6 ways to overcome fear of composing

I often wonder about the role of composition in the construction of the musical personality of a guitarist. When guitar player start playing the majority throw themselves to flashy things such as licks, solos and improvisation. Why not composition?

Speaking of me, I started composing music sporadically when I was 18 following diverses emotions, without having the theorical tools or knowing the legacies of the elders.
I notice that when the desire to compose music is not bolder than the passion for improvisation or technical licks, when experiments combine with frustrations, it is SO easy to stay in his confort zone as a guitar player.

The most intense years of my musical construction were before, during and after my studies at Music Academy International in France. When I as 20 all my time my focused on instrumental practicing, because of my passion for jazz guitar improvisation and the technical and theorical knowledge of guitar.

Retrospectively I realized that my confort zone was defined by many subjective fears that all people have, but amplified here through the prism of composition:

• Fear of doing something new: I'm wallowing myself in the lofty security of my daily quiet practicing habits.
• Fear of being fully accountable of my artistic output: I prefer to play the music written by others.
• Fear of judgement of others: people will think that my music sucks.
• Lack of musical knowledge: I’ll write a short story once I’ve learnt the entire dictionary by heart.
• Lack of self-knowledge: I don’t know the deep reasons why I play music.
• High demands on myself: first I need to master improvisation on "All the things you are" and "Giant Steps" at tempo 250, then maybe I’ll be worthy of writing something cool.
• Feeling of not being ready: I’ve never written any note, there’s no way I can pull this off.

In my humble opinion, composing and playing his music is the ultimate significance of the word « jazz » as a complement to improvisation duties: responsibility, discipline, construction of an original personality through the output. An interesting parallel can be drawn between business and music. Do I want to work 9 to 5 and be an employee OR do I want to invent my job and be an entrepreneur? Do I want to play music composed by others OR do I want to write my own score? Do I want to spend my life pleasing my parents OR do I want to live my life on my own term? Etc, etc....

Composing music became a need when I was 26, as an evidence and an urgency, after a musical sabbatical year due to an unbearable feeling of boredom. You build a wall laying down each perfect brick after the other. I developed my practice of composition with patience and indulgence, without judgement, with the intuition that composition would be a constructive way of expressing myself.

Here are 6 key ideas or concepts that I came up with in my on-going journey as a composer. I must confess that the composition, arrangement and production of my album Seven Seeds of Life (released in 2011) was a significant quantum leap in my artistic path. These ideas allowed me to confront my doubts and fears in the manifestation of my projects.


1) Try to compose sh*tty music

This concept comes from Effortless Mastery by Kenny Werner, this was a huge game changer in my life as a musician. Since then I’ve never been afraid of blank pages.
The best way of confronting my fear of a disastrous output is to purposely try to produce sh*t.
If I’m firmly aware of my personal aesthetic standards, my artistic experiences, my years of development as an artist, then there’s NO WAY I can produce average work according to my standards.

When that fear rears up its ugly head, I firmly say to myself:

• I’m exactly at the right time and the right place that is good for me, as a human being and musician. This moment is a perfect as it should be.
• I’m fully accountable for the path that led me up to this day.
• I’m clear about my expectations and the path behind me.
• There’s NO WAY I can produce something I'm not connected with.

When I composed « Hit the Freeway » I started from a simple groove, then I improvised with atonal phrasing. I recorded everything without any judgment.
This atonal harmonic context allowed me to face my fear of judgement. How can this eccentric and atonal phrasing be accepted by a non-musican audience? These constraints allowed me to solve this problem and come up with creative solutions.

When I look back on this album, this tune was composed in 2008 and was a snapshot of my life. Despite the imperfections that I notice now, I don’t change any note of that tune when I play it.
Having a continuous improvement state of mind is a good antidote to fear of judgement or fear of not being ready.
I only consider compositions bad or naive retrospectively.
I can beat around the bush, be frustrated with not finding the cool idea that will make a difference in my composition, I can develop silly ideas, but I’ve never been afraid of a blank page with this concept.


