Displaying items by tag: music

If you appreciate classical music and captivating stories about brilliant artists from the past, Hershey Felder’s one-man show, Monsieur Chopin: A Play with Music, is an absolute delight. Felder, an accomplished pianist and composer, has previously wowed audiences with his portrayals of the magnificent music and talents of Irving Berlin and George Gershwin. Now, he turns his attention to the prodigious Polish composer, Fryderyk Chopin, and the result is equally compelling.

Set in post-revolutionary Paris in 1848, Monsieur Chopin runs for an uninterrupted hour and forty minutes. It seamlessly blends theater and concert, with Felder embodying Chopin as he shares personal stories and insights. The audience is transported into Chopin’s salon, where we become students listening to his rehearsals and teachings. Throughout the performance, Felder, still in character, engages in question-and-answer sessions as Chopin, creating an immersive experience that makes theatergoers feel like they are truly in the presence of the master composer.

The staging of the play is elegantly simple, yet haunting. A beautiful grand piano graces the stage accompanied by two candlelit salon tables. The backdrop features projections and archival video from the period, some of which were specially created for this production.

Felder’s talents are commendable. While many actors could portray Chopin or write a script about a famous musician, none can simultaneously play Chopin’s music with the same skill and authenticity as Felder. Conversely, although there may be numerous pianists capable of performing Chopin’s compositions for an hour and a half, none could inhabit the role of Chopin with the emotional depth and believability that Felder achieves.

In the captivating play about Chopin’s life, I discovered several intriguing and often tragic facts that were previously unknown to me, despite him being one of my favorite composers. For instance, Chopin’s renowned ‘Piano Sonata No. 2,’ commonly referred to as the “Funeral March,” was actually composed in response to the death of his younger sister, Emilia. This haunting piece has since become synonymous with funeral music worldwide.

Another revelation was Chopin’s deep affection for the brilliant French novelist George Sand. In the play, Chopin affectionately calls her ‘Madame’ and reveals that she was the true love of his life. Sand’s devotion to him and his music was so profound that she would recline on a chaise lounge directly beneath his piano, allowing her to experience the melodies ‘directly from his heart.’

Furthermore, I learned that Chopin’s musical journey began at an astonishingly young age—he made his debut as a pianist at just seven years old, showcasing his enormous talent. However, as he gained prominence, he grew disillusioned with public performances. Initial reviews criticized him for playing too softly, but the truth was that the enthusiastic upper-class audience drowned out his delicate playing with their chatter.

Monsieur Chopin weaves together many captivating stories, including the tragic childhood loss of his sister, the complexities of his love life, the challenges of safeguarding the women in his life across international borders, and his relentless battle with chronic illness. Sadly, Chopin’s untimely death at the age of 39 resulted from untreated health issues exacerbated by financial struggles. Despite his genius, he struggled to receive proper compensation for his work.

During my interaction with Chopin, I posed the question about the happiness he experienced in his life and whether there was a time when he felt successful and recognized as a genius.

Regrettably, as was often the case, Chopin responded with a resounding ‘No.’ He recounted how, after an initial reception that hailed him as a great talent, he faced subsequent criticism from critics. In response, he shifted away from live performances and instead focused on teaching music—a domain in which he excelled.

Allow me to wholeheartedly recommend this thoughtful, moving, and exhilarating musical theater piece to audiences of all ages. Hershey Felder has once again crafted a historically accurate and captivating portrayal of a brilliant genius brought to life. Throughout the performance, Felder’s intense portrayal, coupled with his remarkable pianistic skill, left the audience yearning for more of his exquisite piano playing.

Monsieur Chopin: A Play with Music, skillfully directed by Joel Zwick, is currently being staged at Writers Theatre until May 12th. For tickets and additional show information, please visit the official website.

Highly recommended.

Chicago is just days away from ‘Middletown’ hitting the stage with its nearly four-week run taking place at the Apollo Theater. The play, produced by GFour Productions (Menopause the Musical and Fiddler on the Roof), kicks off on February 27^th and centers around two couples that share the roller coaster of life together – the highs, lows and in-betweens. But Middletown is different than most stage productions in that the actors read directly from scripts with minimal use of a set.

“I wanted to tell a relatable ‘every-person’s’ story in a direct and straightforward manner where human emotions are front and center – without bells, whistles, special effects, or props,” says writer Dan Clancy, best known for his play The Timekeepers, which ran Off-Broadway and in Israel for 13 years. “I wanted the words to speak for themselves.” 

