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4 Steps . You Learn .

When i was 18 , i had my first band manager ..He told us this ..

“Okay , Melvin , Clement , Kevin ..You guys are great when you are on your own . But as a band , you SUCK ! ”

Didn’t quite understand what was he trying to say ….until today.

Me & Joshua offered to coach a band in Music Master for Free.
This band , is a unique one . All of them were kids , they were orphanage , like 13-15 years old .They were from Myanmar .
They are the type of kids , who would wake up , eat breakfast , pick up a guitar , play it for 10 hours without stopping , eat dinner then go to sleep . Really admire them .

Individually , they were fantastic (duh , after all that practice) .Honestly , when i was 13-14 ..i couldn’t play as well as them . They were YEARS ahead of me . If i can turn back time , they would pawn me to the ground .

But as a band , they suck . My ego felt much better when i saw their first song .

There wasn’t any chemistry , no direction . It sounded like shit .
After the 2nd Chorus , they didn’t know whether they wanna repeat the chorus , or enter the bridge.
They have no idea what the chords were , all of them were “playing by ear” or following the lead guitarist . See ,  the problem with following your band mate is , your timing will be like shit .

Then , I wrote them something on a paper …and pass it to them .

1.Confirm the songs that you wanna play . Write down the chords , the riff , give everybody one copy . Make sure all of you are playing the same thing .

2.Do the arrangements , Verse 1 , Chorus , Verse 2 , Chorus 2 , Bridge , Chorus 3 etc…

3.Figure out , how you wanna Start the song , End the song , Enter the Bridge Or continue to another song .

4.Lastly , figure out something special ..such as dynamics , add some off timings , stops and attacks etc ..to make your band memorable .

Then , i left them on their own for an hour . Let them figure things out their own . I thought their individual skills is sufficient enough to figure out the rest .
When i came in the jamming studio . I swear they sounded 300% better than they were when they just started .

I taught them for 10 minutes . Let them figure for 1 hour . I see results . mmmm , i like the investment and return-investment ratio . Maybe i should do this more often .

I suggest you apply this simple 4 steps. When you wanna learn a song .

1.Figure out the CHORDS first
2.Learn the arrangements
3.Learn the song’s characteristic .Study how it builds itself , and how it ends.
4.Improvise .

I realized , alot of guitarist ALWAYS skip Step 1 , 2 , and 3 …and straight away go to Step 4 . Find out what key the song is in , then solo straight right ?

Let me ask you , what did you learn ? Nothing .
I don’t wanna treat my bandmates like some “backing track” that i just solo over . I want my band to know my solo . So that they can ATTACK together with me when i am just about to give that POWER orgasm bend , I want them to go easy on the volumes when there are parts where i want my vibrato to be crystal clear . I want my bassist to Hold his note when i am about to shred . Get the idea ?

This post kinda Reminds me of the Golden Eye Concept …Can apply sial .Fuh.

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