Advice From Papa Gates

[Jak Angelescu]

Hello students! I tried my hardest to sum up the 3 hour long conversation all 3 of us had. There were some unbelievably awesome stories I got to hear that I will never forget. But the coolest thing was the guitar knowledge that he shared. There were 3 big key points that I took away and I hope you guys like it!

 

[Ed Seith]

Great video, and Papa’s point #3 gets me especially good! Thanks for sharing, Jak! And BIG GRATS on the scholarship thingie, too!

 

[Jak Angelescu]

Thank you so much Captain! It means the world! Glad you got something out of it too

 

[Rute Rodrigues]

Great video jak! I was doing the same practise routine as you, 1 hour a thing, another hour another thing… This really helped me! Damn, thanks for sharing! Yeah.
Oh yeah and great shirt! Forget about justin bieber i want m shadows ahahhaa awesome!

 

[Jak Angelescu]

I am so glad you got something from it! Practicing that way can definitely be stressful. And I actually got this sweater as a gift from a client from my former job about 4 years ago it definitely causes a stir where I live because everybody loves Justin Bieber yet nobody knows who M shadows is.
Needless to say when I bring up a picture on my phone Matt always wins the contest of who’s more handsome

 

[Ed Seith]

I see people posting ” Oh, I was practicing these 5 things for an hour at a time…” and I’m like, wow, family and career eat one HELL of a lot of my time. I’ve made big changes to prioritize making sure I can almost always get roughly an hour a day.
I also lack the focus to work on ONE THING for that long. Most of the items I practice are less than 5 minutes apiece. The longest thing I’m working on right now is the solo bits in Critical Acclaim for the alternate picking work, and I spend about 10 minutes on that. More would see my mental faculties fading away – learning new stuff when you’re older is a be-atch.

 

[Rute Rodrigues]

In summer holidays I was practising 10/12 hours a day, and it was like 1 hour for one exercice, 1 hour to other thing, 1 hour jamming, music theory, originals, covers,etc. Its easier be focused in just one or two things.
@jak matt will always win, but I think it is funny when justin bieber fans see you with that sweat! Ahaha

 

[Chris Johnston]

Great video and great points!
The point PG made about sitting down and trying to figure out a melody in your head is something that’s really transformed my own playing when improvising!
It stops the music theory library in your head trying to analyse whats going on and conditions you to play more authentically/in the present.
Was great to see this technique confirmed by PG
Thanks Jak!

 

[Jamie London]

I can’t wait to get home from work and check this out!

 

[Kai C]

Thank you for this, that advice was amazing!

 

[AGA]

This was great, thank you SO MUCH for this video Jak!
This could not have come at a better time, this is EXACTLY where my mind’s been at for the last couple days and hearing you say it out loud sent the message home.
What you talked about has always been my #1 problem with guitar, I never have figured out which kind of guitar player I want to be. Always practicing a bit of this and a bit of that, and well, not getting very good at any of them. Over time, by a process of elimination, I’ve figured out which kind of player I DON’T want to be. THIS IS WHAT I NEEDED TO HEAR AT THIS POINT. I also always felt like I needed to be all of those players like you said. Ridiculous, I know, but for years I felt that pressure. LOL.
Yesterday actually, I was reassessing my guitar goals and said to myself. 1) Which skills am I actually going to need and use in my music? Develop those. 2) Play to your strengths. (no pun intended) I feel very confident singing, therefore I should work on my rhythm playing to accompany myself.
Thank you SO MUCH Jak! And thanks for the mention lol.

 

[Jak Angelescu]

You are most welcome! I am so glad that this is touching so many students in such a positive way

 

[Brian Haner Sr.]

Such a fun night! Always great to see you. Glad you got something out of my endless rambling. We definitely dove down a couple of rabbit holes. lol. My life has been filled with comedy and politics for the past year so I haven’t played much guitar, and I certainly haven’t talked guitar with anyone for months. Could you tell?
I think you pretty much nailed the ideas. As guitarists, we can’t be all things to all people. That doesn’t mean we can’t be versatile, but it does mean the more you do one thing – the better you will get at it. After you can cover the basic theory and techniques, then it’s up to you to pursue the things that will make you the unique guitar player you want to be.
The idea of playing melodies is an old one. It trains you to play what you hear in your head and not just rattle off scales & arpeggios. Make the dog wag the tail.
Thanks for sharing!
Hugs to you & Holly!
PG