Great discussion on a controversial topic, Tim. Really like your thoughtful approach to this topic

I love Jimmy Bruno's definition of scales. He calls them "pitch collections". That definition alone will change your concept and approach to scales.

Spot on Tim! When Miles said about music theory, "Forget that s**t and just play!" He did NOT mean don't learn theory, or how to read, he meant exactly what you spent 17 minutes explaining so beautifully. It's got to come out of you on the gig, so you have to know it so well that you don't think about it.

“Modes aren’t fingerings.” There’s a lot of wisdom there.

Thank you all for your great support and kind comments. Please share this video with your friends and with your social media crowd. Visit www.timlerch.com for recordings, lessons and TrueFire courses.

“Live in the world of sound” Now that is some priceless advice. Thank you Tim

Every music theory community should have this pinned to the top of their feed.

Please consider hitting the *Thanks* button to show your appreciation.

Not just a master guitar player but a master teacher and human being, love your channel and courses Tim. Thanks so much for sharing your knowledge and inspire us!

This is great advice. The longer I play, the more I realize that finding the balance between technique/knowledge and "feeling" is one of the hardest thing to get right. Spending too much time on scales, patterns, etc will result in boring and robotic playing. But "going for the feeling" is not an excuse not to invest the time to build a solid foundation. Few get this right, actually.

I love everything about this...especially the "you aint Wes Montgomery" part!! Thank you Tim, you're the greatest!!

Wisest lesson I've had in ages. Music is sound and feel and not fingerings. We practice to learn the sounds. Then we learn to speak with the sounds. "We want to hear a real person, playing real music that they hear in their mind and that they feel in their hearts." Singing along with your playing. "Close your eyes and look away."

I love the way you explained this! Teaching week-lone Swing & Blues Guitar workshops at a music camp (so not much time and needed/expected results), I try to explain and teach not only "Swing chords", but a bit of how to solo, and try to explain what you said here. Your video gave me much more ways of explaining this! Thanks!! Kevin in Port Townsend (met you last year when you played the Vintage on Water Street, the day before our show there) You probably forgot, but we talked about my fully hollow Turbocaster guitars (Turbocaster Electric Guitars on Facebook).

Well Said...! We have reached a point culturally where the "possession of information" has been weaponized and not just in music. We need to change this. Thanks for putting up your thoughts They are very important... B-)

Thank you for yet another fabulous video, full of insight, deeply real ad honest

fantastic!! this is the only video you need to watch in your life about this subject.... period ;-) greetz from austria

“Live in the world of sound” - great advice. I’m still trying to get there, but it’s a great journey. Thanks Tim for your brilliant insight and generous heart in sharing your experience and knowledge.

A very wise musician. Thanks that has given me plenty of things to think about and to work on.

"Live in the world of sound." I'm taking that with me. Thanks.

How you make a tele sound like a fat bodied jazz box is mind blowing... God bless you Tim.

A displaced major scale. Best description I have heard yet.

“Live in the world of sound, that’s what I recommend”... Master! Best piece of advice I heard in a long time. Thanks!

100% spot on. Aimee Nolte, on her piano channel, tells a story of Branford Marsalis coming to her friend's jazz music school and after listening to the students play (keep in mind, these are students working on their masters in jazz!) one at a time, he said nothing. Finally one brave/nervous student raised his hand and said, "Can you please tell us what you think?" He looked at that student and said, "YOU need to listen to more jazz!"...."And YOU need to listen to more jazz!"... "And YOU need to listen to more jazz!"... right on down the line. So yes, you can know/learn every scale/arp, but can you be creative with it? This was eye opening for me and I've never stopped thinking about it. Nor have I stopped listening to "MORE JAZZ!" 😊

Mr. I really appreciate this I learned so much just from just hearing talk about this 🙏 thanks

Excellent discussion from a master player. Love the little improv moments between comments! "When you're practicing, you're doing one activity. When you're playing, you're doing another activity." Needed to hear that.

Great video! I like the magic words Be Creative! Or CREATE. That is what the fretboard is about.

10:20 this concept completely changed how I approach guitar. The pattern, scale, fingering method "does not" teach you music. the "sound" is where it's at!

Seriously, when this stupid pandemic is over, I’m going to go to Seattle and hear Tim play a gig. Greetings from St. Paul and thanks for all you do.

just stumbled upon this and appreciated the message, it's the needed slight shift in my perspective to go after what it's really all about.

Sound. Thanks for reminding all of us Mr. Lerch. It's about SOUND. And what we can do with those aural frequncies. The language of the heart.

I don’t mean to embarrass Tim but, for me, he is the modern day Ted Greene. What a wonderful video!

What a smart man !! I will start singing everything I like , all the scales and phrases. Should not play by eye

In my experience, you are 100% correct. I would only add that the whole point of improvised music, particularly American jazz music is to be present in the moment when improvising. I often surprise myself while soloing with a melodic or rhythmic idea that then takes on an energy and forward motion that propels me into the next idea...it's fresh to me and the audience shares that sense of spontaneous creation. Of course I need the tools (scales, modes, arpeggios, and let's not forget knowing the actual melody of the tune) to draw on...and one other thing...none of this happens in a vacuum. You're playing with other musicians that are also bringing their rhythmic and melodic ideas to the table...I can't tell you how many times while listening to other soloists I've been inspired by my fellow bandmates! In fact...always! Oh, and another thing...how about comping and responding by supporting other soloists? It's one of the great joys of being a guitar player.

