GUITAR
Peter Serravalle is a touring guitarist, author, educator, and session musician who has performed all over the world on everything from
national tours of Broadway shows to luxury cruise ships. He currently resides in Vancouver, BC. www.peterserravalleguitarist.com.
By Peter Serravalle
Learning from Recordings
Like many musicians of my generation,
I went to music school.
After many years, I can say with
confidence that it was a good
move. After much distance,
reflection, and real-world experience,
what actually made
it so special was the people with whom one
studies and the work you put in. Fast forward
to today. As the shadow of school gets further
behind you and your gigging experiences take
over your memories, one starts to realize some
very important truths. Probably the most revelatory
is the importance of one particular skill:
transcription.
Having this skill be second-nature is imperative
and has definitely saved my hide on
plenty of occasions. Sitting with a recording
and your instrument is probably the best (and
most practical) form of ear training you can do.
For obvious reasons, we are looking for a direct
ear, hand, and instrument connection.
“But Pete… I thought sight-reading was the
ultimate thing?!” I know, I know. It’s going to be
okay. Sight-reading is an over-stressed skill in
school and one obviously worth cultivating,
but how often are we actually performing “at
sight” these days? I will always be an advocate
of keeping up your reading chops, but realistically,
one is actually getting to see the music at
least once for most gigs. It’s more about how
quickly you can learn music for a performance
with, let’s say, one 45-minute rehearsal.
To be clear, there is a MASSIVE difference
between playing by ear and playing what you
know. We hear this passed around a lot: “Oh,
I’m not a reader; I’m an ear player.” No. You’re
not. Rant over.
Reading is and will always be a necessary
skill for professionals; however, transcription
and picking things out by ear will land you
more opportunities. Learning from recordings
has always been the missing link, but it’s like
eating your vegetables. Unless you start making
it a regular part of your diet, you’ll never
reap the benefits.
Here’s a short list of things you get from
learning from records that you don’t get from
the ink alone:
Articulation
I remember the first time I started to transcribe
some country solos. They blew my mind.
Why? I’ve heard these note choices all my life.
What knocked me out was how these pickers
were physically producing them. If you’re
a professional sideman and learning styles is
your bread and butter, records are your best
friend. If your job is to sound like you’ve been
playing a certain style all your life, then get
to work. Different styles will have their own
subtleties. Listen to the difference between
country players and jazz players. Start paying
attention to what the left and right hands are
doing independently. Are there a lot of slurs?
Is it all heavily articulated by the right hand?
Be aware of these nuances.
Chord Changes
The whole point of ear training is to train
our ears (mind) to the point that we’re able
to decipher sounds and respond on our instruments.
The more vocabulary (melodic,
harmonic, rhythmic) you have internalized,
the more you’ll be able to aurally decipher
increasingly difficult musical elements. It
may be cliché, but it’s like learning a new
language. At first, you’re listening for every
syllable, every nuance, every word, stringing
them together slowly. Then, over time, you
start to notice yourself picking up speed and
developing fluency.
I know too many people who have multiple
degrees in music who can’t transcribe a
chord progression by ear to save their lives. If
there are others who haven’t gone to music
school who can do it between their day jobs
and gigs then there’s no excuse for those of us
who have spent time in academia. Ear training
isn’t just a course that you take; it’s how you
LEARN music.
Style (What & How to Play)
Aside from knowing your instrument (scales,
arpeggios, etc.) if you want to know how and
what to play in any given style, getting down
and dirty with records should be your priority.
Let’s say, for example, you had a country
gig coming up and you’ve barely played any
country. What to do?
First of all, it’s important to realize that every
style has different types of tunes within it:
country shuffles, ballads, western swing, train
beats/barn burners, etc. Paying attention to
how your and other instruments interact and
interpret these styles is a great way to learn
how to sound convincing. Aside from learning
the tunes themselves, picking a player you
really dig and learning their vocabulary and
approaches can prove to be invaluable.
For guitarists, aside from learning solos,
licks, and fills, this is about nailing the appropriate
sounds and tones for the style. You
wouldn’t crank up the compressor and dial in
the slap-back for a classic rock gig, would you?
Of course not. Having a refined understanding
that all styles have their own characteristics
and appropriate sounds/tones will definitely
make you stand out of the crowd.
Happy reading, practicing, and transcribing!
Make some coffee, plug in, and let’s get
crackin’!
CANADIAN MUSICIAN 25