Thanks for visiting. This site is currently getting redesigned and things are a little messy. If you are looking for something and can’t find it, please email Jason at jason@knowingtrees.com . He’ll do his best to be helpful!
Jess Baldissero is not only a good friend, she is one of my favorite songwriters. I was honored that she sat with me earlier in the week to discuss the discoveries and accidents of the creative process. We shared some laughs, talked about good times and hard times and we each played a few songs.
Three tracks from The Hermit, my debut solo album are streaming during the pre-order period. The full album will be released June 28, 2024 on Bandcamp.
They wanted to play more. They’re just too busy. They’re frustrated with the pace of their progress. They’re overwhelmed and don’t know what to practice.
I get it. I feel that way about music all the time. Thankfully, I’ve developed some strategies to get me out of such a funk and this is one of them.
Next time you don’t know what to play, or are bored or frustrated with the same old songs, try some dreaming.
The video is the best description I can make of this process. I’ve also made a .pdf that has some drawings that can be useful, but there’s very little instruction on it.
“This is a great solo to start on—it’s simple, clear, and articulate; it will teach you how to hear clear phrases and how to hear bends (which make up a significant part of the solo). It will teach you a couple of fairly sophisticated ideas while being very simple and satisfying to play.”
John Mead
We’ve been working on Dead Flowers in some recent Guitar Crew meetups and recently a student asked “Do you know how to play the guitar solo?”
I thought, I don’t but I know EXACTLY who does.
Check out this killer lesson from one of my very closest friends, and a truly gifted educator, John Mead.
You’ll notice that John makes the point that, “THERE IS NO SUCH THING as a ‘pentatonic major scale.’
Now, if you know me and my teaching, you’ll know that soloing with the major pentatonic scale is a core skill of my introductory improvising lessons. Ha! But, I totally get where he’s coming from and there’s a lot of truth to it. If you’ve had those introductory lessons from my, I highly recommend digging into this lesson to put some of those concepts into practice and to take you’re playing to a new space.
John is an incredible teacher, player and music philospher. Give him a shout if you’re looking to turn up your guitar playing. John’s there to help you make that happen.
When I was first taking guitar lessons my teacher told me to bring in a cassette of any song that I wanted to play. I was so blown away when he’d hear it, having never heard it before, and by the end of the lesson have written down how to PLAY THE SONG. How did he do that?!?!?!?!?!?
He taught me some stuff, but he definitely never taught me how figure how songs for myself.
In the years sense, I’ve gleaned a lot about how people learn by ear. And, being on the other side of the teacher/student dynamic I often hear my student bewilderment as to how I can play by ear. And, I found that while many hear me be able to do it, they didn’t have a grasp of WHAT I was doing.
At first the task seems quite daunting but once it’s broken down into a few manageable steps, it’s really not so difficult. It does take time and effort, but I am fully convinced that it doesn’t take any special talents or innate abilities.
This is a self-lead lesson where I present very short videos that describe the exact process I use to learn a song by ear.
Give it a try and listen to how it goes. Drop me a note to let me know how you do, and if you have any questions or concerns.
I have a thurough self-led lesson about playing by ear in the works. For now, I thought I’d leave you with this.
My advice on how to learn to play by ear.
How to Play by Ear
First, seek out financial institutions who provide one minute of music on repeat when you’re on hold.
Next . . .
OK. While that video is just kind of a kidding around, playing by ear is a goal of many of the people I work with. Here is a video I made awhile back demonstrating one of the processes I use to learn a song by ear.
Blog Post: How I Learn Old Time Tunes – Learning to Play the Tune, Nancy, from a Recording by Jonas Friddle
“Softer the whisper, I will speak, softer the words, they repeat, they repeat, they repeat.”
from the song Softer
The song began with a gentle and cyclical guitar part. A jangly loop. I recorded the guitar in stereo and then the vocals in the same room. There was also a moment that was a touch stronger and more physical but fit well with the gentle verses. One of the days when I wasn’t feeling well, but felt compelled to work, I found the bass approachable. I remember that day because I found a really nice bass riff to compliment that more physical section of the song.
