WorkshopLive interview with Harry Jacobson
Education: New School For Social Research
Style: Blues, Jazz, Rock
When did you start to play? In 1969 - I was 13 years old.
When did you start to notice that your playing was different from everyone else's? When did you find your voice as a player? Wow, what a good question. When you are young it"s common to try to emulate your favorite players. From the very beginning I never felt the urge to try to copy one individual style. Perhaps it was the fact that, I was influenced by so many different players as well as different instruments, that spared from the temptation… Either that or I suck at emulation.
How do you keep your playing fresh? I sometimes take a break from playin" and return with fresh ears… well maybe it"s just that when I return, it just seems all new again. Actually, I do try to find at least 5 variations of most things I play. It"s amazing how little things – [like] accenting syncopated beats, ghosting or omitting expected notes, tone variations - can affect how a phrase is perceived.
What do you do when you get stuck? After I pull the few remaining hairs from my head, slam doors, and cause the cats to consider hangin" from the chandelier, I usually focus on what caused me to feel stuck.
What do you still find hard to do? I am so impressed by the hybrid picking technique involving pick and 3 fingers. Danny Gatton just nailed that so well.
How often are you surprised by your playing, what you"re listening to, or music in general? Well, hummm… the word "surprised” can either be a good thing or bad thing right? I"m often surprised when someone walks up to the stage and compliments me after I felt I played the worst set in years. It is always a pleasant surprise when I am happy with both my performance and tone. I seem to remember that happenin" once.
Do you have a regular practice regimen? For years I have recorded every practice session and gig to analyze later. A metronome, drum machine or backing tracks help immensely. The age-old foot tapping method fails miserably, as you know feet lie!
Is there a piece of gear you just can't live without? No, but I have become very jaded in the last few decades. If I don"t have the tone I want, I become obsessed with changing that, and therefore become less than creative. Let"s face it; if a singer has laryngitis, who would want to listen? There would be a rather high suckage level. I have to add that I have recently found the Digitech Jamman looping device to be a superb teaching and learning tool.
Are there one or two core ideas that are central to your teaching that you make sure every student learns? Ok… of course theory, theory, theory and how to listen. I stress that my students use dynamics and contrasts as a means of keeping things fresh. I stress motif development and theme variation. Sometimes a simple thing like omitting a note, or starting an arpeggio on something other than the root, or perhaps starting a phrase on a syncopated beat can make the ordinary sound fresh.
Do you find yourself returning to listen to the artists who inspired you when you first started to play? There were so many. I have to say that the true inspiration came from a 1971 PBS broadcast of "The Greatest Unknown Guitarist”. This was the first time I heard Roy Buchanan. Roy"s playing drilled a hole right through my chest, where a small part of him still remains.
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? I suppose I am pretty lucky in that this happens pretty often for me. It really helped when I left Manhattan for the countryside - far less distractions.
What music would you suggest for your students? Chris Cain Blues/Jazz musician extraordinaire. In general, I suggest listening to far more than just guitarists. If you want to learn phrasing, listen to vocalists and horn players.
What are you listening to these days? Do you search out music that's new and unfamiliar to you? I find myself gravitating away from instrumental music a bit. I seem to be rediscovering the singer/songwriter genre.
Have you ever had a really great teacher? What made him/her so good? In general, I feel the best qualities in a teacher include the ability to communicate clearly while making the complex seem simple. As well as the perfect balance of tolerance and progressive focus.
How do you learn best? A combination of focus and repetition. I have to see the big picture, so to speak. I like to know the "why"s” as well as "how"s”. Once the foundation is there, the rest seems to fall into place. If I am trying to learn a new technique, I note where I stumble, then focus on that.
