A big mistake?

**CliffR** · 05-04-2025, 10:49 AM

I watched the recent Adam Neely video on guitar fakery, and it reminded me of some earlier recordings I made. At the time I didn't have the tech savvy to record myself, a backing track and video all that the same time. So instead I'd record my performance along with a backing track in GarageBand and then mime along to myself in iMovie.

But going back to those recordings, made 13-14 years ago, I realise they weren't actually that terrible. If I'd spent the last 13 years working on timing, vibrato and getting my bends in tune, maybe I'd be a decent rock/blues player by now? Instead, I got into working on strict alternate picking, legato, playing scales quickly and, more recently, jazz

. I mean, I do really like jazz, and my appreciation has only grown since I've been learning how to play it. But my potential audience - my wife and friends - well, they're not such big fans of the genre.....

Anyway, here's a couple of videos demonstrating Dad dancing, bad timing and dodgy bends. Enjoy!

**digger** · 05-25-2025, 02:12 AM

The old "what if?"...

I have a soft spot for some of those rock players. I enjoy the occasional foray over to JTC. It's a guilty pleasure.

But I rarely play anything but an acoustic so for me it's more, what if I'd really focussed on, say, ragtime?

Audiences, or potential audiences, were important for forty five years. All my decisions on what to practice were determined by the bands I was in, and the gigs we were doing. Now I've escaped from that tyranny I feel free to follow my own path.

I'm no improviser, being here has revealed that, but I've still learned a lot of stuff - chords and licks and ii-Vs and how to use the melody to get through my few choruses. But mostly I cherry pick that learning and apply it to my own thing - finger picking, hence the ragtime comment above.

I still play in too many styles, but all of them hopefully add up to something unique.

Anyway, I enjoyed your rock playing. Yes, you would certainly have improved beyond measure had you thrown all your time since at that one style. But if it's jazz that's calling you then heed the call, and don't worry about prospective audiences.

Cheers
Derek

**CliffR** · 05-25-2025, 09:48 AM

Thanks Derek! Glad to hear you enjoyed the rock videos. I actually got the Charvel out of its case on Friday and had a go at learning a Van Halen solo! But yeah, in general, I'm having more fun these days focusing on jazz.

As for improvisation, I know my teacher Christian's philosophy has always been that its more about learning vocabulary and applying it than it is about conjuring cool-sounding lines out of thin air. So I think licks and ii-V patterns and using the melody is probably exactly the right way to go

.