A few weeks later I recorded friend and collaborator Nic Jenkins on the drum set. It was a casual session with a few takes of each song at Off Center Arts that made me appreciate the ease of the session. Soon after I also recorded Liz Gaylor on the violin, but this time in a different space, at a private library at Los Poblanos. Liz’s violin quietly drones on two strings during the duration of the song.
Softer was mixed alongside the other tracks at my home in Albuquerque with a few helpful ears and breaks here and there. The song’s overall message, an appreciation for the softer approach, was a guide during the process of making the album.
The whole album, Rose Signet, can be found on streaming services.
Elizabeth Breen | Miki Greenberg | Jason McInnes | Lindsay Weinberg
As Miki would say, “The classic lineup of piano, banjo and two oboes.”
Our first show was October of 2008 at the Tonic Room.
Our album release show was in February 2012 and our last show was sometime that spring.
And, then . . . I don’t think a decision was made to retire the band. I remember it just kind of happening.
We had taken a long time to make the record. By the time the album came out all four of us were sending our creative energy towards other projects and family life.
It’s a Girl was much more like being in a theater production than any other band I was part of before, or since. Theatrical shows close and so did this band, I suppose.
If you want to play, you’ve got to start somewhere. And there is no better place for you to get started.
Thursday, Aug. 18 – 7:00 to 9:00
Live in Chicago!
Borelli’s (pizza and drinks) 2124 W Lawrence Ave, Chicago, IL 60625
> Single Player or Bring a Friend/Bandmate tickets available. <
What You’ll Receive
Guidance to begin soloing THAT DAY, and for your continued study for years to come.
Play along MP3s, so you can continue to grow your new skills outside of the workshop.
PDFs of all the material covered
Complimentary access to Jason’s Creating and Understanding the Guitar Notemap online lesson.
Schedule – This 2 hour workshop will be broken up into two sections with a 10 minute break
80 minutes – the heart of the lesson
10 minute break
30 minutes – Jamming along. We’ll play through a ton of familiar tunes and have a lot of space to explore everything we just learned about.
Cost
Single Player – $35
Bring a Friend/Bandmate! – $60 for the two seats
Registration and Payment
Please fill out this registration form and then make a payment using one of these payment systems. If these do not work for you, please mention that in the notes and we’ll figure out how a payment can happen. (FYI- my first name is William. I think Zelle and Paypal comes up as William McInnes. That’s me!)
You're Registered! Your First Guitar Solo, Aug 18, 2022
If you haven’t already, please make a payment using one of these payment systems.
Venmo – @jasonplaystunes
Zelle – jasonplaystunes@gmail.com
PayPal – jasonplaystuens@gmail.com
ApplePay – 773-369-8268
(FYI- my first name is William. I think Zelle comes up as William McInnes. That’s me!)
Here is the link for the Creating and Understanding the Guitar Note Map lesson.
Today, I am honored and humbled to offer for sale pieces from my Listening Wide-Eyed: Limited-Sight Contour Drawings of Musical Instruments series. Between now and early July 10, 2022 you can purchase a piece ofone-of-a-kind artwork made specifically for you or a loved one.
The Listening Wide-Eyed series is an outgrowth of my visual art, musical and mindfulness practices. Each one-of-a-kind piece from Listening Wide-Eyed is created through a limited-sight process, where I make a drawing on a sheet of bristol board without taking my eyes off the subject. I don’t look at the board until I am done drawing. Within the messiness, the structural knowledge and spiritual essence of each instruments expands.
Piano
Each drawing is a made-to-order, one-of-a-kind piece of visual art. They are created with wax pencil and bristol board. Each purchaser is invited to customize their piece, in regards to which instrument, the use of color and matting. There are also options specific to gifting one of these drawings to a loved one.
This process started as a way to strengthen my visual record abilities. As my practice bloomed, this limited goal fell away and the drawing practice engendered more connections between the parts and the whole of both the instruments and myself. How do we move? Where are we sturdy? Where are we delicate? How do those and other qualities affect our presentation to and relationships with others? Considering these questions allowed me to hold and play each instrument in a more open, inviting way.
BanjoVioling
We see and hear ourselves, and others, every day. I hope having these drawings in our living space, practice room, or at a family dining table prompt us to notice moments when we are making assumptions about what we know about both ourselves and others. I hope that they can act as a guide to remain open, curious and to foster connections in musical spaces and all other relationships.