The play also comes with a powerhouse quartet of actors comprised of Sandy Duncan, Donny Most, Adrian Zmed and Kate Buddeke. The talent in this show is undeniable and coupled with a work that has already received such critical acclaim (including a Carbonell nomination for ‘Best New Work’ in 2017), Middletown should be on everyone’s radar over the next couple of months.

A fan of his while growing up, I had the chance to catch up with cast member Donny Most fresh off recording some new tracks in Nashville for his upcoming album. Most, probably best known for his role of Ralph Malph on Happy Days, has not only left an impression with his acting work, he has also worked behind the camera as a director. But perhaps most impressively (this coming from a fellow musician), Most has recorded a handful of albums, his latest ‘D Most Mostly Swinging,’ an ode to the standard singing greats. Most, who began studying music at an early age, clearly has the chops to take on such a monumental task, even taking his act on the road with ‘Donny Most – Sings and Swings’ tour. 

Most’s career is well-rounded, and he really seems to enjoy the change of pace. Looking forward to taking the live stage again and spending time in Chicago, the veteran actor/musician talks Middletown, his path into both an acting and music career and even has some fun stuff to say about his Happy Days pals.  

Ken Payne - Thank you for giving me the opportunity to chat for a few minutes. I’ve been looking forward to this and it’s a thrill to speak with you.

Donny Most - Sure. I appreciate that. Thank you very much.

Ken - Oh, you bet. So, I read that you originally started out studying engineering and then went into business. And then I saw that you landed Happy Days on your third audition and what was that like?

Donny - You have some of it right, but you are missing some key elements so let me expand the picture a little bit. What happened was, I grew up in Brooklyn, New York and at a pretty young age I started really wanting to pursue acting, singing, all that. Initially, I went to a private studio in Manhattan to a class to learn singing and dancing and acting. I was like thirteen, fourteen years old when I got picked to be part of a professional revue they put together with the teenagers and I was singing in the Catskill Mountains one summer at all of those nightclubs up in the hotels for the summer. So, I was really going after it from a pretty young age. Then I switched my gears after that summer and started working at an acting workshop and it was a much more serious class than I had been doing previously. The one prior to that was more focused on music.

Ken – So quite the switch of direction at that point.

Donny – Right. So now I was switching my focus to acting. I was in this class for a couple of years while I was in high school. Through that teacher, I was introduced to a manager and I started going out on auditions in New York and read a lot of commercials. I did about 40 commercials over the next four years, and some of that was while I was going to Lehigh University in Pennsylvania. So, I was involved in a theater club at Lehigh and was driving into Manhattan a lot for these auditions and doing commercials and back and forth a lot. I got my engineering and business degree because my parents wanted me to have a college degree - and something as a backup, as opposed to majoring in theater. After my junior year, I went out to California for the summer to make some contacts for after I graduated. I wanted to expand the possibility because most of TV and film was being done in LA and not in New York, so I wanted to have that as an option as well. So, I went to Los Angeles for the summer, went on auditions and landed a few guest starring roles. I was supposed to go back to Lehigh for my senior year after the summer, but the agents convinced me that I had some good momentum going and that it would be silly to stop that flow. “Take six months off of school. You have something cooking, let’s see where it can go.” So, I did. I decided to take six months off and stayed out in LA and landed another role. And then I got nothing for several months and I thought “oh, I made a big mistake,” but then the audition came up for Happy Days. I think the three that you mentioned is because I went back a second time and then they called me back a third time for a screen test. But I had already landed guest starring roles on three other shows before Happy Days.

Ken – Gotcha. Your Wikipedia page makes it sound like you jumped into Happy Days out of nowhere. I was like WOW, that’s pretty fortunate!

Donny - Yeah, Wikipedia page… I thought I should fill in the blanks.

Ken - It sounds like you were into music at a very young age and I noticed that you tour as a musician with ‘Donny Most Sings and Swings’ - which I thought was super interesting. You cover many standards, which is one of my favorite types of music and I thought that was fascinating.

Donny - Great!

Ken - Is that something you are still doing today? Touring as a music act?

