How My Life Was Changed

[jshane]

I was just watching a video-lesson with John. Such a focused, articulate, and yet clearly compassionate person... his playing is so layered and complex. I wish I had met him in person.

[DMC]

I'm another poster who was not aware of John McGann's passing until recently (I stopped playing for the past 3 years and wasn't on the café much at all).

I was really sad to hear.

I have two of his DVDs and all of his gypsy jazz lessons. I really appreciated all of the tremendous advice he would offer freely on here. A great player and teacher. He seemed like such a great guy. RIP.

[dang]

Another thread bump; six years goes by faster then I would like to admit. I hope some new eyes see this thread that might benefit.

If there is any question of the power of the conversations in this community I would like to say that I never had the privilege of meeting John but his words from 2005 have stuck in my head all these years.

My successes - in all of my life - and why I found this inspiring can't be summed up better then Johns own words:

I hope this post may be of some help to folks who get down on themselves for "lack of talent". I consider myself the product of hard work much more than talent.

[FredK]

dang, thanks for bumping this. It's the first I've seen of this and there's a lot of meat in this thread. Gonna chew on it for a while - and go look up John McGann on the Tube.

[onassis]

I just encountered this composition in honor of John a few months ago, and it's been on heavy rotation for me ever since.

[MikeEdgerton]

My favorite bit of wisdom from John when speaking about using a capo.

I love steel guitarist Jerry Byrd's quote about all things having to do with gear, tunings, capos, etc:

" If you can play, it doesn't matter, and if you can't play, it doesn't matter!"

Sometimes you need the sound of open strings ringing, and retuning on a mando (especially on stage) isn't an attractive option. As many others have said, the sound should be the reason. I've recorded with singers in Ab and had no ethical dilemma capoing at the 1st fret. I also used one on a set of tunes at Winfield the year I got 1st place in the mandolin contest. Nobody hassled me about that...

https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/s...=1#post1011146

If I could take lessons from anyone I probably would have made John the first choice. He had a logical approach to the instrument with no airs.

[dang]

8 years gone but still around... Thanks again for some ongoing needed inspiration

I was thinking about the original post by John a lot in the last 6 months and how this part related to my recent changes in right hand technique:

During this period, I was playing bluegrass 2 to 4 nights a week in bars- where, of course, in an effort to keep up with the fast tempos, the new techniques would fall to shreds and I'd be back hacking away

After the 3rd month, I began to be able to deal with the new way of playing on the gig as well (lots of metronome practice!)....

About 2 years ago I started gigging a lot with a bluegrass band and we typically play 4-8 shows a month, often 3+ hours in length. With all the playing time I was struggling with some technique issues and, being a lefty who plays right, my right hand is something I am always striving to improve. As someone who had often let my right pinky finger drag or plant I was changing to a more closed hand technique with no planting (except on occasional tremolo).

Long shows, fast tempos and my technique issues were glaring. Everything would break down and by the end "hacking away" is the right way to put it. Untold hours of metronome work, several revisions in my approach (and more like 6+ months of practice) and my tone is better, my endurance is better, my technique is better then ever.

I just wanted to share how John helped me through another plateau in my evolution as a mandolin player, and express my gratitude

[dang]

10 years gone but not forgotten thread bump

[CES]

John was an inspiration to many, myself included, and was a heckuva picker himself. I still can’t get all the tunes in his OM book to sound like the accompanying tracks, but I’m getting closer…

[JeffLearman]

Thanks for the bump. I hadn't known about John. I was reading his OP about hard work and it reminded me of what I heard recently:

"When I skip practice for a day, I notice it. When I skip for two days, my bandmates notice. When I skip for three days, the audience does."

My response: Gee, no wonder I suck!

I'm looking forward to learning enjoying his youtubes and learning from his tech tips. RIP, John, I wish we'd met.

[mandocanoe]

The link on the initial post is no longer valid. Does anyone have a new link or a copy of the info that John so generously shared?
Thanks.

[Jim Garber]

His YouTube channel is still working. https://youtube.com/user/jmcgann00

Website is long gone.

[journeybear]

When I saw this post, I thought it was odd, a post from John reappearing after so long - starting so long ago and then showing up ten years after he left us all behind - and then I read it. Some very astute observations and sage advice, very much in his wheelhouse. Thanks for bumping it up in such a dedicated way, dang.

I've had very little "instruction" from anyone - much more often thoughts and suggestions on a peer level gained from casually chatting with other mandolinists. Someone in college showed me the G chop chord - which, to be sure, was in the Mel Bay book of mandolin chords, but his emphasis made an impression on me. This may have helped counteract somewhat my left hand's tendency to scrunch down, and enabled my fingers to spread a bit more than otherwise. But other than that, I've stumbled through and figured out stuff on my own, for the most part. I wonder whether a good lesson from a good teacher might have helped, back when there was a chance. Too late, now; I know I'm a goner. Going to hell in a bucket, but at least I'm enjoying the ride.

[Jim Garber]

I found his techtips page from 2005 in the WayBack machine. Here is the first section:

RIGHT HAND CONSIDERATIONS FOR FLATPICKING:


The right hand makes the instrument speak, so you can consider it the source of your voice on the instrument. Wind instrument players refer to " embouchure" when discussing tone production--the way the mouth and lips fit on the mouthpiece to create their personal sound. Awareness of right hand position is crucial to achieve a great tone on your instrument.

Pick material--the choice of material and thickness of the pick has a huge effect on your tone. A medium Fender pick, played in a traditional fashion with the point, has a totally different tone than a 1.5mm Dunlop Tortex (synthetic tortoise shell) pick played on one of it's upper, beveled edges.

Explore the options of tone by trying different picks. You'll find a snappy, trebly attack from the thinner picks, and a warm, burnished tone from the thicker ones. Irish musicians tend toward the thin picks, as they like the quick snap for fast picked triplets. My favorite American acoustic musicians (Tony Rice, David Grisman, Sam Bush, Russ Barenberg) all use the rounded corners of their picks to get their individual, amazing sounds. Experiment with different picks until you find what you like best.

If you play electric, you may want a thinner pick to go with the lighter string gauges.I switch from a 1.5 Dunlop Tortex 500 Series Delrin on acoustic to a Fender Extra Heavy on electric. It's amazing what a difference your pick can make.


Pick angle--if you hit the strings with the pick at a flat, perpendicular angle, you'll be slapping the string. I like to get a loud,warm sound by picking at a slight angle, tipping my right thumbnail toward the floor.The idea is to draw the pick through the string, much like a fiddler draws the bow across the string.


The "window"--visualize a window starting on the 5th string (A). The pick can reach back to the 6th string and up to the 4th string. If you stay within that window while attacking the A string, you'll achieve economy of motion. To continue this concept to the other strings: imagine the window on each string. To deliver the pick to the string, you must have mobility. You should have your elbow relaxed enough to drop your hand down to the 1st string, and back up to the 6th string. Any kind of anchoring of your hand will limit your mobility and ability to deliver the same stroke, with maximum effect, to each string.
Remember turntables? The early ones had a pivot point, and the needle would be at a much sharper angle on the last song of the LP than the 1st. Then, the "linear tracking tonearm" came along, that allowed the tonearm to move laterally, so the angle of the needle remained the same. Try to imaging your pick as the needle, and your "tonearm" moving to deliver the pick to each string at the same relative angle, without twisting to reach any string. It is really comfortable and easy when you get the hang of it!
The pick motion comes from the wrist, and the elbow (and a little shoulder) move to deliver the pick to the string.
I touch the "karate-chop" edge of my hand on the bridge pins (acoustic guitar) or just below the saddle (mandolin, electric guitar) and let it move as I play. I can retain a sense of where I am, without impeding motion. ¨The universal tip is that you should be as loose and relaxed as possible, even at maximum volume.


Mobility--To alter the tone quality of your sound, you'll want to move your hand from just above the bridge (most bright and trebly) toward the neck (increasingly warm and dark). There is a huge range of expression available in tone color, with the pick or with bare fingers (or nails, as in classical guitar). One of the great tone colorists on the guitar is Julian Bream. Listen to any of his recordings, especially his interpretations of Bach-- it's hard to believe it's all coming from one guitar played solo.
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Gypsy Jazz Guitar is a whole 'nother world of right hand technique. Downstrokes, rest strokes and all: get you to www.djangobooks.com and check out "Gypsy Picking".

[Jim Garber]

RIGHT HAND CONSIDERATIONS FOR FINGERSTYLE


There are many schools of thought on fingerstyle guitar. The world of classical guitar has it's own set of practices and dogmas, all worth considering for the sake of expression. Contemporary acoustic steel string players often borrow concepts of hand position from classical guitar- and at least as often, disregard them. Open mindedness lets you explore the possibilities.


My own experience with fingerstyle guitar began with Travis style picking, like most of us. The alternating bass style is found in a lot of styles, from Hawaiian slack-key to country blues. I studied classical guitar as an "outpatient" at Boston Conservatory in the late 70's. The concepts of right hand fingerstyle techniques I found applicable to all styles:


Position-if you look down at your right hand and see an upside down "V" shape between your thumb and index finger, you'll have good mobility and independence.


Angle of attack-the way your finger plucks the string affects the tone. Drawing your finger slightly sideways across the string yields a different sound than plucking straight up.


Swinging from the knuckle-a tip learned from the excellent video "Effortless Classical Guitar" by William Kanengiser (Hot Licks, P.O.Box 337, Pound Ridge NY 10576). Let your fingers swing "like a door on it's hinges" from the big knuckle out toward your palm. You can feel the power of the attack much more than working from the 2nd knuckle, like I used to.

Consider these varied approaches to fingerstyle playing:



Classical--The majority of players use their fingernails and a combination of flesh and fingers. The followers of Tarrega relied on bare flesh without nails, a practice which has fallen out of favor in the twentieth century.


Thumbpick and bare fingers--often used on electric guitar, the thumbpick can easily overpower the bare fingers on an acoustic guitar. Bare fingers can be flicked forward, to get an attack with the entire fingernail.


Thumbpick and fingerpicks--Some players love the projection gained from the use of fingerpicks , others dislike the sound and feel. The tone depends on the material (metal or plastic) and gauge. Try them all- you may use them occasionally to achieve a specific sound.

[Jim Garber]

LEFT HAND CONSIDERATIONS FOR ALL


Whether you subscribe to the classical ideal of keeping the thumb on the back of the neck, never looping around the fingerboard, or go for the blues/rock big vibrato where you have to let that thumb wrap up and over the fingerboard, there are some common things to watch out for:


Arch-keep your left hand fingers separated, so they aren't bunched together. A good basic rule is to assign each finger to a fret, for example on guitar your 1st finger at the 2nd fret, 2nd finger 3rd fret, 3rd finger 4th fret, 5th fret. Let the fingers be independent.


Keep your fingers down as you ascend the string.


One of the most important tips I can offer. I see this in my students all the time, and I can relate to the difficulty of breaking the "flying fingers" habit, because I had it for a long time myself. If you've "hit the wall" in terms of being able to build speed, this one's for you.

Play (on any string) the notes listed in the "arch" paragraph above. Play the sequence as written. If, by the end, all 4 fingers aren't down on the string, you are wasting energy by lifting the fingers. When you play the 1st note, leave the 1st finger down. Play the 2nd, leave both the 1st and 2nd fingers down. Play the 3rd, leave the 1st 2 down. Play the 4th by adding your 4th finger, leaving the other three fingers in place.

OK-The was four movements for four notes. If you lift each finger with each new note, it takes 7 movements for 4 notes- about half as effective. The act of lifting those fingers slows you down a lot! Lifting does nothing to help you at all.
Apply this knowledge to tunes that you play already, and see if it doesn't help.

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SYNCHRONIZE BOTH HANDS


Be sure that each note is held by your left hand until the instant of the next pick attack (keeping your left hand fingers down while ascending helps this, big time).

Apply these ideas to your existing repertoire.

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Regardless of musical style, we are all concerned with "sounding good". Basic musicianship requires a sense of balance between tone, timing, dynamics and soul. The first three are easy to come by!



- - - Updated - - -

PRACTICE TECHNIQUES

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Playing with a metronome

Using a metronome (or drum machine) is a great way to develop a solid sense of timing. I often set the metronome to click on beats 2 and 4 instead of the usual 1 and 3 (or 1234). It can be hard to "find the beat" if your perception becomes locked on 1 and 3. If that's the case, try counting 1234 1234 123 1234 1234. The bar of 3 turns the beat around. In any event, with the accents on the backbeat (2 and 4), the metronome will be acting as a mandolin player "chopping", or a snare drum backbeat. I find it easier to "swing" this way.


Different styles of music use different placements of notes in relation to the beat. For example, the laid-back feeling of a "Kind Of Blue"-era Miles Davis solo , phrased a hair behind the beat, contrasts with the feeling of a bluegrass solo, which rides up ahead of the beat like a hood ornament. Practice phrasing notes behind, right on top, and a little ahead of the beat. This can really make or break the "feel" of a performance.

A great practice aid for jazz musicians:

CD Metronome is a 2 disk set of live drums playing swing-time in a wide range of tempos. The disks come in a durable leather like wallet and cost $25.00 all together. Contact Aaron Wolf at (617)262-9098 or Lobosaxy@hotmail.com if interested.


Mastery of these rhythmic subtleties will help you get more mileage and enjoyment from your playing. More on the metronome on the Flatpicking Contests page.

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PLAYING REALLY SLOWLY

This is harder and less obvious than it sounds--set that metronome for a slower than usual speed and relax, play through the piece with the best tone that you can imagine. Prioritize tone over speed and the speed will come. Good tone comes from good playing habits (technique).

Notice how "groove" is relative to the tempo. Getting a good 'in the pocket' feeling at a slow tempo is very gratifying.

