A few weeks ago, I had the immense pleasure of seeing Bruce Hornsby live for the first time. I have to admit, I wasn’t that excited at first. I was only familiar with Bruce’s work that went mainstream – songs like “Mandolin Rain” were what I thought represented the bulk of Bruce’s creative stylings…and his crossover album with Ricky Skaggs.

BoywasIwrong.

I was absolutely floored to learn that Bruce’s music is a lot more like highly technical jam band/roots rock than the pop stuff I’ve heard on the radio for all these years.

So check out his music, particularly “Noisemakers.” Totally rad. Great grooves. The man is also a jaw-dropping technician…so much so that 2 non-musicians in our group were even overwhelmed by what the guy can do on a piano. But that’s not the point of this post. The point is to talk about what happened after the show.

Thanks to my good buddy Joe Patti, we were lucky enough to spend some time backstage with Bruce himself, where I learned a hugely important lesson that applies to music, business, and life in general!

Some background: Bruce has been touring consistently for 10, 15 years or more. He has very high retention with his band members. In fact, many of the band members have been with him for the bulk of his solo career. I knew this going into the performance because my buddy Steve is a huge Bruce Hornsby fan.

One of the things that really stood out about Bruce and his band was how happy they seem to be while playing. These are guys that have been playing together for many years, many shows, many frustrations and yet they still seem to be so happy to be playing with one another. What gives?

Once we got backstage I had the opportunity to ask Bruce that question. He said it’s really simple. He keeps things fresh by “f***ing with them” all the time. (His words, not mine.)

When asked to elaborate, he said he keeps things from getting stale by changing key signatures, time feels, grooves, bridges, jam sections, tempos, etc. on his guys. He keeps them challenged by keeping it challenging. He doesn’t let them fall into the “yet another day at the office” rut.

The music sounds fresh because it’s fresh. The band looks happy because they’re happy.

The most important portion of this lesson, though, was how he left it. At the end of the conversation, he said that in order to keep things fresh for his band, he has to take a lot of musical risks…risks that could end in the band sounding loose and sloppy. However, the risks are worth it because of what happens when he takes a risk and it works. He said that he is willing to have the band sound okay or mediocre 70% of the time if it means that the other 30% will blow his listeners out of the water.

Great business insight from a music industry monster! You can apply this to site builds, product launches, new hires, promotions…wow!

Questions: Are you okay with letting your employees/business partners/clients/children fail occasionally if it helps them achieve excellence? Have you created a culture at work or at home that teaches that it’s okay to take risks so long as those risks are calculated, and that you are not simply setting yourself up for failure?

I put this together to clarify some jumbled up comments I made on the Chordie.com forums yesterday, but thought others might be able to benefit, too:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=41qB_1y_Zkg

This video (shared by a member of the Chordie community), in addition to be inspiring and jaw-dropping to watch, should teach us something about right hand strength and right hand pressure. Listen for volume drop between the soloist’s picked notes and hammer ons. There isn’t much. Why? Because he isn’t overplaying with his right hand.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRJbg1XyEbo

When reading about guys like SRV with their sick hand strength, it becomes tempting to whack the poop out of your guitar at every opportunity. This does not create good tone. It does create horrible sustain, causes your strings to go sharp when you first hit them, and makes it tough for your left hand to keep up during legato runs.

So instead of whacking the shit out of your guitar all the time, dial the volume up, dial the right hand pressure back, and try to play such that your picked phrases match the sound output of your left hand heavy runs (hammer ons, pull offs, sweep picking, etc).

Barre Chords, Lesson 2:

More Barre Chords! from sparkpig on Vimeo.

I’m moving the GTOTW to video! Woo-haa! At any rate, our first edition focuses on barre chords, specifically on a new way to play them. I find this alternative much easier on my left hand. It also opens up a lot of filling options! Check it out:

An Alternative to Barre Chords from sparkpig on Vimeo.

