Tone

In previous posts I have talked about musical expression when playing an instrument or singing. I tried to explain the basic components of a song and shared the vision of one of my favorite guitar players, Scott Henderson.
When playing any style of music you need to know your basics like the rhythm, the harmonic and the melodic structures. To elevate your playing and add your interpretation to a song you utilize dynamics, phrasing and timing among others. There is one characteristic however that falls outside of all these categories. It's the tone.

The tone is part of your actual instrumental skills. Yet at the same time it is probably the most personal touch in your play. The tone comes before the sound. It is what comes out of your fingers (or your throat when singing). Even drummers, who usually play without physical contact, create the tone with their body in the way they use their arms, hands and feet and the force and technique they apply when hitting the drums.

Why is tone important? It is probably one of the most distinguishing characteristics of a player. When you listen to a singer, what is the most important feature that you base your preference on? A singer can have great technical skills, terrific phrasing and incredible timing yet you don't like them because you don't like the tone of their voice. The same example is valid for any other instrumentalist.

But wait a minute you are going to say, with instruments it depends on what brand and quality of instrument you play. This would only apply to the sound but not to the tone. For example, there is a practice room in school or college. Everybody constantly complains that the electric guitar amps sound pretty crappy and nobody can hear how good anyone really sounds. I would like you to invite a great player like Robben Ford or any other of the countless great guitarists in the world to give a workshop in your school only providing the crappy amps from the practice room. When you listen to your guest you will be surprised how great the amp sounds. Granted, your guest will not likely choose the crappy amp for their next recording. In the end, the sound of the instruments is just another color added to the music but the tone is you. That's one of the cool things I learned about great players. They can make any equipment sound great.

The next time you sit down with your instrument I would like you to listen to your playing in a different way. Listen for your tone. Play with a few variations and try to enhance it and make it stand out. If you can, use different equipment and instruments and notice the similarities in your tone. The more you become aware of your tone, the more you can define goals where you want to take it and what improvements you want to make. It is actually the cheapest way of improving your sound.