Howard Morgen: the Power of a Mentor

We all have a myriad of influences in our lives that shape who we are. People, places, relationships, family, classes, events, songs - anything that crosses our path has the potential to change the way we think about the world.

Then there are teachers - some we seek out, and some we stumble upon. They may specialize in an area of knowledge, or they do something well and we believe we can learn from them. If we connect with what they are doing or teaching, and we are open to it, we can really learn and grow from their knowledge.

And then there are mentors - these people have a deep, lasting impact on our lives.

Like a lot of musicians, I had a lot of influences. I would listen to any song, artist or musician that resonated with me, regardless of the genre. They all kind of blend together in a unique concoction when I sit down to play and write. Sometimes they were brought upon by random circumstances. I once went to Tower Records to buy some Gypsy Kings, and the guy at the register told me about Strunz and Farah, an amazing guitar duo from Costa Rica and Iran. I bought their "Primal Magic" album, and I spent the next couple of years playing along to their cds. Listening to their album Primal Magic is a visceral experience, one feels like being incarnated in the jungle like a wild animal, the tracks on that album have a deeply primal feel and intricate guitar melodies and harmonies done to perfection.

There was Wes Montgomery who I actually learned about from a Carlos Santana interview. I still listen to him today. Countless others, Charlie Parker, Liona Boyd's gorgeous classical guitar playing (she has a truly amazing touch and sensitivity), Antonio Carlos Jobim (the songs and the rhythm guitar, the bossa style, just beautiful). 90s alt/indie rock (Frank Black's Headache) and grunge pop, rock bands like Yes (Starship Trooper was and is like a message of "ascension" and transformation to me), Curtis Mayfield ("Pusherman" - frickin' amazing groove and use of space and what a vibe!). Radiohead (I got lost in their stuff for a while), Bjork, Beth Orton, the Breeders, Bela Fleck, Madeski, Martin and Wood, the list goes on and on. I would even practice soloing to dance music. I loved to noodle along to all of these different flavors.

And there were a number of guitar teachers. My first -Phil Bowdich- taught me right hand rhythm techniques used in songs like Night Moves, Sitting on the Dock of the Bay, Uncle John's Band, and Long Train Runnin'. He was a funny guy and he made learning fun. And what he taught me was huge in terms of just playing songs with a decent rhythm.

There was Bill Riffel, a teacher I had in college, who told me I asked more questions than any student he had (I think he meant it as a compliment :) I also had a music tutor named Bryan for a college composition class who helped me notate a couple of things I wrote for class, a pop tune, a ragtime thing. He was not only knowledgeable, he was disciplined and super friendly. (He was a double major in German and Music!) In any event, I appreciated his kindness as much as his knowledge and his help. Kindness made a difference in the instructors I had, they left me with a really good feeling about the experience.

Later on, Peter Mazza blew my mind with his jazz prowess, and he showed me how I could use the tension and resolution of the melodic minor scale to create nuance and emotional movement and depth in my playing - that melodic minor sound was a sound I had heard so much in jazz - and it is something I still use to this day in my playing. So cool :) He was an interesting guy who was seriously devoted to his craft. Thanks Peter!

And then there was Howard Morgen.

Howard Morgen profoundly changed the way I looked at the guitar. His approach and the techniques I learned from him really deepened my playing, and enabled me to be able to play with a lot of different types of bands, and also really helped carve out my own musical voice. Meeting Howard was a defining moment for me that would span years, and my time with him still inspires me to this day.

I first met Howard when I took his Fingerboard Harmony course at the New School in New York City. Howard had a holistic approach to learning harmony and voice leading on the guitar that was really intriguing to me. He had some great arrangements as well as useful and practical tips for learning the fretboard. I was immediately and completely captivated. I took all four semesters with Howard, and then spent the next six years going to his house in Long Island every week to take guitar lessons.

Howard had written these involved, interesting chord-melody arrangements. He would teach you the principles involved, so you could really grow as a player. These were techniques and harmonic knowledge you could use in practically any style of music. In bands, other folks would play faster than I would, but I could usually find sonething real tasty to play that vibed well with the sound of the band. One of the early things he taught me were triad and seventh chord inversions. I spent years obsessed with inversions, it was almost pathological. In recent years I even made a video about it here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSeVUdHkwA0. (My head is cut off the video - it's not about the cinematography!)

Howard believed in me. He saw I was dedicated, but he would also give it to me straight. He was more of a jazz purist, I do not think he liked some of the non-jazz music I listened to, and had his own opinions on who he thought were musicians to admire or emulate (he had no issue with Wes Montgomery or Kenny Burrell!) He never thought I should take a break from lessons to do my original recordings, he thought I would lose momentum for my studies. When I would show him my original recordings from the studio, he would tell me everything he thought about them - "I like your solo, but that chorus section has the wrong chord change - you just think it's correct because everyone is playing it along with you." He would then show me what he thought it should be and give me the harmonic reason why! He would even comment on other musicians on the recording (both good and bad).

Howard had taught people like Paul Simon, Edie Brickel, Carly Simon, and I was not the only person who knew how special this guy was as a teacher.

During those years, I came up with some really cool arrangements of things I never would have thought possible. His teaching pushed me to come up with things I never would have otherwise. An acoustic latin funk Norwegian Wood with numerous key changes and sequences, a chord melody version of Waters of March. It was also a blast to learn some of his arrangements, because you knew you were learning concepts you would be able to translate beyond that piece. (One of his instruction books is actually called "Concepts"(I spent a lot of time with that book)

Howard was a true mentor and I am forever grateful to have known him. There was such a positivity about my relationship with him. I was strictly his student and really did not know him personally, but in a strange way I felt deeply loved from that relationship. It was probably because Howard was feeding my growth as a musician, and cared more about my growth than my ego. He was helping me develop my playing - something that gave me so much joy, and something that made me feel seen and heard. He also introduced me to Ted Greene's books (many guitar players know of this "chord chemist" who hand wrote thousands of guitar exercises with his own tablature system(!)) - some of the voicings and in that book are just gorgeous, and definitely influenced my songwriting.

Howard eventually moved away from NY and he referred me to another teacher, let's call him "Tom" - Tom said that his own family had basically disowned him when he chose to be a musician, and Howard not only taught him, he was like a father to him. While I did not have exactly the same story as Tom, I could absolutely relate to this paternal feeling he got from Howard.

Howard was not only a chord-melody connoisseur and masterful player, but he loved to teach and he could explain what he was doing in a way that I connected with, and that made it possible for me to really grow as a musician. He was truly an amazing teacher. He had an approach to learning that was holistic that would enable you to develop your own individual musical voice, expand your harmonic repetoire of tools on the guitar, and learn principles you could really apply to almost any musical situation.

That is the power of a mentor.

If you can find the right person, I highly recommend finding a mentor. I am so much better for the mentors I have had in my life like Howard. They were few and far between. They will remind you that you are not alone on this journey we call life. You may have a sixth sense when you meet these people... trust me and listen to it. Maybe this person is someone who could help you grow beyond your current understanding to a level of experience you only dreamed about.

The more you get to know who you are, and know what you are all about, and what deeply motivates you inside, the more likely you are to meet a mentor who will connect with the deep driving parts of who you are.

YOU - are worth knowing, and you are the only you that will ever be on this planet (That is my Mister Rogers moment :)

Howard Morgan passed away in 2012. I will always remember my "musical father" fondly with gratitude and love.

Here is a video of Howard doing an instrumental version of Amazing Grace: