Post Your Questions HERE for Tomorrow Night's Q+A

This would be a great topic!

Brandon Wolfgang

Here's the scenario. I sit down and compose either on my guitar or on Reason. I come up with amazing, beautiful sounding, heavenly melodies and riffs. But that's it. They're standalone, I'm stuck on how to transition from whatever part that is to the next part. I even fail to see what two parts can be glued together and how. I've been practicing a lot and I've only gotten better at the composing part, I fail every time I try to join two parts or transition from one part to another. I think I really need guidance from you, the pro here. I just don't know how to take a song forward.

Flare

As far as random Q&A, here goes: How do you achieve the right balance between actually sounding like a singer (not just talky), but not turning it into an Autotuned robot sound or getting swallowed into a phony reverb tsunami? How did all these big hair bands with their terrible singers sound so nice on their recordings? How does Phil Collins do it? His regular speaking voice sounds like a nightmare. :-) I have even been thinking about buying one of those vintage-style ribbon mics (AEA R84, etc). I feel like condensers tend to emphasize every little detail, which is great for a great singer and bad for me. I just want my voice sounding soft / warm / glowy / smooth, even though I am not the best singer. Thank you, Mr. Jake! You are a super hero masquerading in Clark Kent form.

Chase Bethersonton

How do we do swing? Do the chords and melody line up with the swung notes? Must they line up? Can you have a flowing, legato melody line on top of a swing groove? On that note, is there a music theory term for this sort of contrast between what is going on in the melody vs the harmony/rhythm section? I have had ideas that I tried to execute on that involved this sort of contrast (not a swung groove though) and they didn't sound as good in practice as they did in my head. Thanks, teach.

Hey Jake, glad to have you back! Can't wait for the new book. I've been playing guitar for about a year now and have tried my hand at creating songs/jam tracks a few times, but one of the main issues is my almost complete lack of knowledge when it comes to drums. Do you have any advice about fitting a drum beat to a guitar riff, strumming pattern or any other rhythmic or melodic idea?

ExcellentHummingbird

Hi Jake. While you were away I started learning to play the guitar. Watching your videos really made me want to take it up. I’ve been at it a few months now, and it’s a lot of fun. A guitar is just a super fun thing to play with, and I learn a lot every time I do. Thank you for inspiring me to learn it. It’s been endlessly fascinating.

Mike

Can’t wait to get the book so excited!

L

I’m taking guitar lessons after decades of blindly flailing away on the basic cowboy chords. I’ve thought a lot about your comment some time ago that the difference between a beginner and an intermediate player was the ability to be creative, not just repeat what one has been shown. To pick an arbitrary number, what would you say are the three most important physical/practical skills a guitar student should work on mastering, and what are the three most important theory concepts a player should know by heart?

Sean Murphy