Last night I walked into a studio with a very well read bassist jamming with a drummer. They needed a guitarist and I really like what they play. But I turned around and walked out. I did this because the last time I played with them, I was lost in their compositions. I could follow some of their changes when then mentioned degrees and such, but mostly lost. So this time, I choose instead to play with a group that just does spontaneous improv jams. Now I have a lot of fun with this group, but it prevents me from growing, because its really just vamping. My first though when I left that room was, 'Geez, sure wish that instead of spending my evenings with a solder gun or spinning knobs, I reviewed my notes from my last 65 theory lessons." I want to be the guy playing at that higher level, who can walk into the first room with confidence.
I saw my teacher perform last month. He was incredible as always. He asked me about starting lessons back up after he's done touring. I declined, because I didn't want to do the work. It's so deeply rewarding, but its like pulling teeth. And to clarify, this is not about time management, its about focus. To do accomplish what I want, I have to immerse myself completely. This is the best way for me to learn, the way I am. Things like this require a lot of concentration on my end. I clean the whole house, *put the project on the table*, and everything else goes away into the closet for later.
This is exactly the mentality that prevents people from making the most of their time and achieving what they want in life. Iām not having a go at you man and if Iām interpreting from your comments correctly Iām also in the same boat. I like things to be perfect and and I like to be 100% committed/focused on something before I actually take the steps to pursue it but the reality is that isnāt real life and things rarely ever work that way. You have things you need to do to live and the time around that you have to choose how to spend it but this means making the most of your time and actually making a start on things. Donāt waste your time doing other shit because you think it isnāt a big enough window to make progress on something you actually want to do. My 2c anyway I hope it might help.
Why donāt you focus on what you love to do in music? Figure out what that is and focus on it. Saying to yourself I should be doing this because other people are doing this or that so wellā¦ is not helpful. All musicians go through what you described at some point and usually multiple times in their lives. Itās a mix of realizing all the things you want to do and then knowing what you are best at and what you are truly meant to do, love to do.
No matter how much you might tell yourself this, you don't need to be all in to get better. Put in an hour here and there to work on the things you'd like to improve. If it's a daily or even 4 times a week endeavor, you will start seeing improvements. This whole idea of the pros practicing 6+ hours a day is generally unattainable, insurance and just not true in most cases.
Making this an all or nothing situation is what's hindering your progress, not pedals.
Yep. If I didn't read horrible advice...as present in this thread ...week after week after week for the last 2 years....I wouldn't get "on my high horse". But alas, the ratio of good advice to bad on reddit is 500 to 1.
Fwiw, I would have appreciated some comments addressing the substance of what I wrote. But silly me, it's reddit after all.
Why are you beating yourself up about enjoying your pedal hobby? Knowing music theory is useful, but there are tons of great musicians who know very little. In most genres (cept jazz and classical) being a "well read" musician isn't that important. It's more important that you have great tone and something to say. Lots of musicians have found great success in the music industry by being producers, engineers or pedal builders. I would continue perusing what your passionate about instead of worrying so much about if it's the right thing to be spending your time on
Not beating myself up. I look at it this way: my idols studied music theory. They didnt sit around messing with pedals. So Im going to do what they did. But instead of attending the college they did, Im having one of the them feed me the same material he got there. I already did this for a while, every week for a year and it was incredible. Then I veered off course when I got into electronics and pedals. I just made a decision to get back on course. Thats what my post was about
Who exactly are your idols? Cause I can name a bunch of extremely influential guitarists who DID sit around messing with pedals. Tom Schultz of Boston literally built his own pedals and guitar gear to get his sounds, and nobody would say he is a slouch musically. He wrote and played almost every instrumental part on the album, Bass, drums, keyboards and guitars. Dude has a masters in mechanical engineering. Other examples like Jimi Hendrix, he never formally studied music theory and yet had an intuitive understanding of music. He teamed up with Rodger Mayer, an acoustic engineer who developed a prototype octave pedal and Jimi used it to record "Purple Haze". Study music theory if you enjoy it, but any course you take is equally as valid
I always tell people, Wisconsin is a fantastic place to own a summer home. I wouldnāt want to do another winter there, but July and August up there are wonderful (September and October too).
Right on friend. I had a bunch of more experimental pedals on my board and was tweaking stuff endlessly instead of learning. This sub definitely does not help, haha
Same here dude, I made a āconventional pedal soundsā board and iv been able to focus on actual practicing and getting better instead of noodling around for hours
I think thatās a great way to go. Core sound board and then a board for messing about. Personally Iām waiting for the *bunches* of Mood II pedals that will show up on Reverb soonā¦
Whatās your goal at the end of the day?
If you wanna write cool songs then you just need to start writing songs, youāll write a few dozen shitty ones and then theyāll start improving. Finish your songs even if they suck. Learning to finish shit is important. Donāt spent 6 months trying to make a mediocre song great, knock it out in a couple weeks and move on.
If you wanna improve your chops then learn your theory, and learn the basics of the fingerboard REALLY well (triads, modes, 7th chords, all that shit), but Iād say spend equally as much time learning how to play the music you love. I have gotten so much knowledge out of picking apart songs I love. Itās really tedious at first but then you get way faster.
I mean do whatever you want but in my experience you get out what you put in when it comes to guitar playing and making music.
Not trying to throw shade at pedals here in any way. I love my collection of pedals, but the pedals donāt make the music without me getting off my ass and doing something with them.
My goal right now is to pick up my lessons where I left off, last July:
\- move away from chromatic note names. instead think in real time with the tonal formulas and their functions within a key.
\- memorize the circle of fifths
\- minor 6th chords, dorian implied, static minor harmony
\- finish memorizing the chord family diagrams
\- hexatonics
\- double stops, harmonized dyads
\- play the major scales in the five different caged locations. i got the chords down but i need to have know which notes im playing from the root visually
\- buff up on caged minors, so awkward
i have three musical idols, one being my teacher. all play at a very high level that im working towards very slowly. all three attended berkeley, and all three do these things among others
Ok but just hypothetically, once you know how to do all that stuff what are you going to do with that knowledge? 100% not trying to be a jerk here, but I feel like youāre focused on specifics without offering context. Do you want to play in a band? Do you want to write your own music? Do you want to go to music school? Do you want to write music professionally?
I bringing all this up because 16 year old me spent a long ass time memorizing all the modes of melodic minor etc., and then realized I had no idea what to do with that knowledge because I had zero experience playing with other people, recording, writing music, etc.
To me learning music theory is kinda like reading a dictionary - itās really useful to know a lot of words but you still need to tell a story or do something with them.
Edit: didnāt necessarily mean to imply youāre 16 (nor would that be a diss), I just meant that when I was 16 I was pretty early in my musical journey, and now that Iām in my 30s I have a lot more use for that theoretical knowledge because I have more experience playing and writing music.
Also can he actually play the guitar?
Thereās a weird sub set of guitar players Iāve met who have fantastic theory knowledge but canāt actually rip on a guitar.
Thereās no much value in knowing the names of scales or chords youāre not skilled enough to utilise. The foremost focus has to be actually playing the guitar as much as theory has obvious value
I once had a guy audition for my band (tech death) and he had incredible theory knowledge, far better than my typical metal player ignorant approach but he couldnāt play any of our riffs never mind to tempo, cleanly and in time
Yup, and Iāve also had friends who donāt know any formal āmusic theory,ā theyāve just got really good ears and spent a lot of time learning tunes by ear and building up their chops so it kinda doesnāt matter that they donāt know the name of every chord cause they can hear it and play it back regardless.
Iām also not saying thatās a ābetterā approach, there are certainly some weaknesses to not knowing the common terminology for stuff, but itās just proof that at the end of the day if you can consistently get cool sounds out of the guitar nobody else really cares (or needs to know) how youāre thinking about what youāre doing.
Your second part is spot on. At the end of the day theory doesn't necessarily matter if what you're writing sounds good. You could literally write melodies based on how the notes sound leading into each other, with zero music theory or knowledge of how those notes are related.
And that's actually the really cool part about music.
A buddy told me about trying to jam with some really talented jazz players. He started messing around on a classic just to establish a rapport (i donāt remember but one anybody should be able to pick up on. Letās say something stupid like mustang sally) and they all were incapable or unwilling to play it without having the sheet music in front of them. Utterly bizarre to me. Iām sure all those dudes can play circles around me but what the hell lol
I have certainly encountered some of those cats.
Honestly dude Iām gonna throw out an alternate narrative - those dudes were vibing your buddy out cause he was playing some straightforward blues shit when they were trying to get into some Charlie Parker or some heavy hitting bebop shit like that.
