leafar said:

Millions of people learn to play the guitar. Prince is honestly not the most amazing guitar player in the world. He distinguishes himself by being so well rounded.

He probably learned to be a good guitar player by playing it constantly along with his favorite records and jamming with friends, just like every other non-jazz/classical guitar player.

His father is a musician, too, and no doubt taught him a lot, whether he meant to or not. Knowing piano makes it easier to learn a new instrument, and Prince learned at a young age, which makes it even easier.

Add to that Prince is probably very insecure, maybe he wasn't very social compared to his brother, and he probably spent years alone in his room playing piano & guitar & bass

It's always going to be a sensitive issue for people when you start peeling back the layers of Prince's mystique. He has invested a lot in creating the impression that he is a mystical being. There will naturally be some resistance to observations about the mechanics of playing instruments.

I have a copy of Prince's handwriten music manuscript to 'Bambi'. The guy may not sight read but he can most definately read and write music.

leafar said:

I doubt Prince had any special secret. You have it easier with access to the internet. You can get free lessons, but "practice" is the real answer. That's how you get good.

But as I mentioned, Prince's dad was a musician. Even before Prince played an instrument he was exposed to good music.

I am no Prince, but I know people who can't sing on key. It is no coincidence that their families can't sing either. I have always know how to sing because my family did it all the time around me. And it made it a lot easier for me to learn guitar. Prince is the same, but even moreso since his dad was a professional jazz musician.

The first instrument we need to learn is in our heads. Once we feel & understand music, it's easier to play it. Prince surely feels music as well as anyone, and that's why he said the first song he wrote was by banging two stones together.

Again, im grateful for the effort, but i know that there is something substantial to know about this. I play guitar so i know that learning involves specifics, specific approaches, specific everything. Ive been playing for 20 years and im good, but not as good as i can be. Seriously, i am after real, specific, substantial info on this, not general advice that doesnt tell me anything.

I guess what im asking is : Does anyone have a link where he himself explains, even in some small way, how he learned, or where someone talks about this?

Real answers, people. Informative links, if there are any. And quick, before everyone realises how off topic i am.

I think you're not going to find much. Every interview I've read with him (and there are not that many) if he mentions it at all he talks a lot about how much he played.

In a rolling stone interview around 1990 he said something like " while the others were out partying I was jamming. and come morning I had a new song"

What specifically do you think you are lacking in your own playing?

A lot, too much to go into. No he hasnt talked about it much. He should do a dvd presentation just for me.

leafar said:

now you're just dreaming! You don't want to share just one thing you'd like to fix in your own playing?

stanleylieber said:

Cool! Do you have a scan of it?

stanleylieber said:

who you talkin to?!

NDRU :

I need to become much more familiar with the fretboard. Im not talking note names, i mean being able to see scales on the fretboard in relation to each other.

I need to become better at techniques like vibrato.

I need to become better at fingering efficiently.

And more things.

But 1,000,000 times more importantly than any of that, i need a system of learning and memorising things. I doubt that ill get any help here and i know im asking in the wrong forum, but even guitar forums dont help. There are very few people who really know how to practise and how to devise a system of practise that is as efficient as possible and leads to fast progress.

What im asking is a question that hardly anyone (except highly paid experts) actually know very much about. In fact lets move on, as i know that no one here (unless im extremely lucky) can even begin to help. Not because theyre stupid, but because its just not common knowledge, and if i hear "practise" one more time ill scream. The answer is not practise, the answer is what and how to practise.

As i say there are some very specific things to know. Ignore me, move on, no one here can help.

prince also said that he dont practise guitar,
that playing is like breathing to him.
yeah right,

what i want to say is that man like prince no way he never tried to learn to read music.
even if the reason was curiosity.
prince knows music theory,he knows modes.
modes are higher level of playing.

its ok to assume that eric clapton
can't read music because he playes five notes (pentatonic scale) all his life.
but prince???
prince knows a lot of music theory and he couldnt learn it only from jamming with his band mates.

and even if he dont know how to read music
it's no diffrence at all.
it would be a diffrence if he is a classical trained pianist or jazz guitar player in big band

I'll give you one thing that helped me a lot recently with vibrato because mine sucked, too.

Larry Carlton said to practice bending a half step up and down very slowly as a way of practicing vibrato. Don't try to do it fast. Fast vibrato sounds bad anyway, but do it really slow & deep and gradually increase the speed as you get better at it & gain control. It really worked for me.

courtesy http://mr335.tv/?channel=...videofile=

I agree with you guitar forums always say "learn your own style" or "play what you feel" and that doesn't help at all.

But there is good info out there.

There must be a small handful of things that all great musicians do (regardless of style) that leads them to become really good in a fairly short period of time (apart from "practise, practise, practise" thats obvious), and that musicians like me dont do much of. I want to know what those things are, specifically.

Thanks NDRU, ill check that out.

one thing also if you want to protect your music
from someone taking your song
you must register your song .
but to do it you must transcribe it to music notes first.
you can't copyright chords because you can make milion
diffrent songs on the same pattern ,

only melody.

50 years from the day author dies that
kind of music become public property.
so you think prince ego would let him give his music (or other pattent)
to other fellow musician to transcribe it.
claire fisher maybe or lisa coleman.
no way.
now your computer can transcribe all the notes for you but not in the 80s.

NDRU said:

Ha! I quoted the wrong post. 3121 said:

leafar said:

There is no specific, super-duper, masonic-like secret art to progression - becoming as good as Prince, or any of the great guitarists, requires something you have no control over....natural ability/talent.

You can practice all you like, but there are just some that have that extra ability that cannot be taught or learned - it is just who they are, their individual ability and they are blessed with that talent. Many people become amazing trumpet-players....but there's only one Miles Davis - why? Because of his singular, individual talent.

But don't give up...even after 20 years of playing, there's room for improvement

leafar said:

..isn't 2day stevie wonder's b-day??..
...mzsexybaby'SHE CAN MAKE U CRAZY..IF U 2 CLOSE 2 HER HEAT'

stanleylieber said:[quote]

NDRU said:

It would be taken down with the quickness as it would constitute copyright infringment.

Mindflux said:

I agree, when you ask a very general question, like "how did they get so good," the only real answer is "they played a lot." If there was something specific that allowed them to become great in a short period of time, everyone would do it!

But there are specific answers to specific questions. Like patterns to learn to improve your knowledge of the fingerboard, etc.

Those are technical issues, but the music, your solos, rhythm playing etc, comes from inside you and distinguishes the greats from the not-so-greats (who may have just as much knowledge of their instrument as the greats!)

Re NDRU's words on vibrato, you better tell Prince that. And that Jimi Hendrix too, via ouji board.
[Edited 5/16/09 9:46am]

Mong said:

which words?

Sonny T used to say in interviews that Prince's vibrato was different than Jimi's.

nurseV said:

Thank you NurseV - I love this picture
It's simply beautiful!