Live and Unsigned music master classes – or how to meet your heroes!

Live and Unsigned music master classes in association with the Institute, are part of the ongoing development programme for musicians provided by Live and Unsigned. All Regional finalists within the competition are given the chance to apply for selected master classes courtesy of the Institute. Master classes from the Institute include song writing development, tuition from world class drummers, music business tutorials, guitar, bass and vocal development. Past classes have included sessions with the Jamiroquai rhythm section, drummer Bill Bruford, Sugababes song writer Paul Simm and many more...

Recently Live and Unsigned put a master class with guitarist Greg Howe up for grabs, and it was attended by Tom Williams, guitarist from the band Jukebox Memory Loss, successful regional finalists from Sheffield. Below is the diary from Tom, telling of his experience of the day.

I am the lead guitarist for Jukebox Memory Loss, a five-piece band whose members hail from both Chesterfield and Sheffield. We were recently lucky enough to get through to the regional finals of the Live and Unsigned UK competition in Sheffield.

Having been a Greg Howe fan for the last seven years, I was dumbfounded when Live and Unsigned offered one of us the chance to attend a free master class through their education sponsor ‘the Institute’, hosted by the man himself! Despite having to put aside funds for an upcoming tour of the UK and associated promotion, I couldn’t resist replying in the hope that I might get to meet Greg and see him perform live.

After receiving confirmation of my place, I decided that travel by coach would be the most financially viable option. However, it would also mean taking half a day off work, leaving Chesterfield at 12:45pm to attend a 2 hour guitar clinic and depart from London at 11:30pm, to arrive back at home shortly before 4am the following day. Greg has been my favourite guitarist for a very long time, so no problem there!

Upon reaching London I found my destination and got chatting to some of the students from the Institute who were hanging around outside in the hopes that there might be places available to see Greg. Needless to say they were pretty astonished when I explained what I was doing there.

I wanted to get a few pictures of Greg, but it was politely made clear prior to his appearance that no photography would be allowed at the behest of Greg’s press office. Nevertheless, Greg opened up with a great tune and talked for roughly half an hour about his style and technique. The rest of the time was taken up with him playing more, and answering a barrage of questions which he did humbly, humorously, and very descriptively.

To put my situation into context I am a self-taught guitarist, and my guitar playing in Jukebox Memory Loss involves very few chords, mostly riffs and licks, with the occasional improvised 8-bar solo. Greg talked at length not only about improvisational techniques which are covered all over the internet in his interviews and videos, but also about some more personal experiences and approaches to playing and composing for the guitar. He explained that challenging yourself in creative ways enables you to reach new ground when developing your signature style, such as playing a solo to a backing track, but limiting yourself to only one string.

Greg also introduced the concept that an idea for a song (or instrumental passage) can materialise through rhythmic principles, for example starting with just the intervals before working out the notes, an idea he described as working out the “contours”. He also demonstrated a few of his signature techniques, one of which he calls “hammer-ons from nowhere” – Greg continually referred to this technique, stating that “...one of the great things about my playing is that it sounds cooler than it actually is...” (I am inclined to disagree, his playing is awesome!)

I got the distinct impression that Greg views playing the guitar as a continual learning experience, which is very personal and draws from moods and emotions that are expressed as if the instrument were a part of the self. I recognise that Greg’s approach to the guitar is similar to my own, which in itself gave me confidence; it doesn’t matter how good a player I am, or how many techniques I learn, or even how fast I play. What matters is that when I play, I play for me, and that what I play is a part of me.

I feel that this was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and that I learned more than just which notes to play. I got a chance to thank Greg personally afterwards, and get a photo too which has made my day! The staff at the Institute were very accommodating and so I made a point of thanking them, since events of this type are not open to the public.

I’d also like to thank Live and Unsigned for this fantastic chance. Even before this, we all felt as a band we had gained something valuable from being in the competition regardless of whether or not we get through to the next round, but this has been a genuine bonus! It is now 6:05am, and I’ll be at work by 8.30am... but it was worth it!

For more information on the Institute master classes and how you can be part of Live and Unsigned on 2012 visit www.liveandunsigned.uk.com

Tom with Guitar Hero Greg Howe