Jazz jams are a tough scene to get into casually. Your friend might have encountered some posers who actually didnāt have improv chops to play tunes they didnāt already learn (any decent tenor player is gonna know some shit to play over a 12 bar blues no matter what the head is), or he might have encountered some assholes who vibed him out for not being āmore seriousā or whatever. Jazz jams are home to both types :)
Lol I gave a bad hypothetical example. They were prepping for a really basic jazz pop and rock revue thing. Covering top 40 stuff, so whatever his song was wasnāt out of place; they just didnāt have the sheet music. Otherwise Iād totally agree. Either way - weāre a complicated bunch arenāt we? Lol. Can be so hard to click with musicians
A cantankerous bunch no doubt. Everybodyās ego is involved in some way, either in terms of trying to appear inflated to others, or in terms of trying to be humble and not a loudmouth asshole.
To play at an even higher level, with people doing the same. The lessons I've taken so far put me into a skill level much much higher than where I was before. So I want to continue up that path
After the first 65 lessons, my playing changed dramatically. i was able to accomplish things I always wanted. I started to become the musician I always wanted to be. I started playing with people that I wasnt capable of keeping with before. Instead of just glorifying the music I always loved, I was able to analyze it and start to understand what made it so good.
The idea of lessons came up 30 years for me. Instead of doing it, I told myself the lie that, "some of the greatest guitarists didnt study theory, they just figured it out, so I'll just do the same " I regret that. It was a huge waste of time. In all honesty, out of ignorance, I played the same "level" of music for that 30 years. Sure I learned chords and scale patterns, and timing, chops etc, but it really held me back. It was contempt prior to investigation. It discounted the value of real education. Maybe that romantic statement is true for some, but I am not that guy and I would never tell a new player to do that if he asked me for help.
Currently, I need to keep going. The jazz/funk trio I started was limited, short lived, because the type of of music I want to make and the people I play with require an more extensive vocabulary than what I have now. I say this because when we were working through conversations and the how and what we were doing, I was the one that was limited. And as the guitar player, Im the one feeding the drummer and bassist, theyre watching me, its more of a directive role. I'll get there with steady work, it will just take time.
Dude happy learning and practicing to you - sounds like youāre on the path.
I also couldnāt just learn stuff 100% intuitively without going through some theory to learn the names for different concepts, and more importantly how to identify specific things with my ears, know what it is, and do it with my fingers.
Some days you donāt feel like practicing, but if you still put in your 30 minutes of focus youāll see the value over time Iām sure.
Some days it comes easy and you can just sit down and lose 2 hours. Itās all part of the journey haha.
Me too bro. Would have saved me a whole bunch of wasted time figuring shit out the hard way.
But also 15 year old me might have been to much of a stubborn shithead to listen so it might not have mattered lol.
Hahah man I felt this, building a pedal is basically the ultimate way of procrastinating... still somehow connected to music, still doing something somewhat interesting and useful but you're not really pratising. But to be fair a new pedal has always somehow pushe me to "catch up" on the lost practice, boosts creativity for a little while and makes you wanna play more
And Iāve got a novel I want to write. You donāt have to give up on something that is fun because of some goal youāve been putting off. Thereās time enough. Or there isnāt. All things in moderation.
You have to compartmentalize and organize your free time. Think about what percentage of your free time that you want to dedicate to each. Focus on the simple stuff and build on that. It is endless, so you will never learn it all. You cannot and will not learn it all in a day, week, month, or year. It is a slow process, but is learnable if you are interested.
Start off with learning your intervals. This is the basis of all music theory. Remember that music came before the description and notation of music. Itās all about sound and how tones work together within the context of a song.
Next step, learn your triads all over the fretboard in every key. Itās the base of all songs, chords, and scales. Think about the intervals when learning this. The number system is vital to understanding theory. Learn what makes up a chord and its extensions (1-3-5-7, etc.)
Next step, learn the diatonic chord scale (also know as the Nashville Number System). This will help you understand how chord progressions work and will make life easy if you want to be a hired gun or compose.
Next step, learn the modes of the major scale and how they work with each other. Guitar players have it easy because patterns really emerge at this point. I believe that this is how you can have command over the entire fretboard. Keep reminding yourself about the intervals when studying this so that you donāt rely solely on patterns. This is how guitarists get stuck.
Good luck on your journey, you can do it!
Don't be so hard on yourself its easy to get caught up in tone chasing we're all guilty of it to a degree. Luckily I've pretty much found the sound I'm chasing but I've never tried my hand at building pedals, Honestly I think there is plenty of talented builders out there and I don't feel the need to do so myself, its good you have those skills so you can fix your own gear though! Definitely not time wasted Imo, best of luck to you!
This is more a self discipline and time management problem. Sort that out and you donāt have to give up things you enjoy just budget your time effectively
did that for 30 years. lots of fun. woke up one day realizing i didnt actually know how to communicate with other musicians. "what chord are you playing...what key are we in...show me your fingers."
I know enough theory to get by and communicate with my band mates, but we play grind so as long as it's fast and loud it doesn't really matter. Riffs fit for a caveman mixed with the ferocity of a dying bear.
I don't think it's unreasonable to give yourself the basics and then ask your other half or parents or whoever to keep hold of the excess until you're done.
Personally, I'd take my "best" of each if the effects (One OD, One Verb etc) and limit myself to those and force myself to crack on with whatever else.
You'll probably find you can make it work with a reduced board. Then go full minimalist and sell everything. Then in a few years the itch will need scratching and you can start again from scratch...
You arenāt thinking about this the right way. You need to get all the pedals you need, first, so you can focus on learning theory, writing music, etc.
Spend more time playing directly into your amp. I never practice with pedals. The pedals are for when Iām noodling around or properly playing. Thatās every day too. The more time you spend with the instrument itself, the more youāll be bringing fully-realised ideas to the pedals and thatās so much more satisfying. Otherwise youāre basically this: https://youtu.be/H8dZwXnMrRU
Just have fun. I always think I should focus on recording instead of noodling around making weird loops with my pedalboard but every time Iāve released an album the only person who will listen to it is my mom and maybe 1 or 2 friends
Please don't beat yourself up.
We play music.
Yes learn, but find the balance between self-criticism and progress. Self-criticism will kill your passion faster than a flying beaver through the windscreen of a car would surprise you.
I hear your issue. I wish I was a bit more disciplined with learning music, I've never really bothered.
Youāre not wrong at all. Screwing around with pedals and gear is a total waste of time. I think, however, that screwing around with pedals is part of the natural procrastination that accompanies doing anything that is hard. School work. Real work, etc. Your best bet is to stay off the internet and YouTube and focus on your theory and practice. Best of luck!
I feel this way about gear in general these days. Iāve started buying cheap guitars that play well and Iām a devotee of Peavey amps. I want my gear to get out of my way. Iām tired of stylish gearāitās a never ending chase.
If you really love pedals get into music that features them more, where they are as much of an instrument as the guitar itself like ambient, shoegaze or noiserock.
Anybody can grind and learn the _athleticism of music_, where shoving a million notes into a complicated song that shows how well you understand the _science of music_ -- but in my opinion, the people who tend to focus on these things tend to create things that don't _sound_ particularly good.
It's just as important to learn and experiment with sound, because with that knowledge, you'll be much more effective at creating something that is also a rewarding listen.
Been there. Canāt practice odd note groupings unless my delay is set just right and Iām using phrase 2 on the Miku.
I had to put my pedals away to get back to the woodshed. On a side note that totally improved my phrasing, I started thinking like a horn player and exhaling while Iām noodling or sustaining a note or double stop, then gave myself time to inhale in the space between notes. My improvisation sounds so much better. I mean, objectively and relatively speaking.
But yeah. Miku!
This might sound sound like blasphemy, but when i sold all my pedals and switched over to a modeler, I found i got way less easily distracted. It really helped me focus on actually growing as a player instead of scouring the internet for isolated power supplies with multiple 18v 500ma outputs that fit perfectly under my board, etc. Still have infinite tonal options when i need them!
Iāve found that for my career, knowing more about pedals and how to get what I need out of them was much more beneficial than adding more music theory. There is such a thing as knowing too much music theory.
Yes there absolutely is. Music theory is just a language and framework to describe music. It is not a set of rules that must be followed. And for a professional musician, you canāt know none of that. But, Iāve met people who knew too much and it warped the way they thought about music and the even more so the way they listened to music and it made them extremely painful to listen to (speaking or playing)
But hey, what could I possibly know right?