I received some horrible news about 30 minutes ago. One of the most beloved members of my alma mater’s music faculty passed away. His name was Richard Hoffman, but everyone called him “Hoff.” I took a number of his classes and played in a few of his ensembles – he was the kind of guy that you couldn’t help but love. He was extremely animated, full of joy and love of life, and he was very passionate about his career and his students. The first time I met him he reminded me of what a Dr. Seuss character would be like if it grew up and got a gig teaching music – he was just an over-the-top, larger-than-life, happy guy. Incredible teacher, too.

As I sat reading Facebook posts and reflecting, I realized that Hoff is responsible for a few really important lessons that I have taken with me over the years. This is by no means a comprehensive list, and feel free to add more if you knew Hoff and you’d like to share.

1. Never take life too seriously. Although Hoff knew when to joke around and when to be serious (see #2), there was always a happy vibe about the guy. He never seemed to take things too seriously and always had a smile ready and waiting. During a dress rehearsal for Little Shop, with everyone in the pit stressed and tired from hours and hours of rehearsal, I remember Hoff lightening things up by chucking candy at us. I also remember that his aim was either quite bad or quite good, as I was hit in the face with a Rolo or a Tootsie Roll. He would dress you down for doing something stupid in rehearsal and 5 minutes later he’d be over it.

2. If you’re going to do something, don’t half-ass it. Hoff used to get frustrated with me due to, how shall I say, a relaxed ethic when it came to rehearsal. Even if I knew a piece of music forward and backward, he insisted upon concentration and focus and constant effort. He got really mad when he could tell I was just on cruise control. This also manifest itself in Hoff’s ensembles – conducting was a very intense physical exercise for him. He’d throw enough sweat to re-flood Cedar Rapids. You had to be careful not to get a face full.

3. Don’t forget about your all-stars. My friend Angie is an awesome piano player. She kicked ass in every ensemble we were in together. Her work ethic was amazing…she probably learned that from Hoff. She rehearsed hours and hours a day and then went into a practice room and worked by herself for hours and hours more. While many instructors (and managers) would tend to ignore their “Angie” and work on B and C players, Hoff constantly gave her suggestions on how to improve – and lots of reinforcement for being the bad-ass that she was and still is. And know what? She got better and that made everyone around her better.

4. Care about your people. When Hoff asked “how are you doing,” he really wanted to hear the answer. He was genuinely interested in the well-being of everyone around him. I remember one time after missing a few rehearsals (due to being sick or hung over, I can’t recall), Hoff actually called my dorm room to make sure I was ok.

5. Laugh loud and laugh frequently. Hoff didn’t laugh with his mouth or his face or even his whole body…he laughed with the environment around him. His laugh changed the dynamic of the room and everyone in earshot.

6. Create an environment that your people enjoy. Despite the fact that Hoff challenged me with an intensity that (frankly) pissed me off from time to time, and regardless of the fact that I knew taking one of his classes meant he was going to make me work my ass off, I enjoyed every moment that I interacted with him. He was demanding but he also created an atmosphere you couldn’t get enough of.

7. There’s a difference between playing music and being a musician. Hoff challenged all of us to play as perfectly as we could as individuals AND as part of the group we were in. For me, he knew that meant playing consistently from performance to performance – I grew up improvising a lot so I mostly enjoyed pulling stuff out of my butt. He encouraged me to not just be a guitar player, but to be a musician.

Without realizing it, I internalized a lot of these lessons and implemented them in the bands I was in and the companies I have run. RIP Hoff. We’ll miss you.

I’ve met a lot of professional musicians who are arrogant asshats.

Stan Skibby is not one of them.

In addition to being a fan-freaking-tastic guitar player (very Hendrixy, much to my satisfaction), Stan Skibby is a downright awesome human being. I’ve had the pleasure of sharing the stage with Stan a few times, and his modesty, humility and pleasant demeanor really caught me off guard – in a good way. He’s just a cool, genuine guy. It’s something that every musician/business professional/human being should strive for – regardless of your level of ability or self-confidence. Just because you have 55,000 fans on Facebook or a record deal or just sold your company for a bajillion dollars, don’t think your accomplishments give you the latitude to be an asshole.

