How DRG influenced my technique and playing

[Dr Nick]

Yes, there are some people here who are very good "coaches" as opposed to teachers, if that makes sense, to use a sporting analogy.

[eduardoritos]

Dr Nick said:


Yes, there are some people here who are very good "coaches" as opposed to teachers, if that makes sense, to use a sporting analogy.




[/quote]



LOT of sense.


I've been guitar teacher in my real life, but never intended to do it here, because nobody asked me (and because, people here don't need a teacher at all) =)



But i like talking about those things, and, after all, we're always learning things, even no trying to do it.

[Dinosaur David B]

eduardoritos said:



people here don't need a teacher at all.

[/quote]


[/quote]
I know what you mean by this statement, but I feel compelled to say I think one can always use a teacher, no matter what level you're at. If you find your playing getting stale, stuck, or unsatisfying, taking some lessons --even after playing for decades -- can be hugely helpful.


I did this after putting out the two albums with Feints. When I finished that project, I found myself with nothing else to do musically. And after that rich, and fulfilling experience of reconnecting with gigging, writing, and recording, I wasn't ready to just put my guitars away and do nothing. I was also out of work for a while, and I desperately needed something positive to do with my time.


I knew where the holes and weaknesses in my playing were, and what I wanted to get better at. So I dug back into lessons. Just for my own personal development -- certainly not knowing that I would end up being in another original project years later.


A common problem is QUITE often, you don't know what you don't know (which is the insidious -- non-ignorance is bliss part of that Dunning Kruger effect). You're missing a key piece of information and you DON'T KNOW IT. For an extreme example, remember what happened to the guys in the 60s. Imagine you've been playing for years, and you've only ever known a wound G string on your guitar. You see all these other players bending the shit out of their G string, and you want to do that, but you don't know they're using an unwound G. You try and try to bend your wound G but you just can't do what the other guys are doing. And you can't figure out why. Because no one told you you need an unwound G to achieve that. So maybe you give up trying and say I'll never be able to do that, so I'm moving on.


When I resumed lessons, what I learned about myself was that when I was first starting out on guitar, I had bits and pieces of info, but never really had/been given the right information to get me where I wanted to go with my lead style. So no mater how much I practiced, I wasn't going to get there. And there were times I really was diligent, and did try. But because I didn't have the right information, I'd always hit a wall I couldn't push through. So I accepted I would never be the kind of player I most wanted to be, and instead, worked to be the best player I could be, within the confines of the restriction.


Reaching goals requires work ethic. I think we all know that. You have to put in the hours. But it also requires having the right information. i.e. the right lessons from the right teacher (or source).


It's almost impossible to sustain passion and work ethic when you're hitting a wall and not progressing. Conversely, it's almost impossible to CONTAIN passion and work ethic when you're seeing tangible progress over days and weeks. When that happens, you WANT to keep going!


The difference for me this time, was, when I resumed lessons after Feints, I finally received the right information and the right things to work on. All I had to do was add work. And in the 5 years between the end of Feints and now, I really raised my game -- and in ways I never thought possible.


So while I do not disavow my earlier guitar work in Feints at all, I recognize that I'm considerably better now because I got some lessons, and did the work. Further, I found that as I worked on improving my lead chops, my rhythm playing and meter ALSO improved, even though I wasn't actively working on those things. That just happened as a side-effect of doing a lot metronome work on the lead style. But boy did my Berklee-trained bassist from Feints notice my improved timing when we started working together again on the new project.


And I haven't stopped. Even though I'm more in a creative writing/recording mode these days, I still have things I want to work on just to keep adding to the player toolbox. I want to see the neck better (beyond box patterns). I want to understand chord intervals better. Note-targeting for chord tones. And yeah, learn some more licks, too.


Never stop learning.

[Seven Moons]

Where to start? I too feel indebted and grateful to DRG - and not only because it made me buy a lot of gear.

I was fortunate to join in 2008: at that time the forum was very lively and brimming with information. I made a number of terrific musical discoveries (bands, players etc.) thanks to some members with an extensive knowledge of heavy music. I'm happy to think I gave back a couple of cool suggestions too.


On a "guitar playing" perspective, as Dr. Nick suggested, it influenced me more as a coach rather than a teacher, in that it made me think of what I was doing, or should be doing, rather than provide me with specific exercises (there are other internet sources for that). It made me aware of things I had never learnt or even suspected about recording, gear, etc.



A cool feature of this place is that it proves just as invaluable whether you are a spring chicken or a balding rooster, in a band or not, playing for your cat or playing live at whatever level (or not even playing at all). So, while the "dino" demographic might be regarded as "narrow", it is not overly so.



Thus, congrats to Dave for having imagined DRG, and for having kept it asshole-free, benevolent and good-spirited all those years!

[iplayLouD]

I found this site when I was a teen, around 2006, and I was the only one in my school that loved Deep Purple and Zeppelin. I couldn’t connect to anything post 80s, for some reason everyone sounded dull and lifeless compared to Blackers and Page. 

DRG  taught me a lot. First of all you guys helped me understand and articulate WHAT made Dino rock so cool, and I could understand what it is exactly that the greats did that made them so great and unique. 

More importantly, I found out that my tastes aren’t THAT odd or unique, that there’s a whole community here that feels the same. Felt like coming home.

And lastly, DRG showed me who else played Dino rock beyond the guys that I knew. I found a whole new world for me.

Heh, I recall reading and re-reading the alchemy pages during summer nights to try and understand just a bit more about my heroes. 

Thanks Dave!

[Dinosaur David B]

Thanks, Daniel. 
 

[Haffner]

One of the things Dave got me into was listening to the Beatles again.

I mean, I went through a huge Fab Four phase in the mid 80s, due to a book called Love You Make. I bought up tons of their vinyl, songbooks, interviews, everything. But by the time I got here to DRG I hadn't really listened to them in something like 15 years+. 

Going back and reappreciating the Beatles helped my approach to songwriting immensely. 

[Nick Layton]

This site convinced me I should listen to more Gary Moore...and for that I'll be forever grateful! 

[Haffner]

This site convinced me I should listen to more Gary Moore...and for that I'll be forever grateful! 

 

This is a very, VERY good thing!

[Nick Layton]

This is a very, VERY good thing!

 

 Yeah, I discovered how much I'd been missing out on. Learning the guitar in the late 80's was all about the Shrapnel guys and current bands of the day that I loved. I had the (false) impression that Gary was just a blues guy that a lot of people respected. But after reading Gary's profile here I realized I needed to check out his hard rock/metal stuff like Cooridors and Victims. Man, was that a revelation. In a way his stuff is still fresh to me because I didn't wear it out in my formative years. 

I think he's a great blues player, but I never listen to"that" Gary these days, it's all about the hard rock stuff.