A Few Tips For Upcoming Musicians

A few tips for aspiring musicians :) :

1. If you can't play rhythm, you can't play solos. This is critical to understand. You must practice playing rhythm alongside all the practice you are putting in to play solos. Else, you might go "off time" often. And even if you don't, you will end up sounding rigid and mechanical instead of fluid and "groovy".

2. Playing fast is fun and I also put in the effort to keep my fingers moving nimbly. But always, absolutely always: Precision and clarity come first. Then speed. If you aren't playing your notes on time and not playing them clearly enough, you will sound bad no matter how fast you can play. So anything you practice, first practice it slow. Get the notes right. And then steadily build speed.

3. Don't disregard theory. Know all your scales and modes, and the 3, 4 and 5 note chords that go with each of these. I am not recommending this as a shortcut to creativity or spontaneity. Knowing and playing all this will expose your ear to intervals and sounds that you may not otherwise come across in all the music you hear. And these intervals and sounds are your music vocabulary. The better your vocabulary, the richer your compositions and improvisations can get. I do this steadily, picking up something new every week, and seeing what I can do with it, how I can incorporate it in my playing.

4. Pick up songs by ear and play along with records. This will give you tremendous ear training as well as practice in playing along with other musicians. You will learn to keep changes in mind and get good at coming in with your parts / fillers / solos at the right time and playing them in rhythm.

5. Be creative. Try and come up with good sounding chord progressions, improvisations and solos. At the end of the day, this is what it's about. With all the vocabulary at hand, what can you create? And if you can reach a stage wherein music plays within you and you are able to bring it out on your instrument : all glory to you :). You would have, in my worldview, arrived :).

6. Always remember: Your compositions and improvisations have to convey musical ideas and touch the listener. It's never about somehow playing some notes in the scale that sound alright with a chord. Each phrase is a musical idea and a series of phrases put together tell your story. Even while improvising, there is a thought process in play. You will find this to be true for all the musicians you enjoy and respect :). Never play randomly. Keep your brain "on" all the time :)!

And yeah, can't emphasize the following enough :) :

Practice, practice, practice, practice :).