“Didn’t know this would trigger so many folks – I’m here for it”: Cory Wong slams guitarists who can’t play every note on command
Sometimes, the difference between a good guitarist and an excellent guitarist can come down to the basics. Jazz-funk rocker Cory Wong has revealed the ultimate marker of a top-notch player: the ability to play any note on command.
When first picking up the guitar, there’s an emphasis on filling your brain with chords. However, to truly understand your instrument, Wong says learning the location of every note is far more beneficial. “Gentle call out to the folks that consider themselves advanced guitarists,” Wong says in a new Instagram Reel. “You should know where all the notes are on a guitar!”
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Wong presents viewers with a challenge: “Can you play me a C on every string?” It’s an exercise that might seem basic, but it can prove challenging. With notes varying in location across each string, it can be easy to fumble up a note, especially if you’re attempting to do it quickly.
“If you can’t do this exercise, I wouldn’t consider you an advanced guitarist,” Wong says, after playing a string of C, G and B-flat notes on each string. “That’s all there is to it – get to work!”
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Throughout, Wong is performing on his brand new StingRay II, a guitar designed in collaboration with Ernie Ball. And, considering how fluidly he’s navigating his way across the fretboard, he’s proving just how his skills have earned the privilege of a collaborative signature guitar.
Understandably, Wong’s post has opened the floodgates of discussion. Many aren’t too fond of hearing his advice, with one user commenting: “Ahhh, competitive musicianship, the real backbone of artistic expression.”
Others are more supportive of Wong’s challenge. “This is like the most basic stuff for EVERY other instrument players,” one comment reads.
“Its a shame and a disaster that guitarists cant even name what note they are playing,” the user continues. “This is because every other [instrument has] a basic training period for almost a year while guitarists just start playing a song with tabs on day 1. [It’s] why guitarists cant grow their inner musicians and become a trained monkey. If your inner musician grows, you’ll be proficient in any other instrument you pick up.”
Wong has even added his own comment, noticing the divided discourse on his post. “Didn’t know this would trigger so many folks,” he writes. “I’m here for it.”
Once you know where to find each note, you should be able to understand just about any guitar you pick up. Knowing each note is like learning the language of the guitar, something guitarist Marcus King has insisted is vital in the past.
“Learn all that you can… get familiar with this neck and just make it an extension of [yourself],” he explained in an Instagram video last year. “Think about it like a language, because it is a language.”
The post “Didn’t know this would trigger so many folks – I’m here for it”: Cory Wong slams guitarists who can’t play every note on command appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Source: www.guitar-bass.net
