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SurfGuitar101 Forums » Surf Musician »

Permalink What type of schooled musical education do you Have?

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I had some basic music theory in grammar school. I learned note values, time signatures, notes of the staff, functions of sharps, flats, naturals, rests, etc.
I didn't care for it then, but it came in handy later when I picked up guitar.
So - with the few books out there at the time and the "PLAY GUITAR WITH THE VENTURES" records, I got some self-learning going.
I wanted to learn a little jazz theory later after that. I hooked up with a (wannabee) guitar teacher. He wrote several books on jazz guitar and lived in my town.
Only problem there - he wasn't a guitar player. He was a sax, clarinet, vibraphone player - anything but guitar. He was useless as far as picking and technique. He just knew theory and put lessons in books; lessons he could not play on guitar himself.

Having a math background, I adopted a "matrix" view of the fretboard. That has worked extremely well when I go into the many books I've collected in various guitar genre over the years.
All learning is self learning.
J Mo'

From 6th grade to junior in high school with a clarinet and then a tenor sax. I walked away and forgot all I had learned. In my early 40's, I purchased a strat. I was so frustrated that there are few words to explain how I felt. After youtube teachers came around, I realized I could learn some. With age, the dexterity in my hands and my lack of short term memory have made learning very difficult. I am more of an observer than a participant. I'm not happy with that status but have too many other activities to make much headway.

When I was a kid, my pop got stationed in Japan for a spell, and I begged him to bring me back an electric guitar. The 'rents said "OK, but you're going to have to take lessons." They signed me up with a local guitar teacher, an old guy who smelled like stale cigarettes and gym socks. He spent two lessons trying to get me to hold the guitar right, then asked me what kind of music I wanted to play. Why, the Ventures, of course! He then proceeded to write out the sheet music to Windy and Warm and a few others and told me to go home and practice. I was too embarrassed to mention that I didn't know how to read music. I got out my first Ventures album and learned the tune by ear as best I could, and played it at the next (and last) lesson. "Gee, Matt! That's very good!" as I played while pretending to look at sheet music. "But, you do realize that this should be a Bb, not B natural, don't you?" Uh, sure I do, thanks! That was and is the extent of my formal music training. (I've occasionally mused as I enter my dotage how my music "career" would have been different had I been able to sight read. While I have the utmost respect for those that can, I can't think of a situation where I missed out on a gig or session by being musically illiterate).

What's that old joke "How do you get a guitar player to turn down?" "Put sheet music in front of him!"

Last edited: Jan 24, 2022 01:43:48

Classical guitar lessons from age 10
jazz guitar lessons when i was 18
got a degree in jazz when i was 26

played in bands since i was 17 - punk, indie, rock, jazz and surf
turned pro with 21

been making a living playing and teaching guitar for 31 years...
learned some stuff from the lessons/musical education, but also lot from transcribing, playing and trying out stuff...

it never stops, right now I'm into Barney Kessel's chord concepts and Americana jazz like Jim Campilongo and Bill Frisell...
Still love and write surf music

www.thesurfguitarbook.com

Tikidog wrote:

Classical guitar lessons from age 10
jazz guitar lessons when i was 18
got a degree in jazz when i was 26

played in bands since i was 17 - punk, indie, rock, jazz and surf
turned pro with 21

been making a living playing and teaching guitar for 31 years...
learned some stuff from the lessons/musical education, but also lot from transcribing, playing and trying out stuff...

it never stops, right now I'm into Barney Kessel's chord concepts and Americana jazz like Jim Campilongo and Bill Frisell...
Still love and write surf music

www.thesurfguitarbook.com

For me it was all private lessons. Dale Bruning in Denver, a fine jazz teacher who, coincidentally, was teaching Bill Frisell at the same time. I also did some reading studies with another Denver guitarist by the name of Ozzie Carlson. Then I studied with Scott Fraser, and the Minneapolis area, who is a fine Jazz guitarist and has experience and training ranging from Classical to Chet Atkins’ style to Johnny Smith’s style. I taught for years, but chose to go into another field when I realized that there was little demand for the sort of Jazz I wanted to play.

These days, I have broadened by tastes and appreciate many genres. The Surf I heard as a kid is among my favorites. I also love some of the R&B flavored soft rock of the late ‘70s and early ‘80s.

The artist formerly known as: Synchro

When Surf Guitar is outlawed only outlaws will play Surf Guitar.

