Posted by Steve Oberheu on January 15, 2002 at 10:14:41:
In Reply to: Power of Music posted by LoverOfMusic on January 14, 2002 at 14:47:05:
I think one of the greatest lessons I ever learned came from a column in Guitar Magazine by Mike Keneally, a former Frank Zappa sideman (and later on with Dweezil and Ahmet) and great guitarist. His lesson was very short.
To paraphrase the lesson:
'First, turn your amp on and plug in guitar so you get the electrical pop sound. Turn amp up as loud as you can stand. Listen to amp noise and feel the tension in it. Form an E Major chord. Take pick in right hand and strum chord as hard as you possibly can, remembering what it felt like when you did this the first time and the huge rush you got out of it. Repeat for one hour, then put guitar down.'
And that's what it comes back to. Remembering the joy we once got just by making sound for sound's sake. Knowing the mechanics of how things work does not take away from the rush a racecar driver gets when he's flooring it on a track. I think we just need to know when, and how, to turn on the "analyze" button and the "enjoy" button.
So, there's my two-pence.
Steve O.