Donny - I am still doing it. I haven’t been doing it quite as much as I was about a year or two ago because I got very busy with film projects and other theater projects. I was doing a movie over the summer in Michigan called Lost Heart with a great production company called Collective Development, Inc. It was my second film with them. I also acted in a film with them a year ago called, MBF: Man’s Best Friend, which was actually just released a month ago on Amazon Prime. It’s a really interesting film. Pretty powerful movie and I play a defense attorney defending a wounded vet in the film. It’s a dramatic role and completely different from my past. After Lost Heart this past summer, I did the play Art up in Canada. And then I came back and did a little more music. I did a show a few weeks ago, a cabaret in New York, for two nights. And this past Friday night, I was a guest with Linda Purl, who I’ve done some shows with. She is an actress/singer, as well. So, I’m still doing music but not as much only because I got busy with a few different projects. And now I’ve got Middletown coming up. On that note, I’m near Nashville and I just came out of a meeting because I’m recording with a producer here. We are having a session tonight. We have done four songs so far and I’m doing another four this week. And after Middletown in Chicago, I’ll do the last four songs. So, yeah, I’m juggling the singing and acting, which I love. I love mixing them up and going from one to another.

Ken – We’re certainly looking forward to having you in Chicago. As far as Middletown goes, what was it that attracted you to work on that project? I know the play has a stellar cast with Sandy Duncan, Adrian Zmed, Kate Buddeke and yourself.

Donny - The play is the thing. I really liked the play a lot. And I’ve also worked with Adrian before. See, we’ve done this play in the spring for the first time at a theater in Las Vegas, The Smith Center for the Performing Arts. I did it with Adrian and then we did it at Bucks County Playhouse in Pennsylvania and now we are doing it in Atlanta for a week and then coming to Chicago. I’ve done a tour with Adrian, a Broadway tour of Grease years ago, and Adrian and I have also played ball together- we are on the same softball team. So, I knew it would be great to work with Adrian. I have not worked with Sandy, but I’ve heard great things about her, as everyone knows with her reputation from people who have worked with her. And the play itself, more than anything, because if you don’t like the material, you know, it’s nice to work with friends and people you like, but you have to love the material. So, it’s really a wonderful play that takes you through so many different emotions. There is comedy and then there are very heartfelt moments and very dramatic moments in the play. I think it’s something so many people will relate to.

Ken – Based on what I’ve read about it, I think you’re exactly right when you say the play will hit home for many theater goers.

Donny – For sure. Middletown is about two couples who have been friends for 30 something years and they have dinner every Friday night. You see them at the beginning when they are a little older, but then you go back to see how they became friends and the audience goes on this journey with them as they go through life whether it be their friendship, and having children, and marriage challenges, and then getting older and dealing with all kinds of things. It’s a real rollercoaster. I love that kind of material where it runs the gamut. It’s not just a comedy. It’s not just a drama. It’s like life is- it combines the two in a way that is very fulfilling. So that’s the main aspect. And also, that they are doing the design of the play was not to do it - you know how Love Letters was done by the actors reading the script. It’s similar in that regard. We are reading. There is some staging and minimalist kind of staging, but it’s pure. It’s pure storytelling with great characters and great words and great vehicles for actors. So that was interesting to me to do it in that manner. It really works. I didn’t quite know what to expect, but it surprised me when I did do the play how powerful it was doing it in this fashion.

Ken - So this story, about two couples meeting together for some 30 years, I looked it up and it looks like you have been married for about 38 years, if I’m right?

Donny - Yeah, it will be 38 in a couple of weeks.

Ken - Congratulations! I was wondering if this play had any parallels in your own life. And maybe that was also something that kind of grabbed your attention when considering this role.

Donny - Um, I would say that I was aware when I was reading it that I was like, “Oh wow, this is sort of uncanny about marriage and something from my life,” but there were enough moments in the play that, yes, I felt like I had experienced this, and I think everybody will have that same kind of feeling and reaction. There is something for everybody, you’ll recognize, it will hit a chord within, and you’ll have a smile on your face, with that recognition, or the pang deep down where you feel the pain and the emotion. It’s that kind of a piece. There wasn’t anything that was like, “My god, this is my story,” but there was enough in there that everybody will feel a connection to it.

Ken - When was the last time you visited Chicago and what are you looking forward to the most? You are going to be here for almost a month.

