Guitarist can’t recognize a picture of himself

Not long ago, I read this crazy story in a book. 

It was about an anthropologist who went to live among tribal people with little to no contact with the modern world.

The anthropologist wanted to share some of the wonders of modern technology with these isolated folks. And so he took a photo of the chief and his wives.

When the Polaroid picture was processed and shown to the chief. He was unable to recognize the blotches of black, white, and gray as an image of himself. He had never learned to translate two-dimensional images into recognizable three-dimensional shapes.

Yet at the same time. This chief could look at a patch of grass and say what kind of animal had walked on it and how long ago. He could do that as easily as you and I can tell the sun from the moon.

Playing music works the same way.

Most guitarists haven’t learned to see the patterns below the surface. It’s like they are living in isolation and can’t recognize themselves in a photo. 

They have problems like learning new songs takes ages. They can’t remember them. They can’t jam with others, and wouldn’t know what to do if a friend wanted to jam with them.

Bottom line?

Without being able to see these patterns, guitar is WAY harder to learn. And there’s a high chance of them never becoming the player they’ve always wanted to be.

I first learned to see these patterns from blues Grandmaster Kenny Burrell. Years later when I went and transcribed 1,000s of songs for my working career and YouTube channel.

I saw it again.

If you'd like help learning these patterns, get your hands on my free blues scale pdf guide at the link below:

www.jonmaclennan.com/bluesscales

Jon MacLennan