2) Channel personal experiences in my music

"Bitter Man", "Welcome Back" or "Time’s Up" all originated from specific personal experiences. A memory, a film, a relationship. Good ideas usually come from personal background.
For these compositions I developed an idea (melody, chord changes) as much as possible and built the canvas of the song.
Writing from within improves the sense of accountability, creates a connection between the heart and the art.


3) Compose something on a regular basis

Will power is a muscle that needs to be trained everyday. Inspiration comes from intention. As Oprah Winfrey says, "Chance is just opportunity that meets preparation". Discipline and repetition are the keys to progress: composition skills are practiced like improvisation or guitar techniques.
All great leaders are masters at scheduling. Steve Vai confirmed in a 2009 Guitar Player interview that beyond all his entrepreneurial and artistic enterprises, he always allocates 1 hour every day to create something new (guitar techniques, composition, melody, groove, etc).
Seven Seeds of Life was composed and recorded in a year, 2 hours a day. Discipline creates the comfort zone. With method, healthy habits, a neat organization and a compound effect, miracles happen in projets. With accurate progress tracking and with just 2 hours a day, an entire album can be composed in 6 months, a book can be written in a year, or any other project.
For example Everyday Hemingway would wake up insanely early and try to write between 500 to a 1,000 words.


4) Score other composers and deconstruct compositions

This practice leads to an analytical approach of composition, demystifies compositions and artistic father figures.
Sometimes we don’t dare to score music we look up to. For example, I used to play with a bass player who never wanted to score his favorite album Maceo Parker’s "Life on Planet Groove" because he didn’t want to waste the emotional connection with this piece of music. This point of view is honorable. But I learnt a lot about jazz and composition when I decided to score Kenny Garrett’s « Songbook » album, Wayne Shorter tunes for Miles Davis Quintet.
Scoring leads to a personal connection with music, as much in improvisation and as in composition. It allows mastery of forms, harmony, writing skills.

A nice thing is to analyze why some tunes are cool, some are not. Why AC/DC’s "Highway to Hell" is so great? Why Desmond Child’s touch is so recognizable in Aerosmith, Bon Jovi or Alice Copper songs? What are the arrangement tricks of Mutt Lange for Brian Adams of Def Leppard tunes so cool?
All great composers have their own habits that can be traced easily.


5) Keep it simple, keep it short

All great tunes are simple and revolve around just 1 or 2 ideas.
Ravel’s Bolero, AC/DC songs, Mozart's melodies. The form is so perfectly crafted that each section, each note is not only an emotion but also a function.
"Time’s up" was purposely written with just 2 ideas on a AABA structure. If the AABA form is so widely accepted, why try to change it? In this form I sticked to just 2 ideas and gave my all the tell the most beautiful story I could.


6) Strenghten the basics (theory, groove, melody)

Perpetual learning is a nice way to stay hungry. Practicing the basics strengthens the roots of my confort zone. There's always is new way of looking at things every day: composition, orchestrations, arrangements. Teaching is also a powerful way of practicing the basics.
My goal is to keep my theorical knowledge always sharper than my compositions. I do my best to always be able to arrange a melody in different ways.
"Welcome Back" could have been arranged for a jazz trio, guitar duo, rock power ballad settings. I chose to record that tune for a guitar solo.

www.soubelet.com

10 steps to learn a new scale

Lately I asked myself what would be the most efficient, most laser focus method of learning any new material on the guitar such as scales.

I observed myself for a few weeks while practicing usual and uncommon material, what works, what doesn’t.

This post is based on my practicing experience as a guitar player passionate about productivity. My rule is just a picture of my way of practicing at the moment, knowing that methods or systems are meant to be improved.

The approach is a progressive and structured way of learning new material on the guitar, a method that can be adapted to arpeggios, intervals and clusters, too.