I keep coming back to this after 2 years. It’s all the right notes and all the right words.

A quote from my teacher, Norm Zocher, that has always stuck with me and still reveals it's mysteries to me over time, is simply "You can't sound good if you don't sound good!"

I'm the transcription guy...this hit home for me. Fantastic video! And what a beautiful tele

I’ve had the honor of being around several good music teachers in my life. When I listen to you, I hear them, but I also hear me… thoughts and feelings that have been simmering, trying to materialize and then WHAM, you say them out loud! Thanks for that, it really helps me go where I want to go.

As a basic starting guitarist pretty old you have just given me then style of music I will try and learn to play. It sounds beautiful so thank you for inspiring me

This is the most beautiful thing I've heard all week. It's about musicality, which can be amplified & freed by technique but is not inspired by technique. Musicality is inspired by *listening*. I am totally fascinated by music theory and the amazing relationships it describes - and I'd love to have much better technique. But neither of these wonderful things can create the excitement & joy that really hearing music (outside & inside my head) brings me.

You're fired up on this one. Alright! And your point is good. I've noticed that however skillful the player, the strongest solo is one that is built from melodies.

brilliant lesson full of stuff that will save a lot of people a lot of time. thank you.

Thanks... I needed that tim...good to hear your wisdom and common sense insight...nice.

I was skeptical when I saw the title of this video, but after watching it I'm convinced this is the best video and the last word on scales and modes. First time watching Tim Lerch and now a subscriber.

Right on! I tell my students that scales are just bags full of notes. You articulate it so well!

Thank you for sharing these thoughts. Thank you again.

Wise words, you are in the top 5 of my favourite guitarists

Wonderfull and so true! Thank you very much for all!

Extremely simple explanation of important subjects !! Easy to understand, motivating, charizmatic mode of speech!! Bravo MAESTRO !!! 👏 👏 👏 👏 👏

Hello Tim, I love this people-first approach. Thank you.

Dude thanks. Humbleness went a long way to making me stay and listen to what you had to say.

Thank you for the wonderful wisdom.

That's wisdom sir. Thank you! 🙏❤️

Thanks for the perspective. It has really directed what I need to focus on.

Thanks, Tim, for this wonderful video.

The last word... and I think you made the point. Music first, which can be harder if you don't know scales/modes, but it is the music first. Maybe the raw materials are still a mystery, or maybe they are holding you back... it is up to the musician.

Thank you. I love the idea of living in the world of sound. Very helpful and important ideas and thoughts. Again thanks for sharing.

I've been playing over 50 years, have done thousands of gigs and have a degree in guitar performance and I've never heard this topic addressed any better than in this video. Incredibly well done. Anyone who thinks this is controversial doesn't understand the first thing about making music. It's fundamental. Kudos to you on a beautifully crafted lesson in musical realty. BTW, speaking of tools, Are you using any fingernail with your right hand, or is it all skin? Also, am I right in observing that your right hand attack seems extremely light thus creating a bigger rounder tone? Thanks for all you do to cut through the crap in a low key and encouraging way. It's a rarity.

The internet needs way more of this! Keep posting.

Love your playing, and your manner of teaching Tim! Couldn’t agree more with your take on this. I don’t know who said it first, but we’ve all heard the “learn it all so you can forget it” refrain about theory. There is one thing I wished a teacher had showed me earlier on about modal sounds. Why not teach it as the sound of one scale played against the harmonic backdrop of another? For instance: the IV chord scale played against the I chord gives you the flat seven, and therefore the mixolydian sound. Or start showing with major/minor. Drone an open E string, and play a D major scale, or melody over it. You get the Dorian sound (minor 3rd, major 6). Modes are all contextual really. That displaced scale, beginning on the second degree explanation never got me anywhere. It wasn’t till I heard, and understood the relationships between the harmony and the mode that I started to get it. That said, there is no time to even think about that when it’s time to make music! 😁

Makes a lot of sense. I was already doing this but not confident that I was on the right path of conceptualising it. It takes a teacher like yoda to give you the wisdom to point you in the right path, and someone who isnt leading you down the garden path of shred.

Tim thank you for this great gift!

I discovered you when searching for pickups, you were doing a demo, just a 4-5 second riff was enough to know you were a great guitar player.

couldn't agree more with some of the things you've said in this video! This was a balanced and helpful look at how to use theoretical concepts in a useful and musical way. Whereas online guitar in general seems to be dominated by people with a serious case of scale-itis! To be clear, I'm not at all averse to modes, quite the contrary, I like using them in all sorts of musical contexts (as you said, for modal music!). But I do agree that the rigid chord-scale way of looking at things seems to, for quite a lot of people, be a very labour-intensive and unpleasant way to get towards producing something that comes out sounding like bit of a facsimile of music. And I too have never really managed to get the connection between the Dorian mode and a ii in a ii V I. I love the Dorian mode! Use it all the time! I just don't hear it in twinkle twinkle little star lol

Just discovered you today and... you are a straight up BEAST bro. Appreciate you :)

Live in the world of sound. Good advice, thanks. More videos like this, please.