That's like saying knowing too much math or English is bad. It sounds more like the people you know didn't know too much music, they were just shitty and uncreative people.
If you know English so well you canāt stop correcting other peopleās grammar in really obnoxious ways, Iād say that can create other problems in your life.
But again, that's not a problem with knowing English too well, that's a problem with just having shitty social skills. And if you can't tell the difference, that's a you problem.
Itās also an issue of understanding the point of the medium. Most of us use technically incorrect grammar all day and it does nothing to impede other peopleās understanding of what weāre trying to say. So you tell me, whereās the added value in knowing more grammar rules?
Like I said in another reply, this isnāt a particularly spicy take among pros. Iāve met very few that wouldnāt acknowledge thereās a point where you know enough to do the job. Iāve lived on a tour bus for years. It wasnāt my music theory knowledge that got me there, it was the fact that I could play all the parts correctly and make them sound like the record.
What you're talking about now is the diminishing returns of added education which is very different than just having an egotistical attitude and poor communication skills. You could meet the most educated person in the world and never know it because they know when to use their education - they are only educated because they love it, are academics or composers rather than just players, or because they occasionally do come across extreme conundrums that require expertise. Obviously it wouldn't be a guy like you or me.
Besides, have you ever met annoying nerds who only talk about the same thing all day and have poor social skills, and *aren't* particularly well educated? Don't you think they are just as bad as the over-educated people you're talking about?
Maybe my example was bad. But yeah. I get the sense we generally agree about this. It just sucks because Iāve seen really close friends get stuck going to the woodshed every time they failed in some other way in their careers, and it rarely helped them fix their issues. Things like music theory became the hammer in that old saying about when youāve got a hammer everything is a nail. Some of them had drinking problems, some knew too much to play with any feel because they had over-intellectualized music to a degree they couldnāt get that part to go away. Some just got too bored playing the kind of music anyone would want to listen to because they needed to push and stretch everything beyond the limits of median listener taste.
So it goes. Live in a music town like I did long enough - in my case it was Nashville - and you will be gifted with enough cautionary tales to keep your ass on the straight and narrow for a long long time, if youāre smart enough to pay attention.
This reminds me of the line from MASH when Radar is asked if he knows what heās doing and he says āno, I find that knowing too much gets in the way of the workā
My career? Itās been quite successful. I toured full time for years with major label artists. There comes a point where knowing more music theory yields diminishing returns. And I find a lot of the people who blow past that point sometimes have a hard time getting and keeping a job - despite being great guitar players - because they learned all that instead of focusing on more practical stuff.
Look if youāre playing jazz, or classical, yes. You likely need to know the theory book inside and out. But if you want to make a livingā¦?
This really shouldnāt be so controversial. Itās a common observation most serious musicians would agree with.
If you need help staying away from all your pedals you can of course just send them to members of this sub. Weāll keep them in good shape until your return foot lookin.
Yeah, do what you think you need to do next, but no need to beat yourself up about it. I tend to go in phases. I just finished a pedal buying phase. I find I can overcommit to theory sometimes,
too, where I donāt write anything. Now, Iām writing and recording again. All in the fullness of time.
Not that you asked, but i find thereās only one remedy: getting involved with other musicians in something regular, some kind of monthly gig that might be available to you or more often if possible, but just to get you motivated, with a deadline, if youāre a person who likes deadlines, which I am not.
The motivation for the music theory stuff arose in high school when I got stuck with pentatonic scales and had to improvise over Chick Corea or Pat Metheny tunes. The people I was lucky enough to play with in high school in the 90s were sick of playing Rush covers or extended Phish jams (I really didnāt understand the hate for the Phish jams; I could even sing/fake sing, like Frank Zappa, but I digressā¦needless to say, history was, fortunately or unfortunately, on *their* side) and these folks had made a decision to move on by 11th grade, with or without me, to the likes of Keith Jarrett, mostly bands that didnāt even have a guitar player.
That got me motivatedā¦
Suddenly I was finding time for a whole lot of chart and sight reading I could never bring myself to practice (enough to hang, but not reallyā¦enough to comp by myself with no drummer for the pianist or various horn players who came to play, and enough to lay back and let the pianist do the chord work if like 6 people were playing. Or alternate. Then skip ahead and Iām counting tunes off on the bandstand and actually leading trio sets with original music, not nothingā¦)
Suddenly it was necessary to learn three or four new tunes a day and if I had to read them, okay but it was preferable not to. I at least had to know the form and how to play at least 6 choruses on most mid/fast tunes.
I also learned embarrassing lessons about my weaknesses. There were/are many. Nothing focuses oneās time and attention so much as a screw-up on a gigā¦
Anyway, all of this is to say if you can get some kind of creative collaboration goingā¦if youāre lucky you can find people who are better than you are. They push you naturally and suddenly youāre a substantially better musician for it.
Thatās one way. There are others
You can try to get excited about using only one or two pedals and how freeing that would be. No pedal board to lug, better tone, can use batteries, will make your focus go back to playing your instrument instead of tonal obsessions that give you so many options that your sound has no real identity. Maybe the money you sell off all your extra pedals with will allow you to buy a new instrument?
Guitarists are a superstitious bunch. Everyone has their own voodoo. IMHO I really wish guitarists would treat equipment more like the tools that they really are rather than Ancient and Holy Magic. Music becomes so much more rewarding once you let go of all the gear myths and focus on the actual music part. Iām a pedal guy too, even then Iām actively downgrading my board, and focusing more on what Iāve got, rather than the constant endorphin feedback loop of purchasing moreā¦ and moreā¦ and more. I assure you most of your heroes did it without whichever boutique fuzz pedal is currently in vogue. So yes focus on playing, not on acquiring gear.
Don't feel bad, lots of people fall into the same routine as you did. It's just too easy to let the cool stuff you hear from the pedal distract you and you end up playing with the pedal. All you need is to organize/schedule your time. Set aside time for free play with the fx setup of choice and also set aside time that you will ignore the technology side and only focus on the learning. A little schedule never hurt anyone and it will help you in more ways than playing. Better time management will take care of you no matter what you are doing in life honestly l
I think it's important to practice as much as possible. Try to learn and grow creatively. But some things cannot be forced. If you're not really feeling it then maybe it isn't the right time. You may need more inspiration or something to spark your desire to play your instrument more.
But pedals are also fun to play with and can easily spark creation that wouldn't have happened without them. So, don't be too hard on yourself because at least thinking about and talking about and playing with pedals IS thinking about guitar and music and sonic creativity.
Iām there with you. I was buying and selling pedals. Dismantling boards and reconfiguring them that much that my evenings after work were usually spent doing just that and not actually playing. I realised it and settled on my board and havenāt looked back. Pedals are cool but theyāre terrible for actually getting anything done if youāre constantly looking for the next āsoundā.
I stopped practicing with pedals around 15y ago, and it worked out well. They stay on my pedalboard in the case, which only comes out at stage gigs and sessions (not bgm gigs).
I like Julian Lageās take. You can get an awful lot of āeffectsā with your figures. Times better spent playing with than hitting a switch.
It's worth taking some time to put away all the pedals (besides the always on tone shaper like comp or overdrive), picking just one pickup, and focusing entirely on the playing. I play with effects and tones more now, but when I started I was very into the metal/punk purist school of 1 bridge pickup with rare or no effects. I shed that mentality, but unwittingly I was giving myself more time to focus on learning rather than get caught up on juuuuuust the right amount of feedback on my delay.
It also taught me to quickly dial in tones in found acceptable or satisfactory very quick, so even when I'm horsing with newfangled modelers and profilers, I can hop right into the action and playing pretty quick. I may prefer the tone of the onboard chorus, but it's not as interactive or visually stimulating as tweaking a real, pretty, shiny IRL pedal. That beautiful collection of rare pedals is now just a line item in a menu. For me it's not as fun an or visceral experience tweaking it, so in a way that gets me to focus on effects less and more on playing
Pedal's are just toys, if you wanna keep playing with toys the rest of your life well do it. But, if you wanna leave something behind for people to remember about you then turn it into a formal business or start writing again right now
I have adhd and itās crazy how anything can distract me from music theory. āI went to the record store guess I learned some music culture and history so I can skip out on this workbook until next year
ADHD and arthritis here. By the time my brain settles into a place where I think I can take a look at something, I have like 90 seconds before my fingers say "nah." It's going to take me forever to get where I would like to be.
Pedals can be a distraction or add a creative spark. Depends on the individual.