Donny - Yeah. I am looking forward to it. I was in Chicago, I performed at a place called Andy’s Jazz Club about three and a half, four years ago with the Chicago Jazz Orchestra. I always enjoyed the city very much and I’m looking forward to taking it in and being in the downtown area. You know, I grew up in New York, so it has a similar feel to me in terms of a cosmopolitan kind of a city. There is so much to do and the bustle of it and the variety of it and the food and the music and everything that a great city has to offer. I’ve had the wonderful opportunity to play softball in Wrigley Field a couple of times. Happy Days had a softball team and we played at Wrigley Field before their regular game with the Cubs. We were playing there, twice. And I was with another team called the Hollywood Allstars, a celebrity softball team that played at Wrigley Field, so I think I played at Wrigley like three times. That ballpark holds a special place in my heart, being a huge baseball fan growing up. Unfortunately, I will be there right before the new season begins, so I won’t get to go to a game, but it will just be great to be back in Chicago again. I’m really looking forward to it.

Ken - So, as far as Middletown goes, after the Chicago run, are there any plans to continue this play with the same group of actors in other locations?

Donny - They are talking to other theaters in other cities and I know they are lining them up. I think there will be a break after Chicago. There will be a bit of a break until they have coordinated them all. But the plan is to do it. The cool thing about it is when I did it in Las Vegas last spring and in Buck County, Cindy Williams played my wife and Didi Conn was playing Adrian’s wife. But they weren’t available, so in Atlanta, Didi is going to be able to do it, but then she’s not available after that. That’s why they brought Sandy [Duncan] in and a local actress that has done a ton of stuff in Chicago and stuff on Broadway, Kate Buddeke.

Ken – Sure. Kate is great. We are very familiar with her work here.

Donny – Kate is playing my wife. I’ve met her on Skype and she is lovely and I know she has done a ton of theater so I’m looking forward to working with her. What I was getting at, is that I think they will have some select pool of actors that work for this, but if some aren’t available, then you have this group doing the play in this city. And then it might be a mix and match for the next one. That kind of thing. Keep doing it and who knows, maybe it will go Off-Broadway. It’s all kind of fluid right now. I know they are lining up other theaters as we speak.

Ken - That is great to hear because it sounds like a terrific show and we are excited to have it run here in Chicago’s Apollo Theater. So, back to Happy Days because I have to ask for all the Chicago fans of that show - I was curious if you are you are still in contact with any fellow cast members at all, and it sounds like you have been with Cindy Williams.

Donny - Yeah, Anson [Williams] and I are tight, maybe tighter than we have ever been. We see each other and talk to each other all the time. As a matter of fact, he filled in for me, after Bucks County Playhouse. They had a production in Delaware, and I couldn’t do it, so Anson filled in for me for that particular run. Anson and I, we are in constant communication. And then the others - I happened to see Scott Baio just the other day. And Ron [Howard], he’s a very busy guy, but we will stay in touch by email and I’ll see him once or twice a year, that kind of thing. I had lunch with him about eight, nine months ago out in LA. And Henry [Winkler], I spoke to just about two, three weeks ago, and we are supposed to get together for lunch once I get back from Chicago.

Ken - That’s always good to hear because you watch these shows, we grow up with them, and sometimes you find out later that the cast never speaks to each other afterwards and it pops the bubble a little bit.

Donny - Yeah, we were very lucky that we had such a great relationship - and got along so well - and it was a very fortuitous casting, whatever you want to call it. You must give the Happy Days’ producers and the casting people a lot of credit. It was one of those things that happens occasionally where you bring a group of people together and they just hit it off professionally and personally - and we really did become a family. It sounds like a cliché, but it totally was the case with our group. So, we will always have that. I saw Marion Ross not that long ago and she is still doing amazingly well. I think she is 91-years-old and she looks like she could be my age. She’s amazing. We will always have that feeling. It’s almost like when we see each other, it’s like seeing your cousins and aunts and uncles, that kind of feeling. You could be away from each other for a while, but you still have that bond and you have all those feelings for each other.

Ken – Fantastic! So, I’ll just finish with one more question, I wanted to backtrack since you mentioned that you are recording in Nashville and are currently laying down some tracks and will be recording some more after this run. Are these standards that you are doing? And, when can we expect to hear the new music?

