The Importance of Transcribing and Learning Solos Note-for-Note
If it was important to Ron Block, Jim Mills and Ron Stewart, then I don't see why it wouldn't be important to me as well. I'm talking about the study methods these great players used while learning how to play 5-string banjo, that cornerstone instrument of Bluegrass music.
I have been criticized a great many times for wanting to play something exactly the way it was recorded on a CD. I've run out of fingers and toes trying to keep track. I am open to constructive criticism, but this particular criticism is something I have never understood. I have always asked "what is so wrong with it?" One frequent response I get is "you're setting yourself up for failure" and another common response I hear from people is "I like to put a little of myself in there."
Ron Stewart studied every lick that Earl Scruggs and J. D. Crowe ever played on a banjo and yet, I have very little trouble being able to tell when Ron Stewart is playing. After learning all he could from these two masters of the 5-string banjo, Ron went on to add his own variations and techniques. Studying the masters did not hurt Ron one little bit.
Jim Mills studied Earl Scruggs' music and techniques in great detail. Despite the amount of time Jim put in learning as much as he could about Earl's playing, Jim Mills has one of the most distinct sounds I've ever had the pleasure of hearing as it relates to traditional style banjo playing. I can tell Jim's playing a hundred miles away.
On his web site, Ron Block just posted (Oct 21, 2007) an article titled The Importance of Transcribing and Learning Solos Note-for-Note and says "there is incredible value in transcribing and learning things note for note - especially from people like Scruggs or Crowe." Ron also discusses the importance of experimenting with one's own sounds.
The point here is simply that Ron Stewart, Jim Mills and Ron Block all studied what the masters before them had done and for the very same reasons, I study the techniques of my musical heroes as well. Is there anything wrong with that? I say if it helped these three great banjo players get to the level they are at today, then I sure don't see how it could hurt me. I really can't understand why people get on my case about this particular issue!
I didn't even have to read any articles or hear from these people in order to know this would be a logical step toward learning how to play a banjo. The logic is simple. I don't know how to play a banjo and these guys do. Furthermore, these guys are producing sounds that I just can't get enough of; therefore the logical choice would be to learn as much about these folks and their playing as I can. I want to make the same kinds of sounds with my banjo that these guys are making with theirs.
I'm not worried about sounding too much like any of the people I'm studying. And even if I could, that day is a long, long way off. There will always only be one Earl Scruggs, one J. D. Crowe and one each of Ron Stewart, Ron Block and Jim Mills. My style, if there is one, will come automatically as I try to integrate a combination of all I've heard. Actually, I'm already developing my own style; on occasion I add something that I never hear from any of the pros I've mentioned. And no, I'm not talking about the mistakes I make.
If you are an aspiring Bluegrass musician and you find yourself not producing the "grassy" sounds you are after, I highly recommend you start paying more attention to the sounds of your chosen instrument (or vocalist) when listening to your favourite CD's. You might want to get a little more curious too, and ask yourself "how are they getting that sound?" You might just as well learn from someone that already knows what they're doing.
In addition to becoming a bit more curious while listening to your favourite CD's, take advantage of the unprecedented amount of fantastic instructional material available by way of the internet, books and DVD's; much of it is taught by the very pros we listen to every day. Other tools are available as well, such as software capable of slowing down, speeding up or changing the key of a song in real time. One such piece of software is called Transcribe! which is available from Seventh String Software. I find this tool to be invaluable and certainly worth the $50.00 I paid for it.
I've tried to point out that when it comes to learning how to play an instrument, I'm not all that different from some of our favourite Bluegrass musicians. Now that you know the viewpoint from some of the pros, maybe my method for learning will seem more relevant to you. At the very least, you are now more aware of the reason I find it so important to get as close to the original recording as I possibly can. It is not necessarily because I want to sound exactly like Jim Mills or whoever, it's what I'm learning along the way that counts most.
You'll have to come up with a very compelling reason to get me to change my approach on this topic. By the way, for the record, I wouldn't mind sounding like Jim Mills on the banjo. Now, get off my case and go practice!
I have been criticized a great many times for wanting to play something exactly the way it was recorded on a CD. I've run out of fingers and toes trying to keep track. I am open to constructive criticism, but this particular criticism is something I have never understood. I have always asked "what is so wrong with it?" One frequent response I get is "you're setting yourself up for failure" and another common response I hear from people is "I like to put a little of myself in there."
