Scott Henderson Discussion

[mambochan]

Scott, I've been a huge fan of yours since the late 80s. I've got a few questions for you:

1) How much jazz vocabulary did you have just prior to enrolling at GIT?
2) What was your daily practice routine during your GIT days?
3) What is your method of learning new licks and making them part of your playing? I'm always amazed at how you can keep new ideas flowing.
4) What were some of the mental blocks you had to overcome in achieving your proficiency on the guitar?

Thanks very much for making yourself accessible to us fans.

[Scott Henderson]

There's a fine line between giving advice, which I'm happy to do for free, and teaching, which is what I get paid for. When I get hired for workshops, these are the kind of questions I answer. If I answer them for free here, it's not good for business. But I'll give you the short versions, OK? Hope you understand.

1) How much jazz vocabulary did you have just prior to enrolling at GIT?

Very little.

2) What was your daily practice routine during your GIT days?

I never had one. I practiced whenever I could because I was gigging the whole time I went to school.

3) What is your method of learning new licks and making them part of your playing? I'm always amazed at how you can keep new ideas flowing.

Never learn more than one idea a week, or even two weeks. Play it as many ways as you can, and learn how to play into it and out of it so that it doesn't sound like a lick.

4) What were some of the mental blocks you had to overcome in achieving your proficiency on the guitar?

Like most musicians, I've only had one, and that's being nervous while playing. If you can overcome that, the rest is easy.

[Roman Hampacher]

great reply

[mambochan]

Sure, I understand. I appreciate your generosity. You gave me all the answers I needed.