TIM MOTZER Summer Guitar Intensive 2013

Summer 2013 June-August, Philadelphia.

TIM MOTZER – GUITAR SUMMER INTENSIVE 2013
NEW PATHWAYS IN MUSIC: FINDING YOUR VOICE

I am offering 5 and 10 lesson intensives at my studio this summer for students of the guitar and other instruments. The course will focus on “Finding Your Voice” and the process involved to get there.

We will explore harmony, modes, improvisation, tunings, prepared treatments, audio efx, techniques, approaches, listening, discography, rhythm, melody, improvisation to composition, imagination, painting with sound, and more.

Fees:
5 lesson intensive $500
10 lesson intensive $1000

Times: We can discuss best time for you—daytime preferable. Each private meeting will be 1 hour. There will also be study materials, and an information packet with a guitar intensive outline.

GUITAR SUMMER INTENSIVE on SKYPE
****For those of you not in Philadelphia or the vicinity, and still would like to do the intensive, I am game to do live 1 hour Skype video sessions either 5 or 10 lesson bundles. For more information on this, please email me.

Please contact me at timmotzer@1krecordings.com. If you have any questions please let me know!

Tim Motzer bio
After 14 years of international touring, stunning collaborations, and over 60 albums of credits—this Philadelphia-based guitarist continues to traverse manifold territories in music and has developed a distinct textural guitar voice utilizing looping, bowing, electronics, and prepared techniques ala Cage. He has worked with David Sylvian, Burnt Friedman, Jaki Liebezeit, Ursula Rucker, Jamaaladeen Tacuma, KIng Britt, Markus Reuter, Anthony Tidd, Ari Hoenig, and Theo Travis to name a few. He releases his music on his 1k Recordings imprint and webcasts sessions from his studio at 1ksessions.com. He also continues to score for the world of modern dance and film.

 

 

tim motzer guitar workshop (excerpts)

tim motzer guitar workshop  July 7, 2011 Kimmel Summer JazzCamp

experimental guitar: conception, sound, techniques. and improvisation.

this approach boarders both conceptualization and the sound itself.

possible pathways to new musical landscapes.

opening doors to unexplored areas of your playing.

purpose: to get out of ruts and find new sonic terrain to explore. i am always trying to find new ways to play, or achieve different sounds out of my guitar or with effects, or with the laptop. all lead to new ways of composing and improvising to get to new ideas. this is how i approach guitar. lot's of instinct involved and improvising but also working with modes, scales, tunings, sounds, etc that stir the imagination.its important to turn off the brain sometimes. language. creating new language. is difficultbut it's essentially what you do for yourself. creating your own dialect or unique stamp.improvising with new sounds, materials, prepared treatments, new techniques, modes,intervallic...leads to new ideas. new possible paths to go down.

sound affects how you play, approach, or react to your instrument.

audio effects  (distortion, modulation, delay, reverbs, filters, plug ins, the studio)

prepared treatments  (ie: john cage prepared piano)

techniques  (david torn, fred frith, marc ribot, keith rowe, robert fripp, eno)

tunings - DADGAD, all E's, etc. (sonic youth, jimmy page, kaki king, etc)

   check my website for a huge list of tunings to investigate.

modes/scales - the world of modes (balinese, turkish, middle eastern, latin, etc)
many books and sources online outline loads of world modes and scales to investigate.
i would recommend checking out the dennis sandole book: guitar lore.

here's a few scales to examine:

ex 1: C lydian

C  D E F# G A B

ex 2: C arabian dim

C D Eb F F# G# A B C

ex 3: C middle eastern

C D Eb F G Ab B C

process— find chords and melodies within and how they relate to various scales and chord progressions. how would this work in a blues? i try to find chords and make progressions and compose works using scales as a way of learning and creating.
stack 3rds and 4ths. look at all notes on fret graph. see the chords and geometric shapes.

intervals-2nds, 3rds, 4ths, 5ths, 6ths, 7ths,9ths, 11ths, 13ths, b6, b9, tritone, etc

 

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improvise

 

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texture

landscape

place 

architechture

structure

 

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yin and yang:

dry vs wet

acoustic vs electric

muted vs feedback

low octave vs high octaves

clean vs distorted

texture vs melody

rhythm vs space

technique vs naive

inspiration vs work

and so on...

