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 My Blog - Journey to music mastery 
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Post My Blog - Journey to music mastery
I Just finished my latest entry to my blog "Journey to Music Mastery"

I'm documenting where I've been and what I'm trying to accomplish. Hopefully this will answer some of the questions I've received off-list.


http://musicbypetegonzales.blogspot.com/


Tue May 24, 2016 8:49 pm
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Post Re: My Blog - Journey to music mastery
That was a cool read, man! It kind of parallels my own journey as I try to figure this crazy instrument out.

Cool!

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Tue May 24, 2016 9:56 pm
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Post Re: My Blog - Journey to music mastery
Great reading. Keep writing!


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Wed May 25, 2016 2:46 am
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Post Re: My Blog - Journey to music mastery
Quote:
It's very easy to accompany the melody side by playing both bass notes with tritones or simple triads on the bass side of the instrument. This is called the "Pop Baroque Technique".
Pete, loved you blog and I plan to keep reading it as long as you keep writing on it. I thought this quote above was interesting. Who is it that gives these techniques such wonderful nomenclature?

I've only made it through the 1st posting so far, but I plan to read further. Thanks for sharing and I appreciate your efforts and for sharing your thoughts and discoveries along the way of your own tapping jpourneys!

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Wed May 25, 2016 4:57 am
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Post Re: My Blog - Journey to music mastery
Thanks Pete, really interesting blog and youtube channel. I think one of the best aspects of learning a 'new' instrument like the tapping instruments Stick, Megatar and a new one I've just discovered that I REALLY want to invest in the Harpejji (but that digression is best left to another feed) is that there is not the longevity attached to orchestral instruments and therefore the community of players is smaller and feels a lot more supportive and more like a family. As a result posts like yours are met with support and encouragement and most significantly, relevance. I expect 90+% of the people who read your blog can relate to some degree.

By the definition of Malcolm Gladwell's 'Outliers' of 'Mastery', I suppose I have it already as a trombone player. I started at 13, went through college on it, worked in the band on the cruiseships for my first job, moved to London and worked in the West End for 15 years before pursuing education which has brought me to Houston, TX now. 10,000 hours? Check. Mastery? Hmmm, i'm pretty good but a 'Master' I doubt it.
I started the Stick 9 months ago, after falling in love with Bob Culbertson's youtube video of 'While My Guitar Gently Weeps' and saw it as a new outlet to my musicality, an opportunity to be more than a single-line player, and very significantly a chance to play an instrument that did not demand so much physicality as the trombone. After reading Outliers and a discussion with a friend writing a thesis about learning an instrument I thought I would begin my Stick journey by documenting everytime I play: the date, how long i practiced, what I practiced and then make a short video every few hours to upload to document. Right now I am on 140 ish hours and really having fun. I feel fortunate that I have a 'mastery' per se on one instrument and although the instruments are not related I feel the process of practice is something I am well versed in so I am hoping to get near to 'mastery' quicker.
For me though 'Mastery' is relative. It is more where I want to get to, whereas the term 'Master' for me suggests in the top 5-10% of quality of players. So I am not wanting to be another Kevin Keith or Steve Adelson but just able to play a wide variety of pieces and styles with accuracy and musicality, be good enough to earn money from it, compose my own pieces and be able read well enough to play in bands as either the bass player or the chord player.

If you have made it this far (I'm off work sick so I have time to waffle, sorry) I guess I have a question for you.... Do you perceive your journey ending at a particular point of 'Mastery'? In which case what do you envision Mastery to look/sound like? Playing like Greg or Bob? Someone else? Something else? Or do you perceive the journey to never end, as there is always something else to strive for? In which case, as you did mention getting older, are you possibly setting yourself up for frustration rather than enjoying the process and the instrument?
I would love to hear your reflections on this question Pete, (and also Jason's who I know is a very determined practicer keen to strive and achieve the top levels of playing, and because of that is destined to.)

Thanks again for the post, and for the patience of listening to my ramblings......if indeed you made it this far!

Best wishes
Paul


Wed May 25, 2016 6:50 am
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Post Re: My Blog - Journey to music mastery
pwrightyp wrote:
If you have made it this far (I'm off work sick so I have time to waffle, sorry) I guess I have a question for you.... Do you perceive your journey ending at a particular point of 'Mastery'? In which case what do you envision Mastery to look/sound like? Playing like Greg or Bob? Someone else? Something else? Or do you perceive the journey to never end, as there is always something else to strive for? In which case, as you did mention getting older, are you possibly setting yourself up for frustration rather than enjoying the process and the instrument?
I would love to hear your reflections on this question Pete, (and also Jason's who I know is a very determined practicer keen to strive and achieve the top levels of playing, and because of that is destined to.)


Thanks Paul, Good questions actually and glad to be able to respond to them.

I have NO desire to play like anyone else although Greg and Bob are true masters in their own right for sure! No, my interpretation of "mastery" on 2 handed tapping is to be able to play anything I hear without having to "learn or relearn" particular aspects of a piece.

For example, the song by the Dixie Dreggs "Assembly Line" (if you haven't heard this check it out on youtube or such). I want to be able to play that type of bass line and be able to solo without spending weeks getting the 2 hands to "merge" together.

Someone recently posted that there really isn't such a thing as 2 hand independence, rather interdependence both hands moving together or apart with a certain space of time. I've made huge gains in this area but nowhere near where I want to be. Example is the tune from Frank Gamable "Leave Ozone Alone" on this tune the Bass has a very syncopated and slap bass feel with a very nice melody line on the guitar. I can play this! It took a long time to be able to sync the 2 hands but I had to prove I could do it. Same with Just comping chords and playing intricate bass patterns like in the tune "Teen Town" that I posted on this forum. So this is the direction that I'm heading in.

The purpose of Mastery for my needs stems from the fact that with all the gigs I've performed on Chapman Stick, I never actually "soloed"! Typically the keyboard and horns I had in my band did that when I played Stick. So now that I'm eyeing retirement I want to be more than proficient at soloing over a bass groove. I'm NOT working on repertoire right now only technique and a few songs for my youtube channel just to keep the fire going!

Next up for my video ideas are the tunes "Red Clay" by Freddie Hubbard and "Four on Six" by Wes Montgomery but I'm kind of taking my time before making another video. Soloing on "Four on Six" is pretty challenging for me at this time so most likely "Red Clay" will be next but not for another few months, I really want to finish up Jamey Aebersolds ii/V/I book then get back to the Frank Gambale Techinque book 1. These books have been wonderful and forced me to learn these licks in all twelve keys. My adaptation for 2 handed instruments has been to have a walking bass on every exercise! So that's a lot of moving around and its forcing me to learn where the notes are!

Ok sorry to ramble but I'm out of time, thanks again!


Wed May 25, 2016 8:38 am
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Post Re: My Blog - Journey to music mastery
Long posts, so much to learn and share - definitely inspiring. Thanks for sharing the journey, wherever it may lead you (and us along for the ride :D ).

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Wed May 25, 2016 9:39 am
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