Guitar

Guitar Spotlight: Soenke Meinen

On my last tour in Germany I made it over to the Frankfurt Musik Messe and hung out in the Acoustic Guitar “Section” of the fair. Maton Guitars, Lakewood Guitars and Acoustic Music were all within walking distance of each other.

It was a blast!!! Since I play Maton guitars as my primary instrument, I spent quite a lot of time over by them.

Then I stumbled upon this fellow, Soenke Meinen who blew me away.

Many of his old videos are no longer on YouTube, but here’s one of his most famous current tunes:

Soenke and I chatted. He knew me from youtube, so we took turns playing at the booth. What a nice kid! And he’s young. Uh oh, us semi-old farts had better keep practicing! 🙂

As legend has it, Soenke was a devoted classical guitar student and at precisely the time that his teacher fell ill and announced he could no longer teach him, Soenke just happened to go to a Tommy Emmanuel concert for the first time.

The rest is history, or at least the beginning of it!

What struck me about Soenke was the calm, relaxed, poise with which he plays. His technique was “poetry in motion” – which is something I strive for. I could hear a depth and a knowledge of music.

A lot of young players these days start out by playing “Tommy” – which really is fine. We all climb the musical mountain in different ways. In Soenke’s case I was really excited to hear a kid with great technique and a solid grasp of harmony and proper voice leading – and a lyricism that touched my heart.

He played a bunch of original songs when I heard him. They were very Tommy Emmanuel “inspired”. Maybe a voicing here and there, a strum here and there were reminiscent of the great Tommy…but the “compositions” were his and there is a serious composer here!

Sonke has a great sense of song form and melody. The phrasing makes sense…in fact – I truly would love to learn some of the kid’s songs! He’s the real thing.

Soenke surprised me the just other day, via Youtube. He smashed a bunch of my licks and ideas together, then added his own magic…and created a tune called “Adam’s Groove”. Here is a live version of it. (Dang, he’s gigging with this tune…that deserves a 2nd thank you)

Thanks Soenke!

Guitar Practice Techniques to Program Your Subconcious Mind

By Adam Rafferty 14 Comments

Greets friends! I am back in the oven known as August in New York after a very nice 14 days on the west coast.

An interesting thing happened at a guitar class/lecture/performance and I’d like to share it with you. My good friend Frank teaches an evening guitar class at a college in the Bay Area, and I got to do a Q&A and playing session for one of his classes.

I find it hard to speak and perform in the same setting. It’s like I don’t know whether I am in the left brain or right brain zone. When I finally got down to performing that night, I had what I consider to be an unacceptable memory slip on a tune that I have played a million times – “Billie Jean”. Partially because of the mental zone, but also due to preparation.

Recently I upgraded the chorus to fit the phrasing of the original song better, and the newer different fingering was new enough that it still required conscious control. I had yet to get the new fingering into the subconscious so that the fingers just “go there”.

I don’t think anyone else except Frank knew. My mind went blank for a split second for the fingering of the chorus of the song due to the newness of the fingering. I played the melody with chord forms under it and got right back on…but I thought to myself “I gotta drive this down even deeper into my subconscious – first thing tomorrow!”

I wasn’t angry, did not beat myself up, and the performance was just fine from the audiences point of view. However, this flaw was to be addressed in my next practice sessions.

(There’s nothing like performing to show you what you need to practice 🙂

I decided to use some of the techniques I’ve learned from success coach Brian Tracy to drive this tune deep to the level of never ever botching it ever again. These motivational techniques are nice to “hear” but I decided to use them and see if they worked any differently from standard “practicing”.

Here’s a recent video of Billie Jean live where I am in performance mode! No problems here….just a lot of heat that day:

1) Make it the #1 Priority

Sounds simple, but I made this the #1 priority in my life for a few days. It’s one of my most requested tunes, so it deserves this attention. How often do we know we need to make something a priority and then allow small things to get in the way? This was (and is still) priority #1 until it is bulletproof.

2) Use Positive Self Talk

I carefully guarded my speech and said over and over “I play Billie Jean perfectly. I nail it to the wall. My version of Billie Jean is flawless.”

I gave energy to the positive vision, not the negative. You dig?

