{"id":11991,"date":"2012-04-16T12:08:10","date_gmt":"2012-04-16T16:08:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/nickgrinlinton.com\/blog\/?p=11991"},"modified":"2023-02-20T10:36:11","modified_gmt":"2023-02-20T14:36:11","slug":"advice-for-playing-guitar-in-an-ensemble","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nickgrinlinton.com\/blog\/advice-for-playing-guitar-in-an-ensemble\/","title":{"rendered":"Advice for Playing Guitar in an Ensemble"},"content":{"rendered":"

1.) Know your role.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Are you accompanying a singer? Playing in a chamber group? Laying down the rhythm in an r&b group? Naturally, guitarists want to make the guitar the most important instrument in the ensemble. Don\u2019t have this mindset. In an extreme case you might risk losing work. If you have trouble judging, just ask.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

2.) Play what you hear.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t try to take up too much space. Space will let the music breathe. The pursuit of music leaves us with many possibilities, but you don\u2019t need to play all of them in one tune.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

3.) Leave space.<\/strong><\/p>\n

This is the easiest way to make contrast occur in music, especially when there are a lot of notes in the air.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

4.) Interact with the other musicians.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Don\u2019t play in your own world. Look and listen to the musicians around you. Music is a communal sport.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

5.) Contrast from the other musicians.<\/strong><\/p>\n

If someone \u201cinvents\u201d something (a rhythmic figure, melodic motif, etc.), feel free to contrast from it. This can create tension. Your next step would be to figure out how to resolve it.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

6.) Mimic from the other musicians.<\/strong><\/p>\n

If someone invents something, feel free to go along with it. Avoid too much mimicry, though. Don\u2019t mimic so much that everyone does it. You run the risk of losing foundation of the groove.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

7.) Play in tune.<\/strong><\/p>\n

What if you\u2019re in tune, but the piano is slightly off?\u00a0Tune to the piano if it can’t be replaced. The piano may be slightly off, however everything should sound in tune, even if it\u2019s not tuned at 440 Hz.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

8.) Play in time.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rather if your phrasing or comping sits on the back, front or center of the beat, make sure this is consistent. You should be able to tap your foot easily to whatever you play.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

9.) Play with groove.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Knowing how to notate and analyze all the complex rhythms in music won\u2019t matter much if you cannot groove, rock, swing or lock into the bass player and drummer.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

10.) Don\u2019t play too loud.\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

See below.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

11.) Don\u2019t play too soft.<\/strong><\/p>\n

By not playing too loud or soft, you\u2019re creating a good balance for the ensemble.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

12.) Accompany.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Keep in mind all the instruments and parts around you in the ensemble. Never forget that guitarists mainly accompany. Have your playing reflect accompanying, not abandoning.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

13.) Solos don\u2019t necessarily need to be loud in volume.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Many guitarists blare their solos. By doing so, it covers up the rest of the ensemble.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

14.) Know which registers to \u201ccomp\u201d in.<\/strong><\/p>\n

If a soloist plays in a higher register, comp in a lower one. Create contrary motion. This helps balance out the spectrum as a whole when playing with other musicians.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

15.) Vary chord voicings.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Play inversions. Play spread and close voicings. Mix these up.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

16.) Properly EQ the amplifier to the room and the style of music you play.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Rock tends to be brighter. Jazz tends to be darker and more middle range. In some spaces, the guitar may need to have more brightness to be heard in the ensemble. With the way the EQ is shelved in different amps, you may have to compensate by adjusting a level a little more or a little less. Finding this balance is a never-ending process.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

17.) Don\u2019t completely max out the guitar volume knob.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Unless you use a volume pedal or some sort of boost.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

18.) Take advantage of using multiple pickup combinations and other timbres.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Many times guitarists overlook all the sonic possibilities of multiple pickup combinations. If you have humbucking pickups, coil tap them so you can use the single coil function (like a Strat). Even if you just use a simple three-way switch for humbuckers or five-way switch for Stratocasters, each pickup has a different sound (pickups towards the fretboard have more bass; pickups towards the bridge have more treble). Also, experiment with playing close to the fretboard or close to the bridge.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

