My kids are obsessed with taking their vitamins.
Not because they give a shit about their health, but because their vitamins are gummy bears.
Metalessons are like gummy vitamins for your guitar playing.
Every bit as much fun, but better for you than pure sugary candy.
What are the vitamins in this analogy?
Every song you learn has loads of metadata embedded in it:
- what key is it in?
- what’s the form?
- is there a scale that fits here?
- is there a name for this sound?
- how many measures are in this section?
- what’s the specific rhythm being played here?
- this chord isn’t in the key, why does it still sound cool?
The most popular methods for learning guitar strip all of this metadata out.
TAB, chord grids, scale shapes, guys on YouTube explaining riffs with fret numbers… they’re all based on “where do I put my fingers?”
And that’s fine, you need that, I’m not knocking it.
But if that’s the only way you do it, it’s self-defeating.
If you always rely on GPS, your sense of direction atrophies. Same thing here.
Too often, “music theory” comes across as unintelligible wonky gibberish.
But music theory is just giving names to commonly occurring things.
It’s a language we use to: 1) communicate with other musicians, and 2) explain music to ourselves.
Name the things, and they start to make more sense. A taxonomy emerges. The fog lifts. You start to hear more clearly.
These lessons are my way of pointing out that metadata to you.
I’m like Mr. Miyagi.
Only instead of waxing my car, you’re playing songs.
(but wait, there’s more! click here to read how stem packs work)
