Bad Press
Published: Fri, 03/17/23
Having sat through more than my share of master classes and guest artist clinicians that were long on anecdote and short on tangibles, I pride myself, once given the space and attention, on delivering actual, usable material rather than mere bloviation. Not that I can't bloviate with the best of them; I just try and choose my spots. And to be clear, I've seen my share of perfectly brilliant clinics and master classes too, and some of the most effective and memorable moments were certainly more philosophical than "put your finger here."
But the point is, I'm mindful of not using my Youtube channel just to freestyle about my feelings. When I'm introducing a particular technique or musical concept, I try and get to the point as quickly as I can and support it with specific examples you can actually practice, and save the editorial content for when I have something very pointed to say regarding something I feel pretty strongly about.
Last week's video, "Don't Try To Learn Everything" was probably the first time since "Ask Me If I Care What Kind Of Spruce It Is" that I posted a video that had no actual playing content. Both times, the idea was something I'd been thinking about for a long while, and both times it seemed more efficient to just talk through the idea than to work it into a newsletter like this one. This one came out a little longer than I'd hoped, but when I went back to review it, I decided it was worth putting out as is rather than attempting to concoct a less long-winded second, third or tenth take.
So the video came out, and most everyone who watched it seemed to really enjoy it. And then there were those few folks who took severe umbrage at having spent thirteen minutes of their life with me which they will never get back, and for which suffering through they received nary a note of actual instruction. There are, of course, other videos of mine in which I actually go through a great deal of hands-on teaching material, which have their critics as well, chiefly people who find my teaching style entirely too verbal altogether. This absolutely comes with the territory; these people are thoroughly entitled to their opinions and since they are statistically very much in the minority as far as the comments go, I feel like on balance I've gotten more or less a free ride from the public sphere for as long as I've been doing this.
A week or two back one Ben Martin dropped me a line, asking if I'd be willing to chat with him for his podcast, "The Blues Guitar Show," which of course I said I would be. Ben turns out to be a lovely guy – as you would expect from someone who began his podcast during Covid as a way to provide his own dad, a "wayward guitarist," with a few pointers on how to play better blues guitar. We chatted for nearly an hour about all kinds of things, and you can hear it at the link below. But it's only fair to warn you – I did pick up my guitar a few times to illustrate this or that, but really, we're just talking. Caveat emptor.
The Blues Guitar Show, Episode #109
More soon,
David