19.) Use good cables.<\/strong><\/p>\n

You don\u2019t necessarily need to be an audiophile, but use cables that don\u2019t produce hiss, hum or thin sounds. It\u2019s beyond the scope of this post, but pay attention to the cable\u2019s capacitance. A lower number allows more of the natural brightness to reach the amp. This allows the treble spectrum of EQ to run lower, thus reducing hiss.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

20.) Play with the pick.<\/strong><\/p>\n

For some styles, it is best to use a pick (strumming chords, shredding, playing rock, etc.).<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

21.) Play with the fingers.<\/strong><\/p>\n

When I comp in jazz or another style, I use my fingers more than a pick. Not only can I be more selective with notes and play spread voicings easier, but also I like the sound of it better. It is similar to pianists lifting their fingers up off the keys when playing.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

22.) Play to the acoustics of the room.<\/strong><\/p>\n

No room will have the same sound. Some rooms are very dry. Some rooms have a lot of reverb. (By the way, as electric guitarists you should always have a good reverb pedal handy). In rehearsals, play to the room you rehearse in. Listen for balance with each instrument.\u00a0Most importantly, do not let the acoustics of the room affect your performance.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

23.) Don\u2019t over-think and over-analyze.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Nobody can think, judge and play all at the same time. Enjoy playing and use common musical sense.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

24.) Make each note count.<\/strong><\/p>\n

Overall, this should become the focal point of your guitar playing.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

