Play The Music, Not The Notes
Again I’ve chosen a title that is based on a quote by Chet Atkins. I used to wonder what he meant by those words, “play the music, not the notes,” but I think I finally understand some of what he meant. (I suspect he meant multiple things with that one remark.)
I think the main thing he meant was that you should not let how a song’s notes are written out to limit you in how you bring the song alive. For example, if the tablature for one beat specifies a C note at the first position on the second string, that shouldn’t mean that you cannot add in a G note (open third) and a G note (third fret on the 6th string). It also doesn’t mean that you should not bring that C note to life by first striking an open second (a B) and then hammering in the C note. In short, the tablature shouldn’t keep you from bringing out a more full sound than the song’s author wrote.
If you watch a lot of Chet’s videos on YouTube, you will see that he often picked two strings together with his index and middle finger, whereas a lot of other guitarists would pick only with one finger. Chet never overdid this. To do it all the time would not sound right. He had a knack for just how many notes to put into each part of a song, how to bring them to life (hammering, sliding, or just standard), how crisply, and so on.
In fact, one of the things I loved (love) so much about Chet’s music is that he almost never overdid anything … his sound was always so clean, with just the right notes for every part of every tune. So many artists clutter tunes up trying to show off in a single tune every lick they ever mastered. Not Chet.
I have a little more to say on this in the following video, which is my only instructional video so far. (I may do more, but I really need better equipment to do it right.) In this video, I walk through how Tommy Jones played a certain lick in Will The Circle Be Unbroken. I then talk about how I modified that lick to use in a tune that I wrote. Tommy’s version is very uncluttered, using a single finger and thumb for the counterpoint being discussed, whereas mine uses a counterpoint with the thumb and TWO fingers. Mine is fine under many circumstances. But, Tommy’s counterpoint is not only cleaner, it’s easier to get.
One thing to keep in mind while you are playing is “illusion.” If you are playing a tune with a lot of full beats in it, then a counterpoint with the thumb and one finger is often going to sound (to your audience) more full than it really is … they will hear notes that aren’t really there (ones you might be tempted to add in and get with a second finger), simply because our brains are used to filling in patterns.
Anyway, a lot of words for a conceptually simple point. Your thoughts?