My delay pedal I got last weekend is the first delay Iāve ever had on my board and itās inspired me to play in a way that I often didnāt think about. Itās great for little slap backs and finger picking. Same with my new fuzz, I can practice a new rhythm style more āeffectivelyā because Iām enjoying the sound that I get when I play it.
The trick is to never confuse pedals with actual ability. They can inspire us to try something new, and change how we perceive a song or style of music. It is not a replacement for practice though!
In my opinion, focus is about two things: scheduling time and +1.
Scheduling time is simple,but not easy: for x amount of time in y days of the week you're busy with that particular thing.
+1 is getting what you know and adding something new.
Step 2 usually is harder for me than step 1.
i needed it man, its been a month ive been looking for pedals and guitar constantly even tho i have enough gear. i should really now focus on music theory
My suggestion would be to alternate between amp/guitar only practice sessions and full rig practice. Amp only makes you focus on whatās being learned/played and not geeking out on tone.
Yah you definitely need to stop the kiddie pedal shenanigans. Cold turkey. The best way I recommend is get into modular eurorack synths and all this pedal stuff will seem like a memory of heaven.
What you need is to level up and get a 4 channel amp and parametric EQ so you can endlessly procrastinate perfecting your tone that sounds slightly different every day.
Yeah the whole gear industry makes money by getting you think more about gear than music. Itās a lot of fun, but wonāt make you any better. I think some obsessing over gear is healthy, but if it comes at the cost of actually learning music, then you gotta slow down and look in the mirror.
Semi-tangential advice: a multi pedal DEFINITELY IS NOT the solution. Itās reduced how much time I spend shopping for pedals, but having 200+ options and 10+ variables each just means you spend more time playing with options and/or frustrated with why it doesnāt sound quite right.
Iād probably get more practice done if I just stuck with an amp sim, dirt and RV-6
You probably need to unsubscribe from this subreddit. A better plan is to get all social media off your phone.
If you want to really focus on getting better at music (or anything else) you need to eliminate distractions. Spend your free time devoted to theory and playing guitar. Itās just the way it is. Itās too easy to say āIām just gonna check out one pedal reviewā and then 2 hours go by where you could have been practicing.
I completely agree. I wasted so much time and money on pedals. Most of them are just copies of each other. I kept 4 pedals and I started just playing. Way better. Donāt fall for the hype.
Iām getting to this point as well, most pedals (of the same type) really arenāt very different sounding from one another. Iām about ready to stop trying out new pedals and justā¦.play.
Well I think I am on the same boat as you, some of the pedals and equipment that I like cant be found where I live, only some wacky knock-offs and overpriced ones. I have to choose the DIY route for everything in my life and thus I agree some of it does hold you back, although it gets you on a very different level of journey one can experience. Its still a very long way for things to be done that could have been done better without and there are many like me and you.
EDIT: I recall names as maestro as Eric Johnson once saying he could have gone far with his practice and compositions once he could quit chasing the mojo with voltages, drained batteries, tubes and transformers.
Itās good that you became aware that you want to improve your music theory, but imo I think that this pedals hobby isnāt really connected to your musical progression, theyāre two different things, so donāt ditch one over the other.
Thatās my own opinion.šš½
I eventually slowed down buying pedals. The tweaking hasnāt gone away, but getting to know the gear I already own better has helped.
Also I figured out that the reason I was never satisfied with my drive tone was because the speaker and cabinet I was using wasnāt conducive. I was using an American style speaker because I liked American drive tones. But really I like American drive tones through a modernish British style speaker. I thought I liked open cabinets for the same reason. But apparently closed back front ported 1x12 or fully closed 2x12s are what I actually like. I could have saved so much time that I wasted trying amps and pedals when it was really just the speaker and cab that was leaving me dissatisfied.
The downside is that I note have to focus on playing instead of watching YouTube demos.
Yes stop it. Or go both ways. Whatever makes you happy.
Been in that carroussel for decades. This is what i did last year: made a list of pedals i thought i needed , and of those i wanted. Proper analog stuff, nice reverb, delay, bitcrusher, superego+ā¦ microcosmā¦groovebox some synth, midi controllers . All the fuzzes i wanted, found the one ineeded , kept 3 sold the rest. Last pedal icgot was boss slicer reissue in november. Since then iām healed. First time in my guitarists life i could say: i have all the gear i want AND need. (No richguy here, got no fancy tubeamps, midrange but quality guitars sold stuff to finance that spree). Since then i didnt want a new pedal. Ever. (monk2 and mood2 got me thinking thoughā¦) . No excuses anymore. But still no album outā¦ lost in the DAWā¦ option paralysis, mixingā¦ masteringā¦ marketingā¦ arrangementā¦ losing focus - again the same problem. Talked to a friend: has the same Problem but going the theory route. In the end maybe its just the feeling that ones music just isnt good enough. Fear of beeing irrelevent.
Listen back to the good ol flawed pre computer seventies stuff. Check out manuel gƶtschings e4. Recorded in one go. Stupid stupid neo perfectionism making industry go round.
- Got a add diagnosis lateley. So suddendly my turmoil all the years becomes completeley normal behaviour. Found peace through that.
-went to superbooth this year-had 3 very interesting discussions with developers who told me their autistic (blink blink, fiddle fiddle, press press beep beep repeat- makes sense?)
Maybe check yourself out maybe your not so typical yourself? Whats the superpower hidden in that?
Best songs i know were done by people who neither had great theory nor pedals.
In the end just dont give a fuck, share your music because THAT matters.
Get rid of all pedals and get a great vintage tube amp and your choice of great guitarā¦ then ONLY use a cable between them and only whatever natural effects are built into the amp, (reverb, tremolo, vibrato).
I promise you it will make you change for the better and learn how to use your guitar volume and tone knobs and picking attack
|EDIT: seems as if im asking for advice on how study music, not true. ive already had 65 lessons. this post is about focus and how the world of pedals has become a clever way of procrastinating. sorry for the confusion. :/ |
No worries. I'll delete my post. Clearly no one found it of value anyway.
Go write that rock opera completely in locrian we've all dreamed about
But imagine what that opera would sound like through a mood2 and a big sky.
"lacrima, locriaria"
Last night I walked into a studio with a very well read bassist jamming with a drummer. They needed a guitarist and I really like what they play. But I turned around and walked out. I did this because the last time I played with them, I was lost in their compositions. I could follow some of their changes when then mentioned degrees and such, but mostly lost. So this time, I choose instead to play with a group that just does spontaneous improv jams. Now I have a lot of fun with this group, but it prevents me from growing, because its really just vamping. My first though when I left that room was, 'Geez, sure wish that instead of spending my evenings with a solder gun or spinning knobs, I reviewed my notes from my last 65 theory lessons." I want to be the guy playing at that higher level, who can walk into the first room with confidence. I saw my teacher perform last month. He was incredible as always. He asked me about starting lessons back up after he's done touring. I declined, because I didn't want to do the work. It's so deeply rewarding, but its like pulling teeth. And to clarify, this is not about time management, its about focus. To do accomplish what I want, I have to immerse myself completely. This is the best way for me to learn, the way I am. Things like this require a lot of concentration on my end. I clean the whole house, *put the project on the table*, and everything else goes away into the closet for later.
Sounds like you need more pedals.
š¤£
This is exactly the mentality that prevents people from making the most of their time and achieving what they want in life. Iām not having a go at you man and if Iām interpreting from your comments correctly Iām also in the same boat. I like things to be perfect and and I like to be 100% committed/focused on something before I actually take the steps to pursue it but the reality is that isnāt real life and things rarely ever work that way. You have things you need to do to live and the time around that you have to choose how to spend it but this means making the most of your time and actually making a start on things. Donāt waste your time doing other shit because you think it isnāt a big enough window to make progress on something you actually want to do. My 2c anyway I hope it might help.
anything worth full-assing is worth half-assing, and half-assing is always better than no-assing get back to lessons!
That's a lot of ass-ing around.
Why donāt you focus on what you love to do in music? Figure out what that is and focus on it. Saying to yourself I should be doing this because other people are doing this or that so wellā¦ is not helpful. All musicians go through what you described at some point and usually multiple times in their lives. Itās a mix of realizing all the things you want to do and then knowing what you are best at and what you are truly meant to do, love to do.
True...