 

all create very different reactions and approaches to guitar...
and of course different outcomes.
you may find that those fat jazz chords don't work with all
the rich overtones on a fuzzfactory or maybe you will.
you may find that when you tune your guitar in a way that you don't
know how to play it anymore, it will lead you to find new sounds/harmonies/etc.
experimentation is the key. all this is helpful to break out of ruts and into new areas.

 

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my key footpedals:

volume pedal

whammy pedal (octaves, intervals, pitchbending)

autowah

overdrive

fuzzfactory

delay/echo/regeneration

delay looper

preamp

 

auxillary gear:

guitar synth

dj efx like: chaos pad, air efx

reverb effects

samplers

laptop: using plugins via ableton live 8

 

treatments + tools

ebow

bow

slide (metal/glass)

string

alligator clips

nails/metals

musical box

capo

found objects

dictaphone, iphone

 

guitars & other string instruments:

baritone

nashville

12 string

jazzbox

acoustic

saz 

banjo

strat w/ tremelo

lapsteel

mandolin

ukelele

baritone uke

soprano uke

 

approaches:

less is more

more is more

more is less

play nothing

play everything

listen

drones

cycle

layering

rhythmic

no rhythm

straight time 4/4

odd time  3/4 5/4 7/4 9/4 7/8 9/8 11/8, etc.

structures

blank canvas

 

thoughts:

play from your soul

find your own voice

if you listen to music —listen to everything.

listen to sounds on the street. animals. etc....

it all affects you - what you like and what you hate and all between.

don't just listen to guitar music. be influenced by everything you hear.

struggle is good.

it's all been done before.

jam with cultural genres.

 

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solo

improvising/collaborating w/ other musicians.

improvising/collaborating w/ multimedia/film/visuals/tv

improvising/collaborating w/ dancers, DJs

improvising/collaborating w/ found sounds, city sounds, etc.

finally-to work as a musician requires extreme skills. my advice is
utilize all you have. be diverse. learn all you can. not all your eggs in one basket.
try to find your niche.  be open. most importantly is be yourself.  find your voice.
also, listen to as much music as you can. i have a huge record library, and still
buy records weekly. i think it's very important to listen a lot. transcription is good
to check things out that you are curious about, but the key is to hear the vibe
under the note…or 'what is behind the note'. listen and feel it.

!

 

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selected tim motzer discography:

nine horses-snow borne sorrow w/ david sylvian (samadhisound)
jazzheads-avant wot not (1k)
base3-darkmatter (1k)
nucultures-butterflies, zebras, and moonbeams (1k)
nucultures-zebramoon remixes (1k)
burnt friedman and jaki liebeziet Secret Rhythms 2 and 3 (nonplace)
global illage-sushi love sessions (equalarea)
king britt presents sister gertrude morgan (ropeadope)
tilomo-soft lunch (1k)
secret voices-no time for silence (1k)
ursula rucker albums: supa sista, ma'at mama, she said, ruckus soundsysdom
sylk130-when the funk hits the fan (sony)
kenny lattimore - the soul of man (sony)

 

link to tim motzer guitar player magazine interview:

http://www.guitarplayer.com/article/tim-motzer/September-2009/99927

 

more players, groups, and info to check out:

david torn/adrian belew/terje rypdal/jeff beck
fred frith/henry cow
norwegian scene and history: ECM + Rune Grammafon records
supersilent, arve henriksen, deathprod, jan bang, punkt festival
jon hassle, miles davis (electric periiod), freddie hubbard
marc ribot
robert fripp/frippertronics/-no pussyfooting
mahavishnu orchestra/john mclaughlin
brian eno
blues: albert king, john lee hooker, bb king, muddy waters, chicago,
delta, aftrican blues…on and on.
jimi hendrix: band of gypsies, electric ladyland, 1983
the wire magazine
nels cline
fennesz
japanese experimental scene
the stone/nyc

 

my favorite guitar players.

