WorkshopLive interview with Greg Horne
Started: Age 13 in 1983
Education: BA Music, College of Wooster, OH
Instruments: Guitar, mandolin, fiddle, banjo, piano, harmonica, electric bass, a bit of laptop steel, ukulele, drums
Styles: Roots, rock/Americana, old time/bluegrass,celtic and blues fingerstyle
When did you start to play? I started piano at 9 and guitar at 13. I started writing songs and playing a lot of old-time Appalachian music, first on banjo then fiddle, in my 20s. Mandolin just came along for the ride somewhere in there.
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 think I noticed one difference fairly early on in doing my student piano recitals - I'm prone to more technical flubs per minute than a lot of players, but I also tend to be pretty expressive with touch and dynamics. So my life as a player has been a sort of push-and-pull between trying to gain technique and gravitating towards material in which emotional sensitivity outweighs technical issues. John Hartford had a great song in which he said "I did it that way, 'cause that's my style and style is based on limitations." I'm definitely not saying that's a good practice philosophy - you have to push your limitations - the Hartford quote just makes me smile and not worry so much.
How do you keep your playing fresh? A little lemon juice and some aluminum foil. Sorry. Actually, I have a propensity for programming songs into my set that I don't actually know very well. It's a bad compulsion, but it does keep me out of a rut. When I'm a sideman, I do a lot of careful improvising - not enough to throw off the band or take away from the song, but enough to keep me in the moment.
What do you do when you get stuck? Ooh, another wiseguy opportunity. I call triple-A. In reality, I'm stuck most of the time. I'm always in the process of getting unstuck, which brings to mind a video I saw of Garth Hudson, the organist for The Band. They showed him noodling around on his keyboard and he would play himself right into a musical corner and say out loud while holding the chord "uh-oh, don't know how I'm gonna get out of that one..." I love that.
What do you still find hard to do? I've always found it hard to play fast, because I don't really think fast or hear fast. I'm more prone to careful consideration, which is why I periodically make myself do gigs on bluegrass mandolin. There's no time for strategy. We could be three songs into the set before I get a thought together.
How often are you surprised by your playing, what you"re listening to, or music in general? In my own playing, I'm surprised every time it works out. In listening to music, it's always great when the rare mood strikes you to listen to what someone is doing without mentally taking it apart like a car engine. Sometimes a performer is so captivating that you actually get a sort of endorphin rush from their brilliance. That's always nice, and it could happen anywhere at any moment, even watching a beginner or a style you don't usually like.
Do you have a regular practice regimen? At home I just squeeze in what I can when I can. I envision a systematic approach, but it doesn't work out for too long.
Do you have a practice "tool-kit" - metronome, tuner, recorder, etc.? Lately I'm trying to record while I practice specific songs, so I can come back to them days later and remember what I was thinking. I record in ProTools on my computer - which is nice because I can keep each song in its own file and keep track of the progress on it that way. You've got to have a metronome or a little drum machine or something. No kidding. One should never assume that one's rhythmic role in an ensemble isn't critically important. The beat has a center, and many shades of "ahead" and "behind." You can't learn to manipulate all that without using a metronome to work on your "center" beat.
How do you practice on the road or when you travel? I wish it was easier to practice while traveling, but I really don't like to force myself musically on the people around me. If I'm not in a little van or a little hotel room, I'm driving a car, and you can't practice much that way.
Is there a piece of gear you just can't live without? There are a lot of gadgets and doodads that I really enjoy. I really like gear - microphones and preamps and pedals and headphones, but I try not to get attached. I think I could get something done musically with just about anything in a pinch. The search for gear is really just a sort of hamster-wheel for my brain. Now, I realize that was an entirely unsexy answer, so I will now give up some tidbits:
My nicest instrument: Weber Bridger F mandolin
My most recent tweaky purchases: a new Coda fiddle bow and some Waverly tuners for my acoustic guitar. I love them the way some people love shoes. It's not right.
Still, one should not get hung up on material things, even hands and fingers. All things must pass.
Are there one or two core ideas that are central to your teaching that you make sure every student learns? I work heavily with my students on rhythm, counting, and developing an appreciation of time, touch, and tone possibilities. Other than that, we develop techniques and repertoire for the styles they're into and hope they have fun.
