Quote:
Originally Posted by mohair_chair
There is tremendous value in trying to learn a song, note for note. I like to do transcriptions for this very reason. But after learning a song note for note, you have to ask yourself, am I trying to play it, or copy it?
You can bet that as good as he is, even Sambora will muff a few notes when he plays this song live, and he's played it hundreds of times. The thing is, he doesn't care. As long as you get most of it right, no one cares about the notes you missed.
A couple of years ago, I saw Night Ranger at the county fair. During "Don't Tell Me You Love Me," Jeff Watson muffed his solo. He recovered nicely, but it still stuck out like a sore thumb for me. I brought it up after the show and guess what? No one else even seemed to notice.
The other thing is to recognize your limitations. We all have them. I have smallish hands/fingers, and there are certain things I just can't do. Using my thumb on the low E string, for instance. I could practice forever and it's not going to happen. And as hard as I try, I will never be able to play as fast as a lot guys do. I work at it all the time, but the best I can do are incremental improvements. Both of these are things I don't really worry about. I do the best I can and then fake the rest.
By the way, the solo in "Wanted Dead or Alive" is one of my all time favorites.
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Hey, thanks! I also have small hands, so I know I have my limits too. I have to remind myself to think back when I FIRST started to take lessons, how I could not even reach my middle and index fingers up to form an open G chord. And how for the life of me, I couldn't barre to save my life. These things are extremely natural to me now, as well as many other things. I need a jolt of think of where you were when you started out, not where you aren't at yet.
And yes, I agree. The beauty of music for me is not in the perfection at all, but in the feeling that comes from it. I've said this several times in my posts here, so I know it's what I lack most. I gotta dig inside and find those emotions that are making me happy/sad/elated/pissed off/depressed/giddy, and so on, and let it work through the fingers to the guitar. Of course, you can't just learn that, it has to just "be". So, I'm going to find that place.
Regarding the solo in Dead or Alive, I haven't tackled that. I basically do the intro, and strum the chords for the gist of the song. Perhaps I should toss in learning the solo too, that will give me a new challenge to work with!