David Gilmour of Pink Floyd

i've been asked so many times who my favorite guitarists are that i've decided to list some in no particular order. it's just that these guys have been so influential for me as a player and a listener.
if there are any you don't know, go check them out.
always something worthwhile to discover. -t

cal collins
paco de lucia
carlos parades
michael oldfield 
steve hillage
robert fripp
jimi hendrix
herb ellis
robin trower
steve tibbets
steve howe
todd rundgren
jeff beck
roy buchanon
jimmy page
andy summers
bill frisell
eric clapton
pat metheny
david torn
ritchie blackmore
adrian belew
rob fetters
rick iannacone
jef lee johnson
john mclaughlin
ralph towner
god speed you black emperor
steve hackett
albert lee
john abercrombie
nels cline
pat martino
wes montgomery
buddy guy
vernon reid
prince
the edge
neil young
thurston moore
lee renaldo
john frusciante
tony iommi
allan holdsworth
john scofield
john lee hooker
david gilmour
fred frith
pete cosey
michael hedges
jimmy bruno
steve howe
leo kottke
curtis mayfield
bb king
frank marino
greg ginn
tom verlaine
richard lloyd
jonny greenwood
albert king
freddy king
srv
eric johnson
john martyn
jan akkerman
duane allman
terje rypdal
joe pass
muddy waters
joni mitchell
billy gibbons
derek bailey
arto lindsay
steve tibbetts
pete townshend
marc ribot
grant green
george harrison
tal farlow
steve morse
martin barre
johnny marr
robert quinne
james 'blood' ulmer

this list is far from done...but in one swoop, these are the ones that immediately come to mind.

ALTERNATE TUNINGS

Jimmy Page

If you're a guitarist (or any string player really), the world of alternate tunings awaits you.  I discovered long ago how guitarists and songwriters would tune to various chords or drone-like groupings of notes.  You've been listening to odd tunings for years and may not even know it.  This history is vast and many artists have made careers using odd tunings:
Joni Mitchell and Richie Havens are two that come to mind. Of course, many slide blues players tune to an open G chord or E chord. Led Zeppelins' Jimmy Page, Thurston Moore (Sonic Youth), John Martyn, Leo Kottke, Michael Hedges, Kaki King, and Adrian Belew - all incorporate alternate tunings to their music...the list of musicians is endless really.
Changing the tuning on your guitar is like getting a new instrument or finding a new sonic area to explore....new voicings, new ideas, new songs...it awaits you.  Below I've listed a few tunings for you to check out. also, i should mention that using a capo with this idea is interesting as well.

Explore these tunings, and be sure to invent some of your own.  try them with 6 and 12 strings and electric guitars.
use pedals too.  Rock out. Have fun!

EADGBE  standard tuning
DADGBE  drop D tuning
CFA#D#G,C
CFA#D#GA#
DADF#GD
CFA# D# GG#
DADF#GD
EADGAE
DADGAD modal (kashmir, black mountain side)
CFCCGD 
DADF#AD  
CGCGBbD 
CACGCE  
CGCGCE 

a few tunings by Sonic Youth
EG#EG#EG#
CGCCGA#
DGDDBB
CCGGGD
GGDDD#D#
EBEEAB
GGDDEbEb
F#F#F#F#EB

David Gilmour's Slide tunings
EBEGBE
DGDGBE

Jimmy Page tunings (led zeppelin)
CACGCE  (C6) (friends, bron-yr-aur-jimmy page)
CGCGCE   (open C)
DGDGBD  (open G)
EADGBD   (dancing days)
CFCFAF   (open F)
EACFAC
DADGAD modal (kashmir, black mountain side)
DGCGCD   the rain song
EADADE    the rain song live 
EAEAC#E  (open E)  in my time of dying


a few source recordings:
joni mitchell - hejira
led zeppelin - III, houses of the holy, physical graffiti
any sonic youth album
michael hedges - aerial boundries
pat metheny - new chautauqua 





Any questions?
Contact me here. 
 Tim

the pedal madness continues

Eventide has been very nice to allow me an artist accomodation (Thanks to Ray and Julie Slick!) and as a result i now own the Pitch Factor and Space pedals. If you haven't checked these out you are missing out on amazing sonic brilliance, madness, and cathedral drift.  I use Space alot lately in scoring for Dance choregraphy to get the massive Reverb wash made famous by ECM, David Torn, and Sigor Ros. I also used it in the recent 1k Sessions episode 12 with poet Ursula Rucker.  I am still learning the Pitch Factor, but thus far it is opening up a totally new world of sounds, ideas, and new ways to play and compose.  It's incredible. more info here on their great products.  http://eventide.com

here's a link to a great site all about guitar tone and pedal madness: http://thepedallab.com/

this is my current pedalboard setup: (9/27/2011)

guitar>eventide pitch factor>guyatone autowah>eb vol>digitech whammy>guyatone od>zvex fuzz factory>guyatone delay>line6 dm-4>alesis airefx>eventide space>to amp or PA.

 

continue to experiment. have fun.