Started playing guitar in 1985 at age 10.
Education:
B.A. Berklee College of Music, Boston
Artist Diploma MGI Munich Guitar Institute, Germany
1. When did you start to play?
I started playing when I was about 10 years old. My grandmother gave me a guitar and bought guitar lessons with a teacher that I continued to study with until I left Germany to study guitar at Berklee in Boston, Massachusetts.
2. When did you start to notice that your playing was different from everyone else's? When did you find your voice as a player?
I first noticed that my playing was different from others when I was studying music at Berklee. Being with other guitar players made me notice that my style of music and playing was different. I spent a lot of time learning advanced harmony and contrapuntal concepts. I incorporated these ideas into my compositions and playing.
I found my voice as a player after I left Berklee and was able to review and digest everything I had studied.
3. How do you keep your playing fresh?
I try to reach for new sounds utilizing all kinds of techniques and ideas. Sometimes, a new effect or music toy makes me think about new things.
4. What do you do when you get stuck?
Listen to other instrumental or vocal music (with hardly any or no guitar in it) to reconnect with my inner musical site.
5. What do you still find hard to do?
Picking my nose in quintuplets at 500 bpm
6. How often are you surprised by your playing, or what you’re listening to, or music in general?
I am surprised everyday by everything, musically or not. I still can’t believe that I am making and playing music for a living. I am very fortunate and try to keep this positive energy and spirit in my music and teaching.
7. Do you have a regular practice regimen? Do you have a practice "tool-kit" - metronome, tuner, recorder, etc.? Do you have a special place for practice set aside in your home? How do you practice on the road or when you travel?
No matter where I am in the world, I always get up around 7 a.m., have my coffee and toast, and then practice for 2 to 3 hours before I write, record, teach, or perform. I can practice anywhere if I have my guitar and a metronome. I have a specific one hour technique routine that I always do to maintain my speed and technique.
At home, I have my own studio where I usually practice. On the road, I practice in hotel rooms or backstage. I even practice when I’m on vacation. I always bring my guitar and metronome with me wherever I go, whether I’m in California, Boston, or in Europe.
8. Is there a piece of gear you just can't live without?
My custom made Parker guitars.
9. Are there one or two core ideas that are central to your teaching that you make sure every student learns?
The fundamental ideas of music: pitch, rhythm, harmony, and melody.
10. Do you find yourself returning to listen to the artists who inspired you when you first started to play? Who are they?
Yes, from time to time I want to be awed again by Steve Vai, Yngwie Malmsteen, Jason Becker and other great players.
11. Does your playing change when you switch instruments?
Yes, my playing changes from guitar to guitar. I have some guitars that scream “Pick me! Pick me!” Others will make me do something different. It’s kinda weird.
12. How often, when you're playing, do you find those moments of pure music, when your head is clear, your fingers are working, there are no distractions, and it’s just you and the music?
This is a tough question. I am lucky to experience moments of pure music when I perform and I let my conscious self emerge with the environment
and feel how I connect with everything and everyone. It is an awesome feeling, but also very exhausting for me. I give everything I have, pour my entire heart out.
13. We have a feature called "Big Ears", where we suggest interesting music to our members that they might not have heard before.
What would you suggest for them?
There are some great players out there, like Oz Noy, Wayne Krantz, and others.
Try to listen to a broad range of music. From classical like Bach, Palestrina to Beethoven, Debussy, Bartok, Mahler to Jazz like Coltrane, Mingus, Ives, Berlin, Robert Johnson
to Rock like Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath, Judas Priest, Steve Vai, Yngwie Malmsteen, ... and in between. Music is everywhere! Just keep your ears open!
14. What are you listening to these days? Do you search out music that's new and unfamiliar to you?
Most of the times it’s my students that come in with new and cool music I have never heard of and then I get really into it. But I do try to look for new and
refreshing music. It’s not always easy, being a musician and keeping up with new stuff because you’re usually busy with yourself.
15. Do you have a musical wish list - other instruments to learn, people to play with, artists or styles to explore?
I would love to write music for a really big “ REAL” Orchestra. Most of the times, I write my music with a Orchestra in mind, but all the players
come from my Computer.
I also would love to play music with my childhood heros: Yngwie Malmsteen, Joe Satriani and MacGyver.
16. Have you ever had a really great teacher? What made him/her so good?
I was lucky to have the best teacher in the world, Helmut Gattung, he was my teacher in Germany. I started taking lessons from him
when I was 10 and continued until I was 22. He taught me music and how it fits into my life. He was able to make me feel good and curious about the guitar
even when I went through some rough times.
17. How do you learn best?
Finding the concept behind the lick or music and adjust it to my needs.
18. Do you have any practice tips we can share with our subscribers?
Try to set aside at least 1 hour in the day to practice. Find the perfect time when to practice, for example morning, noon, afternoon, night;
practice always at the same time every day. This will help you maintain a good practice schedule because you are used to practice at this particular time and your mind and body will be ready.
Keep a journal on the material you have worked on, so that you can keep track on your progress and topics you have practiced.
