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You are here: Home / Guitar / Longo’s List – 10 Study Areas of Music

Longo’s List – 10 Study Areas of Music

By Adam Rafferty 34 Comments

Music is a tricky thing to criticize.    Criticism can be good – in terms of listening “critically”.  We all like different things in music, and hear things according to our tastes.

Of course, I need music to ultimately make me “feel good” when i hear it, but here’s a very objective list to help you “picture” the elements of music.

When I started “apprenticing” with my most important teacher, Mike Longo – former pianist and musical director for Dizzy Gillespie, he told me to take out a piece of paper and make the following list.  We did this at lesson #1.

I’d like you to do this with me.  get a piece of paper out yourself and make this list.  If you only read it, it will be a “nice idea”.  I want you to have the list in front of you on your music stand!

Make a heading at the top of the page that says “Guitar“.

This can actually be any instrument, or any style.  If you play “Fingerstyle Guitar” put that at the top of the list.  This list, when finished will be your  main areas of study.

Next, write a line down the middle of the page and make 2 subheadings under the top heading.

“How To Play”  and “What To Play“.

Next, under “How To Play”  write:

  1. Touch
  2. Time
  3. Tone
  4. Technique
  5. Taste

Under “What to Play” write

  1. Harmony
  2. Melody
  3. Rhythm
  4. Counterpoint
  5. Form

“What to Play” can generally be written on paper in a book form – it’s “information”  much like a cookbook.

“How To Play” is a bit more elusive….some chalk it up to “feeling” but it’s much more than emotion.  It’s intuition and experience.  More on that in another post.

These 10 areas of study pretty much cover all of it!  So, if you are working on one area, be content with that and just work on the one area.

As you listen to yourself and others, or any music at all, try to think critically – have all of these 10 areas been covered?

I often hear fingerstyle guitar music lacking in the “melody” area.  Or if there’s a full evening of rubato improvisation, maybe “form and rhythm” are weak or missing.

Personally I had to deal with “touch” and “taste” when doing the I REMEMBER MICHAEL cd…those were the weak spots during my creation process.

Or, when I practice the Bach E Major Prelude, it’s still in need of better “technique” and fingerings.

I’m telling you this so that you can see I try to stand back from what I do, listen, think, and improve my own music.

So there’s always room to improve and grow for all of us!

Remember – when you listen critically you are not attacking a “person” , whether it’s yourself or another guitarist.

You are just simply verbalizing which area of the “music” (not the person) could stand improvement.

Now….git to work!

Filed Under: Guitar, Jazz Education, Personal Developement, Success

About Adam Rafferty

I’m Adam Rafferty – a guitar player born and raised in New York City, and currently spending most of my time on tour playing concerts and coaching my guitar students online at StudyWithAdam.com

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Reader Interactions

Comments

  1. Thinkingdog says

    November 4, 2011 at 2:13 am

    Thanks Adam — valuable stuff. For me, it’s easy to get caught in the trap of assuming I’ve done all the work needed when really I’ve only covered two or maybe three of the “how to play” items. Can’t thank you enough for the musical inspiration and for sharing your process. Best, TD

    Reply
  2. Single Malt Monkey says

    November 5, 2011 at 9:20 am

    Listening to you always inspires me to play. Watching this video says to me “Quit blogging Al and get your guitar out”. Nice work.

    Reply
  3. James Moore says

    January 19, 2012 at 1:41 am

    Adam, It’s Brother James and my wife, Bobbie, formerly from Nashville. Yes, formerly. We moved to Shelby, NC for a new job. Hated missing CAAS this year. Just thought we would say hello. Bobbie bought it me a Bourgeois Orchstra Model guitar for our Fortieth Wedding Anniversity. Next time we meet I would like to hear you play it. Your arrangement of Stevie Wonder’s “I Wish” sounds great on it! Hope the music is fresh, life is all smiles, and love anchors each moment. Live long, play often, strum loud, and God bless, Brother James and Bobbie

    Reply
  4. luciano says

    March 3, 2014 at 4:15 am

    excellent article helped me a lot to focus on priorities to improve my sound. obfigado by Adam corpartilhar their experiences!

