Charlie Hunter Podcast Episode 11: The Jim Campilongo Conversation

JimCampilongoJimCampilongo
edited February 2014 in Root
Charlie Hunter Podcast Episode 11: The Jim Campilongo Conversation
http://comparedtowhatpodcast.com/episode-11-the-jim-capmilongo-conversation/

Comments

  • RogerioFerrazRogerioFerraz
    Thanks, Jim!

    Charlie's reaction while you're playing "Minute Waltz" is priceless! haha
    By the way, I am sure a lesson of your arrangement of "Minute Waltz" would be awesome! Please consider it if possible.

    Rogerio
  • cwilliamscwilliams
    is that your gibson? that thing sounds so beautiful.
  • JimCampilongoJimCampilongo
    edited February 2014
    yes - thank you! I love that guitar

    image
  • cwilliamscwilliams
    Now I gotta learn goodbye pork pie hat!
  • morrobenmorroben
    Hey Jim, how old were you when you did your 2 years of woodshedding with the Steve Vai workout? I've looked at that program a few times. The format seems good, but most of the exercise don't seem very musical. Maybe that's the point?
    I need to do something. I'm 37 and I've been playing for 20 years. I'm ok, but I feel like if I don't make a push soon I'll never get to where I want to be musically. It seems like most good guitarists were good by the time they were 30.
  • JimCampilongoJimCampilongo
    edited February 2014
    I don't recall the Steve Vai workout specifically, but I remember having a structure and goals for the first time in my guitar life. It was invaluable to me...

    Here's my take on practice...

    This can be over 2 hours a day or 8 hours.

    1.) “Breakfast” .... WARM UP with arpeggios and scales. Always try to have exercises in a musical context so apply the arpeggios and scales to a song(progression) “All the Things You Are” “Tennessee Waltz”, “Sleepwalk” etc. Tempo and meter aren’t important . Playing over a song progression will keep you from playing what you already know. This will “test” you. Apply scales to a song as well - (Major - Natural - Harmonic-Melodic Minor) Play all your scales in thirds.Always try to have small intervallic jumps , whether it be between chord voicings or scales.

    2.) “Lunch” .....Learn a song and memorize the melody (otherwise you don’t really know the song!) Understand the chord progression and memorize it. Transpose it too.

    3.) “Dinner” ....... Make a tape of the songs progression on a boombox or something that isn’t time consuming. Don’t get caught up in “production”. Play the melody and solo over the changes. Sometimes I try to apply a different approach to every chorus - Octaves -Chord Melody-Steel Guitar-James Burton plays Jazz- etc. etc. . When you memorize the song, put it on a list of songs you know.Run through that list every few days so you don’t forget them.

    4.) “Dessert” ....Just play and improvise. Try and write something. Mess with your tone. Play Blues in E -Whatever! Sometimes I transcribe solo’s instead of learning songs but I try to keep my practicing and focus song/goal oriented. This is for two reasons:
    A musician should/has to know a lot of songs! AND this give me a musical framework that challenges me.
  • morrobenmorroben
    Oh yes! I remember this from the myspace days. I guess I'm just feeling like if I was going to get good, it would have happened by now. But I'll keep chugging along.
  • cwilliamscwilliams
    The Steve vai workout was reprinted in 2004, the year I started playing. If anyone's interested I can scan and email it.
  • GG3GG3
    That would be interesting to see.
  • cwilliamscwilliams
    Upon finding it I actually have the 30 hour workout. If you look it up on google you can find a bunch of PDF's.

    What a trip reading it after not seeing it for ten years.
  • ftutwilerftutwiler
    I really dug hearing you play The Minute Waltz. I'd be curious to hear what you would come up with if you tried to write something in that style.
  • JimCampilongoJimCampilongo
    thank you- actually I'm trying!
  • tamtam
    edited February 2014
    Jim I agree with you regarding practise it should be song based all the time. That's what it's all about and you can learn a ton from songs that's where all scales and harmony are. If you learn these things separately you won't know how to apply them and also learn songs you like not songs you think you should learn even though you don't actually like them. I've made all these mistakes and i feel I'm learning more than I ever did doing basically what jim is doing. Listening to songs and learning the solos and chords. Transpose them take parts from them and us them in your own solos. That's what works for me.
  • tamtam
    Jim your Chopin sounded superb. Have you heard any classical guitar pieces by Luigi legnani. He wrote some lovely music for guitar also Napoleon coste.
Sign In or Register to comment.

© Vanilla Keystone Theme 2026