James Lee Stanley
I had mysecond guitar lesson last Wednesday. It was my intention to talk abouthow I took advantage of the lesson and came right home and went overthe very things that I had learned.
But life took over. I cameback to the house, there were little emergencies to take care of andwhen I finally got to look over the lesson, it was Saturday.
Somy first recommendation today is that when you take a lesson or learnsomething, anything, from someone else. When you return from thatlesson that you immediately go over what it is that the teacher showedyou.
It is important to do that while it is still fresh in yourmind. By waiting several days to address what I should have beenaddressing every single day, I was adrift and clumsy.
What Chuckgave me was the tablature for a Robben Ford guitar solo, as well as avariation on a standard blues progression that Robben came up with.
Firstof all, I’m learning tablature, so I have to put my ears on hold anduse my eyes to translate the tablature into finger positions. As aprofessional musician with a trained ear, I know where to go and whatto do just by hearing it.
But if I allow that to take over, thenI don’t learn the tablature, so I’m slowing going over it as I look atit and translate the symbols to my fingers.
My goal is to ableto read that the way I type; unconsciously and transparently. I justthink it and it goes on the page. That’s the tablature goal. I justlook at it and it translates to my fingers, and like wise, I can writeit so fast that when people request tablature for my songs, they canget it.
Another goal is to have a book of tablature of my songs,as I get so many requests for the tablature for my guitarorchestrations. So you see, once I master this tablature thing, it maydevelop into another income stream, and in this economy, that’s a bigdeal.
So this is what you must take away from today: Go overwhat you have been taught as soon as you get home; at the very least onthe same day that you were given that information or lesson. Go over itas soon as possible and go over it every day.
The toughest thingto recognize and to implement is the fact that repetition is what givesyou the authority, and the authority is what gives you the freedom whenyou are performing or just playing your instrument.
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