My main equipment is a guitar, a timer, a metronome and a looper pedal (or EHX Freeze pedal).

My timer sets the framework of my practicing schedule. If I don’t set clear goals, I won’t hit any target. All my objectives are set in advance, ideally the day before in order to avoid any trivial decision before starting the practicing session.

As for any learning process, repetition is the path to mastery. I practice regularly and commit to the schedule I’ve decided. If I’ve planned 30 min, I practice with total focus during 30 min, nothing less, nothing more. Focus is a muscle and I stick to my schedule to get fit.

As an example these 10 steps are applied here on G melodic minor scale.

1. Master the structure. This is theory, the s..t sandwich we all have to eat. If I can’t explain it, I can’t play it, period. Harmony is the grammar of music. I know that without theoretical knowledge I can’t go very far. There are a lot of great books about harmony. What is the scale made of? What are the intervals? How many notes? What is the name? Am I talking about a mode or a scale?

2. Know the context. This is theory again. Each scale is related to a specific system. Major, melodic minor, harmonic minor are basic systems. Diminished, augmented, whole tone are advanced systems. What system is related to that scale? What chords can be played on this chord? (By the way, is my chord knowledge robust enough to experiment easily on the guitar?)

3. Identify the root on the guitar. I draw a map of the scale on the guitar. Scales start from a root, the lowest note of the scale. I use low and medium strings (E, A and D strings) to have clear pictures on the guitar. The root can be an open string too.

4. Physically feel the intervals with the root. This step is inspired by the great Mike Stern who recommends to sing the root, slowly play the scale, ear thoroughly each note to connect ears and fingers with the rest of the body, as a complete resonant ensemble.

5. Hear the sound of each note on chords. I use a looper of a Electro-Harmonix Freeze pedal to play the chord. Then I simply experiment each note on chords. I try all main chords related to the scale, in all possible systems I've identified in step 2. For example I test G melodic minor on several chords, such as Gm, C, Am7, C7, D7, BbMaj7#5, F#7#9, etc...I test the sound of the scale with chords and notice its resonance in me.

6. Master each string. This is the horizontal approach. I disconnect scales from any pattern or positions. I apply the structure mastered in step 1 on each string of the guitar. I identify each note (name, neck position) of the scale on each string.

7. Master two basic positions (root on E and A). This is the vertical approach. Major chords positions are grounded in E and A strings. I use this comfort zone to apply the root of the scale on these position. I visualize basic scale positions and more advanced (3 or 4 notes per strings).

8. Practice patterns in position. This is where fun begins. Once the comfort zone is spread out and grounded on scale positions, I apply groups of notes or patterns to the scale. I use cycles, polyrhythm, odds groups of notes.

9. Improvise with constraints. Contraint is the mother of opportunity. I focus on specific limits and practice in small batches (10 min for example). 2 or 3 strings, a specific neck area, an interval, a rhythm pattern, etc...

10. Improvise for fun. I gather all the material I've learnt so far. I forget all limits I've experienced before. I just play for fun with the heart, doing my best to create beautiful music with everything I know on today's subject. Singing the phrases I'm playing is a great way of coming up with cool and original ideas.

( Note: George Benson is the boss )

www.soubelet.com

Pays Basque 2015

Some pictures of French Basque Country shot during 2014 holidays. 

Pattern transposition (part 2)

 Hi !

Today I'm getting back to pattern transposition and focus more on cool material that can be applied directly in a warmup situation or strict practicing sessions.

I've written a 9-bar phrase that can be broken down into 6 sequences. Each sequence can be view as an exercice on its own. This approach is inspired by the great Pat Metheny practicing book "Guitar Etudes".

This entry is about technical practicing with harmonic material such as chromatisms and arpeggios. Each element is transposed in intervals (2nd, 3rd, #4th).

Each separate element should be transposed and practiced in all neck areas.