Thank you for clarifying this topic Timothy

Simply, Brilliant. Thank you.

Fantastic, Tim! I'm a big fan. Thanks for your wisdom and beautiful playing.

Masterful Mr Lerch - master of music, not just the Telecaster! Thank you, you are the real deal! 👍

i have watched a few vids now, this is the first vid of yours that spoke to me. thank you. im gonna watch more now.

CREATE! Brilliant, Tim. That one word says it all. It’s kind of analogous to learning to speak: learn the vocabulary, and then...converse. Most of us learned words as a child before learning what letters they were made of. Then we learned more vocabulary and with more experience and maturity we started carrying on more interesting conversations. Music is the language we want to use to communicate feelings, so we need to know some scales and arpeggios to find the notes and harmony that create those feelings. End of ramble. Thanks for this, Tim.

I don’t like watching other’s videos and you explained exactly why I was feeling that. Tim, thanks for the great lessons over the years. In my opinion, world need people like you. If you would not mind, please do videos like this sometimes. Thanks, from Japan.

Fascinating Tim. Great to hear your approach.

Spot on! Great and perfect insight. Love this.

The best guitar KZfaq yet. I’m retired, a singer using all this time to push beyond the guitar accompaniment I’ve played all my life. I’ve been learning some great tools that have opened up the fretboard for me and helped me find the notes I’m looking for, but I get quickly distracted from all of them, as soon as I start hearing melody in them, I start writing songs. I thought I was being undisciplined. You just set me free. Scales, triads, arpeggios, CAGED…you said these were just learning tools. I get that. I think I’ll get them all to teach me new songs!

I believe this words should be put in the introduction section on every music books, thankyou so much, it help me a lot

Actual music. Man that's well put. I've been trying to express this to my old colleagues whom I used to make countless hip hop tracks with. They're like 'why dont you make beats anymore?' (I went back to guitar playing, and studying music) And listening to this video I now realise I'm in the pursuit of Actual Music. Thankyou Tim I appreciate your music and words it's always beneficial to hear what you say (in words and on the guitar!)

in your heart . in your mind. love you man.

I find the magic in crafting the improv feel within the partnership of scales, the melody shaped by the chords and then the "information" around those chords and variations to lift the melody to something very satisfying. I build the song and craft with what I feel works best. The process is very fun and Tim's influence has been great in expanding this creative freedom.

This is everything I needed to hear. We ALL need to remind ourselves it's about the music NOT the mechanics. Thanks Tim. Glad I stumbled upon this video

Instantly loved the tone & chops. Great Job. 👍🏻

Well said, well done Tim. To quote you, "What we want to hear is a real person playing real music that they hear in their minds and then feel in their hearts." To paraphrase, I believe Thelonious Monk, "The genius is the man who plays like himself."

Great lesson Tim. Thank you!

VERY INFORMATIVE AND HELPFUL TIM. MANY THANKS FOR THE VIDEO.

This is by far the best advice I've seen regarding the topic! Unbiased , transparent and profound! Thanks Tim!!!

Thank you Tim! I am tired of people blaming the scales and not the poor usage of them. The same thing can happen with triads,arpeggios and everything... it's the way you use everything.... keep being inspiring . Thank you

This is 17 mins of pure class. Everyone who wants to create music should watch and take heed of this. Thanks Tim

Thank you for the video....You sound excellent and it the vein of Ted Greene!! BTW - Nice Tele with two Charlie Christian pickups. I remember the first time I saw those those was back in the 70's when I saw Danny Gatton play.

I loved the wisdom of this lesson. It reminded of the music philosophy of the bassist, Victor Wootton, another musician who focuses on the creative and expressive (versus the technical) aspects of music. I stumbled upon Timothy while l looking for a guitar lesson on “Killer Joe”. His chord melody / walking bass / and solo on that piece is one the best solo guitar pieces I’ve seen on KZfaq. I’m looking forward to learning more from this musician.

Thank you Mr. Lerch. I did enjoyed your words of wisdom. Common sense with a solid foundation. God bless.

Practicing versus playing. Brilliant! Thank YOU. I keep losing sight of that.

Great points and very inspirational. Thank you.

Really a nice discussion. "Live in the world of sound." I like that. I gotta do that more.

Very helpful advice. The experience of a novice facing a silent space and an attentive ear can be daunting. I hope I can find my sound and communicate a sense of shared humanity.

Joe Diorio should be proud of you Tim. You honestly get it , and that makes you a blessing to the world.

Thanks tons Tim. You are great in most every way in learning music with a grin. :D

Great video Tim....though I was often mesmerized by the wood on that neck!

Thank you for supporting creativity and exploration. That's what music is about.

Tim I needed to hear this: PLAY WHAT YOU OWN. Thank you I love you.!

Such a wonderful player and teacher