SMOOTH & SOULFUL

LOOKING BACK ON the years I spent developing as a guitarist, I often kick myself for having taken certain musicians for granted — guitarists who always sounded so good but whose style I dismissed as “easy” to play. While I was focused on learning solos crowded with notes, another musical world was passing me by. This is not to say that playing a lot of notes isn’t musical; it all depends on when and how you do it. But that’s a lesson for another day.

I save one of my hardest kicks for when I think of Bonnie Raitt. From listening to Raitt and players like her, I learned that being a good guitarist requires playing with an emphasis on musicality and tasteful note choices, along with a dedication to making a solo serve the song. This requires a different kind of technique, one that is more subtle and surely not easy. I’m going to try to make up for all that lost time by exploring Raitt’s unique