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I have what I think of as a "four-pronged" approach going, for the sake of enhancing
the quality of my musicianship. The first "prong" of my musical tuning fork (use of Bongos),
has a primary focus on improving my sense of tempo. It has secondary focuses on improving my sense of
beat, and of rhythmic patterns. The second "prong" (use of Viola) has a primary focus on
improving my sense of pitch. It has secondary focuses on improving my sense of scale(s), chord(s),
tonal qualities, phrasing, and mastering a new & different (to me) method of producing the
notes - the use of a bow for voicing a string. The third "prong" has a primary focus on
improving my sense of melody (use of Bass Guitar). It has secondary focuses on improving my sense of
scale(s), chord(s), phrasing, and beat. The fourth "prong" is primarily focused on simply
maintaining my current levels of knowledge and skill re. playing rhythm guitar. As a secondary focus,
I attempt to integrate skills and knowledge I've acquired via use of other instruments, into my
rhythm guitar playing.
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1)
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Bongos
Bongos are the primary percussion instrument I practice. When I practice Bongos, I almost
always do it to recordings of professional bands. My favorites are the Janis Joplin's
"Greatest Hits" CD, Tom Waits "Get Behind The Mule" CD, ZZ Top
"Greatest Hits" CD, and a CD which was a gift to me from Robby Vee (of his music).
I also occasionally practice Bongos accompanying music from a couple of CD's I have of the
Nitty-Gritty Dirt Band, or music on the radio.
Playing the Bongos causes me to focus on issues of metronomic tempo, rhythm patterns, and tonal
quality. Although issues of pitch still arise (more than one drum), the issues of scale and
melody become secondary. Whatever weakness I might possess as a musician, re. tempo and rhythm
patterns, gets brought to the forefront during practice of Bongos. Mastering the Bongos will
address any such shortcomings of musicianship, and diminish them.
Mastering the musical elements of tempo and rhythm patterns dove-tails back to enhance the
quality of performance on every other instrument I play, including my voice.
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2)
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Viola
Viola is the primary string section instrument I practice. When I practice Viola to accompany
a CD, the music I most frequently pick is the Janis Joplin's "Greatest Hits" CD. When
I'm not trying to accompany a CD, I work on melodies I've learned from sheet music.
Playing the Viola causes me to focus on issues of melody, scales, tonal qualities, and control
of pitch. Although issues of tempo and rhythm patterns still arise, they become secondary. Whatever
weakness I might possess as a musician, re. melody, scales, tonal qualities, and control of pitch,
gets brought to the forefront during practice of Viola. Mastering the Viola will address any such
shortcomings of musicianship, and diminish them.
Playing Viola both to accompany CD and to perform melodies I've memorized causes me to practice both
an intuitive approach to melody (accompanying recorded music), and a logistic approach (practicing
memorized sequences). Both of these approaches to performance of music are valid and useful; each
has its proponents, and masters. In pursuit of a balanced musicianship, I attempt to work with both.
Mastering the musical elements of melody, scales, and tonal qualities dove-tails back to enhance the
quality of performance on every other instrument I play, including my voice. So does practice
of both intuitive and logistic approaches to performance.
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3)
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Bass Guitar
Bass Guitar is an instrument normally considered to be a "crossover" instrument, re.
orchestration; i.e., it's considered to be equally a part of the string section, and a part of the
percussion section. When I practice Bass Guitar, it's almost always during my morning music
practice sessions, either working on melodies I've learned from sheet music, or attempting to
work out new melodies by ear. This causes me to practice both the intuitive approach and the
logistic approach, on this instrument.
Because of my arthritis, I haven't attempted to learn the finger-picking techniques of plucking the
strings; instead, I play it with a flat pick in the same manner that I would a 6-string guitar.
Because the strings of a Bass Guitar are so much thicker than the strings on a 6-string guitar,
it's not sensible to pursue strumming chords. This leaves only the flat-picking of melodies
(single-note or double-note), as an option for playing this instrument. When I first began working
with it, I realized that the picking of melodies was a shortcoming in my musicianship re.
6-string guitar. I needed to master that. So, I made a point of bringing the instrument out on
a regular basis during my morning practice sessions. Playing the Bass Guitar causes me to practice
improving on issues of melody, scale, tempo, rhythm patterns - but, most importantly, to focus on
mastering rhythmically picking melodies from within chords.
The primary way in which playing Bass Guitar dove-tails back to enhance the quality of performance
on another instrument, is that my mastering of flat-picking rhythm patterns in melodies on the
Bass Guitar has improved (and will continue to improve) my flat-picking when playing 6-string guitar.
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