3) Visualization

I went to sleep visualizing the right left hand fingering. This was hard!!! Every time I woke up out of sleep, I tossed and turned and only visualized the right fingering! I flooded my mind with the right visual.

4) Practice in 15 Minute Time Chunks

Brian Tracy says somewhere that our minds pick up the most at the beginning and end of practice sessions. I practiced for a few days, and for each 15 minute chunk of practice I played the chorus to Billie Jean. 15 minute chunks do more for your mind than an hour straight he says.

That’s it. Practice makes perfect…now get to work!!!! As soon as I hit the post button it’s practice time.

– Adam

A New Social Media Technique For Musicians Called “ECKMA”

By Adam Rafferty 6 Comments

Currently, musicians are becoming more and more aware that they need to use social media for their online PR and presence. Sites like Facebook, blogs, and Youtube are critical for musicians.

In fact, social media has helped me build my career and I am very thankful for these new outlets. It’s the new way musicians do business.

I’d like to introduce a technique of mine which I call “ECKMA” . This is a “secret” forgotten technique which will help you reduce your time spent on social media and increase your time spent playing music and practicing.

(Read on to find out what “ECKMA” stands for….)

If you spend a lot of time on the computer, on Facebook, on blogs, the most important thing – your music – can suffer. IMHO, coming up with new music and keeping my chops up is critical.

If you get burnt out on the computer, are feeling overwhelmed, and unsure of how to attack the music industry, then this is for you.

How do you find more time to focus on your craft? It’s easy – say “ECKMA”, which stands for….

“Everybody Can Kiss My A–“

That’s right!

Now there is a wisdom in this, despite the humorous twist. It’s about your “core talent”. Focusing on what you and only you can do is something you need to spend time on every day.

Mediocre musicians with great Facebook techniques and email lists do not interest me, or anyone. A flash in the pan and news of the day does not amount to a substantial musician who creates timeless songs.

If you don’t take a stance to work on your craft daily, all the social media in the world means little. You and only you can put the balance in your life.

You have to do

– your own pushups
– your own songwriting
– your own practicing
– your own inner spritual work

…as well as your marketing. But don’t forget about your craft.

And this means TURNING OFF the computer, the iPhone, the TV and giving yourself the essential gift of silence, time and the joy of creation. Everyday you should unplug for a chunk of time.

So, when I close my laptop and shut the cell phone and leave my apartment and take ONLY a guitar with me, I say “everybody can kiss my a–“. Then I have the focus and silence to practice. I unplug. Yay!

That’s to give myself the fundamental, essential gift of time, silence and solitude…which is an integral part of being human.

Bassist John Clayton says that after all the noise, buzz, news, and PR it comes down to 2 words…”the music”.

Good Luck!

– Adam

How to Be A Visionary and Avoid Kryptonite

By Adam Rafferty 6 Comments

Last week I had a fine get-together with some college friends, some of whom I have not seen in what feels like 20 years. To my surprise and delight, one of my music professors came on through and we got to hang.

What a delight it was…to be able to show him some of my accomplishments and thank him for his support in my formative years. His style was that of an older guy who saw seeds of talent and knew that students would flourish, given encouragement.

Rather than force his way on them, he was a listener who was constantly amazed at what the young “cats” would come up with. Now he’s amazed at the changes in the music business over the last 25 years and following it closely. He learns from as well as teaches his students.

The point is this – I saw that while he let me do my thing and kick my own butt, he supported my vision. That’s not a small thing. In fact, that is huge. Thank you, Jim.

Here’s How to Be a Visionary, in a Nutshell

Imagine what you want to be do or have, and have the guts, the balls, the whatever you call ’em – to have that clear vision in your mind’s eye – in spite of what is presently around you.

You see, your present surroundings and circumstances are the result of the past, but your future is the result of your vision NOW. This can be tricky to maybe pull yourself up by your bootstraps, and will require 1) a defined, not foggy, vision of what you want, and 2) repeated practice in having that vision. You may have to get away from some present circumstances to strengthen your vision.

How to Avoid Kryptonite

One of my best friends is in a very unsupportive relationship. The minute he has a vision, a dream – it gets shot down by his “significant other”…and this is the worst poison anyone can have in their lives.