Ron Stewart studied every lick that Earl Scruggs and J. D. Crowe ever played on a banjo and yet, I have very little trouble being able to tell when Ron Stewart is playing. After learning all he could from these two masters of the 5-string banjo, Ron went on to add his own variations and techniques. Studying the masters did not hurt Ron one little bit.
Jim Mills studied Earl Scruggs' music and techniques in great detail. Despite the amount of time Jim put in learning as much as he could about Earl's playing, Jim Mills has one of the most distinct sounds I've ever had the pleasure of hearing as it relates to traditional style banjo playing. I can tell Jim's playing a hundred miles away.
On his web site, Ron Block just posted (Oct 21, 2007) an article titled The Importance of Transcribing and Learning Solos Note-for-Note and says "there is incredible value in transcribing and learning things note for note - especially from people like Scruggs or Crowe." Ron also discusses the importance of experimenting with one's own sounds.
The point here is simply that Ron Stewart, Jim Mills and Ron Block all studied what the masters before them had done and for the very same reasons, I study the techniques of my musical heroes as well. Is there anything wrong with that? I say if it helped these three great banjo players get to the level they are at today, then I sure don't see how it could hurt me. I really can't understand why people get on my case about this particular issue!
I didn't even have to read any articles or hear from these people in order to know this would be a logical step toward learning how to play a banjo. The logic is simple. I don't know how to play a banjo and these guys do. Furthermore, these guys are producing sounds that I just can't get enough of; therefore the logical choice would be to learn as much about these folks and their playing as I can. I want to make the same kinds of sounds with my banjo that these guys are making with theirs.
I'm not worried about sounding too much like any of the people I'm studying. And even if I could, that day is a long, long way off. There will always only be one Earl Scruggs, one J. D. Crowe and one each of Ron Stewart, Ron Block and Jim Mills. My style, if there is one, will come automatically as I try to integrate a combination of all I've heard. Actually, I'm already developing my own style; on occasion I add something that I never hear from any of the pros I've mentioned. And no, I'm not talking about the mistakes I make.
If you are an aspiring Bluegrass musician and you find yourself not producing the "grassy" sounds you are after, I highly recommend you start paying more attention to the sounds of your chosen instrument (or vocalist) when listening to your favourite CD's. You might want to get a little more curious too, and ask yourself "how are they getting that sound?" You might just as well learn from someone that already knows what they're doing.
In addition to becoming a bit more curious while listening to your favourite CD's, take advantage of the unprecedented amount of fantastic instructional material available by way of the internet, books and DVD's; much of it is taught by the very pros we listen to every day. Other tools are available as well, such as software capable of slowing down, speeding up or changing the key of a song in real time. One such piece of software is called Transcribe! which is available from Seventh String Software. I find this tool to be invaluable and certainly worth the $50.00 I paid for it.
I've tried to point out that when it comes to learning how to play an instrument, I'm not all that different from some of our favourite Bluegrass musicians. Now that you know the viewpoint from some of the pros, maybe my method for learning will seem more relevant to you. At the very least, you are now more aware of the reason I find it so important to get as close to the original recording as I possibly can. It is not necessarily because I want to sound exactly like Jim Mills or whoever, it's what I'm learning along the way that counts most.
You'll have to come up with a very compelling reason to get me to change my approach on this topic. By the way, for the record, I wouldn't mind sounding like Jim Mills on the banjo. Now, get off my case and go practice!
Labels: Earl Scruggs, Jim Mills, practicing, Ron Block, Ron Stewart
posted by Michael Floyd at 12:47 PM
1 Comments:
Hi Mike Just read your Blog...I agree with you .It is very true what you say.But dont forget,these people DO NOT SOUND exactly like the people that they are learning from.They have taken what they have learned and combined this knowledge and come up with theyre own way of doing the tunes.How wonderful a sound they have produced.Now we can include these people with their SOUND into the ones that we can learn from.I have never been a person to want to COPY EXACTLY what I am trying to learn..These people are individuals with theyre own sounds.I too want to produce the best sound that I can but not at the expense of giving up my individuality.I want MY SOUND to be produced also.I believe we all learn from the experts,but if all I wanted to do was to hear a tune exactly the way they did it I would listen to their CDs...Just think if all the banjo playerd copied Earl Scrugs style exactly,then we would only have that sound.No Jim Mills or anyone else would exist..Its good to learn from the experts,but at the same time develope your own sound.Maybe some day someone some where will include you as part of theyre learning experience FUNGUS
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