Berklee today is the official alumni publication of Berklee College of Music in Boston, Massachusetts. It is a forum for contemporary music and musicians.
Issue link: http://berkleetoday.epubxp.com/i/67927
and to South Africa as well. I'll be in Europe later this spring and again in the summer. Do you recommend that young musicians cultivate their writing skills? I encourage everyone to write. There are so many people playing each instrument that you really need your own voice to stand out. That's not an easy thing to do. One way to develop your own style is to compose. When you write a tune that you really like, you'll find hints of your style in there. When I come home after being on the road and need to start writing for a record, it's really hard to get started. That's when writing is an exercise. I have to force myself to write something even if it isn't that good. But after I do that, the good stuff starts to come. Before I start writing for a project, I often go on long bike rides and listen to all kinds of music to get inspired. Some of the music will have nothing to do with what I'm going to write for the record. Then I start writing little ideas and recording them on my iPhone or iPad. Then I listen to them on bike rides and make mental notes about what portions might have the poten- tial to become a tune. There are all kinds of ways to get going. Can you talk about your 6 String Theory contest? Since 2010, I've been involved in nurturing young talent through the 6 String Theory Guitar Competition. The idea for it grew out of my 6 String Theory album. To mark 50 years since I started playing guitar, I decided to make a record that featured guitar legends of different styles. I got George Benson, Steve Lukather, John Scofield, B.B. King, Keb' Mo', Slash, Vince Gill, Taj Mahal, Pat Martino, Neal Schon, Mike Stern, Jonny Lang and others to play on it. I was inspired watching YouTube where everyone puts up videos and decided to use YouTube to find someone brand new to feature on the album too. I had to use all my talents to put this project together. I couldn't have done this when I was younger. I got sponsorship from Yamaha, Monster Cable, Concord Records, and D'Addario & Company. Berklee offered to award scholarships for the winners. This is our third year, and the project has really blossomed. The guitar contest will go as it has in the past two years. Guitarists can enter the contest in the jazz, rock, blues, acoustic, classical/flamenco, and country styles. We pick 36 semifinal- ists that will win scholarships to the National Guitar Workshop. The top six go to the Crown of the Continent Guitar Foundation Workshop and Festival in Montana for the finals. Berklee will make their final choices and award scholarships. Are you hopeful that new careers will be launched by this competition? Absolutely. Classical guitarist Shon Boublil won the contest in 2010. He played on a track of my 6 String Theory album and won a four-year scholarship to Berklee. He's in his second year there. We expanded the competition this time to include a rhythm section contest for pianists, bassists, and drummers. The win- ners will be featured on a track on a new recording with me and will be eligible for Berklee scholarships. Maybe one day we will include horn players. The summer guitar camps are expen- sive. Ultimately the contest gives 36 players scholarships to the National Guitar Workshop, of that group six go on to the Crown of the Continent Guitar Workshop, and then Berklee awards scholarships for college. These are all great opportunities. Some contestants will get endorsement deals with the music prod- ucts companies, and the winning guitarist gets exposure by playing on my record. All of this has been a fun way for me to give back a bit. For information on the competition, visit www. sixstringtheory.com. 28 Berklee today