My self-taught best friend taught me while I was laid up in traction from a career ending skateboard injury. He said since I couldn't skate anymore we should just form a band. I wasn't going anywhere (literally) so that's what we did. That was 1978. Still haven't had any formal lessons and it shows LOL.

Bill S._______
image

HELLDIVER on Facebook

Martin Schmidt’s Surf Guitar School)

Waikiki Makaki surf-rock band from Ukraine

New Single is out!

https://waikikimakaki.bandcamp.com/album/rhino-blues-full-contact-surf-single

Waikiki Makaki

https://linktr.ee/waikikimakaki

Lost Diver

https://lostdiver.bandcamp.com
https://soundcloud.com/vitaly-yakushin

I started out self taught, but ended up getting a Master's degree in classical guitar. Which has not come in terribly handy as of late.

Matt Heaton & the Electric Heaters
"Dick Dale meets Dennis Lehane"
http://www.heatonsurf.com

Started when I was around 10 or 12 with a Sears Silvertone and my Dad's acoustic. He taught music on the side, but never got around to giving me lessons. Learned chords and song arrangements using a Beatles' song book and by dissecting chord patterns on the piano. Self taught at that point. Later took music theory for 3 semesters in college and got a lot of help from other musicians. Took guitar lessons for about a year, but that bored me, so I remained pretty much self taught on guitar. Studied chords, arrangements and songwriting and different genres in classes, books, videos and from trial and error. Learned alot of technique playing in wedding and tribute bands, but I'm an originals guy, so I still just kind of wing it.

Surfcat

2023 SG101 Compilation - Tribute to Noel
The Journey Home - Agent Octopus (Our SG101 Comp download)

From Atlantis with Love - Released - July 2023
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Reverb Galaxy - Angle of Attack CD - BANDCAMP

Surf, the most dangerous of all musical genres...

Trumpet and violin in school band but more importantly, Sabbath, Rush, Priest, Floyd, Purple, and so forth and so on.

The Kahuna Kings

https://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Kahuna-Kings/459752090818447

https://thekahunakings.bandcamp.com/releases

Private guitar lessons from Sid Margolis in Brooklyn. Sid played in the big band era with Frankie Carle and Benny Goodman among others and was staff guitarist at several New York TV studios in the 50's and 60's including with Arthur Godfrey. Google search found half a dozen pro guitarists crediting him. Then decades of autodidactics.

More quotidian were viola & orchestra classes in Jr High, piano lessons before that, and singing lessons ten years ago.

Insanitizers! http://www.insanitizers.com

I loved music and record players when I was little. When about 4 I broke into my neighbor’s house a couple of times (actually went in through an unlocked door) to play records on their portable record player. At about 5 with a little help from my mother I learned to read simple sheet music for piano. There followed about 10 years of piano lessons. There was theory involved, but I never really followed it; playing piano was mostly mechanical for me. I played trombone, baritone, and trumpet in elementary school band and took a couple of music theory classes in college.

Upon retiring I thought I’d learn guitar, which was always my favorite instrument in rock music. I’m mostly self taught. I learn songs by ear and finally I’m understanding music theory. I’ve only taken a couple of guitar lessons, but I just now found a teacher who has been very helpful, so we’ll see where that goes.

If I'd stop buying old guitars to fix, I might actually learn to play.
Bringing instruments back to life since 2013.

I studied classical guitar quite seriously for several years - technique and theory. Other than that, had a few years of piano lessons as a kid and took guitar lessons from randos on & off as a teen/20-something.

--
Project: MAYHEM by Hypersonic Secret now available!

I had some lessons with Martin Schmidt)

Waikiki Makaki surf-rock band from Ukraine

New Single is out!

https://waikikimakaki.bandcamp.com/album/rhino-blues-full-contact-surf-single

Waikiki Makaki

https://linktr.ee/waikikimakaki

Lost Diver

https://lostdiver.bandcamp.com
https://soundcloud.com/vitaly-yakushin

Oops...deleted

Jack
aka WoodyJ

The Mariners (1964-68, 1996-2005)
The Hula Hounds (1996-current)
The X-Rays (1997-2004)
The Surge! (2004, 2011-2012)
Various non-surf bands that actually made money
(1978-1990)

Last edited: Sep 16, 2022 07:29:45

I'm largely self taught, but I took three semesters of college music theory. I have also studied several jazz books by Mickey Baker and Howard Roberts.

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