<\/p>\n\n\n\n
By Chad Crawford, PMI Guitar Instructor<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Among the challenges we face as developing guitar players,\ncultivating a sense of artistic creativity may seem among the most formidable.\nMany assume that creativity is a mysterious insight arising from the recesses of\nthe fortunately gifted minds of a select few. In fact, creativity is not a\nmystery. As with all things musical it responds to focused effort to cultivate\nit. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
So how do we get from having “no creativity” to\nthe point of being able to write songs and play improvisational solos? <\/p>\n\n\n\n
First let us address the occasional Mozart who shows up\nwith tremendous innate musical ability. There is indeed a phenomenon of abundant\nnatural talent, but for most musicians, other artists, engineers, inventors,\nwriters, etc., natural talent is not in fact the key to creativity. So the\nMozart’s are irrelevant in terms of understanding how a person of typical\nnative ability can develop creative prowess. Forget about natural talent, and\nmost importantly don’t fall for the common misconception that creativity is\nsomething that you either have or do not have by inheritance. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now let us consider what creativity actually is. Is it\nreally assembling something out of nothing in a mysterious seizure of\ninspiration from quarters unknown? No! Even Mozart had to sit with paper and\npen and work his inspirations into orderly, flowing pitch and time\nrelationships. Consider this quote from prolific inventor Thomas Edison, whose\nrecord on creativity speaks for itself: “Genius is 1% inspiration and 99%\nperspiration”. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Creativity is neither an unknowable mystery, an accident,\nnor a fleeting peek into the ethereal mists. It is rather a predictable result\nof a process involving mastery of the fundamental elements of an endeavor, and\nthen applying those fundamentals in such a way as to generate beauty of\nfunction and form. Notice that I did not say anything about creating something\nfrom nothing, or even something totally new. Creativity does not mean creating\nsomething from nothing. It means assembling the known into that which\neffectively solves problems or manifests beauty. It is well within the reach of\nanyone willing to apply themselves to the process. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Now let us consider how this applies to music, and\nspecifically to guitar. Music is fundamentally two objective phenomenon: pitch\nrelationships and time relationships. Musicians assemble these relationships in\nsuch a way as to create the more subjective phenomenon of an emotionally\nsatisfying flow of tension and release. This does not require the creation of\nanything new, but rather a well developed awareness of how pitch and time\nrelationships work together to create a satisfying flow of tension and release.\n<\/p>\n\n\n\n
So let’s break it down now even more specifically to the\nthings we need to have mastery over in order to make music that satisfies ourselves\nand our intended audiences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
1. Know the notes\non the fretboard<\/strong> – everything we do as musicians involves assembling notes\nin melody (one after another) or harmony (in unison, such as a chord or double\nstop) with reference to a tonal center (key). If you do not know the notes then\nyou are limited to playing by patterns or by ear. While playing by patterns and\nby ear are useful tools, if you wish to cultivate maximum creativity then you\nneed to allow yourself as many options as possible. If you can visualize the letter names of the\nnotes you are playing then it is much easier to choose resolving notes for\nphrases, or make useful alterations to chords to achieve just the right shade\nof mood. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 2. Know the names\nof the notes in the Major Keys<\/strong> – the Major Scale is the starting point for\nall we do. Everything else is an alteration of some sort to a Major Scale. If\nyou know the names of the notes in the key you are playing, and can also see\nthem as you play them on the fretboard, these together will give you a great\ndeal of power to achieve a desired musical effect without having to always\nguess your way through things with experimentation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n 3. Understand\nIntervals<\/strong> – intervals are the building blocks of the pitch aspect of music.\nA thorough understanding of intervals will allow you to know what effect a note\nis going to have before you play it. If you know your intervals then you will\nbe able to create musical effects at will, alter scales and chords to create precise\nshades of emotion, and transfer musical ideas from one key to another with\nease. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 4. Understand the\neffects of the basic divisions of the beat<\/strong> – along with pitch\nrelationships, relative timing between pitch events is one of the fundamental\ncomponents of music. A good set of timing relationships by itself is very\npowerful (think of a powerful drum intro that sets the mood for a song). If you understand the basic divisions of the\nbeat and how to modify them to tastes then you can create strong shades of mood\nat will. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 5. Understand scale\nharmonization<\/strong> – knowing how to translate a particular scale into chord\nsequences will enable you to assemble pleasing chord progressions in a matter\nof moments. Knowing the chords in the key and the notes in the chords will also\ngive you a lot of useful options for resolving solo phrases. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 6. Listen to a lot\nof music<\/strong> – musical inspiration is often a residual effect of exposure to\nother music. Saturate your creative muse with immersion into a wide variety of\nmusic, and pay attention to the individual details such as the vocals, drums,\nand bass. In doing so you will cultivate a deeper intuitive understanding of music,\nmuch as a child learns to speak by regular exposure to speech. <\/p>\n\n\n\n 7. Start from the\nknown<\/strong> – creativity is often a matter of slight alterations to common ideas.\nLearn the signature licks, chord types and sequences, and rhythmic ideas of the\nmasters of your preferred style. Then experiment with alterations until you\nuncover ideas that express what you wish. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n 8. Constantly\nrefine technique<\/strong> – if you have ever wondered how an accomplished guitarist\ncan play something very simple and yet have it sound very beautiful and\npowerful, the trick is often in the technique. What many experience as a\n“lack of creativity” is in fact a lack of technique refinement that\nwill make an otherwise great idea sound lifeless or even just plain bad.\nTechnique development is not just a matter of mere repetition. It is essential\nto pay attention to the quality of sound (a.k.a. “tone”) during\ntechnique development practice. Don’t rush through technique exercises with the\ngoal of merely getting them over with as quickly as possible. Listen carefully\nto the small details. Strive to improve the quality of sound resulting from\neach pick stroke. <\/p>\n\n\n\n This may seem like a hopeless lot to get done along the path to creativity. Bear in mind that learning music, including the creative aspect of it, is a journey. It is not needful to be \u201cfinished\u201d with all other aspects of musicianship before experimenting with creative application of known musical elements. The point of this article is that creativity is a predictable result of identifiable methods, and therefore is accessible to all who are willing to work for it. Cultivate the appropriate knowledge, technique, and persistence, and then you can be sure that your creative muse will show itself!<\/p>\n\n\n\n Copyright \u00a9 2005 Palmetto Music Institute. All Rights Reserved.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Many assume that creativity is a mysterious insight arising from the recesses of the fortunately gifted minds of a select few. In fact, creativity is not a mystery. 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