Customer Reviews

Guitar One Presents Open Ears: A Journey Through Life with Guitar in Hand (Book)

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I have been a huge fan of Morse since High shool when "What If" came out and our bassist sprang it on the rest of the band at a rehearsal break. That was about thirty years ago and Morse has been a major influence and inspiration to me ever since.
Not only as a guitarist, but as an overall renaissance man who exemplifies professionalism and impeccability in all endeavors whether in music, engineering, flying or even motocross racing(!)This book is like a guidebook on how to be a pro at whatever you do: No shortcuts,
no excuses, no whining. Just get the job done and done well.

But for me the most astounding parts are the chapters on creativity and how to compose. That is, he takes one of the most mysterious and hard to explain processes and details real concrete advice on how to get the music inside you out and down onto paper or tape or whatever and make it a reality. This was a major light bulb moment for me and shows Morse's towering musicianship and utter command of the creative process.

Just buy the book. You will read it in one night and come back to it like a reference. Don't cheap out and get a used one, either.
For twelve lousy bucks you are supporting a real, honest-to-god working musician who has always given it 100% from the start.

Peace,
Philbillie
www.philbillie.com

Great book penned by the great Steve Morse, very holistic ideas presented therein about guitar playing, life and the music biz in general. Thanks for the quick delivery too. Cheers, Peter :)

I suspect most people picking up this book will be musicians hungry for some juicy Steve Morse technical or musical tidbits. That is not what this book is about, and in fact there is little mention about technique, gear, or melody/harmony/rhythm.

The bulk of this book is 2-3 page rewrites of columns he wrote for GuitarOne magazine. There are definitely no musical transcriptions. The articles themselves read more like a conversation you might hear on a bus between Steve and a budding 17 year old musician, or maybe something you might read if he were to write a blog. A lot of advise about staying motivated, keeping your center, and treating the people around you right. There are a couple of fun stories about life on tour with Deep Purple, and some very lightweight discussion of techiques. Details are more along the line of helping when someone else is soloing by muting your strings or turning down the volume. His message is more about how you show respect to others through your playing.

The book starts off slow and gets more engaging in the latter half, probably as the author settled into a pace about what to write about in his column. I read it in a room in my house were it was comfortable and convenient to read 2 page articles in out sitting, and that was a good strategy because I initially needed something to keep me coming back and reading just one more article until it engaged my attention.

Steve Morse has a reputation for being a great person. It comes out in numerous shows and guitar clinics I've seen him at, and it definitely comes out in this book. Although it wasn't what I was looking for, I did read the book all the way through and I think it did make me that much better of a person for having read it. As long as you relax your expectations, I think it would do so for you to.

Steve Morse has an approach to music that goes way beyond the technical aspect of playing an instrument. His anecdotes, advice, opinions, and unpretentious sharing of knowledge and experience make this book an excellent supplement for anyone who is passionate about playing music and especially so for a musician looking for some "direction" on how to approach playing in a band. The book consists of a compilation of magazine articles written by Morse over, apparently, a number of years, and his insights into the live music business, touring, and the life of a working musician are both entertaining and educational. Steve Morse' depth of skill as a musician is well know to fans of his music with The Dregs, The Steve Morse Band, and Deep Purple. His depth of character is evident in his writing. This is a truly refreshing work by a truly professional Guitarist and Musician......Highly Recommended..

Ok, I've been playing guitar for 13 years now and have had the opportunities to play everywhere from Great Falls, MT to Korea and this book has simply floored me. Although I already live by many of the lessons to be learned in this book, it was still fresh and full of incredible ways to work your way through the business EFFECTIVELY.

Steve Morse is one of the most respected artists on the road these days. He is honest and fair about his feelings for the road, his bandmates, replacing bandmates at the last minute, tones, respecting those around you, working with problems within your band, etc, etc.

Pick it up, you won't regret it and the price is amazing.

Keep on rocking...

I love this book! Steve tells it like it is while remaining professional and positive.