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Instrumental Goals
Hi Mona or Lisa or both;
Over the years I have been listening to your work I am constantly amazed at cover selections and the variety of instruments you two can play as well as how well you can play the instruments. I have also noticed that over time your proficiency at playing the guitar has also improved a lot. Not that I am anywhere close to how well you two play but I have watched and listened to a few artists over the years and have noticed changes in their musical abilities, too. So, I was wondering what are your goals over the next few months or so in terms of the instruments you play? This can include improvements in playing the guitar, too, if you like to address that.
I hope you two and your family is doing well and are doing well with the quarantine. Also, I was away for a little while and just returned yesterday. So, I picked up the mail and there waiting for me was my copy of the Duo Sessions…..a really special returning home treat. I have not had time to play it yet…..but I just might have to play Sweet Lorraine first since I have not heard it yet as a Duo Session song. Thanks for all you do for us and wishing you the best. Mike.
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6 Replies
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Hi Mike,
Recently we both have been diving a lot more into the theory side of things to unlock more of the “source code” of what we’ve been doing for so long. On the guitar it’s easy to learn certain tricks, scales and licks without necessarily understanding why they work. I really don’t think that you have to understand them in order to make great music but I found that, with my own playing, knowing why I’m doing what I’m doing has opened up a lot of possibilities.
So I recently started taking occasional guitar lessons again, something I haven’t done since I was 15 🙂 It has been great having someone guide me through topics and techniques that I find harder to figure out through YouTube videos alone. Also it’s good to have someone hold you accountable to practise things that are on the boring side but necessary.
So that will stay my focus for the months ahead. There are still so many aspects of my guitar playing that I want to work on. From improvising to picking up new techniques like rockabilly or fingerstyle playing to improving my theory knowledge to better speed and precision.
Hope you’ve been enjoying the new Duo Session CD and thanks for the question ♥
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Dear Lisa;
Thank you for the answer. You two are so kind and treat us so well. Based on the years I have been playing and listening to what you had to say, I am beginning to think that we will never learn it all when it comes to playing the guitar.
I have mentioned before that I have about 20-some covers I want to record here at home as a “retirement project” and that I also have written about the same number of original melodies/instrumentals on guitars that I will also record. So, I believe the way it is going to work is that I’ll play the guitar, drums, and mandolin on these songs and my wife will play the violin, viola, cello, and keyboard/piano. I’ll be on vocals and try to harmonize. So, I believe we have almost everything covered. If the music is any good, I’ll share it. But, if it is not so good, no one will hear about it. But, I think some of the songs will turn out OK.
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I’ve been inspired to tackle lyric songwriting…I once wrote a song when in my mid-life teens….without using/knowing/writing the music theory, music notes, etc…just wrote out song and then the tune for it came to me….I still have those lyrics, can recall only part of how it went tune wise… Never thought at time to record myself on tape cassette of when I came up with all, justvrelying on my memory… but now with modern tech convenience, zany pitential song lyrics and tune notions that conjure up in my head will be audio recorded….lol…I’ll still have no clue what key I’m singing in…justvgo by senses, in terms of high/low notewise, …the lyrical aspect I’m more better at…lol???
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Been doing you tube piano lessons since April, and sometimes I think I need a live instructor to hold me accountable to get at it every single day! 🙂 If I skip a few days, I notice a negative effect on my speed and precision. I’m enjoying learning the music theory too though my knowledge and understanding is still very rudimentary. At the end of it all, I would like to be able to read the music while I play so I can play anything. That could take all the rest of my life to get proficient, but will keep at it. Maybe pick up the guitar along the way too at some point. Got lots of wonderful guitar recommendations here from the kind members!
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“Also it’s good to have someone hold you accountable to practise things that are on the boring side but necessary.” Surely Lisa Wagner doesn’t need anyone to be held accountable!
Now why am I thinking of that bad report that poor Mona received at High School? However, I must say that teacher of yours had absolutely no sense of humour and I’m sure I would have also got a bad report.
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Lisa, you may very well have already heard of this You Tube site by Jake Lizzio. It’s called Signals Music Studio. If you haven’t -it’s worth checking out. I think he does a stellar job with modes, music theory and composition specifically for guitar. He is really easy to understand and very entertaining -even though he goes deep into the theory. He takes lots of his examples from popular music and shows how the songs fit into different modes and techniques that can then be applied to new compositions and playing styles.
https://www.youtube.com/c/SignalsMusicStudio/featured
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