Books/teaching

The art of teaching starts with taking a person from exactly where they're at, and building from there. Most people I've met know absolutely zero about tunings, and that includes 12 tone eq temp. So...I would start by telling them there are smaller intervals that one can use on a guitar/piano...a guitar with more frets, or a keyboard with more keys. Right away most people see the concept, even kids. Then, I'll show a student the Harmonics on a guitar string, and show them how the major 3rd on the guitar fretboard is sharp to the Harmonic...it's easy to hear, and again, folks go "huh, that doesn't sound so good," which in fact it doesn't. Then we're off to the races...I explain that all notes in the 12 tone system are "out of tune" with the Harmonics, just like the 3rd...and I tell them also that the 12 tone system was invented to play modulating, chordal music, and musicians in most every other culture in the world didn't use it, and often use smaller intervals than 12 tone. All this is very easy to get, and from there on it's a matter of just how much a person wants to know about tunings. All the math doesn't have to figure in much at all...I can tell a person that each Harmonic is a simple multiple of the fundamental, and that to get any eq temp you use logs...again, even kids can get that. I don't think most folks here are teachers...you gotta start at ground zero, and be able to communicate ideas in a simple way. And in my many years of studying tunings, I've seen very few books that do that...which is why mine does. Gotta start at the beginning...

And there are also many reasons why folks play music...as far as guitarists, again, you gotta start them with simple things (unless they're advanced, of course)...and many people wanna play songs they know with their friends...so outside of 12, 19 would be a perfect choice, cause chords sound pretty good on it. But the Eagles, Dylan, Neil Young, and everybody else that's popular uses 12...so why would such a guitarist wanna use micro tunings anyway? Of course, it could happen, here's hoping it does. And as far as the more advanced tunings...seems to me that jazz/classical artists who are looking for new horizons in their playing/composing would be more interested. But...where are they? I met Frisell last year, and he played a few of my axes...but haven't heard him playing any micro tunings yet. Also gave a CD to Nels Cline (who also played with Rod Poole); a cat like that would be perfect, cause he's out there anyway, and also plays with Wilco, who is very popular...so who knows? As I've said, I send CD's out like candy, and try to keep in touch with lots of artists...just need that one popular musician to go for it, and things may change. BTW..Vai, I believe, used 16 way in the background of a CD years ago...but I read an article in Guitar World where he talked quite intelligently about 16 and 24...wish he would go for it...best..Hstick

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