I’ve been playing guitar since I was 10, I think. I picked at 15 when I performed two of the hardest songs I ever tried
- Hotel california
- A river flows in you - Sungha Jung arrangement
Since then little effort I made to make progress. So why then I want to relearn music now and what is the meaning of relearn? I learned guitar in a very rustic way: picked up a song I liked and them tried to reproduce it. Is this a legitimate way of learning music? I mean, sure, but there’re levels of appretiations when interpreting or even just listening to a song.
Is it the same interpreting given you already know a bit of music theory? Is it the same interpreting given you already tried composing? I believe the answer is no and that is my problem. I’ve been interpreting for the sake of interpreting. I mean, I do feel the music I interpret and listen to but there’s room for more. Composing and studying some theory will be part of my journey now.
Why now? I used to listen to only rock, pop or indie music. Once I was introduced to classical guitar, or solos of cellos I started to appreciate songs a bit more. As I grew up, the way I analyzed music also changed at the point of repeting something multiple times just to appreciate what the author was trying to convey. Because I want to deepen this understanding, the best way to achieve it is to put myself in the position of composing and interpreting the very same genres and instruments.
Notes
Note 1
I have a platonic love with the piano and cello. I hope I could master them one day. For now, I’ll stick to the guitar and piano.
Note 2
Some of the artist that make me feel something:
- Hildur Godnadottir - my intro to deep listening
- Gustavo Santaolalla
- Joji
- Ichika Nito
- Zoe Keating
- Zoe
- Animenz - piano covers/arrangements
- The guy who composed violet evergarden OST (evan call?)
- Hollow Purple - Yuki Hayashi
Note 3
This blog was inspired after reading Alfoso de la Fuente’s blog on composing. I personally like this song Dragon girl.
Note 4
I’m writing this blog not as a complete begginer so I’ll just leave here my interpretation of the Hotel California solo. Note how I failed some notes at the begining of the solo as well as the prelude. Fortunately, I managed to fix it just in time.