The Art of Exploratory Guitar Practice: Why Your Practice Isn't Sticking
PodcastThe Problem with Prescriptive Practice
Most guitar instruction follows a predictable pattern: "Here's how you play the riff to Stairway to Heaven." It's prescriptive, formulaic, and ultimately limiting. But what if there was a better way—one that transformed practice from mechanical repetition into musical discovery?
In a recent conversation with renowned educator Noel Johnston, we explored this alternative approach. Johnston, who teaches at the University of North Texas and has authored several books on modal harmony and voicing concepts, advocates for what he calls "exploratory practice"—a method that prioritizes understanding over memorization.
What Etudes Are Really For
"An etude is essentially a piece of music that is supposed to teach you something that you can use for something else," Johnston explains. This isn't about perfecting a single piece; it's about extracting transferable knowledge.
The key insight? If you don't really know something multiple ways, you can't truly use it.
Johnston demonstrates this with a beautiful chord voicing he encountered in John Scofield's playing—essentially a C major 6 with a 7th, or viewed differently, an A minor add 2 with C in the bass. Rather than simply learning this one application, he wrote an etude exploring all its possibilities.
The Multi-Context Approach
Here's where the magic happens. That single chord voicing works in multiple harmonic contexts:
- As a I chord: Creates a sophisticated major tonality
- As a IV chord: Functions beautifully in a Lydian context
- As a III chord in melodic minor: Opens up entirely new harmonic possibilities
By exploring these different contexts with a looper, Johnston demonstrates how one musical idea can serve multiple functions. This isn't just academic exercise—it's practical musicianship that expands your harmonic vocabulary exponentially.
The Power of "It Might Not Sound Good—And That's Okay"
One of Johnston's most liberating concepts is embracing experimentation even when the results aren't immediately musical. "This thought experiment might not make good music, but at least you're working on thinking of what the intervals are doing. It's good for your brain."
This mindset shift is crucial. Too many guitarists abandon exploration the moment something doesn't sound "right." But Johnston argues that this analytical thinking—understanding interval relationships, harmonic functions, and structural patterns—builds the foundation for genuine musical creativity.
"Teaching through discovery, not prescription" creates musicians who understand rather than merely imitate.
Turning Pitch into Rhythm: Advanced Time Experiments
One of Johnston's most innovative approaches involves converting harmonic structures into rhythmic patterns. Here's how it works:
Take the 12 pitches of the chromatic scale and map them to 12 subdivisions (four groups of triplets, or 16th notes in groups of three). Now, any chord can become a rhythmic pattern based on its interval structure.
The Diminished Test
A diminished 7th chord, with its equally spaced intervals, creates simple downbeats when converted to rhythm—nothing special rhythmically, but perfect for testing your concept. An augmented major 7th chord, however, creates a complex polyrhythmic pattern that challenges both your intervallic understanding and your time feel.
Johnston's test for accuracy? Play the rhythmic pattern against a chromatic scale. If they align perfectly with no "flamming" or rhythmic rubs, you've successfully internalized both the harmonic and temporal aspects of the concept.
The Sticky Subdivisions Concept
Johnston emphasizes the importance of "sticky" subdivisions—being precise with timing to the point where every note locks perfectly into the rhythmic grid. This relates to the time feel of masters like Elvin Jones and Wayne Krantz, who create that "heavy-stepped swing" where every subdivision is perfectly placed.
This precision isn't about sounding mechanical; it's about having such control over time that you can choose when to be on top, behind, or perfectly in the pocket. As Johnston notes, Wayne Krantz gets much of his distinctive time feel from "being in the grid."
Tonal Improvisation: Beyond Chord-Tone Thinking
Another powerful concept Johnston explores is tonal improvisation—thinking in keys rather than chord tones. While traditional jazz education emphasizes playing the "right" notes over each chord change, Johnston suggests experimenting with staying in one key center and exploring how different scale ideas sound over various harmonic functions.
Using the chord changes from "Giant Steps" as an example, he demonstrates playing blues ideas in the key centers of each dominant chord (the "fives" of B, G, and Eb). This creates unexpected chromaticism and voice leading that wouldn't occur through conventional chord-tone thinking.
Why This Works
When you slide from a minor third to major third within a dominant chord context, listeners hear it as sliding into the major 7th of the underlying tonic—a sophisticated sound that emerges naturally from this tonal approach. It's "forbidden" in traditional harmony but musically compelling when applied thoughtfully.
Practical Takeaways for Your Practice
1. Write Learning Etudes
When you encounter a sound you love, don't just learn that one application. Create an etude that explores:
- Different inversions and positions
- Multiple harmonic contexts
- Various rhythmic applications
- Different instrumental approaches
2. Use a Looper for Instant Feedback
Johnston advocates for looper-based practice because it provides immediate harmonic context. You can test your ideas against actual chord progressions in real time, making the abstract concrete.
3. Embrace the Analytical
Don't shy away from experiments that don't immediately sound musical. The goal is building understanding, and that understanding will inform your musical choices even when you're not consciously thinking about theory.
4. Convert Concepts Across Musical Elements
Try converting:
- Harmonic structures to rhythmic patterns
- Melodic shapes to harmonic voicings
- Rhythmic patterns to fingering exercises
- Scale patterns to chord progressions
The Influence of Mick Goodrick
Johnston credits guitarist and educator Mick Goodrick as a major influence on this exploratory approach. Goodrick's book "Advancing Guitarist" exemplifies the mindset of discovery over prescription, encouraging musicians to find their own answers through guided exploration.
This lineage of teaching—from Goodrick through Johnston to the next generation—represents a fundamental shift in music education philosophy. Instead of providing answers, these educators provide tools for discovery.
Making the Shift
The transition from prescriptive to exploratory practice isn't always comfortable. It requires accepting that "not knowing" is often more valuable than "being right." It means spending time on concepts that might not immediately improve your performance repertoire but will dramatically expand your musical understanding.
As Johnston demonstrates throughout the conversation, this approach doesn't abandon musicality for academia. Instead, it builds the deep understanding that makes genuine musicality possible. When you truly understand how intervals function, how harmonic contexts shift meaning, and how rhythmic subdivision affects groove, you're equipped to make musical choices rather than simply execute learned patterns.
The result? Practice that actually sticks, because it's built on understanding rather than memorization. And understanding, once gained, becomes a permanent part of your musical vocabulary.
