Matt Warnock Interview With Random Chatter Music

The following is from an interview I recently gave for Jenn at Random Chatter Music. If you want to read the full interview please click here.

On Music

Jenn: You cite Lenny Breau as an influence. What have you “stolen” from him – perhaps a bit of the fingerpicking, or some of the genre-bending blending? How was his approach to music similar to yours?

Matt: Lenny has been a huge influence on my playing and in my approach to music in general. If there is one person I could sound like it would be Lenny. He had such a command of the technical aspects of the instrument, as well as an amazing sense of musicality. On top of that he was one of the most creative guitarists of his, or any, generation. I still remember the first time I heard Lenny. I was in a car with a friend of mine in Montreal, I was about 20 years old at the time, and we were listening to different players like Alan Holdsworth and Al DiMeola. After a while my friend said “you think those guys can play, you have to check out this cat Lenny Breau.” I had never heard of him at the time. My friend played Lenny’s version of Jerry Reid’s “The Claw” from The Velvet Touch of Lenny Breau. Though there were four of us in the car nobody spoke during the tune, we just sat and listened. Right from that moment I was hooked. Over the years I’ve transcribed a ton of his tunes and solos and listened to his albums until I could sing along with every note he played. Even after ten years of listening to, and studying, his music I still find new things to enjoy every time I hear him play. I don’t’ think I’ll ever grow tired of Lenny’s playing.

Jenn: I was looking over some interviews done with other players and this occurred to me: so many of these guitarists being interviewed are solo artists. Now I’m wondering why that is! To excel at the art, is it some sort of requirement that each person be “every man for himself”?

Matt: Well to quote the great Lenny Breau, “the guitar is a very solitary instrument.” People can spend their entire lives with their head down over the fretboard practicing and just getting lost in a world of music. The guitar is so easy to learn the basics of, such as open chords etc, but to dig deep into the fretboard geometry and theoretical application of complex ideas can take a lifetime, or two, of solitary practicing. Also, the guitar is a self contained instrument, like the piano, and so players can cover the bass, chords and melody on one instrument. This lends to guitarists pursuing more solo gigs, because they can, while other instruments can’t function in this manner. I think the solo nature of the guitar leads to more solo artists on the instrument. Besides, is there anything sweeter than the sound of a solo guitar?

Jenn: So much of musical training is based on “having a good ear, using your ears” etc. How would you describe music to someone who could not hear? I tried to compare notes to color but, I guess I don’t see notes as colors well enough.

Matt: That’s really difficult and I’m not sure if I can come up with the right answer. I think I would relate music more to movement than to colors. Music has always been associated with dancing, both in popular and traditional genres. I think that someone who could see but not hear would find it easier to associate music with motion. If they saw a mosh-pit style dancer then that would be “aggressive” music. If it was a ballerina that would be classical and if they saw a swing dancer that could be swing or jazz. I’m not sure if that would help out, but if I was trying to talk to someone who couldn’t hear about music I would try and explain it in regards to the motions that certain types of music bring out in people.

If you want to continue reading this interview please click here.