A Lesson In Guitar Simplicity From Andy Summers
Sometimes we guitar players insist in taking the hardest possible option. Maybe we are afraid of being accused of "cheating", or maybe we simply do not see the simpler solution. Either way, this usually make us sound worse, not better.
There is a song by The Police that I used to play from when I was in high school (I'd be surprised if you do not know it). I played it in at least two different bands I was in. And I played it wrong. Every. Single. Time.
What happened is that:
- I had to put WAY more effort in playing it. The stretch was horrible...
- It sounded worse, because I made it much more difficult!
I wish I could tell you I realized the right way to play it in a moment of genius, but the reality is simply that I watched a video of Andy Summers playing the song live (Andy Summers is the guitar player for The Police, in case you have been living under a rock) and happened to notice how his fingering was different than mine - and better.
In the video below I tell you all about that song, my wrong fingering (that you may be using!), and the right fingering. And then we see another couple of examples when thinking 5 minutes top choose the best fingering REALLY pays off.
Now I want to hear from you. Did something similar ever happened to you? Or is there a song that you suspect you are playing wrong? Let me know in the comments!
As we have seen in the video, the basics are important! Learn your guitar basic right and then go beyond them with the Master of the modes course (for scales, arpeggios, lead playing) and the Complete Chord Mastery course (for chords, chord progressions, rhythm playing - great for acoustic guitar too!). Those courses will make learning much simpler for you!!
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