6 replies to this topic

[clapton1]

Does planetalk use intervals? Because I know of a player who holds the same idea as kirk, which is to "Forget Scales." His name is Carl Verheyen and his book is called "Improvising without Scales." I don't have the book and I was wondering does he use a similar method to Kirk's Planetalk??????

[Kirk Lorange]

Not specifically, clapton1, but of course once you make music, you're using intervals. PlaneTalk doesn't track intervals though, it uses a very simple landmark that any guitar player past day two or three already knows ... but it's how well you know it that counts.

[clapton1]

I am currently in the process of memorizing: all the notes on the fretboard and intervals. If I know these, will I not benefit as much with Planetalk than if I don't know them??

Also do you think that is beneficial??

Thanks,
Clapton1

[Kirk Lorange]

Knowing all notes on the fretboard is a good thing, of course, but notes are just notes ... music is context, so it's much more valuable to track 'context'. I'm not quite sure what you mean by 'memorizing intervals' but that's always a good thing to know too. The more you can learn about any aspect of music and playing the guitar, the better.

I think you'll see that learning the PlaneTalk mindset takes care of both of the things you mention here, but knowing something about them will certainly make it easier to learn the mindset quicker. Again, when you're actually playing real music in real time, you're dealing with a context, a moment by moment relationship between the different elements. You can in fact 'see' those relationships without really knowing the note name or the exact interval.

I use the analogy all the time, but it works: once you learn how to drive a car, you don't have to be acutely aware of what gear you're in or how many degrees you must turn the steering wheel to make that next bend or how many pounds-per-square-inch pressure you need to apply to the brakes to pull up at the red light ... you just drive.

[clapton1]

Thanks for your reply Kirk. When I say memorizing intervals I mean knowing that G to D is a perfect fith or whatever the interval D to A# is.

One more question; could you tell me how much of PlaneTalk is music theory? Like is it 50% theory and 50% concept or whatever. Basically how much theory will I learn?

Thanks,
Clapton1

[Kirk Lorange]

It all a mixture of both really, there's no deep theory though, no need, the mindset as I say is based on something very very simple. It's a stand alone book/DVD ... you don't really need to know anything other than the basics to understand it and once you do, you probably won't be looking to buy any other books. That's what most of my customers tell me anyway. You can always learn more about how music works of course, there's endless detail if you want to go looking for it, but the basic map and mindset that PT teaches will be there forever once you learn it.

[clapton1]

Thanks Kirk, I hope to purchase PlaneTalk soon.