Donny - Good question. There are some standards that are going to be on this one, but not quite as much, it’s a little different. I have a CD that is out now called “D Most: Mostly Swinging” and those are all great standards with a big band and it’s “mostly swinging”. Those are all jazz standards that [Frank] Sinatra’s done and Bobby Darin and all the people that I loved growing up and listening to. What happened is I was introduced to a producer in Nashville and he saw what I was doing, and he really liked it. And when we talked and he came out to LA for something and we met, he said he thought I should do something more in his wheelhouse, but he also thought it would be a good move for me. It wouldn’t be just strictly the jazz kind of thing and that style. It’d be a little more contemporary, but we could still maintain some of the jazz feel while maybe including songs that weren’t jazz standards but were standards to my generation - songs that they were well known songs from the late sixties, maybe seventies, from  the classic rock era - open it up a little bit more so it wasn’t just the jazz standards. So, it’s a whole new thing, it’s a little different, but I’m enjoying it because we are still able on some of the songs to put in some of the jazz feel that I love. But I also love a lot of the other music. I have an eclectic kind of taste. It was a renaissance of music in the late sixties when after The Beatles and after classic rock. People were doing all kinds of mixing rock with jazz, or rock with folk, or rock with blues, progressive rock, all kinds of things. It was so experimental. So, I grew to love a lot of that music as well. It’s kind of fun for me to integrate some songs that are not part of the old jazz standards and do some of the stuff from a different era of my life. I’m enjoying that. ***

Be sure to catch Donny Most along with Sandy Duncan, Adrian Zmed and Kate Buddeke in Dan Clancy’s Middletown during its run at The Apollo Theater (2540 N. Lincoln Ave) February 27^th through March 22^nd. For tickets and/or more information visit www.apollochicago.com.

Patsy Cline was only 30 years old and at the peak of her career when she died in a plane crash in 1963. But her sweet voice and music lives on in Firebrand Theatre's 'Always...Patsy Cline', a story written by Ted Swindley and based on true events.

After hearing a Patsy Cline (Christina Hall) record on the radio, housewife Louise Seger (Harmony France) became an immediate and avid fan of Cline's and she constantly called in to the local DJ to play Cline's records on the radio.

In 1961, when Louise and her friends show up early to see Patsy Cline sing live, it’s only by fate that Cline shows up early too.

The two women hit it off and the meeting culminates with Cline spending the night at Seger's house. Over a few too many drinks, the two women shared stories (happy and sad) late into the night. Shortly after Cline left, Seger received the first of many letters from her. The two exchanged letters over the next two years, right up until the plane crash that ended her life. Featuring over two dozen songs, 'Always…Patsy Cline' is both a musical and a concert rolled into one. While Louise Seger narrates the story, Patsy Cline moves on and off the stage singing tunes that still evoke emotions today.  “Walkin' After Midnight”, “She's Got You”, “Sweet Dreams”, and “Crazy” are just a few.

Actress Christina Hall brought Patsy Cline to life. She perfectly captures Cline’s emotions, accents and sound. She shows off her strong vocal chops with "It Wasn’t God Who Made Honky Tonk Angels" while also perfectly capturing the heartbreak in "She's Got You."

Harmony France shines equally bright as Louise Seger. She pulls off the difficult task of being both a character and narrator in this story. Her transition from star struck superfan to close friend and confidant felt real and believable.

Growing up in a home where Patsy Cline’s records were in constant rotation, I really enjoyed this walk down memory lane.The only “problem” with this production of 'Always…Patsy Cline' is that you’ll want to see it a second time since France and Hall swap roles on alternating nights.

Extended through February 23rd, 2020 at The Den Theatre. This is an excellent show which I highly recommend.

Rhythm is an essential part of life. We wouldn’t exist without it. It all starts with your heart beat. That is the origin of rhythm really. And Djembe! The Show at Apollo Theater is all about the rhythm – and it’s informative. I really enjoyed learning how the djembe was used throughout musical history.

Djembe! was almost like a workshop at times. Drums are located at each audience member’s seat. The show was emceed by Ben Hope. Hope, along with the rest of the ensemble, taught the audience about the rich history djembe drumming. I didn’t realize this was actually a touring road show until yesterday. I can just imagine packing all those drums away after every show! Hopefully, Djembe! sticks around for a while because it is truly worthy of a long run.

The band in this show was fantastic. Fode Lavia Camara was the Djembe Fola, or “master”. He led the drumming for the most part although all were involved. The band was rounded out with bass guitar, keys and drums. All were musicians are very talented players.

Rashada Dawan handled most of the lead vocals. She wore a variety of costumes to illustrate the influence of djembe rhythms through musical history. Her voice was amazing. She also helped emcee the show.

When it all is said and done, we learn that a lot of the rhythm we take for granted in music is African in origin. It is interesting to see the influence of these rhythms on everything from Pop to Classical Music. This was all about the Djembe, but it translates to other instruments and even voices, and a show like this is great mind food for musicians. Us musicians need to constantly feed our minds with information. But it is the entertainment value in Djembe! that makes it fun!

