Deep Dive

Deep Dive

by Mitch Gallagher, editor of SweetNotes from Sweetwater.com

I'm going to make an assumption:

In one regard, at least, you're like me; you love music—playing it, listening to it, writing it, learning about it.

It's on your mind all the time.

Doesn't matter what music, as long as it's good (I know, subjective word), I love it—or at least appreciate it!

And again, if you're like me, therein lies a problem.

There's so much music, so much to learn, so much to practice—it's easy to become overwhelmed and gridlocked into option anxiety, where you end up chasing myriad things, and nothing really gets your full attention.

Give it a try:  Pick something that you can dive deep into..... 

Focus your practicing your listening, and your learning on [that].

I find this especially true in the practice room. 

I try to focus my practice on a specific thing, but the pull is strong to jump around, chasing the next shiny object (or instructional video.)

But recently, I've been trying something that seems to be paying off. 

It all stared with a listening kick on a single musician—otherworldly guitarist/composer Allan Holdsworth—that evolved into an ongoing deep dive that's permeated my listening, practicing, composing, and even how I use my gear.  Because of this, i've explored new chords, new soloing approaches, new tonal palettes, new compositional techniques, deep music theory, and much more.

Now, the goal isn't to sound or play like Allan (not that I could) but to take inspiration and focus from what I love about his music.

Give it a try: 

Pick something that you can dive deep into (at artist works well).  Focus your practicing,your listening, and your learning on them.

Then take what you've learned and apply it to your unique musical voice.  I predict you'll see great results!

Used by permission from Mitch Gallagher, Sr. Director of Video Production at Sweetwater.com