Stan’s playing is incredible. Check it:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zw_LlJGuQkg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hw9fFrIyCNs

Hit him up at http://www.myspace.com/stanskibby

What makes a marketer/musician/businessman/individual truly “great?”

This is the ongoing debate I’ve had with a friend of mine. He believes greatness (particularly in the political arena) is defined by being “the smartest person in the room.” I disagree.

It’s not just about being the best, smartest, or fastest, or knowing the most notes, or helping others. Greatness is also defined by your limitations.

Can you look at a situation, acknowledge that you can’t pull it off alone, and bring in the pros? Can you hire for your deficiencies rather than just employ people who think like you? Do you play with musicians who are better than you or strive to be the best musician in any project?

I am TERRIBLE at arranging music. I like to write tunes and noodle around a bit with it but when it comes to arrangements I’m lost. Back in Chicago I discovered an awesome piano player and arranger. No matter how uncomfortable I felt with his suggestions, I did my best to implement them because I knew he had a skill set that I did not have.

It is hard to stifle yourself when you disagree with an idea, but sometimes that is exactly what you have to do to grow and become great.

I’m still on the boat in Cabo so this is going to be a quick one -

I met a new buddy on the boat. His name is Dave and he’s a music teacher in Mesa, AZ. We had a great time with terrible impersonations during a karaoke contest – he was the Elton John winner, while I attempted (and later withdrew) a bid to become the boat’s official Britney Spears. (pictures forthcoming)

Although I didn’t learn a whole lot about him, I respect the heck out of anyone who can ditch the self consciousness and hop on stage for a tune or two – particularly one that they haven’t practiced.

That made me think about this week’s tip: If you’re trying to make a career out of playing, being a great musician is really important. That said, being a great performer is just as important. If you’re new to performing, you will be nervous your first time…without a doubt.

The best way to get over those nerves is to practice, right? But how do you practice being on stage without actually being onstage at a paid gig? Simple. Karaoke. This might sound kinda goofy, but it will help you:

- Be on a stage in front of people.

- Learn to be ok with making mistakes during a performance.

- Get past your nerves and relax while performing.

- Deal with pre-performance jitters.

- Depending upon the venue, adjust to lighting, hecklers, bad sound systems, etc.

This one might not apply if you’re on stage regularly but should prove to be a simple (and free) practice technique for the newbies.

Anyways, thanks to Elton John from Mesa for this week’s tip!!!!

A popular guitar forum that I frequent gets a lot of these types of questions:

1. How do I learn how to shred?

2. What scale is this (random notes that have nothing diatonically to do with one another)?

3. How can I make my sweep picking faster/better/whatever?

4. What chords are these (random, again meaningless triads)?

I have advice for those guys – quit it. Your perspective above is wrong. While technique and theory are really important, they aren’t the most critical part of music. The most critical aspect of music is, of course, being musical. It takes time, practice and self-critique to develop musicality. If you aren’t doing that you are missing the MOST IMPORTANT part of development as a guitarist.

If you want  4% of the male population to geek out while you play 64th note sextuplets at 240 BPM, sweet – keep the practice up. On the other hand if you want to have a chance of taking your career anywhere you need make good music, not technical music, so stop being a guitar player and start being a musician. Stop f***ing shredding!

Two quick questions:

1. How many great shredders are there who have made it big? Like “do it for a living” big?

2. How many mediocre guitar players have made it big because they are incredible musicians/songwriters/performers?

If your answer to #1 is less than your answer to #2, you need to adjust your practice schedule so that it is more in line with a long term goal that looks like #2.

One great way to do this is take lessons on another instrument or from a good instructor who teaches on another instrument. Find a great piano player, tell him what you’re trying to do and get him to work with you on musicality. He can’t give you tips on technique because he doesn’t know any.