AUCKLAND GUITAR SCHOOL
DEPOT ARTSPACE
Auckland Guitar School with Dylan Kay
Creative Guitar - Improvisation
Depot Artspace with Amy Saunders
Dylan Kay
Whether you were first inspired to pick up the guitar because a fiery guitar solo made the hairs on the back of your neck stand up, or you just want to add some tasty fills around the chords you play, at some point many guitarists start to look at improvising. (In fact, as a guitarist, it is often simply assumed that you are able to improvise). Many students come to us having worked hard on their own to learn scales and develop techniques for improvising but are disappointed that it still doesn’t sound 'right'. Here’s why.
The scales you learn are important building blocks, but they’re just like the alphabet in that language. Think of music as a language. The scales you learn are important building blocks, but they’re just like the alphabet in that language (the notes are even played in alphabetical order). On their own, those notes don’t 'say' anything. What you need to do is combine them into words, phrases, musical sentences, stories – this is what improvising is all about. It’s about developing vocabulary, having something to say and putting that into your own words. Can you learn to do this? Yes, of course! The starting point is learning musical vocabulary and ideas from great players – whoever that might be – Jimi Hendrix, Tommy Emmanuel, BB King etc. Next, think about how children learn to speak – they mimic sounds and words, start to understand what they’re saying, and over time begin to use the words in phrases in their own sentences. Learning to improvise is like this – you learn vocabulary, learn techniques to absorb it into your playing, and tools to help you make it your own so that you can express what you want to say on the guitar. There’s more on our website on this topic: https://www. aucklandguitarschool.co.nz/the-lick-sandwich/ We help students learn to do this all the time – get in touch if you’d like help! See you next month! Dylan Kay, Auckland Guitar School, Howick and Takapuna, Auckland "Transform your playing." 09 533 5246 www.aucklandguitarschool.co.nz
Depot Artspace, Devonport
Amy Saunders
We have a bumper month of May lined up with some really fantastic events happening. As part of NZ Music Month we’re running our North Shore Schools Songwriting Competition again which was a huge success last year and saw the winners and runners-up professionally record their songs at Depot Sound with our top notch engineering team - this is for Intermediate and Secondary school students. And as part of Techweek, we’re hosting a panel event on the Good, the Bad and the Ugly of NFTs, and showcasing the first ever 3D printed musical instrument exhibition, in partnership with the Auckland University. Our creative employment programmes, Artslab and Wayfind Creative, continue to run regularly and this month we go back to delivering workshops in person! Yippee! So if you’re looking for support in building a creative career, make sure you come and visit us or check out our website to see what’s going on. Depot Sound has long been involved in supporting emerging local songwriters and bands and we are excited to announce that we will once again be running our North Shore Schools Songwriting Competition as part of New Zealand Music Month! This was a huge success last year, with over sixty entries, and we’d love to provide the opportunity once again for local students to have the chance to come back and make use of the studios. Submissions end on 31 May. For more info & to submit: www.depotsound.co.nz The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly of NFTs. Join the conversation hosted by Depot Artspace as we demystify and explain what NFTs are. We will host a panel discussion featuring creative practitioners and artists, sharing their perspectives on the opportunities and challenges posed by NFTs in Aotearoa and beyond. Panel event to be held at the Depot Artspace on Tuesday 17 May, 6-8pm. Synthesis: An exploration of 3D printed Art. Be part of history as we showcase NZ’s first 3D printed musical instruments. Depot Artspace is thrilled to host as a part of NZ Tech Week NZ's first live performance on 3D printed musical instruments. Opening night will feature a short and punchy discussion from the University of Auckland’s Creative Design and Additive Manufacturing Lab, Professor of Additive Manufacturing Olaf Diegel on the intersection of Art and 3D printed technology. Opening: Friday 13 May, 5-7pm. The instruments will be on display from 7-28 May. Depot Galleries. See the colours of Aotearoa through the eyes of Mohad Ben Fahmi, an established artist who has returned from Dubai to share the light that drew him back to this corner of the world. Impressions of Idyll reveals the stronghold these local vistas hold over the artist, from bright Paihia and Tauranga in the north to the mists of the West Coast down south. www.depotartspace.co.nz/event/mohad/ and www.depotartspacegallery.com
www.channelmag.co.nz Issue 130 - May 2022
13