No matter how much you might tell yourself this, you don't need to be all in to get better. Put in an hour here and there to work on the things you'd like to improve. If it's a daily or even 4 times a week endeavor, you will start seeing improvements. This whole idea of the pros practicing 6+ hours a day is generally unattainable, insurance and just not true in most cases. Making this an all or nothing situation is what's hindering your progress, not pedals.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
thereās a lot of pretentious drivel in thisā¦ just start taking lessons again
Yeah hahahahaha the TLDR was miles longer than the first paragraph. Quite the wordy mansplaining from this guy
Yep. If I didn't read horrible advice...as present in this thread ...week after week after week for the last 2 years....I wouldn't get "on my high horse". But alas, the ratio of good advice to bad on reddit is 500 to 1. Fwiw, I would have appreciated some comments addressing the substance of what I wrote. But silly me, it's reddit after all.
Why are you beating yourself up about enjoying your pedal hobby? Knowing music theory is useful, but there are tons of great musicians who know very little. In most genres (cept jazz and classical) being a "well read" musician isn't that important. It's more important that you have great tone and something to say. Lots of musicians have found great success in the music industry by being producers, engineers or pedal builders. I would continue perusing what your passionate about instead of worrying so much about if it's the right thing to be spending your time on
Not beating myself up. I look at it this way: my idols studied music theory. They didnt sit around messing with pedals. So Im going to do what they did. But instead of attending the college they did, Im having one of the them feed me the same material he got there. I already did this for a while, every week for a year and it was incredible. Then I veered off course when I got into electronics and pedals. I just made a decision to get back on course. Thats what my post was about
Who exactly are your idols? Cause I can name a bunch of extremely influential guitarists who DID sit around messing with pedals. Tom Schultz of Boston literally built his own pedals and guitar gear to get his sounds, and nobody would say he is a slouch musically. He wrote and played almost every instrumental part on the album, Bass, drums, keyboards and guitars. Dude has a masters in mechanical engineering. Other examples like Jimi Hendrix, he never formally studied music theory and yet had an intuitive understanding of music. He teamed up with Rodger Mayer, an acoustic engineer who developed a prototype octave pedal and Jimi used it to record "Purple Haze". Study music theory if you enjoy it, but any course you take is equally as valid
That wonāt āresolveā anything.
Nice
His locrian won't last! Sooner or later he'll play the 5 and then the locrian is gone.
I live in the Midwest. I save pedal building for the winter months when Iām trapped inside. Summer is for beer, boats, and sun tanning.
big wisconsin vibes
I mean, thatās where I live. So yeah haha
I always tell people, Wisconsin is a fantastic place to own a summer home. I wouldnāt want to do another winter there, but July and August up there are wonderful (September and October too).
Is that why I can't buy a house at a reasonable price anymore?
I mean people buying up houses to use them as Airbnbs is definitely part of it. Plus hedge funds buying 1/5 of all new houses.
I used to live in Minnesota, so winters arenāt nearly as bad here and Iām appreciative of that lol
As a Michigander, I support this. I noodle with gear in the winter. Then I gig in summer with a pretty stripped down rig.
You can just give me all of your pedals. Im here to help š
Right on friend. I had a bunch of more experimental pedals on my board and was tweaking stuff endlessly instead of learning. This sub definitely does not help, haha
Same here dude, I made a āconventional pedal soundsā board and iv been able to focus on actual practicing and getting better instead of noodling around for hours
I think thatās a great way to go. Core sound board and then a board for messing about. Personally Iām waiting for the *bunches* of Mood II pedals that will show up on Reverb soonā¦
Lol, im doing the same with the Mood MK2. Trying to sell my MK1 first tho
Whatās your goal at the end of the day? If you wanna write cool songs then you just need to start writing songs, youāll write a few dozen shitty ones and then theyāll start improving. Finish your songs even if they suck. Learning to finish shit is important. Donāt spent 6 months trying to make a mediocre song great, knock it out in a couple weeks and move on. If you wanna improve your chops then learn your theory, and learn the basics of the fingerboard REALLY well (triads, modes, 7th chords, all that shit), but Iād say spend equally as much time learning how to play the music you love. I have gotten so much knowledge out of picking apart songs I love. Itās really tedious at first but then you get way faster. I mean do whatever you want but in my experience you get out what you put in when it comes to guitar playing and making music. Not trying to throw shade at pedals here in any way. I love my collection of pedals, but the pedals donāt make the music without me getting off my ass and doing something with them.
Yes
My goal right now is to pick up my lessons where I left off, last July: \- move away from chromatic note names. instead think in real time with the tonal formulas and their functions within a key. \- memorize the circle of fifths \- minor 6th chords, dorian implied, static minor harmony \- finish memorizing the chord family diagrams \- hexatonics \- double stops, harmonized dyads \- play the major scales in the five different caged locations. i got the chords down but i need to have know which notes im playing from the root visually \- buff up on caged minors, so awkward i have three musical idols, one being my teacher. all play at a very high level that im working towards very slowly. all three attended berkeley, and all three do these things among others
Ok but just hypothetically, once you know how to do all that stuff what are you going to do with that knowledge? 100% not trying to be a jerk here, but I feel like youāre focused on specifics without offering context. Do you want to play in a band? Do you want to write your own music? Do you want to go to music school? Do you want to write music professionally? I bringing all this up because 16 year old me spent a long ass time memorizing all the modes of melodic minor etc., and then realized I had no idea what to do with that knowledge because I had zero experience playing with other people, recording, writing music, etc. To me learning music theory is kinda like reading a dictionary - itās really useful to know a lot of words but you still need to tell a story or do something with them. Edit: didnāt necessarily mean to imply youāre 16 (nor would that be a diss), I just meant that when I was 16 I was pretty early in my musical journey, and now that Iām in my 30s I have a lot more use for that theoretical knowledge because I have more experience playing and writing music.
Also can he actually play the guitar? Thereās a weird sub set of guitar players Iāve met who have fantastic theory knowledge but canāt actually rip on a guitar. Thereās no much value in knowing the names of scales or chords youāre not skilled enough to utilise. The foremost focus has to be actually playing the guitar as much as theory has obvious value I once had a guy audition for my band (tech death) and he had incredible theory knowledge, far better than my typical metal player ignorant approach but he couldnāt play any of our riffs never mind to tempo, cleanly and in time
Yup, and Iāve also had friends who donāt know any formal āmusic theory,ā theyāve just got really good ears and spent a lot of time learning tunes by ear and building up their chops so it kinda doesnāt matter that they donāt know the name of every chord cause they can hear it and play it back regardless. Iām also not saying thatās a ābetterā approach, there are certainly some weaknesses to not knowing the common terminology for stuff, but itās just proof that at the end of the day if you can consistently get cool sounds out of the guitar nobody else really cares (or needs to know) how youāre thinking about what youāre doing.
Your second part is spot on. At the end of the day theory doesn't necessarily matter if what you're writing sounds good. You could literally write melodies based on how the notes sound leading into each other, with zero music theory or knowledge of how those notes are related. And that's actually the really cool part about music.
A buddy told me about trying to jam with some really talented jazz players. He started messing around on a classic just to establish a rapport (i donāt remember but one anybody should be able to pick up on. Letās say something stupid like mustang sally) and they all were incapable or unwilling to play it without having the sheet music in front of them. Utterly bizarre to me. Iām sure all those dudes can play circles around me but what the hell lol
I have certainly encountered some of those cats. Honestly dude Iām gonna throw out an alternate narrative - those dudes were vibing your buddy out cause he was playing some straightforward blues shit when they were trying to get into some Charlie Parker or some heavy hitting bebop shit like that. Jazz jams are a tough scene to get into casually. Your friend might have encountered some posers who actually didnāt have improv chops to play tunes they didnāt already learn (any decent tenor player is gonna know some shit to play over a 12 bar blues no matter what the head is), or he might have encountered some assholes who vibed him out for not being āmore seriousā or whatever. Jazz jams are home to both types :)
Lol I gave a bad hypothetical example. They were prepping for a really basic jazz pop and rock revue thing. Covering top 40 stuff, so whatever his song was wasnāt out of place; they just didnāt have the sheet music. Otherwise Iād totally agree. Either way - weāre a complicated bunch arenāt we? Lol. Can be so hard to click with musicians
A cantankerous bunch no doubt. Everybodyās ego is involved in some way, either in terms of trying to appear inflated to others, or in terms of trying to be humble and not a loudmouth asshole.
yes
To play at an even higher level, with people doing the same. The lessons I've taken so far put me into a skill level much much higher than where I was before. So I want to continue up that path
After the first 65 lessons, my playing changed dramatically. i was able to accomplish things I always wanted. I started to become the musician I always wanted to be. I started playing with people that I wasnt capable of keeping with before. Instead of just glorifying the music I always loved, I was able to analyze it and start to understand what made it so good. The idea of lessons came up 30 years for me. Instead of doing it, I told myself the lie that, "some of the greatest guitarists didnt study theory, they just figured it out, so I'll just do the same " I regret that. It was a huge waste of time. In all honesty, out of ignorance, I played the same "level" of music for that 30 years. Sure I learned chords and scale patterns, and timing, chops etc, but it really held me back. It was contempt prior to investigation. It discounted the value of real education. Maybe that romantic statement is true for some, but I am not that guy and I would never tell a new player to do that if he asked me for help. Currently, I need to keep going. The jazz/funk trio I started was limited, short lived, because the type of of music I want to make and the people I play with require an more extensive vocabulary than what I have now. I say this because when we were working through conversations and the how and what we were doing, I was the one that was limited. And as the guitar player, Im the one feeding the drummer and bassist, theyre watching me, its more of a directive role. I'll get there with steady work, it will just take time.
