John Vere Posted February 21 Share Posted February 21 I'm teaching my Grandson to play guitar. I taught lessons seriously for 25 years on and off. A first stumbling block I would run into was figuring out if this was going to be a waist of time because the person had zero musical ability. I started looking into way to determine if this could be tested and found this which is from the Harvard Music Lab. It was an interesting test. Some of the questions were you listen for out of time and out of pitch were real hard to tell. But I scored OK I guess. It actually seems accurate as after all I'm just a hacker! , Have fun https://www.themusiclab.org/quizzes/miq https://www.themusiclab.org/quizzes/miq Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigb Posted February 21 Share Posted February 21 1 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigb Posted February 21 Share Posted February 21 (edited) But, if I can break from my usual expected replies and be serious for a moment ( ), I've always looked at musical education as a stool with multiple legs: Music Theory (notes, keys, scales, chords, chord progressions, harmony, melody, etc.) Instrument Knowledge (how it's setup, how it's used, how to tune it, how to play it, how to maintain it, etc.) Physical Training (muscle memory, body preparation like stretching exercises for flexible fingers, repetitive exercises, etc.) Ear Straining Training (perfect pitch, relative pitch, etc.) All legs need to be incrementally lengthened to keep the stool somewhat balanced. For example, having blazingly fast fingers isn't going to be useful if you don't know what notes to play! Actually, one area that's crucial that I didn't include (and that I have difficulties with! 😆 ) is developing a good sense of timing and rhythm. Another is how to deal with issues like performance anxiety. I'm sure we all know someone who's insanely talented until you hit record or they try to play for others; then they lock up and can even get physically sick! Finally, in the beginning, it's very important to not go cheap on their first instrument! Nothing kills the motivation to learn and be interested like trying to play on something that's almost unplayable to begin with! A guitar with sharp-edged frets and strings that are about 1/2" above the fretboard comes to mind. Ok! I'm done with my diversion! 😁 Edited February 21 by craigb Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Esteban Villanova Posted February 21 Share Posted February 21 😲 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Vere Posted February 21 Author Share Posted February 21 I just thought of something . I’m going to send the link to the boys in this band I play with sometimes. The test was missing a lot. It really only tested for 3 things. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeeringAmps Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 7 hours ago, craigb said: But, if I can break from my usual expected replies and be serious for a moment How dare you! This IS The Coffee House. t Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gswitz Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 I suck at melodies. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigb Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 53 minutes ago, DeeringAmps said: How dare you! This IS The Coffee House. t 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rain Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 10 hours ago, John Vere said: I'm teaching my Grandson to play guitar. I taught lessons seriously for 25 years on and off. A first stumbling block I would run into was figuring out if this was going to be a waist of time because the person had zero musical ability. https://www.themusiclab.org/quizzes/miq I've been there. What you put yourself through to earn a few bucks... For some strange reason, I've encountered a lot of people who wanted to play bass who had absolutely no musical talent. It's almost as if they couldn't hear the instrument and thought they could fake their way through a song. Maybe they felt that if Sid Vicious could do it... The most surprising was my ex - after all, she's a prodigiously talented singer, classically trained and all, so I expected that she'd pick the basics very easily, even though the motor skills might have taken some time, as for most people. I don't know how many times I tried to show her the simple chorus run for Babe I'm Gonna Leave You that she really wanted to learn. Or the Seven Nation Army line that she loved so much. But you'd put a bass in her hand, and it's like she'd become tone deaf and lost all sense of rhythm. I tried using different analogy, shapes, box, and so on, but it just wouldn't stick. She'd go through it laboriously a few times and but the 3rd or 4th, it was as if her memory had been wiped and she had to start from scratch. But then again, in some ways, I can relate. I've been messing with keyboards forever and I still struggle to play the simplest things one hand at a time. I'll have to look into that test when I have a moment. I'm curious to take it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigb Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 52 minutes ago, Rain said: For some strange reason, I've encountered a lot of people who wanted to play bass who had absolutely no musical talent. 😂 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rain Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 26 minutes ago, craigb said: 😂 Must be told that I myself wanted to be a bass player. Even though I started on the guitar, after a friend of the family broke my acoustic guitar, what I really wanted was a bass. I had no idea what a bass actually sounded like, but I thought Gene Simmons and Nikki Sixx looked cool. Then I heard Randy Rhoads. I often wonder how different my life would be if I'd picked up the bass instead of the guitar. I'd live a radically different life, of that I am sure. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigb Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 (edited) 3 hours ago, Rain said: I often wonder how different my life would be if I'd picked up the bass instead of the guitar. I'd live a radically different life, of that I am sure. More cats, fewer girls? 😆 Edited February 22 by craigb 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Vere Posted February 22 Author Share Posted February 22 I was about 12 1965 and that was when every 4th house in the suburbs had a band practicing in the basement or garage. Everybody had electric guitars from Sears. Some odd ball types had drums. Even odder was a Italian Combo Organ. Nobody had a bass at first and we didn’t really notice. This friend came over one day with a Canora Short Scale bass. I said what the heck is that thing? He said a bass! Like Paul McCartney plays. I said no he played a weird violin! He handed it to me and in no time at all I was playing the bass line to like a Rolling Stone and Mr Tambourine man. I started saving my paper route money and bought a Bass made in Italy that looked like the Hofners. But every time I’d joined a band as the bass player I was always the better guitar player so they make me play that instead and I wanted to be left alone and play bass and stare at my feet. The stupid thinking was the worst player in the room should play the bass. In my humble opinion the drummer and bass player should be the best players in the band. That is a good band. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigb Posted February 22 Share Posted February 22 OMG! Now I'm having flash-backs to those friends that had one of those odd combo organs! 😆 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Vere Posted February 23 Author Share Posted February 23 (edited) 21 hours ago, craigb said: OMG! Now I'm having flash-backs to those friends that had one of those odd combo organs! 😆 With black bass keys! We won a battle of the bands playing Light my Fire and the keyboard player nailed that whole song I think his was an AceTone. I have those freebies the Combo V and F which I think stands for Vox and Farfisa Edited February 23 by John Vere Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
craigb Posted February 23 Share Posted February 23 4 hours ago, John Vere said: With black bass keys! We won a battle of the bands playing Light my Fire and the keyboard player nailed that whole song I think his was an AceTone. I have those freebies the Combo V and F which I think stands for Vox and Farfisa Yes! And those buttons that can trigger a Samba rhythm! 😆 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rain Posted February 24 Share Posted February 24 7 hours ago, craigb said: Yes! And those buttons that can trigger a Samba rhythm! 😆 I've always loved the sound of those old organ "drums" and managed to incorporate samples from them in a few songs. Nostalgia, I guess. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
John Vere Posted February 24 Author Share Posted February 24 I don’t think they had invented the “Mall Organ” yet. The Combo Organs were an attempt to make a B3 more portable just like Electric Pianos. They were packed full of good old analog tech. They were not exactly lite. Lacking the B3 Leslie cabinet they used Vibrato. They of course didn’t come that close to a real Hammond just like the electric piano’s didn’t come at all close to a acoustic piano. But their funky sound was part of the 60’s and 70’s. Electric piano stayed with us but Combo organs were replaced with synths. I don’t think actual drum machines came out until Roland’s Compu Rhythm CR78 (in the late 70’s. I did a couple of gigs with one in the early 80’s until the TR 505 came out. https://www.roland.com/us/promos/roland_tr-808/#:~:text=Launched in 1978%2C the CompuRhythm,that created and stored patterns. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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