Are
you too an "evolving musician". Visit my Suggested Reading and Listening page for some advice Ever since I purchased my first guitar in 1987, music has played a very instrumental part in my life (no pun intended). Beginning as an enthusiast of rock music, my interests gravitated towards jazz and blues, beginning about 1992. Although my aspirations do not include professional performance, I continue to develop as a musician by honing my arranging, transcribing, and improvising skills.
Although I spent the first six years as a self-taught hobbyist, I have been taking lessons with Mark Stefani, a local teacher, since the summer of 1995. Mark’s teachings have been crucial to my musical development and have shown me the path of the evolving musician. Before I met Mark, my evolution as a guitarist was comparatively slow and unfocused. Half of the journey seems to have been learning how to be a student of music. I urge all students to visit Mark's website, Vision Music, the highest-quality music website anywhere with lots of FREE stuff and plenty of inspiration. If you visit, tell Mark "Hi". :-)
Aside from Mark‘s influence, returning to college was also important in my development as a musician. Nine months prior to meeting Mark, I enrolled at Portland State University in order to complete my undergraduate education — an education that was begun at Reed College in 1988. Focusing my education in the areas of Art History, Music Theory, and Computer Science, I graduated from PSU in 1997 with a Bachelor of Arts degree and a minor in Computer Science. Although already having an informal knowledge of classical music through my parents’ own interests, it was at PSU that I gained a true appreciation for the great works of classical composers such as Bach, Mozart, Beethoven, Bartok, and Stravinsky. Studying the works of such classical masters deepened my understanding of music theory while also having developed in me a humble respect for their art and genius.
At the same time as I was discovering the exciting world of
Classical Music, I was also discovering the great jazz masters
of the 50’s, 60’s, and 70‘s. Having already been
very familiar with guitarists such as Kenny
Burrell, Wes Montgomery,
and Grant Green,
my discovery of other musicians like Miles
Davis, Charles Mingus,
John
Coltrane, and Eric
Dolphy opened my ears and my mind to the possibilities inherent
in human creativity.
Although much of the music I listen to is melodically and harmonically
sophisticated, it has been a very long road towards bringing any
such sophistication into my own playing. Only recently have I
begun to feel that I am even vaguely approaching the kind of sophistication
that I admire in others’ playing. There is still a long,
arduous road ahead of me, though, but at least I know how to travel
it using the tools that I have discovered either on my own or
as a student. I suppose it’s easy to look back and bemoan
the numerous hours I spent following musical “dead-ends”,
but I tend to see the bright side by realizing that each minute
spent in the pursuit of advancement is helpful even if it’s
not the ideal minute or even the right goal.
I owe much of my improvement to the transcribing that I have done over the last year. In a way, Mark Stefani has not been my only teacher, because by transcribing the works of Grant Green, Kenny Burrell, and Wes Montgomery it’s almost as if they are my teachers too! Check out some samples on my Musical Transciptions page.
You might be asking yourself, “Well...what next?” The answer to that question is my hobby in lutherie — the art and craft of building and repairing guitars. I have always enjoyed working with wood, and I have always enjoyed playing the guitar. What better way to fuse my interests? Visit the My Life in Lutherie page to learn more.
Now
that you know what I mean by "evolving musician". Take
the time to explore my 