Basically this person in his life is creating the future out of what she sees presently – but my buddy wants a future to come out of his “vision”. That’s 2 VERY different approaches, kids!

Before being a solo guitarist, I was the guy playing every restaurant in NYC and teaching twinkle twinkle to 8 year olds. I am in no way putting that down, because it’s noble and many people all over the world do that! Hiowever, I wanted more than that…I wanted touring, I wanted my talents to shine, and want to make a couple o’ bucks too! 🙂

To have more fulfillment for myself, it all had to start with a dream, a vision. (See my blog on upward & downward causation)

Looking back from the vantage point of now finally being on an upward swing of success (and enjoying the hell out of life) I tell you this – in comparing my professor who was encouraging, and my friend’s wife who shoots his ideas down….

Stay away from the negative people like Superman avoids Kryptonite. One bad word can weaken you…it’s the worst poison there is.

Statements like

1) “Well you’re still gonna have to pay the bills…”
2) “Well you still are going to have to be realistic…”
3) “You’ll never make money doing that…”
4) “You are not ______ enough to do that…”
5) “You are (race, sex, religion, age) and no one will ever pick you….”

Anything like this serves the person saying it, so that they can justify THEIR lack of strength in being a visionary. It has nothing to do with you, and simply serves them.

I heard and dealt with all of this too…and the only cure is keeping one’s own vision clear.

If you need support in your vision and don’t have a supportive person in your life – you have me now. I’ll support your dream and help you.

Leave a comment or email me, and know that Adam believes in you. That’s the coolest gift I can give!

We are Living in an Exciting Era for Fingerstyle Guitar. Where’s it Going Next?

By Adam Rafferty 24 Comments

(At the end of this post, I’d very much like YOU to tell me and the readers where you think fingerstyle guitar could possibly be heading next….)

This is a really exciting time in the fingerstyle guitar scene, and I feel blessed to be playing guitar at this time in history. We’re all going through this very cool time together – and it is time for you to get involved…

In case you didn’t know this – back in the 1950’s classical guitar wasn’t an option in conservatories, in fact guitar was not even considered a “real” instrument. Yet, Andres Segovia stepped up to the plate when everyone thought guitar wasn’t a real instrument and said “here’s some Bach…now deal with this!”

In the 80’s classical guitar became accepted in the major music conservatories. Wow. Doesn’t seem like a big deal but it is.

In the 60’s Wes Montgomery came along and put mainstream jazz onto a guitar with a level of touch, taste and groove that he influenced a whole generation of guitarists and still does. Chet Atkins put songs on the guitar with his signature “boom chick” sound and practically defined fingerstyle guitar as we know it. Not to mention, Chet played on countless old rock & roll albums.

Today, Tommy Emmanuel has brought the “ultimate Michael Jordan” experience to the guitar. Every time he plays, it’s beyond a slam dunk. Chops and energy meet invention, harmonics and beauty. He has inspired me and thousands of young guitar players.

I find this evolution fascinating…of course there are many many more players who have pushed the guitar into new territories, too numerous to list here. And there are tons of new guys working hard at the craft! Andy McKee has taken the tapping – percussive approach and evolved it.

One of my goals is to “play the groove and counterpoint” that a whole funk band might play. Funky guitar in a band setting is one thing, but funky guitar with 2 or 3 independent moving basslines is a challenge. I guess that’s why I have gravitated towards Stevie Wonder and the Jackson 5.

(In case you are interested in playing my Jackson 5 arrangements – the new instructional DVD with tab booklet will be available for purchase the second week of August, stay tuned! This launch is a major event that I’d like you to be part of…so stay tuned…)

If you think about it, playing the music of the J5 is a New York City kid’s version of just what Chet or Tommy is doing. The common denominator? We’re all playing songs and making people happy – only I am playing with the grooves I heard here in New York in the 70’s and 80’s, not a Nashville boom chick groove.

I really look forward to YOUR contribution and encourage you to dig deeply into your musicality. Please practice hard, post your videos to youtube and let me know what you are up to.

Where do you think fingerstyle guitar is heading next? Leave a comment here…I am very curious as to what you have to say about this topic.

Until next time…

Adam