This is a show one could see again and again. In fact, I am tempted to take a friend there who I know would really like it. You would too. Nothing makes you feel better than beating a drum. Bring a friend. Make a friend. It’s a celebration of life. This would be a great show to take your kids along. It’s a lot of fun.

Djembe! The Show is currently being performed at Apollo Theater.

For more information on this unique experience, visit www.djembetheshow.com.

Last month, I talked about how to think like a piano player. That was all about harmony. Horns, too, are all about melody. What is melody? That is the part you can sing. BB King, even when he played guitar, was also singing. What a concept, right? Play things that can be sung. Guitar players tend to play more rhythmic while horn players are more melodic. This is somewhat of a simplification. I am also talking about soloing and not comping. One thing I have always liked is melody. I think most people do. The hook of the song that gets stuck in your head. A good solo has that kind of quality too. Improvisation is really about improving the song. That starts with the melody. Essentially you are trying to improve the melody. Most guitar players honestly just want to show off. They think that is what a solo is all about. Since music is a form of communication, what you say in your solo says a lot about you. What do you want to say with a good guitar solo? The first thing you should say is that you know how to listen. Then, possibly someone will want to listen to you play. I honestly don’t even care how much a musician knows. The question is, “Can I listen to them?” It’s that simple. Does this please my ear? I remember hearing a fast solo when I was younger, and I got a rush from that. Sometimes I still do. But when I hear something that perks up my ears now, that’s the rush. I am not saying forget about having chops on the guitar. I am saying make sure you play something worth listening to. This applies to any style of music. This even applies to comping. If you are playing behind someone, make sure you play something that is supportive. You can even put melody in there. The key is listening. If you play without listening, it shows. I had this on my mind all week this week. Next month I am going to get back to the piano idea with some sample voicings. Then the idea of tying the voicings to melodic ideas. Sound like fun? The deeper realization is how everything ties together. Melody and harmony work together. They are closely related. Listen to what you play and make it count. Peace, RR.

“Hey man, I’m a guitar player…why would I want to think like a piano player?” Good question. It’s all about being more MUSICAL. What I am talking about is harmony. You can do a lot with different voicings.

When someone tells your average guitar player “play a G Chord”, you get something similar 90% of the time. You either get an open chord or “Cowboy Chord” as I call them, or you get a barre chord. Yes, they do pit the requirements of a G Chord. What they don’t do is provide anything new. Actually, there really isn’t much new much new out there, so going back to basic harmony works every time.

You don’t need to be a genius at music theory either. Knowing the notes up and down the neck is all that is required. Take the G Chord, one of the first chords you ever learn on the guitar. Look at the notes in that chord. I will jump to the chase for you, the notes are G, B and D. Anywhere you put these three notes on the neck of the guitar is a G Chord. This also means you can have any one of the three notes as the highest note of the chord. The highest note usually is the easiest to hear, so in effect you make a melody of the top voices of chords as they change.

Another thing to consider is that you only need three notes to make a chord. Your basic “Cowboy” or barre chord G has six notes, so obviously some notes are doubled. Yet another thing to consider is the two bottom strings are right in the frequency territory of the bass guitar. When you put emphasis on those strings it gets pretty heavy, which is the basis of most early Heavy guitar playing…...think Black Sabbath...the “Power Chord”. I can remember trying to figure out some of those songs like that and scratching my head. “Am I learning the bass or the guitar part?” It was hard to tell. I am not saying that sound is bad, but it can be very one dimensional.

The guitar is actually a small choir of sorts. Each string is not actually a string, it is a voice. You can arrange notes on the strings like a composer would arrange voices. Piano players do this too. You can think of the guitar as the right hand of the piano, the bass as the left hand. So, if you have one note on the bass and three on the guitar, you have four-part harmony. Interesting, huh?

I personally use the D, G and B strings on the guitar for a huge part of my chord voicings. Those three strings fall right about where the right hand naturally falls on the piano. Middle C is on all three strings. Also if you look, D, G and B are G, B and D rearranged so they are actually a G Chord…in case you didn’t already know that. Two of my favorite guitar players of all time used those three strings for a huge part of their harmonic vocabulary. The first one is Joe Walsh, the second one was the late Terry Kath. They never got in the bass player’s way. The result is very musical to my ears.