1.) Know your role. Are you accompanying a singer? Playing in a chamber group? Laying down the rhythm in an r&b group? Naturally, guitarists want to make the guitar the most important instrument in the ensemble. Don\u2019t have this mindset. In an extreme case you might risk losing work. If you have trouble judging, just […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[10],"tags":[116,278],"yoast_head":"\nAdvice for Playing Guitar with Other Musicians<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Practical advice for playing the guitar in an ensemble with other musicians.\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nickgrinlinton.com\/blog\/advice-for-playing-guitar-in-an-ensemble\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Advice for Playing Guitar with Other Musicians\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Practical advice for playing the guitar in an ensemble with other musicians.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nickgrinlinton.com\/blog\/advice-for-playing-guitar-in-an-ensemble\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Nick Grinlinton's Musings\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"http:\/\/facebook.com\/nickgrinlintonmusic\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/nickgrinlintonmusic\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2012-04-16T16:08:10+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2023-02-20T14:36:11+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Nick Grinlinton\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/nickgrinlinton\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@nickgrinlinton\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Nick Grinlinton\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"5 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nickgrinlinton.com\/blog\/advice-for-playing-guitar-in-an-ensemble\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nickgrinlinton.com\/blog\/advice-for-playing-guitar-in-an-ensemble\/\",\"name\":\"Advice for Playing Guitar with Other Musicians\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nickgrinlinton.com\/blog\/#website\"},\"datePublished\":\"2012-04-16T16:08:10+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2023-02-20T14:36:11+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nickgrinlinton.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/a72af98514ed722b39ded7929938a6dc\"},\"description\":\"Practical advice for playing the guitar in an ensemble with other musicians.\",\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nickgrinlinton.com\/blog\/advice-for-playing-guitar-in-an-ensemble\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/nickgrinlinton.com\/blog\/advice-for-playing-guitar-in-an-ensemble\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nickgrinlinton.com\/blog\/advice-for-playing-guitar-in-an-ensemble\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/nickgrinlinton.com\/blog\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Advice for Playing Guitar in an Ensemble\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nickgrinlinton.com\/blog\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/nickgrinlinton.com\/blog\/\",\"name\":\"Nick Grinlinton's Musings\",\"description\":\"Thoughts from a guitarist, composer and runner.\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/nickgrinlinton.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":\"required name=search_term_string\"}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nickgrinlinton.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/a72af98514ed722b39ded7929938a6dc\",\"name\":\"Nick Grinlinton\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/nickgrinlinton.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/52d92a50025d5f94373b40549460a969?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/52d92a50025d5f94373b40549460a969?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Nick Grinlinton\"},\"description\":\"Nick Grinlinton is a guitarist, composer and educator based in Brooklyn, NY. He is a two-time ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Award finalist and has composed and played music for Jerry Seinfeld's web series \\\"Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee\\\". A speedy runner, Nick currently focuses on racing distances from the mile all the way to the marathon. As he continues to train daily, he is currently examining what effect music has towards running. To learn more and to contact Nick, visit his website.\",\"sameAs\":[\"http:\/\/nickgrinlinton.com\",\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/nickgrinlintonmusic\",\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/nickgrinlinton\"],\"url\":\"https:\/\/nickgrinlinton.com\/blog\/author\/nickgr5\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Advice for Playing Guitar with Other Musicians","description":"Practical advice for playing the guitar in an ensemble with other musicians.","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/nickgrinlinton.com\/blog\/advice-for-playing-guitar-in-an-ensemble\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Advice for Playing Guitar with Other Musicians","og_description":"Practical advice for playing the guitar in an ensemble with other musicians.","og_url":"https:\/\/nickgrinlinton.com\/blog\/advice-for-playing-guitar-in-an-ensemble\/","og_site_name":"Nick Grinlinton's Musings","article_publisher":"http:\/\/facebook.com\/nickgrinlintonmusic","article_author":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/nickgrinlintonmusic","article_published_time":"2012-04-16T16:08:10+00:00","article_modified_time":"2023-02-20T14:36:11+00:00","author":"Nick Grinlinton","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/nickgrinlinton","twitter_site":"@nickgrinlinton","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Nick Grinlinton","Est. reading time":"5 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/nickgrinlinton.com\/blog\/advice-for-playing-guitar-in-an-ensemble\/","url":"https:\/\/nickgrinlinton.com\/blog\/advice-for-playing-guitar-in-an-ensemble\/","name":"Advice for Playing Guitar with Other Musicians","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nickgrinlinton.com\/blog\/#website"},"datePublished":"2012-04-16T16:08:10+00:00","dateModified":"2023-02-20T14:36:11+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/nickgrinlinton.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/a72af98514ed722b39ded7929938a6dc"},"description":"Practical advice for playing the guitar in an ensemble with other musicians.","breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/nickgrinlinton.com\/blog\/advice-for-playing-guitar-in-an-ensemble\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/nickgrinlinton.com\/blog\/advice-for-playing-guitar-in-an-ensemble\/"]}]},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/nickgrinlinton.com\/blog\/advice-for-playing-guitar-in-an-ensemble\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/nickgrinlinton.com\/blog\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Advice for Playing Guitar in an Ensemble"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/nickgrinlinton.com\/blog\/#website","url":"https:\/\/nickgrinlinton.com\/blog\/","name":"Nick Grinlinton's Musings","description":"Thoughts from a guitarist, composer and runner.","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/nickgrinlinton.com\/blog\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":"required name=search_term_string"}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/nickgrinlinton.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/a72af98514ed722b39ded7929938a6dc","name":"Nick Grinlinton","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/nickgrinlinton.com\/blog\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/52d92a50025d5f94373b40549460a969?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/52d92a50025d5f94373b40549460a969?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Nick Grinlinton"},"description":"Nick Grinlinton is a guitarist, composer and educator based in Brooklyn, NY. He is a two-time ASCAP Young Jazz Composer Award finalist and has composed and played music for Jerry Seinfeld's web series \"Comedians in Cars Getting Coffee\". A speedy runner, Nick currently focuses on racing distances from the mile all the way to the marathon. As he continues to train daily, he is currently examining what effect music has towards running. To learn more and to contact Nick, visit his website.","sameAs":["http:\/\/nickgrinlinton.com","https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/nickgrinlintonmusic","https:\/\/twitter.com\/http:\/\/www.twitter.com\/nickgrinlinton"],"url":"https:\/\/nickgrinlinton.com\/blog\/author\/nickgr5\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nickgrinlinton.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11991"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nickgrinlinton.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nickgrinlinton.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nickgrinlinton.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nickgrinlinton.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=11991"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/nickgrinlinton.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11991\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":16022,"href":"https:\/\/nickgrinlinton.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11991\/revisions\/16022"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nickgrinlinton.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=11991"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nickgrinlinton.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=11991"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nickgrinlinton.com\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=11991"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}