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I should add too, that as someone who has personally played guitar for 30+ years, "the same 9 chords" is a good route to extraordinary musical depth. Music isn'

by beat 11y ago

I should add too, that as someone who has personally played guitar for 30+ years, "the same 9 chords" is a good route to extraordinary musical depth. Music isn't just technique - it's expressiveness. Knowing more chords won't necessarily make you a better musician, or even a good one. My own technique hasn't improved significantly in ages, but I'm a better musician year after year. Why? Because I become more profound. I have better things to say with the technique I have.

devonkim 11y ago
This is pretty similar to how Tony Iommi from Black Sabbath has described how he tried for a while to play real fast like a lot of the younger guys and focused instead on playing what does do well with better understanding and execution than those with less experience but more technical skill could manage. Similarly for us engineers, a real "10xer" is not just someone that ships fast, you must ship something that is efficient with time and resources. This can be done with luck but is more often done after lots of experience and mistakes are made. Hence, the lesson from W. Edwards Deming about how experience teaches nothing without a framework or theory of concepts and knowledge is applicable very much at the individual level as well as organizational. You can practice the same punch 1000 times but if you do not really experiment a little, never measure your punch effectiveness, or try to understand why your punches are not getting any better even though you are stronger, you will lose against someone that has carefully analyzed 1000 punches they've thrown and practiced with that knowledge to shape their efforts.
ChemicalWarfare 11y ago
probably depends on the style of music you play. music I listen to/play is an "athletic event" (in addition to the actual "music" part lol) where technique is a crucial part of the execution. for me personally just to stay at the level I'm at I need to practice every day for about an hour.
6stringmerc 11y ago
True; vocabulary isn't just about knowing words, it's about knowing the right words. That applies to playing an instrument as well, especially soloing. I'm glad I spent a half-dozen years wanting to be a shredder, because learning the speed and stamina is extremely useful later on when playing slower and more contemplative. It's back to the vocabulary thing though, in that having the choice of what to use tends to come along with having the prowess to afford the choice.

by beat 11y ago

devonkim 11y ago

This is pretty similar to how Tony Iommi from Black Sabbath has described how he tried for a while to play real fast like a lot of the younger guys and focused instead on playing what does do well with better understanding and execution than those with less experience but more technical skill could manage. Similarly for us engineers, a real "10xer" is not just someone that ships fast, you must ship something that is efficient with time and resources. This can be done with luck but is more often done after lots of experience and mistakes are made. Hence, the lesson from W. Edwards Deming about how experience teaches nothing without a framework or theory of concepts and knowledge is applicable very much at the individual level as well as organizational. You can practice the same punch 1000 times but if you do not really experiment a little, never measure your punch effectiveness, or try to understand why your punches are not getting any better even though you are stronger, you will lose against someone that has carefully analyzed 1000 punches they've thrown and practiced with that knowledge to shape their efforts.

ChemicalWarfare 11y ago

probably depends on the style of music you play. music I listen to/play is an "athletic event" (in addition to the actual "music" part lol) where technique is a crucial part of the execution. for me personally just to stay at the level I'm at I need to practice every day for about an hour.

6stringmerc 11y ago

True; vocabulary isn't just about knowing words, it's about knowing the right words. That applies to playing an instrument as well, especially soloing. I'm glad I spent a half-dozen years wanting to be a shredder, because learning the speed and stamina is extremely useful later on when playing slower and more contemplative. It's back to the vocabulary thing though, in that having the choice of what to use tends to come along with having the prowess to afford the choice.