experienced than myself and I learned a lot every time. I usually apply the following strategy:

SHUTTUP. LISTEN. PAY ATTENTION. APPLY.

It pays off EVERY TIME

If my knee wasn't being a right old **** these days I might have started walking more again - I might have also started playing football again, but hopefully soon (going to the hospital on the 29th of August to talk to them to see what's wrong).

Anyway, yeah, as I said, from now on I think I'll try and dedicate time each day to listen to at least 2 albums.

I personally get really inspired when I hear a simple solo that just tells volumes.
its like man if that guy can do all that with just a handful of notes there really is no reason I cannot

And you didn't/don't listen to 'anything' else - ?

When I feel that I may be channeling one particular player (or even one particular style) too much, I stop listening to that player or style for a awhile. But there's always something or someone else to take the place.
That's how you learn. That's how you get better.
It's by channeling a broad mixture of players and styles that one 'develops' a style and a sound.

Of course I listen and listened to a lot of other music. I just didn't feel at the time that it was helping me be more original. I kinda get a different vibe now, or don't bother too much about being original anymore. I just want to get going with writing music again. Original or not.

Back in the day though, like 10 years ago, I'd solely listen to progressive metal a la Dream Theater, Symphony X and similar acts. I guess the spectre is a bit broader these days.

My philosophy as well! I remember studying guitar with a famous player here, about 8 years ago and he told me that it's really difficult to hone a personal style out of nothing so, why not combine elements from your favorite players implemented in your playing through your own perspective? That means, not copying note for note but understanding a principle and applying it in your own manner Pretty much what we always tell people here about the final destination of any GMC lesson



Best thing today You don't need to play complicated - you need to make music If music means 4 notes at a certain time and your message gets transmitted with those 4 notes - you have accomplished your mission



Best of luck with that one, Ben! Walking is generally a very healthy thing - not only that it keep you in shape, but hey, you can also listen to music

Yeah, I agree. This may not be everyone's idea of 'simple' but the reason I loved Satriani, Schenker & Matthias Jabs so much was that, although they would unleash hell at some point, they usually set things up with great melodies and well placed notes. I don't think I'd be able to construct solos or melodies so well if I hadn't listened to players like that. They really put the music in their playing.

Well, to be frank, the older I get, the less complicated music I listen to and the simpler the one I enjoy, regardless of the genre I guess it's just a normal step in my evolution, to be able to say a lot with little. You never know what the future will actually bring, but this is what's happening to me now, but I think it's a matter of balance here - you need to have a melodic solo which has enough dynamics not to be boring and not to be exaggerated either In the end, it's all about balance

Absolutely... balance is what we can achieve when we resist the temptation to do too much of something

True words here Ben - what's the most balanced solo you have heard so far?

One that I like very much and it has a bit of everything would be this one:



I bet you know it!