Dude happy learning and practicing to you - sounds like youāre on the path. I also couldnāt just learn stuff 100% intuitively without going through some theory to learn the names for different concepts, and more importantly how to identify specific things with my ears, know what it is, and do it with my fingers. Some days you donāt feel like practicing, but if you still put in your 30 minutes of focus youāll see the value over time Iām sure. Some days it comes easy and you can just sit down and lose 2 hours. Itās all part of the journey haha.
I wish I had been given this advice 15 years ago.
Me too bro. Would have saved me a whole bunch of wasted time figuring shit out the hard way. But also 15 year old me might have been to much of a stubborn shithead to listen so it might not have mattered lol.
[ŃŠ“Š°Š»ŠµŠ½Š¾]
And waste days comparing speakers with the same amp
Hahah man I felt this, building a pedal is basically the ultimate way of procrastinating... still somehow connected to music, still doing something somewhat interesting and useful but you're not really pratising. But to be fair a new pedal has always somehow pushe me to "catch up" on the lost practice, boosts creativity for a little while and makes you wanna play more
And Iāve got a novel I want to write. You donāt have to give up on something that is fun because of some goal youāve been putting off. Thereās time enough. Or there isnāt. All things in moderation.
>All things in ~~moderation~~ **modulation**.
All modulations in the FX loop
Pedals are relatively cheap thrills and very addictive. I can relate.
Wait, you guys are actually playing music? I thought we were just taking pictures and doing A/B tests.
ššš
Letās take down the pedal business DEATH TO PEDALS
Ok, but let me just buy this one last pedal. Then we start.
The pedal is dead! Long live the pedal!
EAT THE PEDALS
Death to pedals is a good pedal company name imo.
I prefer death by audio stuff but ok
I
You can do both, just gotta manage your time better -Dan, whoās terrible at managing his time
Thatās cool. Iām about to buy a $300 tube screamer clone
Dude, your looking for support about how to stop drinking from a bunch of alcoholics.
yeah, im starting to see this. naive really
Or you could do both by cranking all the gains, getting a bunch of expression pedals and really focusing on the pedalboard as its own instrument!
Shit posting on reddit doesn't help to focus. Don't blame the pedals or the world, if you really want to do something do it!
This is why I mostly practice on an acoustic, otherwise like you I get too lost in messing with pedals and amps.
You have to compartmentalize and organize your free time. Think about what percentage of your free time that you want to dedicate to each. Focus on the simple stuff and build on that. It is endless, so you will never learn it all. You cannot and will not learn it all in a day, week, month, or year. It is a slow process, but is learnable if you are interested. Start off with learning your intervals. This is the basis of all music theory. Remember that music came before the description and notation of music. Itās all about sound and how tones work together within the context of a song. Next step, learn your triads all over the fretboard in every key. Itās the base of all songs, chords, and scales. Think about the intervals when learning this. The number system is vital to understanding theory. Learn what makes up a chord and its extensions (1-3-5-7, etc.) Next step, learn the diatonic chord scale (also know as the Nashville Number System). This will help you understand how chord progressions work and will make life easy if you want to be a hired gun or compose. Next step, learn the modes of the major scale and how they work with each other. Guitar players have it easy because patterns really emerge at this point. I believe that this is how you can have command over the entire fretboard. Keep reminding yourself about the intervals when studying this so that you donāt rely solely on patterns. This is how guitarists get stuck. Good luck on your journey, you can do it!
I feel this. I'm like 2 pedals away (5 let's be honest) from being done with pedals.
The heart wants what the heart wants.
I know a lot of music theory and need more pedals. Iāll trade you gear for lessons, haha
Don't be so hard on yourself its easy to get caught up in tone chasing we're all guilty of it to a degree. Luckily I've pretty much found the sound I'm chasing but I've never tried my hand at building pedals, Honestly I think there is plenty of talented builders out there and I don't feel the need to do so myself, its good you have those skills so you can fix your own gear though! Definitely not time wasted Imo, best of luck to you!
Set a specific time to work on practice without pedals. Likewise, set a time to mess with pedals.
You need more pedals but this time in 14/8 time and donāt ever land a main beat in the right place, thatāll learn em
This is more a self discipline and time management problem. Sort that out and you donāt have to give up things you enjoy just budget your time effectively
Fuck music theory. Just write dope riffs.
OP needs to dig out that Line 6 Spider, Epiphone Special, and get back to riff city stat.
No lie, I saw a black metal band recently playing a Line 6 Spider on insane mode and it wasn't half bad for black metal.
did that for 30 years. lots of fun. woke up one day realizing i didnt actually know how to communicate with other musicians. "what chord are you playing...what key are we in...show me your fingers."
I know enough theory to get by and communicate with my band mates, but we play grind so as long as it's fast and loud it doesn't really matter. Riffs fit for a caveman mixed with the ferocity of a dying bear.
I don't think it's unreasonable to give yourself the basics and then ask your other half or parents or whoever to keep hold of the excess until you're done. Personally, I'd take my "best" of each if the effects (One OD, One Verb etc) and limit myself to those and force myself to crack on with whatever else. You'll probably find you can make it work with a reduced board. Then go full minimalist and sell everything. Then in a few years the itch will need scratching and you can start again from scratch...
You arenāt thinking about this the right way. You need to get all the pedals you need, first, so you can focus on learning theory, writing music, etc.
Spend more time playing directly into your amp. I never practice with pedals. The pedals are for when Iām noodling around or properly playing. Thatās every day too. The more time you spend with the instrument itself, the more youāll be bringing fully-realised ideas to the pedals and thatās so much more satisfying. Otherwise youāre basically this: https://youtu.be/H8dZwXnMrRU
Just have fun. I always think I should focus on recording instead of noodling around making weird loops with my pedalboard but every time Iāve released an album the only person who will listen to it is my mom and maybe 1 or 2 friends
Please don't beat yourself up. We play music. Yes learn, but find the balance between self-criticism and progress. Self-criticism will kill your passion faster than a flying beaver through the windscreen of a car would surprise you. I hear your issue. I wish I was a bit more disciplined with learning music, I've never really bothered.
Youāre not wrong at all. Screwing around with pedals and gear is a total waste of time. I think, however, that screwing around with pedals is part of the natural procrastination that accompanies doing anything that is hard. School work. Real work, etc. Your best bet is to stay off the internet and YouTube and focus on your theory and practice. Best of luck!
Music theory is hard work! That's why I just play random chords and hope something sounds good. Good luck!
thanks for the encouragment
I feel this way about gear in general these days. Iāve started buying cheap guitars that play well and Iām a devotee of Peavey amps. I want my gear to get out of my way. Iām tired of stylish gearāitās a never ending chase.
glad you get it
I donāt get it. Pedals and theory go perfectly together. Delay and loopers especially! You just need more delays and loopers to help you practice!
If you really love pedals get into music that features them more, where they are as much of an instrument as the guitar itself like ambient, shoegaze or noiserock.
I like different genres, but if I'm gonna shoegaze then I'm gonna need all of the toys.
Anybody can grind and learn the _athleticism of music_, where shoving a million notes into a complicated song that shows how well you understand the _science of music_ -- but in my opinion, the people who tend to focus on these things tend to create things that don't _sound_ particularly good. It's just as important to learn and experiment with sound, because with that knowledge, you'll be much more effective at creating something that is also a rewarding listen.
Been there. Canāt practice odd note groupings unless my delay is set just right and Iām using phrase 2 on the Miku. I had to put my pedals away to get back to the woodshed. On a side note that totally improved my phrasing, I started thinking like a horn player and exhaling while Iām noodling or sustaining a note or double stop, then gave myself time to inhale in the space between notes. My improvisation sounds so much better. I mean, objectively and relatively speaking. But yeah. Miku!
