Why does....?

[dwest2419]

Hi guys. Why does chromatics seem and sound so complicated and sound confusing and a disarray. I heard Guthrie said one time that you cant play chromatics because someone told you, and it also goes on to say the main key thing is that you have to love the way chromatics sound. And that is the problem I'm facing now. I cant get my finger wrap around how and why chromatics sound the way they sound. I mean I tried playing chromatics over some gospel songs and at a steady tempo it sounds really good and at other times it is like - seriously! c'mon, man? It is like my ear all what sounds pleasing to it are diatonic notes and not non-diatonic notes. I really do not get the picture. So I thought I come on this board and talk about this topic, but my only answer to me is to look upon studying George Benson. For I know he plays chromatics a lot. And he always makes chromatics sound so cool.

[gtrdave]

I'd really like to hear you play some really basic stuff. I don't mean to offend you with this, but it sounds to me, from reading your posts over quite a while now, that you may not have a grasp of how to play very simple things and play them in time.
If I'm wrong then you could easily show me by videotaping you playing some very simple things and/or a very simple song.
But I write all that to say that if you do not have the very simple things down and memorized, you will not understand the more complex.
Chromatics, while not seriously complex, do require a very good understanding of the rudimentary elements of theory in order to understand and then play properly.
Chromatics doesn't mean playing any note anywhere you want to at any time...unless you are trying to do something completely atonal and free-form.
Playing chromatic scales and licks properly requires a player to understand the basic concepts of theory and time/tempo in order for the licks and scales to "fit" over the chord changes.

So, it would best help me as a teacher to understand where you are at as a player in order to properly guide you in what it is that you want to learn. I can't do that unless I hear/see you.

[dwest2419]

I'd really like to hear you play some really basic stuff. I don't mean to offend you with this, but it sounds to me, from reading your posts over quite a while now, that you may not have a grasp of how to play very simple things and play them in time.
If I'm wrong then you could easily show me by videotaping you playing some very simple things and/or a very simple song.
But I write all that to say that if you do not have the very simple things down and memorized, you will not understand the more complex.
Chromatics, while not seriously complex, do require a very good understanding of the rudimentary elements of theory in order to understand and then play properly.
Chromatics doesn't mean playing any note anywhere you want to at any time...unless you are trying to do something completely atonal and free-form.
Playing chromatic scales and licks properly requires a player to understand the basic concepts of theory and time/tempo in order for the licks and scales to "fit" over the chord changes.

So, it would best help me as a teacher to understand where you are at as a player in order to properly guide you in what it is that you want to learn. I can't do that unless I hear/see you.

I mean your right gtrdave about everything This probably why I need to go to school for music. And Im sorry forgoing off topic here but, Like I have said countless of times it will either be me going to school for music or accounting. But the thing is I really don't want to write another essay for ENGISH or take a Math class. I know being an account make the money, but is it really worth it? For that I mightiest well go to school for music and take something that is little easier - if you know what I mean here.

[berbie]

Its almost always true that the greater reward requires the greater effort. I say almost because sometimes fortune simply smiles on some people unaccountably, but I wouldn't depend on that.  There is good luck, but mark my word,  what seems to be good luck is often good effort.  Most people looking for an easy way are doomed to be also rans.  That is the thread that I see in some of your posts.  If you want to succeed in any of the endeavors that you have mentioned,  put your work clothes on and get your mind set.  It won't be easy.  Oh, let me back up.  Getting a CNA certificate is not very hard.

[gtrdave]

You should be practicing now, putting in all those hours of study and practice that I keep talking about.
Music school won't give you anything more than you know if you aren't putting in the time on your own. You don't learn how to play things by osmosis. You HAVE TO put aside anything that distracts you and pick up your instrument and study, beginning with the simple stuff and then moving on from there.
You should be drilling on scales and chords and playing with a metronome for hours until you can do this stuff in your sleep.
Really, that's what it takes if you want to be a pro-level musician. Even then, being good doesn't mean that you're going to make money or a living at playing music.
I know a LOT of great musicians who don't make a dime off of music for all kinds of reasons.
Dedication, sacrifice, hard work...do all that and you MIGHT have a shot, but it's not a sure bet at all.
Regardless, you can learn everything you need for free as many other musicians have, but you've got to be willing to put in the time.

[dwest2419]

Thank you everyone for your comments. Im sure to remember them well. And also I really don't know how to post stuff on here showing my talents and everything. I really don't have a cam recorder or an iphone or some sort - you know. I don't even have a looper pedal. 

[dwest2419]

You should be practicing now, putting in all those hours of study and practice that I keep talking about.
Music school won't give you anything more than you know if you aren't putting in the time on your own. You don't learn how to play things by osmosis. You HAVE TO put aside anything that distracts you and pick up your instrument and study, beginning with the simple stuff and then moving on from there.
You should be drilling on scales and chords and playing with a metronome for hours until you can do this stuff in your sleep.
Really, that's what it takes if you want to be a pro-level musician. Even then, being good doesn't mean that you're going to make money or a living at playing music.
I know a LOT of great musicians who don't make a dime off of music for all kinds of reasons.
Dedication, sacrifice, hard work...do all that and you MIGHT have a shot, but it's not a sure bet at all.
Regardless, you can learn everything you need for free as many other musicians have, but you've got to be willing to put in the time.

Your right again gtrdave!  Going to school for music will not help if I don't put the time into study the instrument for myself and work on chords and scales and stuff. But going to school for music will help out a lot because you learn to read music and stuff which I don't know how to do as of yet. I know I come on this thread and ask a lot of questions and stuff in which I should be studying the instrument I play. But I really don't have any chord or scale books. I useth to have them but they got lost somewhere and I don't where I put them. I wonder if George Benson went to school for music, which I highly doubt. But like you've said gtrdave you've known a lot guitarist who were good but didn't go to school for music but studied there tails off. Please pray for me everyone as I make a decision for the next couple of months about which study I should take up accounting or music.

[gtrdave]

Or you could save the money you'd spend on a guitar pedal and...

...take some lessons locally.

Having a teacher give you real-time feedback, critique and encouragement is priceless, imho. And in my experience, few college teachers are going to do that for you as the class routine in college is typically "here's the lesson, now go do the work" without a whole lot of personal one-on-one interaction.

But Sketch gave you some good ideas. I use the built-in camera in my iMac for video or I can use the camera in my cheap Samsung droid phone and upload it via bluetooth.
YouTube accounts are free, Soundcloud accounts are free, etc...

[Sweetplayer]

...take some lessons locally.

Having a teacher give you real-time feedback, critique and encouragement is priceless, imho. And in my experience, few college teachers are going to do that for you as the class routine in college is typically "here's the lesson, now go do the work" without a whole lot of personal one-on-one interaction.

But Sketch gave you some good ideas. I use the built-in camera in my iMac for video or I can use the camera in my cheap Samsung droid phone and upload it via bluetooth.
YouTube accounts are free, Soundcloud accounts are free, etc...
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