A New Practice Regimen (Al Di Meola Month)

[duzie]

I feel that when I spend a considerable amount of time on 1 area other areas suffer .
It’s as if I’ve learned to thread a needle but can’t sew.

 

[la szum]

Keep riding the wave

That's so funny and synchronistic. I was thinking about how
momentum with guitar playing is like surfing a wave last night.

Riding thew wave is when we have some enthusiasm and momentum,
and then after that we have to paddle our ass off and get back out
there in hopes of another wave. Nothing against paddling our assess off.
No paddling. No surfing.

 

[FuzzyAce]

 

[FuzzyAce]

So once you've mastered Al @la szum , whose next on the list?
Alanis Morissette, Albert Collins, Albert King or Albert Lee?

 

[la szum]

Oh, let's get one thing straight here. There will be no mastering anything by me here.

I have ideas, though.

I am just excited about being excited about playing, and actually working on things I have
not worked on in eons.

If I can incorporate a few nuggets from the Real Masters into my own noodle-fests then
this will be a big win for me. Hell, I think it already is.

 

[FuzzyAce]

Happy it's working for you! Learning is fun.



Still can't wait til you get to nailing 'Ironic' though.

 

[la szum]

Will it be ironic if I don't??

 

[FuzzyAce]

A little too ironic, I really do think.

 

[metropolis_4]

That's so funny and synchronistic. I was thinking about how
momentum with guitar playing is like surfing a wave last night.

Riding thew wave is when we have some enthusiasm and momentum,
and then after that we have to paddle our ass off and get back out
there in hopes of another wave. Nothing against paddling our assess off.
No paddling. No surfing.

Good analogy! And sometimes it feels like this

 

[la szum]

Good analogy! And sometimes it feels like this

Haha! Yes! Lots of faceplants and wipeouts, too.

Man, I am so fascinated by Al's technique. The more I listen and the closer I
pay attention the more I notice. He is so precise. Amazing how it translates
to Acoustic, and back to Electric. I can totally hear how his passion for Flamenco
really impacted how he approached the Electric Guitar. All of those muted
passages and the tremolo picking. Totally Flamenco! And yet, he takes
those influences and creates his own style of playing. Genius!

 

[la szum]

Oh, and how about Steve Gadd on Drums here.

This passage is just pure and utter fire.

 

[la szum]

One more Al-ism for the day. How freaking dry can you make your tone? Not as
dry as Al's/ Holy Shit! You know that thing where we drench our solos in Delay and
Reverb to make us sound bigger and more virtuous than we actually are? Yeah, Al
ain't having none of that.

Time to rip the Band-Aids off!!

 

[la szum]

Man, this guitar thing is kind of hard.

The transitions from tender and soft to those blazing muted runs is kicking my ass.

I expected way more progress after 2 weeks and a couple of days of 30 minute
practice seshes. WTF???!!!

Also, Al don't do Boomer Bends. And could give a fuck all about Pentatonic this or that.

 

[la szum]

This is just so f'ing good. Forget sustain and any degree of gain doing
the heavy lifting. Not much hair (if any!) on them there notes.

Just impeccable touch and technique.

 

[la szum]

Excellent session this AM! I was tilling fields and turning over dirt earlier this
week and really struggling. A couple of things kind of came together for me
today. Or I am just in a halfway decent mood.

I didn't break out any Al Di Meola licks at practice last night with the band, but
I did notice that my right hand is more precise and picking and synchronization
of left and right hands was better. It felt easier and more effortless to play some
of our easy and cheezy stuff. That was both pleasant and reassuring.