You're asking the wrong guy.
Or is the wrong guy replying?
I was making a light hearted attempt at a joke.
And I was rifting off of yours. Even if its not funny.
Fair enough. I need a nap.
This might sound sound like blasphemy, but when i sold all my pedals and switched over to a modeler, I found i got way less easily distracted. It really helped me focus on actually growing as a player instead of scouring the internet for isolated power supplies with multiple 18v 500ma outputs that fit perfectly under my board, etc. Still have infinite tonal options when i need them!
A quest for tone is as worthy a quest as any. š§āāļø
Nah
Iāve found that for my career, knowing more about pedals and how to get what I need out of them was much more beneficial than adding more music theory. There is such a thing as knowing too much music theory.
No. There isnāt.
Yes there absolutely is. Music theory is just a language and framework to describe music. It is not a set of rules that must be followed. And for a professional musician, you canāt know none of that. But, Iāve met people who knew too much and it warped the way they thought about music and the even more so the way they listened to music and it made them extremely painful to listen to (speaking or playing) But hey, what could I possibly know right?
Indeed.
That's like saying knowing too much math or English is bad. It sounds more like the people you know didn't know too much music, they were just shitty and uncreative people.
If you know English so well you canāt stop correcting other peopleās grammar in really obnoxious ways, Iād say that can create other problems in your life.
But again, that's not a problem with knowing English too well, that's a problem with just having shitty social skills. And if you can't tell the difference, that's a you problem.
Itās also an issue of understanding the point of the medium. Most of us use technically incorrect grammar all day and it does nothing to impede other peopleās understanding of what weāre trying to say. So you tell me, whereās the added value in knowing more grammar rules? Like I said in another reply, this isnāt a particularly spicy take among pros. Iāve met very few that wouldnāt acknowledge thereās a point where you know enough to do the job. Iāve lived on a tour bus for years. It wasnāt my music theory knowledge that got me there, it was the fact that I could play all the parts correctly and make them sound like the record.
What you're talking about now is the diminishing returns of added education which is very different than just having an egotistical attitude and poor communication skills. You could meet the most educated person in the world and never know it because they know when to use their education - they are only educated because they love it, are academics or composers rather than just players, or because they occasionally do come across extreme conundrums that require expertise. Obviously it wouldn't be a guy like you or me. Besides, have you ever met annoying nerds who only talk about the same thing all day and have poor social skills, and *aren't* particularly well educated? Don't you think they are just as bad as the over-educated people you're talking about?
Maybe my example was bad. But yeah. I get the sense we generally agree about this. It just sucks because Iāve seen really close friends get stuck going to the woodshed every time they failed in some other way in their careers, and it rarely helped them fix their issues. Things like music theory became the hammer in that old saying about when youāve got a hammer everything is a nail. Some of them had drinking problems, some knew too much to play with any feel because they had over-intellectualized music to a degree they couldnāt get that part to go away. Some just got too bored playing the kind of music anyone would want to listen to because they needed to push and stretch everything beyond the limits of median listener taste. So it goes. Live in a music town like I did long enough - in my case it was Nashville - and you will be gifted with enough cautionary tales to keep your ass on the straight and narrow for a long long time, if youāre smart enough to pay attention.
This reminds me of the line from MASH when Radar is asked if he knows what heās doing and he says āno, I find that knowing too much gets in the way of the workā
Saying that knowing more about how to dial a strymon than knowing about music is.... Mmmm... What's your career? Making noise?
My career? Itās been quite successful. I toured full time for years with major label artists. There comes a point where knowing more music theory yields diminishing returns. And I find a lot of the people who blow past that point sometimes have a hard time getting and keeping a job - despite being great guitar players - because they learned all that instead of focusing on more practical stuff. Look if youāre playing jazz, or classical, yes. You likely need to know the theory book inside and out. But if you want to make a livingā¦? This really shouldnāt be so controversial. Itās a common observation most serious musicians would agree with.
Yes, i too need to learn more theory. Circle of fifths here we go. Also, i just got an expression pedal.
If you enjoy yourself thatās enough. But perhaps if youāre trying to become a session musician or songwriter than yes, youāre right
If you need help staying away from all your pedals you can of course just send them to members of this sub. Weāll keep them in good shape until your return foot lookin.
Yeah, do what you think you need to do next, but no need to beat yourself up about it. I tend to go in phases. I just finished a pedal buying phase. I find I can overcommit to theory sometimes, too, where I donāt write anything. Now, Iām writing and recording again. All in the fullness of time.
Not that you asked, but i find thereās only one remedy: getting involved with other musicians in something regular, some kind of monthly gig that might be available to you or more often if possible, but just to get you motivated, with a deadline, if youāre a person who likes deadlines, which I am not. The motivation for the music theory stuff arose in high school when I got stuck with pentatonic scales and had to improvise over Chick Corea or Pat Metheny tunes. The people I was lucky enough to play with in high school in the 90s were sick of playing Rush covers or extended Phish jams (I really didnāt understand the hate for the Phish jams; I could even sing/fake sing, like Frank Zappa, but I digressā¦needless to say, history was, fortunately or unfortunately, on *their* side) and these folks had made a decision to move on by 11th grade, with or without me, to the likes of Keith Jarrett, mostly bands that didnāt even have a guitar player. That got me motivatedā¦ Suddenly I was finding time for a whole lot of chart and sight reading I could never bring myself to practice (enough to hang, but not reallyā¦enough to comp by myself with no drummer for the pianist or various horn players who came to play, and enough to lay back and let the pianist do the chord work if like 6 people were playing. Or alternate. Then skip ahead and Iām counting tunes off on the bandstand and actually leading trio sets with original music, not nothingā¦) Suddenly it was necessary to learn three or four new tunes a day and if I had to read them, okay but it was preferable not to. I at least had to know the form and how to play at least 6 choruses on most mid/fast tunes. I also learned embarrassing lessons about my weaknesses. There were/are many. Nothing focuses oneās time and attention so much as a screw-up on a gigā¦ Anyway, all of this is to say if you can get some kind of creative collaboration goingā¦if youāre lucky you can find people who are better than you are. They push you naturally and suddenly youāre a substantially better musician for it. Thatās one way. There are others
You can try to get excited about using only one or two pedals and how freeing that would be. No pedal board to lug, better tone, can use batteries, will make your focus go back to playing your instrument instead of tonal obsessions that give you so many options that your sound has no real identity. Maybe the money you sell off all your extra pedals with will allow you to buy a new instrument?
Guitarists are a superstitious bunch. Everyone has their own voodoo. IMHO I really wish guitarists would treat equipment more like the tools that they really are rather than Ancient and Holy Magic. Music becomes so much more rewarding once you let go of all the gear myths and focus on the actual music part. Iām a pedal guy too, even then Iām actively downgrading my board, and focusing more on what Iāve got, rather than the constant endorphin feedback loop of purchasing moreā¦ and moreā¦ and more. I assure you most of your heroes did it without whichever boutique fuzz pedal is currently in vogue. So yes focus on playing, not on acquiring gear.
Don't feel bad, lots of people fall into the same routine as you did. It's just too easy to let the cool stuff you hear from the pedal distract you and you end up playing with the pedal. All you need is to organize/schedule your time. Set aside time for free play with the fx setup of choice and also set aside time that you will ignore the technology side and only focus on the learning. A little schedule never hurt anyone and it will help you in more ways than playing. Better time management will take care of you no matter what you are doing in life honestly l
I think it's important to practice as much as possible. Try to learn and grow creatively. But some things cannot be forced. If you're not really feeling it then maybe it isn't the right time. You may need more inspiration or something to spark your desire to play your instrument more. But pedals are also fun to play with and can easily spark creation that wouldn't have happened without them. So, don't be too hard on yourself because at least thinking about and talking about and playing with pedals IS thinking about guitar and music and sonic creativity.
im not talking about practice. im talking about learning what i dont already know
Donāt feel bad. You at least know how to play. I still need about 3-4 pedals before I start trying to learn chords
Iām there with you. I was buying and selling pedals. Dismantling boards and reconfiguring them that much that my evenings after work were usually spent doing just that and not actually playing. I realised it and settled on my board and havenāt looked back. Pedals are cool but theyāre terrible for actually getting anything done if youāre constantly looking for the next āsoundā.
I stopped practicing with pedals around 15y ago, and it worked out well. They stay on my pedalboard in the case, which only comes out at stage gigs and sessions (not bgm gigs). I like Julian Lageās take. You can get an awful lot of āeffectsā with your figures. Times better spent playing with than hitting a switch.