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WORKING ON DETAILS-ISOLATING THE TOUGH BITS

Pull out the difficult sections and play them slowly. Rethink the fingerings, analyze what your fingers are doing. Any problem can be solved if approached calmly and intelligently. It is very satisfying to sit down for a practice session unable to execute a passage, and to work on it slowly and methodically until it becomes easier.

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The Amazing Tuck Andress has lots more thoughts on technique here.

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ELECTRIC GUITAR SOUNDS

Unless you have an isolated practice space to `crank it up', it can be hard to `get your sound' at a low volume. Practicing at low volume with a clean tone is a good way to keep your playing honest-distortion pedals are great for what they do, but in excess they can hide bad playing. A fuzz box is no substitute for a good amp sound.

Anyway, the interaction between your touch and the amp is something you can't practice without the amp being set at performance volume (he patiently explained as the police broke down the door). Another tip is that sounds really change in context--a great solo guitar tone can really change when surrounded by bass and drums. That great tone you got on your own will probably require some tweaking in a band context.


Don't overlook how your right hand position and pick choice can affect your tone-it can do much more for you than a multi-FX box.

See my Electric Guitar and Amps page for more opinions.

[Jim Garber]

Last section: I love his notation at the end… “Don’t forget to have fun”. I know a lot of the li is will not work but you get a lot of wisdom here. Someone should resurrect his site although I am guessing his books (assuming they are available) would cover the same ground.

CHOICES OF STRINGS AND INSTRUMENTS


My attitude is that music comes first, conceptually, before instruments and gear--but they are a very close second. Some folks are very picky about their instruments and amps, with good reason--they deliver your voice (but they aren't your voice). Experiment with different string gauges and pick types, they are the most affordable changes you can make. Electric guitarists are the biggest gearheads for obvious reasons. Don't let the equipment quest sidetrack you from sharpening your musicianship. There is usually something better/faster/louder/more vintage/more cutting edge to be had. The universal quest for tone really begins and ends with your hands, delivering messages from your mind and soul

.
A nice old Tele and Fender Vibrolux is a good way to get those messages across, though. I use my J.R. Zeidler acoustic guitars and mandolinsexclusively, also his excellent electric guitars,and I'm very happy with my old Fender amps and '92 Matchless SC-30 amplifier. I also play some Fender and Epiphone guitars and steels, a Regal dobro, and a couple of pedal steels (Zeidler, Carter D-10). More stuff on electrics here.

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A SPECIAL NOTE ABOUT SPEED

Everybody wants it. Don't try to beat the reaper--work on good tone and timing at a slow speed and work your way up the rungs. Keep your hands in sync, remember the tips about each hands. Relax.

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WORKING WITH TRANSCRIPTIONS

It is a great feeling of accomplishment to be able to play along with a favorite recording, at speed, emulating all the subtleties of a musician's style. However, you can get even more mileage from a piece by isolating your favorite passages and tearing them apart--trying the part in different keys--looking at the note choices and hearing how they interact with the chords. Try applying the ideas to different situations. Try making up variations on the idea, little phrases that change each time you play. This is a good way to get some improvising vocabulary together.

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MEMORY

The best way to memorize is to play the piece a lot, without worrying about remembering it. A casual attitude will allow the sounds to enter your subconscious. If you do need to memorize, do it in small bits. Be sure you have the first few seconds under your fingers before speeding onward. The more you can hear the piece "in your head", the easier you'll remember it.

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TO ALL SERIOUS MUSICIANS

Don't forget to have fun!

[Jim Garber]

Actually, I think at least some the links actually go to the archived site.

[mandocanoe]

Thank you so much Jim. What a treasure.

[bbcee]

Really appreciate you finding & posting this, Jim. It applies to anyone on the musical path equally. I’m very grateful for all he left us with.

As my wife would say, “He would’ve been a great dinner guest!”.

[ralph johansson]

My favorite bit of wisdom from John when speaking about using a capo.



https://www.mandolincafe.com/forum/s...=1#post1011146

If I could take lessons from anyone I probably would have made John the first choice. He had a logical approach to the instrument with no airs.

The reason capos have become such a heated topic is that some people *refuse* to understand the difference between advice and judgment. I would perhaps cite other statements of John's; capo for sound (or effect), not for "ease"; i.e., he strongly advised against using a capo *in place of* developing transposition skills. Another "controversial" topic he often discussed was tabs (note the countable), e.g., on a steel guitar forum, where he explained what kind of information notation offers *at a glance* (never of course forgetting the importance of using you ear).

[Chris Fannin]

What a great thread. I don't recall having ever heard of John until now. I've just ordered his book Beyond Bluegrass Mandolin, I hope it can help me on the mandola.

[dang]

12 year bump...