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Also, a general
musician attitude is that DJ's and rappers are not real musicians. In
the past several years, the most innovative music to come about has
come in the form of mutated hybrids of hip-hop, vinyl, samples, electronics
and improvised sound scapes that DJ's have been serving up.
The point
I'm trying to get across is that you can pick up some great ideas and
even some inspiration by coming out of your cage and taking a look around.
What can a guitar player or any other musician pick up from a DJ? You
can pick up some incredibly cool grooves, polyrhythms from two loops
playing on top of each other. Also, I hear things like polytonality.
For instance, a song is playing in the key of A major and the DJ decides
to mix in some horn kicks from another song in C# major on the choruses.
The DJ may decide to mix in a completely different song for the chorus.
These are just a few examples of musical ideas you can pick up from
those people who many say aren't real musicians.
Most of
the rappers and DJ's are not bound by the rules of proper part writing
or classic music theory. I hear a lot of things that are incredibly
cool in hip-hop that are totally against the rules of classic theory
and that break pop song writing formulas from just a few years ago.
There is
some very cool musical stew cooking with contemporary Christian music.
I've been hearing pop song structures fused with hip-hop rhythms, great
vocals and great guitar sounds and parts. Some of Nashville's top studio
players play on these records. You can pick up some different approaches
to building your own songs. Speaking of Nashville, this is one town
where guitar playing never went out of style. When you dial in a country
station, and you catch the right song, you'll hear some blistering gun-slinging
guitar riffs.
Some thing
you can do to start expanding your tastes and musical knowledge and
appreciation is to channel surf with your car radio. The fact of the
matter is for marketing and demographic purposes, most radio stations
play the same songs over and over. Don't let modern day marketing tactics
hamper your creativity. Also, when you're at your favorite music store,
try checking out some different styles of music that you haven't heard
in a while or maybe never at all. Check out what's on the listening
stations.
Remember
people know what they like and like what they know. So the more music
you know, the more music you'll like. You may grow fond of Zanfier and
his pan flute or Frank Kowolski and his polka men. Come out of your
cage and musical comfort zone, stretch out and exercise your imagination.
You might be sore for the first couple of weeks, but as you get in shape,
you'll feel better. Until next time...
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