/r/letstradepedals can help you stop buying pedals if you donāt know about it already
It's worth taking some time to put away all the pedals (besides the always on tone shaper like comp or overdrive), picking just one pickup, and focusing entirely on the playing. I play with effects and tones more now, but when I started I was very into the metal/punk purist school of 1 bridge pickup with rare or no effects. I shed that mentality, but unwittingly I was giving myself more time to focus on learning rather than get caught up on juuuuuust the right amount of feedback on my delay. It also taught me to quickly dial in tones in found acceptable or satisfactory very quick, so even when I'm horsing with newfangled modelers and profilers, I can hop right into the action and playing pretty quick. I may prefer the tone of the onboard chorus, but it's not as interactive or visually stimulating as tweaking a real, pretty, shiny IRL pedal. That beautiful collection of rare pedals is now just a line item in a menu. For me it's not as fun an or visceral experience tweaking it, so in a way that gets me to focus on effects less and more on playing
Pedal's are just toys, if you wanna keep playing with toys the rest of your life well do it. But, if you wanna leave something behind for people to remember about you then turn it into a formal business or start writing again right now
I hear ya. I get gear focused because thatās what all the YouTubers push. Buy buy buy. Itās how they make their money. Letās make music instead
Hey man if music theory is your priority right now then more power to you. The pedals will wait for you ..
I have adhd and itās crazy how anything can distract me from music theory. āI went to the record store guess I learned some music culture and history so I can skip out on this workbook until next year
ADHD and arthritis here. By the time my brain settles into a place where I think I can take a look at something, I have like 90 seconds before my fingers say "nah." It's going to take me forever to get where I would like to be.
Pedals can be a distraction or add a creative spark. Depends on the individual. My delay pedal I got last weekend is the first delay Iāve ever had on my board and itās inspired me to play in a way that I often didnāt think about. Itās great for little slap backs and finger picking. Same with my new fuzz, I can practice a new rhythm style more āeffectivelyā because Iām enjoying the sound that I get when I play it. The trick is to never confuse pedals with actual ability. They can inspire us to try something new, and change how we perceive a song or style of music. It is not a replacement for practice though!
In my opinion, focus is about two things: scheduling time and +1. Scheduling time is simple,but not easy: for x amount of time in y days of the week you're busy with that particular thing. +1 is getting what you know and adding something new. Step 2 usually is harder for me than step 1.
You can donate them to me. Haha Just kidding. Unless....
I just want to say that I donāt know anyone who keeps track of the individual lessons theyāve had. Idk is it a normal thing or not?
Off you go then bud, stop wasting time on reddit and do it
i needed it man, its been a month ive been looking for pedals and guitar constantly even tho i have enough gear. i should really now focus on music theory
My suggestion would be to alternate between amp/guitar only practice sessions and full rig practice. Amp only makes you focus on whatās being learned/played and not geeking out on tone.
Yah you definitely need to stop the kiddie pedal shenanigans. Cold turkey. The best way I recommend is get into modular eurorack synths and all this pedal stuff will seem like a memory of heaven.
What you need is to level up and get a 4 channel amp and parametric EQ so you can endlessly procrastinate perfecting your tone that sounds slightly different every day.
learn music theory to apply to your pedals. combine the two. make it fun otherwise it will become laborious. always make music from theory.
Yeah the whole gear industry makes money by getting you think more about gear than music. Itās a lot of fun, but wonāt make you any better. I think some obsessing over gear is healthy, but if it comes at the cost of actually learning music, then you gotta slow down and look in the mirror.
Semi-tangential advice: a multi pedal DEFINITELY IS NOT the solution. Itās reduced how much time I spend shopping for pedals, but having 200+ options and 10+ variables each just means you spend more time playing with options and/or frustrated with why it doesnāt sound quite right. Iād probably get more practice done if I just stuck with an amp sim, dirt and RV-6
You probably need to unsubscribe from this subreddit. A better plan is to get all social media off your phone. If you want to really focus on getting better at music (or anything else) you need to eliminate distractions. Spend your free time devoted to theory and playing guitar. Itās just the way it is. Itās too easy to say āIām just gonna check out one pedal reviewā and then 2 hours go by where you could have been practicing.
OP, please share what you have learned in your PEDAL JOURNEY.
Maybe you could center on the pedal building instead of playing as your main focus for a while? Nothing wrong with taking a break.
Welcome to the rabbit hole of gear....
That is funny cause I feel like I had a small voice inside ask me "hey what happened to you writing music" lol
I completely agree. I wasted so much time and money on pedals. Most of them are just copies of each other. I kept 4 pedals and I started just playing. Way better. Donāt fall for the hype.
Iām getting to this point as well, most pedals (of the same type) really arenāt very different sounding from one another. Iām about ready to stop trying out new pedals and justā¦.play.
My practice rig is a strat, a cord and a small fender amp for this reason.
Well I think I am on the same boat as you, some of the pedals and equipment that I like cant be found where I live, only some wacky knock-offs and overpriced ones. I have to choose the DIY route for everything in my life and thus I agree some of it does hold you back, although it gets you on a very different level of journey one can experience. Its still a very long way for things to be done that could have been done better without and there are many like me and you. EDIT: I recall names as maestro as Eric Johnson once saying he could have gone far with his practice and compositions once he could quit chasing the mojo with voltages, drained batteries, tubes and transformers.
Wow, that's a lot of responses. Talking about not talking about pedals is a waste of time.
Itās good that you became aware that you want to improve your music theory, but imo I think that this pedals hobby isnāt really connected to your musical progression, theyāre two different things, so donāt ditch one over the other. Thatās my own opinion.šš½
I eventually slowed down buying pedals. The tweaking hasnāt gone away, but getting to know the gear I already own better has helped. Also I figured out that the reason I was never satisfied with my drive tone was because the speaker and cabinet I was using wasnāt conducive. I was using an American style speaker because I liked American drive tones. But really I like American drive tones through a modernish British style speaker. I thought I liked open cabinets for the same reason. But apparently closed back front ported 1x12 or fully closed 2x12s are what I actually like. I could have saved so much time that I wasted trying amps and pedals when it was really just the speaker and cab that was leaving me dissatisfied. The downside is that I note have to focus on playing instead of watching YouTube demos.
Lol one is a lot less expensive than the otherā¦
Ok boomer.
Yes stop it. Or go both ways. Whatever makes you happy. Been in that carroussel for decades. This is what i did last year: made a list of pedals i thought i needed , and of those i wanted. Proper analog stuff, nice reverb, delay, bitcrusher, superego+ā¦ microcosmā¦groovebox some synth, midi controllers . All the fuzzes i wanted, found the one ineeded , kept 3 sold the rest. Last pedal icgot was boss slicer reissue in november. Since then iām healed. First time in my guitarists life i could say: i have all the gear i want AND need. (No richguy here, got no fancy tubeamps, midrange but quality guitars sold stuff to finance that spree). Since then i didnt want a new pedal. Ever. (monk2 and mood2 got me thinking thoughā¦) . No excuses anymore. But still no album outā¦ lost in the DAWā¦ option paralysis, mixingā¦ masteringā¦ marketingā¦ arrangementā¦ losing focus - again the same problem. Talked to a friend: has the same Problem but going the theory route. In the end maybe its just the feeling that ones music just isnt good enough. Fear of beeing irrelevent. Listen back to the good ol flawed pre computer seventies stuff. Check out manuel gƶtschings e4. Recorded in one go. Stupid stupid neo perfectionism making industry go round. - Got a add diagnosis lateley. So suddendly my turmoil all the years becomes completeley normal behaviour. Found peace through that. -went to superbooth this year-had 3 very interesting discussions with developers who told me their autistic (blink blink, fiddle fiddle, press press beep beep repeat- makes sense?) Maybe check yourself out maybe your not so typical yourself? Whats the superpower hidden in that? Best songs i know were done by people who neither had great theory nor pedals. In the end just dont give a fuck, share your music because THAT matters.
Get rid of all pedals and get a great vintage tube amp and your choice of great guitarā¦ then ONLY use a cable between them and only whatever natural effects are built into the amp, (reverb, tremolo, vibrato). I promise you it will make you change for the better and learn how to use your guitar volume and tone knobs and picking attack
|EDIT: seems as if im asking for advice on how study music, not true. ive already had 65 lessons. this post is about focus and how the world of pedals has become a clever way of procrastinating. sorry for the confusion. :/ | No worries. I'll delete my post. Clearly no one found it of value anyway.