    Reply
    • adamrafferty says

      March 3, 2014 at 11:37 am

      Luciano – glad you liked it!

      Reply
  5. Joël Badie says

    March 8, 2014 at 9:06 pm

    Thanks Adams. Your references/examples are a valuable template for success through technique & patience. Your previous mentions of Mike Longo inspired me to look for material on his harmonic approach to jazz. I have “The Technique Of Creating Harmonic Melody For The Jazz Improviser’. Love it!

    Reply
    • Charles Harrison says

      February 16, 2022 at 4:47 pm

      Hello, Would you possibly consider selling me your copy? I have been unable to find a copy anywhere on the internet and although I appreciate that this comment is out of the blue your comment was one of the top search results on google which hopefully highlights how tough it is to find!! Please let me know if you would be able to and email me at ctharrisonmusic@gmail.com

      Thanks very much,

      Charles

      Reply
  6. Vince says

    March 9, 2014 at 6:22 pm

    Really enjoy your news letters and you have expanded my playing with your sense of rhythm and now guidance to what I need to put into my music
    thank

    Reply
  7. David Keary says

    March 10, 2014 at 7:58 pm

    Great info….thanks for posting!

    Reply
  8. Phillip Woodson says

    April 24, 2014 at 3:56 pm

    Awesome information to consider. Thank you!

    Reply
    • adamrafferty says

      May 5, 2014 at 10:33 am

      Glad you liked this.

      Reply
  9. Nick Owen says

    August 27, 2014 at 10:52 pm

    Thanks for sharing Adam

    cheers mate

    Nick
    Melbourne
    Australia

    Reply
    • adamrafferty says

      September 2, 2014 at 7:57 pm

      Nick – Thanks for the comment!

      Reply
  10. Américo says

    September 26, 2014 at 12:58 pm

    Dear Adam. I am very grateful for the tips you have sent me.
    I play guitar for some time, I am self-taught. I love music, and there are things that had never heard. I will try to follow most of the advice.
    Thanks for everything.
    Américo

    Reply
    • adamrafferty says

      June 13, 2015 at 6:18 pm

      Thanks Americo!

      Reply
  11. baden clarke says

    September 29, 2014 at 6:55 am

    Hey Adam, love your music style.Just wanted to see some more christian music (christian as in the religion and not as the name) on your you-tube channel. thanks and keep up the good work!

    Reply
  12. Matt says

    September 30, 2014 at 2:26 pm

    Enjoyed the article above. I was wondering if you could recommend any books that are easy to understand regarding playing fingerstyle and the melody at the same time. Thanks.

    Reply
    • adamrafferty says

      October 16, 2014 at 4:45 pm

      Matt take a few easy classical lessons, that’s a good start to wring the brain for that!

      Reply
  13. hilovetz says

    November 6, 2014 at 9:36 am

    Thanks a lot for valuable information!

    Reply
  14. Thomas Bregatta says

    April 11, 2015 at 5:41 pm

    If you had asked me what I was going to play tonight on the job I would have pointed at my set list and if you had asked me how I was going to play, I I would have said,” the best I can.”.
    The list will be enormously helpful . Thanks . If I find myself an automatic pilot this evening I will call this to mind.

    Tom

    Reply
    • adamrafferty says

      April 12, 2015 at 4:15 pm

      Thanks Tom!!!

      Reply
  15. Bridget says

    September 16, 2015 at 5:32 pm

    Adam, thanks for putting up with tech problems to get us some great information! Since you are seeing this, it was a browser issue, first try was with Internet Explorer, this time with Chrome.

    Reply
    • adamrafferty says

      September 16, 2015 at 5:40 pm

      Bridget, you asked about “taste” so here is my answer (which I also emailed you…)

      Example – if you have many ways you can play a D minor chord for example, you can choose, maybe even spontaneously which one is best.

