I am a guitar teacher. I know what I'm saying. If he's starting out soloing he should just try one scale. And if an inexperienced soloer practices improvising BEFORE learning enough stuff they will make a lotta stuff that sounds the same.

Yeah, same dude. If I had it my way, I'd have everybody learn the Major Scale first, as it has a much wider application than anything else they'll learn. But that's obviously not the one new soloists are interested in. Common sense dictates that the Pentatonic is good one to start with: the results are almost immediate, it sounds good over just about every Rock song ever, and there are only six notes to worry about.

it's worked for clapton since the 60s.

It has indeed. It's lucky that everybody still wants to play like Clapton... Makes my job easier

i'm reminded of an old thurston moore / kevin shields interview that proved to be quite influential in the long run. their stance on guitar teachers... forget them. learn the basics of how to play your instrument then find your own voice otherwise you just end up sounding like your teacher.

but in your case RiC, where people want you to 'teach' them how to play like clapton. well, you're just giving them what they're asking for i guess

then there's the old blues adage to playing guitar - if you're thinkin', you're stinkin'

Thurston Moorse said that? Frankly, I'm shocked.

I have no problem with teaching Clapton licks, though, because you do play like your idols to define your sound. I find that experimentation and your own voice turn out to be, more often than not, a by product of that. All comes back to the three I's: Imitate, Implicate, and Innovate.

That's a good one, though, the blues one. I like Diz' take on playing: "First, you have to learn everything, every scale, every chord, every change... Then you have to forget it all."

I avoided responding before, but....








and then get back to Satchmo about being a "teacher".

kind of reminds me of something mingus said. i don't remember the actual quote but to paraphrase - 'there's a finite technical level to every instrument, and once a person understands that it's up to the individual to develop their own voice within that limitation'

Ima sig that.

I don't know if we're talking about the same quote, but the one I know goes like...


"Once you've mastered technical facility on an instrument, you're either a musician or you're not. You're either a creative person, or you're a stenographer."