@ Chris: Why did you study classical Guitar?

[t jonez]

Hi Chris,
to introduce myself, my name is Daniel, I am 21 years old and live in germany. I am playing guitar for about five years now and took lessons at Bernd Aufermann (Angel Dust) and Mattias Eklundh (Freak Kitchen).
I want to study music now and will start my preparation for this next month. I want to become a music teacher, but it is most important to me to increase my playing ability and musical understanding.

It would be interesting why you decided to study classical guitar and not Jazz . I think classical guitar is totally different to electric guitar, which is more like jazz.
How many years of playing experience on classical guitar did you have when you started studying?
Can you give an advice what is more useful in your opinion?

I think that i will have to study Jazz, i would prefer sudying classical guitar, but i did not learn it. I only play electric guitar, but i am not really into jazz, that sucks.

Thanks.
Best regards
Daniel

 

[Chris_Broderick]

Hi Chris,
to introduce myself, my name is Daniel, I am 21 years old and live in germany. I am playing guitar for about five years now and took lessons at Bernd Aufermann (Angel Dust) and Mattias Eklundh (Freak Kitchen).
I want to study music now and will start my preparation for this next month. I want to become a music teacher, but it is most important to me to increase my playing ability and musical understanding.

It would be interesting why you decided to study classical guitar and not Jazz . I think classical guitar is totally different to electric guitar, which is more like jazz.
How many years of playing experience on classical guitar did you have when you started studying?
Can you give an advice what is more useful in your opinion?

I think that i will have to study Jazz, i would prefer sudying classical guitar, but i did not learn it. I only play electric guitar, but i am not really into jazz, that sucks.

Thanks.
Best regards
Daniel

Hey Daniel,
I simply chose to study classical because I love the music, and had studied it for years before going into collage. I realize, like you that to get most higher education schools you have to do one or the other, and for me the choice was easy, but I did take quite a few Jazz classes as well.

 

[t jonez]

Thanks for your answer Chris.
Can you tell me please, how many years did you play classical guitar before starting studying?
That would be very interesting...

It sucks that i am that old , if i had enaugh time, i would try to learn classical guitar and study it afterwards. But in germany i have to start my studies until i get of 26, so i think its a bit too late for this.
Daniel

 

[Chris_Broderick]

Thanks for your answer Chris.
Can you tell me please, how many years did you play classical guitar before starting studying?
That would be very interesting...

It sucks that i am that old , if i had enaugh time, i would try to learn classical guitar and study it afterwards. But in germany i have to start my studies until i get of 26, so i think its a bit too late for this.
Daniel

It's never to late,
Just make sure you are doing it for the right reasons, (that you like the music and instrument you are planning to play). Then nothing else matters. If you are taking it to get into Collage then maybe Jazz is the way to go, however I believe the same thing for it as well. You will never be as good as you could if you don't really appreciate the music you are playing. Imagine Yanni (sp?) writing a metal song, it would be lame IMHO.

 

[t jonez]

You will never be as good as you could if you don't really appreciate the music you are playing.

Thats the difficult point, its kind of a vicious circle.
The guy who will prepare me for college ( I hope that he will do this) said the same thing. "If you dont like jazz, you will never make it...you have to like it to succeed."
For me it is not that easy to decide what to do know.
I think i have the better chance in playing jazz, because i play electric guitar for a while.
I dont think that i can reach such a high level of playing on classical guitar within the next 1 1/2 - 2 years that i can attend college.
Maybe i will try to prepare for college on both instruments, when i can afford this.
But i think i will run out of time, because i have to learn piano for it too.

Regards
Daniel

 

[Dischord]

I know this wasn't addressed to me at all but I'd like to point out a few things here:

To put a little more emphasis on Chris's meaning, loving the music you play is a BIG part of being successful in mastering it. If you don't have the interest you'll never push yourself to succeed in it.

Now I'll put that in perspective for myself:

My favorite music is, was, and always has been metal. Not that crap metal (Linkin Park, Bob Rock era Metallica, Limp Bizkit, Kid Rock etc) so I've been looking to learn more licks and take lessons...if my schedule ever lightens up I'm taking the internet lessons from Chris here simply because he's such a monster at lead guitar.

So to put things in a better perspective, I looked at the artists I like to hear the most.

The Great Kat
Pure classical madness on the guitar. I suggest the following selections from her for a reference point:
Beethoven Mosh
The Funeral March
Flight of the Bumblebee
Vivaldi's the Four Seasons
Paganini's 24th Caprice

Randy Rhoades:
Pure classical genius in metal. I suggest the following selections from him, from the Ozzy Tribute (Live) album:
Crazy Train
Mr. Crowley
Suicide Solution

Chuck Schuldiner:
Simplistic classical scales used in very unique ways. I suggest the following selections from him:
Nothing is Everything
Trapped in a Corner
A Story to Tell
Voice of the Soul
Crystal Mountain
Lack of Comprehension
Pull the Plug
Consumed

Alex Skolnick:
Jazz guitar infused in brutal ripping form in a very thrashy metal style. I suggest the following selections from him:
The Ballad
Return to Serenity
Souls of Black
Practice What You Preach
Disciples of the Watch
Over the Wall
Alone in the Dark
Electric Crown

Chris Broderick (Can't leave the man out on his own site, and besides that his solos SMOKE with the rest of the guys listed here). I don't think I need to suggest any selections as you guys are obviously Jag Panzer fans and can hear the classical and jazz stylings of this monster player in the music!

Anders Allhage aka Andy LaRocque:
Now he's a bit harder to fathom in his stylings because he's very diversified, mixing chromatics, classical, harmonic, and jazz scales together infusing them to fit his own style. Selections I recommend by him:
Trapped in a Corner
Destiny
Cold (with At the Gates)
Welcome Home
A Visit From the Dead
Sleepless Nights
The Invisible Guest
No Presents for Christmas
Halloween
Black Horsemen
Lurking in the Dark
Into the Convent
Insanity
I'm Not a Stranger
Daddy
From the Other Side
One Down Two to Go
Just a Shadow
House of God
Catacomb
The Lake
Shrine
A Mansion in Darkness
A Mansion in Sorrow
Magic
Christmas
Living Dead

OK, too many to name...but the idea I'm trying to convey here is these are some KILLER players, the true masters of their art, and they have influences outside of metal which they use to infuse into their metal to make the music all the more interesting. Using this approach, I think, would enable you to focus harder on the stuff you dislike by being able to use that knowlege to write things you DO like, and make some very new and interesting riffs.

Hope I've not stepped on your toes Chris, just wanted to be helpful!
Don