“I’m very rarely thinking of the changes, and I’m very rarely thinking of shapes”: Larkin Poe’s Rebecca Lovell on developing an “intuitive” playing style
Larkin Poe’s Rebecca and Megan Lovell solo like it comes out of their hands, and in a new interview the pair have explored how very little theory comes into this element of their playing.
The sibling duo – who released their most recent album, Bloom, back in January – had a musical upbringing thanks to their parents’ broad listening tastes, and both started out by learning classical music and playing the violin. It wasn’t until their teenage years that they began to feel inspired by improvisation in music, which led them to bluegrass.
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During an appearance on the Shred With Shifty podcast, hosted by Foo Fighters’ Chris Shiflett, Rebecca says that very little of her soloing is now theoretical. She states (via Guitar World), “I don’t know if I’m alone or if I’m of the group, [but] when I’m playing, I’m very rarely thinking of the changes, and I’m very rarely thinking of shapes. I’m truly just trying to hunt and peck and fulfill the melodies that I’m hearing, but none of it [is] informed by theory in the slightest,” she states.
“That’s something that I kind of go back and forth on with myself – like, well, do I really need to buckle down and learn more or what? What is more important? What’s the goal? Do we want to be like unique individuals and just hunt and peck our way into our own unique sound?”
However, she does add that running scales from time to time can come in handy, as we can find our way to that intuitive and free-flowing playing style a little bit easier: “For all of us players, that’s why you run scales and try to keep your fingers on your instruments, such that when inspiration and instinct kicks in, you’re able to keep up with it,” she says.
Her sister and bandmate Megan, who plays a lapsteel guitar, is someone she looks to as the perfect example of an intuitive player, who you can sing a melody to, and they can play it right back. “That’s something that I think I want to embody as a player – that ability to just limit the connection time between your brain and your fingers,” she adds.
You can check out the full podcast below:
Larkin Poe are currently on the road – you can view a full list of their tour dates via their official website.
The post “I’m very rarely thinking of the changes, and I’m very rarely thinking of shapes”: Larkin Poe’s Rebecca Lovell on developing an “intuitive” playing style appeared first on Guitar.com | All Things Guitar.
Source: www.guitar-bass.net