Do you find yourself returning to listen to the artists who inspired you when you first started to play? Who are they? The real touchstones that remind me what I meant to be doing seem to be Bob Dylan, John Hartford and Richard Thompson. A small, carefully applied dose of any of these fellows will often get me back on track - maybe Mark Knopfler too. They all seem to have a real connection to very old music, a depth of technique, and an unmistakable signature sound. Other than that, there are hundreds of musicians and artists that are important to me. If I had to be trapped on an island with one thing in the jukebox it would probably be old Staple Singers records from the early 60s when they were a gospel quartet. Mavis and Pops Staples are just never anything less than wonderful to me. Oh, and live records of the Byrds with Clarence White playing electric guitar. I could listen to that all day. And maybe some Bach piano recordings (I have a weakness for Glenn Gould). And...and...
Does your playing change when you switch instruments? I switch instruments a lot, especially from guitar to fiddle to mandolin, but others too. I don't suppose my playing changes too much from guitar to guitar, other than to adapt to quirks of that instrument. I play electric and acoustic pretty much the same way. But playing radically different instruments like fiddles, banjos, mandolins, has a big impact on the way I play over all. I try to get deep inside the idioms of the different styles and instruments. Then I'm constantly applying information from one instrument to each of the others. Hopefully, I end up with some sort of individual voice on all of those instruments as a result.
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? For me that's rare, but exists enough that I know it's possible. It helps to be playing material that you know really well, so that you can more spontaneously create it in the moment. Funny, you have to almost over-practice something in order to be fresh and spontaneous. I tend to sabotage that a bit by wanting to play stuff I don't know so well, which has its own charm. Lately I've been playing more regular gigs and using them to practice the warrior-like art of being able to play even when my mind is loudly fighting me through the entire gig. That's tough, but maybe it's also possible.
What music would you suggest that your students listen to? Beyond the folks I've already mentioned, today I'd say Malcolm Holcombe, Chuck Prophet, Julie Miller and/or Buddy Miller - whatever "the real thing" is..., Hoagy Carmichael, and Bob and Ray - golden age radio comedians and great American thinkers. This isn't music, but it's very close. There would be no Garrison Keillor or David Letterman without these guys.
What are you listening to these days? Do you search out music that's new and unfamiliar to you? I'm a bit of a low-rent audiophile, so I love the "idea" of listening to records even though I don't get around to it much. New stuff either comes into my ears by coincidence, or from the long list in my head of things I intend to check out when I get around to it. Let's see if I can come up with 5 things I've gotten recently that I like: Aimee Mann, Robyn Hitchcock, Steve Wynn and the Miracle 3, and traditional Cajun fiddle and accordion music.
Do you have a musical wish list - other instruments to learn, people to play with, artists or styles to explore? A tough question. I'd like to be a better songwriter, singer, guitar player, and fiddle player. We all dream of working with people we admire. For me that list could go on for pages and pages. We dream of the opportunity to learn, or gain approval, or just make good music. I guess my biggest wish is to have more moments in the future when I have an opportunity to play and my brain and fingers are hooked up right that day.
Have you ever had a really great teacher? What made him/her so good? I've always connected the most with teachers that have passion, personality, and a bit of a system. It's unique and fun to be around someone that is "outstanding in their field" and lets you stand out there with them, especially if they can make it feel like it's just the two of you out there. Some people can do that even while speaking to a whole room of people. The author Kurt Vonnegut comes to mind. On the other hand, I'm a chronic self-teacher. This doesn't mean I've done it all on my own, it just means I'm perpetually in a "student" state - constantly analyzing, experiencing, and sometimes acquiring. In this state, everyone is a teacher. One great thing about teachers is that they demonstrate how cool it is to be completely goofy about a particular subject.
How do you learn best? Probably by directing myself towards the information - a kind of lone hunter/gatherer approach. Things will crystallize (or reveal their weaknesses) when I try to explain them or perform them in front of others. So the transmitting/performing step is actually crucial to the learning. That's not so "lone wolf" after all, is it?
visit Greg at www.greghornemusic.com