( fig 1. ) is a chromatic lick is inspired by the great Mick Stern. A motive of 8 notes based on Bm starts with the 9th and the 11th and ends with chromatism. Then the motive is transposed in descending #4th cycles. B --> F --> B --> F, etc...

( fig 2. ) The pattern is based on major triads (Eb starting on the 3rd) transposed in 2nds. The transposed motive in Db is approached by a wide interval (sixth) to give an "open" sound. Eb --> Db

( fig 3. ) The pattern is a major 7th arpeggio with superstructure (9 and 13) that begins on the third. The transposition is in 2nds from G to A.

( fig 4. ) This pattern is based on Bm aeolian mode (Bmb6 sounds) and an augmented triad that starts on the b6. Then the motive is transposed in 2nd intervals. Basically, this is a pattern applied on B whole-tone scale

( fig 5. ) The pattern is a major 7th arpeggio with diatonic 4ths. The pattern is in F then transposed in descending 3rds (Db).

( fig 6. ) has an approach similar to ( fig 3. ). This is a major 7th arpeggios with super structure (9, #11, 13) transposed in 2nds. Basically, this is BMaj7(9/#11) made of BbMaj7 and Am7 arpeggios.
The C motive ends with a E triad to come up with CMaj7 #5/#11 sound.

Enjoy it!

Jean-François

www.soubelet.com 

Sixth senses (part 1)

Hi !

Today I’m sharing some ideas on how I like to practice basic material, and to focus on a cool interval, the sixth, very convenient in comp and solos.

The purpose of this post is:
to understand the connection between a third and a sixth,
to identify sixths intervals on the neck, especially vertically,
to play modes in sixths
to practice intervals with different rhythms,
to bring extra notes to the sixth and create patterns,


The sixth is nothing more than an inverted third.
C-E is a major third. E-C is a minor sixth
D-F is a minor third, F-D is a major sixth.

( fig. 1 ) shows these simple intervals and enable to hear thirds and sixths.

Now let apply major and minor sixths on a mode. « Moving chord tones » was all about applying chord tones on a mode (F# mixoydian), today we’re applying sixths on the same mode.

( fig. 2 ) is a plain reminder of F# mixolydian.

Now let’s play sixths on each note of this mode.

( fig. 3 ) is F# mixolydian played in sixths vertically, in Intervals only

If we break intervals into single notes, ( fig. 4 ) shows how to break F# mixolydian into sixths vertically.

I’ll focus on how to play sixths horizontally in future posts.

In my humble opinion, one of the purposes of practicing is to connect the dots between scales, modes, chords and others, in order to have a 360° overview of the basic material.

( fig. 5 ) shows how a play sixths with the addition of 5th, one step or half-step below the sixth. This 3-note pattern is a cool way to practice with a different rhythmic approach, in this case with triplets.

( fig. 6 ) is roughly based on the same approach, now with the addition of 7th, one step or half-step above the sixth.

These two exercices are efficient to practice many different ways of playing sixths, and also to connect the dots with diatonic intervals such as fifths and sevenths. Not to mention that that seventh are really important for chords.

I intend to post about substitutions in the future. For the moment, let’s have fun with sixths on F# mixolydian.

In ( fig. 7 ) the purpose is to play sixths, two degrees above one another.

Ex: F# - A#, then G#-B, then A#-C#, etc…

The structure of this 4-note group is 1-6-3-1.

We notice that each pair of sixths is some kind of arpeggio, not so far from the diatonic arpeggios we all know.

Ex in bar 14: F#/D#/A/F#, G#/E/B/G#, etc…

The benefits of this exercice are:
- mastering sixths positions,
-  introduction to substitution approach,
-  enlargement to the sound,
- coming up with new patterns.

Have fun


Jean-François

www.soubelet.com

 

Marseille in the summer

Some cool pics I took this summer.

 

Brooklyn Bridge

Some cool pics of New York at sunrise viewed from the Brooklyn Bridge. 

(February 2014)