      Or, just today I was practicing a ballad with all sorts of different fingerings, and with a pick vs only fingers, listening intently for the “tastiest” sound I could get.

      So taste means you have a few ways to do something, and can decide by feel.

      Hope that answers it 🙂

      Adam

      Reply
  16. Malcolm Wilkinson says

    January 20, 2016 at 11:46 am

    Hi Adam
    I really appreciate your blog and the teaching videos you post. It is really making me think about what I am trying to achieve with my playing. Your arrangement of Silent Night was beautiful. The family are asking me how long I am going to keep playing it now that Xmas is over!
    I will be in New York 30 March to 5 April 2016. Do you have any gigs planned?
    Best wishes,
    Malcolm

    Reply
  17. Betty says

    February 10, 2016 at 4:09 pm

    Thanks Adam. This is one of your senior students. I love getting your emails. Since I’m learning at the age of 79….almost 80 (I waited a little late to start)…lol, some of this is going over my head. However, I’m keeping it all for the near future. Many thanks for these encouraging emails.

    Reply
  18. Christopher says

    April 4, 2016 at 9:14 pm

    I’m curious where I can find the definitions of the term you’ve outlined so that I know exactly what they mean. For example, I don’t know the difference between touch, technique and form.

    Reply
  19. Shin'Ichirou says

    May 17, 2017 at 4:27 pm

    “What to music” is to analyze the music ?
    So I think that is “Analyze” is to approach the first image of the composer of that song.

    Reply
  20. Chris says

    July 17, 2018 at 2:45 pm

    Hi, i am new to your blog and starting on guitar at 69, i was just thinking how do you know what fingerpicking pattern to use for different songs.
    Thank you
    Chis

    Reply
    • adamrafferty says

      July 19, 2018 at 9:58 pm

      Chris that’s a huge question, but a good one. It all depends on the underlying rhythm of the song. A great place to start would be some easy “thumb picking” – a song like Freight Train. It’s actually not easy at all! But a good place to start so you can play songs. Enjoy!

      Reply
  21. Sen. Leslie says

    August 21, 2018 at 5:19 pm

    Nice day Adam!
    I do not write many times because I do not understand the English language.
    I am a 70 year old and I started playing guitar for 10 years. By chance I heard Chet atkinst play and that’s it.
    I don’t teach a teacher, I learn myself and thank you for your advice. Help a lot.
    Regards
    Sen. Leslie

    Reply
    • adamrafferty says

      August 30, 2018 at 3:52 am

      Thanks Leslie!

      Reply
  22. Tom J says

    September 10, 2019 at 3:27 pm

    Thank you for your postings and sharing Mike Longo’s list. In many ways, Longo’s list embraces the body and soul of music. However, I do not quite understand “form” but presume it refers to “genre”. One usually doesn’t play a classical piece (e.g. Tarrega’s “Recuerdos de Alhambra”) with the style and flair of the blues. Perhaps you can clarify briefly.

    Peppino D’Agostino once gave me another perspective about playing music: pay attention to pitch, meter, and rhythm. Rhythm poses the final challenge to get the feel for any song.

    Reply
    • Adam Rafferty says

      February 22, 2020 at 4:43 am

      Tom – form is the structure, Recuerdos has a seriously effective form : AABB. 2 times theme in minor, then 2 times in major.

      Peppino is 100% right. Groove is almost everything.

      God bless! – AR

      Reply
  23. Ken says

    November 17, 2020 at 3:08 pm

    Hi Adam
    Thank you so much for Longo’s List! Perfect timing for where I am at and more importantly what I need to do! It gives me a lot to work on and a plan for how to approach it.
    Constructive criticism implies a balance. Yes, I can see your point about fingering, technique and some transitions but hey you have lovely touch, tone and taste. So, “chapeaux” to you for the feeling and emotion you convey with your music. Thank you.

    Ken Burch
    Oxford UK

    Reply

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