OK, here's one for all the musicians in the house, especially all the guitar players.

From having heard Prince play up close and in person and from all his performances etc-it is clear the man can play that guitar all day long, no problem, blowing minds like nuttin.

Even though he is a incredible, great player, Question: When does Prince practice and how often will he go in between performances, rehearsals etc, before he actually will practice by himself "runnin' thru the numbers" or does he still have to do it to stay sharp? How often does he practice all the instruments he plays? OR is he just that bad he dont have to practice none of em no more?!?!

Would do u think?

dunno but need and want some guitar lessons since just started playing Please Prince?

The issue of Bass Player magazine that he was on the cover of (about 2 years ago) this question was asked of him and his reply was that he never practices saying.."playing is like breathing now" My guess would be that he seldom actually practices but since he plays all the time anyways with many diffrent musicians that he stays sharp and is probably constantly learning.

Not a bad question, but it's one that's almost impossible for a fan to answer. That's one that only Prince can answer. If you go to the soundcheck, that's a good one to ask - although, somehow I doubt he will give you a straight answer.

But, when you think about it, when does Prince have time to do anything???? The volume of music the guy creates just boggles the mind.

I always wondered about this too.
Was thinking maybe Prince did all his main practicing in his youth. While other kids were out wasting time and shootin' the sh**, he was busy honing his skills, day and night. Scales, arpeggios, every possible chord and inversion or progression.Perfecting licks and techniques. He got to the place where it was like breathing. Playing his instrument became just an extension of his creative mind/himself. They are truly one.
Now he spends so much time writing and creating music, and practicing with his band, or in actual performances, that this itself keeps him sharp.
No one can deny he's a virtuoso, especially on that ax.

It's never too late to start but I think the best time to learn an instrument is in our youth. How many people have you talked to that said they used to play an instrument in school but quit and had regrets?

Prince rehearses a lot. More ofter than the average person practices. He stays really sharp.

one thing I noticed on The Truth CD... you can tell Prince plays 99% of the time Electric Guitar... because when he was playing acoustic guitar.. HE "strummed" it like an electric.. it seem he thought he only had to let the electric guitar do the work..

so his acoustic playing was "sort of" off... it sounded a little "choppy".. and just dead spots sort of..

so Prince has to practice his acoustic playing some more..

hey all the track were not bad.. but there was some parts of songs that didn't sound tight..

LocoArts,

interesting observation, he strummed it like an electric guitar, interesting!

how can u always tell when people do this?! fascinating...

peace!

Yeah, I'm curious too about how Prince's acoustic playing on The Truth was a bit choppy. I play a little but am no expert. I thought it sounded pretty commanding, but I'd like to learn where his heavy use of electric guitars shows in his acoustic playing.
P.S. His first album does show him with an acoustic guitar on the inside photo.

left handed or right handed ?

Prince does not have any time to practice. His entire day is usually devoted to worshiping Satan with Larry Graham and making fun of disabled children.

hey, just because Prince didnt fingerpick on the truth doesnt mean his playing was choppy or somethin...
this is bullshit, his acoustic guitar playin is very inspired on the truth...and quite original too (Welcome to the dawn)

A lot of great acoustic guitar player prefer to strum than fingerpick...(Bob Dylan, Bruce Springsteen, John Frusciante, Dave Navarro, Ani Difranco) so yes Prince is great on electric guitar but his acoustic guitar playing on the truth showed us a great unknown aspect of his playin...

and btw its not about technique or skills...its about songwriting, emotions...
Marvin Gaye was a good drummer and a very basic Piano player but he wrote some of the most beautiful melodies of our century using the skills that he had...Thousands of guitarist have a better technique than Jimi but they sound pathetic compared to him just playin the blues scale...

bye
[This message was edited Thu Apr 4 14:56:24 PST 2002 by alibomaye]
[This message was edited Thu Apr 4 14:57:10 PST 2002 by alibomaye]

I'm pretty sure P practices a lot. Think about all the soundchecks, all the print interviews that recount him rehearsing his bands mercilessly.

As someone who plays in a group -- on top of doing my own musical thing and holding down a full-tim job -- I can tell you: Sometimes your recording sessions and performances become rehearsals (if you stay really busy). I could see this being the case with P, if he weren't a full-time musician.

So my guess is, yeah, he practices quite a bit.

mistermcgee said:

Some in Orgville do.



Exactly.

Doesn't Kat Dyson play lots on the The Truth album ?

As a musician, there comes a time when you have learned how to play an instrument & u become more concerned with what u play rather than how. Prince has spent a lot of time playing & recording so I'd say he gets his practise there

Lewis

no,kaT DYSON DIDNT PLay anything ,she only sang on fascination

I dont think he practices alot. doesnt need to. however he PLAYS alot, and writes. so while he's playing, u could say he's rehearsing i guess...he's known to be up about 18-20 hours a day, and lots of that is with his music. it's nice to have a job that u love, no? making money to do what u love. but he's also known to be a hard worker. thank GOD for us he loves that music so...