You can do so much with three notes. Try find the same notes to a chord in different places on the neck and pay attention to the note on top of the chord. What if the chord has more than three different notes? Well, for one the bass is covering one note. Also, you don’t always need to play every note to imply a harmony. This kinda gets into theory after a while, but the more you do things like this, the more you understand the theory behind harmony.

If you have any questions, drop me a line at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., I am glad to help. Enjoy this concept and I am working on learning how to use some software so I can show you visually some of these concepts. Peace and Love, RR.  

The more I play, the less I play. I think when you are a young player, it is natural to want to make a statement. The way many players do this is by playing a bunch of notes. “Look what I can do”, right? You run all over the neck showing off your skills. This is common practice for all musicians. It is not just guitar players that fall into this line of thinking. We just seem to reach maturity a bit later than others.

There are good reasons to play a lot of notes. It is good for rhythmic development. Your ear develops the ability to listen faster too hopefully. That is the idea anyway. If you are ever playing without listening, you are just exercising your fingers. Working your brain is much more satisfying.

You start by applying what you have learned by studying and by listening. Even if you are not formally educated in music, you still study patterns. This is often done subconsciously. Your mind chases these patterns around in your head in relation to how you find them on the fingerboard of the guitar. The idea is to know what something sounds like BEFORE you play it. The occasional accident is great. Sometimes you need to wake up your ear with new ideas.

I think after all this the ear searches for melody. Nothing satisfies your ear more. The shape of the sounds you produce should make you satisfied. You know when you nail the right lick. You just know it. You also know when you don’t. This is where the editing process kicks in. You also may remember what you didn’t like initially and decide to come back to it later.

You remember that game we played as kids. You have the cards face down and the idea is to match two cards. That is kinda how it works. You remember the sound you want and then you remember where to find it. Your memory gets better with age. Part of the reason you end up playing less is that you don’t keep picking up the wrong cards until you find the right one. Your memory serves you well in improvisation. Improvisation is not the same as ad lib. I have had an argument over the actual definition of the word improvisation. It is clear to me that the word “improve” is right in there. Often the improvement comes from playing less.

Chances are there are not many solos that you remember unless you can sing at least a portion of the melody. Even if you can’t sing, you can hear it in your head. Think of those classic solos that perk up your ear. The ones that actually resemble the phrasing of a voice and not an instrument. Those are the ones that you don’t even need to be a musician to appreciate. Try to do that. Make what you play speak to the listener. After a while of listening to someone ramble on, the mind tunes out and stops paying attention. You can captivate with much less information. Simple statements hit harder. Try it. Less is truly more.

Everybody has a favorite guitar player…well, almost everyone. We have those licks we learned from our favorites. That’s how we get a vocabulary of ideas. For me, I have gone through phases. I played along with recordings of people like Stevie Ray Vaughan and The Allman Brothers Band. That gave me a good foundation in lead guitar.

The only problem with this scenario is you only end up stealing ideas from other guitar players. Since we play with our fingers, we fall into convenient patterns that fall nicely on the fingerboard of the guitar neck. You end up playing via muscle memory a lot of the time. This becomes almost like a reflex to spew your favorite licks out again and again. You end up repeating yourself.

Lately, I have been listening to a lot of Jazz. However, I have not been listening to that much in the form of Jazz guitar. What or should I say who have I been listening to? Horn players for one. They play melodies. Guitar players do too, but again we fall into patterns. A lot of these are the same ideas recycled. The other issue is most guitar players have no formal music education.

Most guitar players don’t read a note. They learn from their friends, videos and magazines. Some take lessons but even that has limitations if the teacher is essentially uneducated. Horn players know how to read for the most part. They struggle through beginning clarinet books starting sometime in grade school. Those books are written by people who understand music. Horn players learn intelligent musical phrases, so they play intelligent musical phrases.

Another instrument to listen to is piano. The average piano player has a chord vocabulary that exceeds most really good guitar players. They understand harmony. Unless, you go past the basic chords on the guitar, there are limitations. Part of this also is due to the tuning of the guitar. Some voicings are extremely difficult on the fingerboard. Having said that, you can still learn how to play hipper chords than you find in the guitar books some of us started out with.

Drummers can point you in another direction regarding rhythm. Most us can’t even count bar lines, myself included sometimes. This is important! Where is one? If you don’t know, learn!!! All playing music actually requires is the right notes at the right time. That’s it! Rhythm is 50% of that equation, and at times even more. You can actually get a lot of cool rhythmic ideas from piano players too.

Now, this sounds like I am bashing my favorite instrument and its players. I am not! I am simply stating facts here. Listening to other instruments just might help you find your voice on the guitar. Another concept to explore is actually playing another instrument. Drop me a line if you like, This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. Until next month, ciao.  

It’s nearly summertime in Chicagoland. As the weather turns warm, our minds inevitably turn to music festivals, picnics, and long lazy nights filled with cold drinks, good friends, and somewhere that combines all of these into one experience: Ravinia. Ravinia opened their 2018 season in May and has since had a continuous string of award winning and talented artists of all genres. The first week of June brought cool offbeat rhythms with Stephen Marley and Matisyahu.

Stephen Marley, the Jamaican-American reggae artist opened the evening as the warm air began to turn cold. Guests bundled under blankets and sipped warming liquors from the new Lawn Bar as the eight-time Grammy award winning musician took the stage and filled the night with the unmistakable elements of calypso, blues, and jazz filled the night air. The musical prowess of the Marley family never ceases to astound me. Like his father, Bob Marley, Stephen plays so naturally. The slow tempo of the music lent itself perfectly to Ravinia’s laid back charm.

After the sunset, and the temperature dropped, Matisyahu took the stage to a thinning crowd; a colorful light show emanated from the stage and a man flooded in white light took the stage. His beatboxed segued into a heavy bass, fast paced song complete with electronic keyboards and the familiar calypso from the previous performance. While stylistically his set had some familiar reggae elements, the blending of hard rock and hip-hop beats distinctively changed the mood and feel of the night. Matthew Paul Miller, most commonly known by his stage name, Matisyahu, is a Jewish-American reggae artist blending Orthodox Jewish themes with reggae, rock, and hip hop beatboxing sounds. The music was far more quick paced than Marley’s opening set, and didn’t quite fit the feeling of Ravinia. Listening to Matisyahu’s music alone with headphones you can hear where he draws his inspiration. From the Jamaican inspired rhythms with klezmer elements it is as unique as Reggae’s initial influence in the sixties. Unfortunately, it didn’t translate well in this venue. Given the chance to see him perform at The Riv, Metro, or Aragon Ballroom, again with Stephen Marley, I’d jump at the chance.

To be a good show, the artist and the venue must be a good fit. Both are needed otherwise the experience falls short. Still, the feeling of summer is alive and well at Ravinia. With the impressive 2018 lineup scheduled, be sure to put Ravinia on your 100 days of summer list. Scheduling and tickets for Ravinia can be found at https://www.ravinia.org/.

Welcome to “For the Guitarist.” I am Ron Reis. I have been playing guitar for around forty years, studying theory for over thirty and teaching on and off for over twenty. This column/blog is aimed at all things related to our six-string friend. My guitars have been the best therapists I have ever had. When I need to calm my “monkey brain,” the best thing I can do is pick up my guitar.

Many people underestimate the meditative power of music. As a performer, you get lost in the music. As a listener, you are drawn into someone else’s thoughts and ideas. If you combine the two, you enter a state of nirvana. Music is one of the highest forms of communication. Real musicians do not play together. They carry on a conversation. They bounce ideas off each other’s heads. The audience gets to listen in on this exchange of sonic imaginations. I have even witnessed the two forces interact.

I saw The Grateful Dead in 1988. The last song they played in the second set was a Buddy Holly song, Not Fade Away. The beat was stolen from Bo Diddley. Bop, Bop, Bop...Bop-Bop. The crowd assumed the rhythm of the song. The band left the stage…the crowd kept the beat going for what seemed like five minutes…singing the chorus over and over. I was absolutely amazed. This was communication…real…honest…communication.

Not every musical situation gets this accomplished at that high a level. There should always be a mutual exchange. Both entities give the other what they need. How does this relate to playing the guitar? Well, it seems to me that should be the ultimate goal. Becoming successful on a financial level playing music is a wonderful idea. Having said that, most of the people that actually do are “performers” and not always “musicians.” There is a huge difference.

My goal with “For The Guitarist” is to help point the way. I do not claim to know everything on the subject. The idea is to assist in a somewhat guiding way, while learning for myself as well. I will discuss topics from theory to equipment and everything in between. I am also open to suggestions on topics for future articles. Anyone who likes can contact me at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. to drop me a line or two. I am serious about this, but let’s have a little fun too…the more fun the better!