From Jake in St. Louis, MO
As a guitarist, I periodically find a new scale or mode that I latch on to. Any scales or modes that you have been using a lot lately?
Steve Morse
My son really likes the phrygian dominant scale, (fifth mode of the harmonic minor scale) and we have sat and played together a little on that. He has revived my interest in it.......I haven't played it much since the John,AL, and Paco acoustic trio tour that I played along with on a tour.
From Stephen in London, UK
Do you ever find yourself in a rut with your guitar playing? Any tips for getting out of it and finding new sources of creativity?
Steve Morse
Yes, we all get into ruts. The best way out is to change your point of view. If you're used to playing by yourself, jam with some musicians, or make some bakcing tracks. If you're used to playing in box patterns, challenge yourself to play for 15 minutes only using, say, the 3rd and 4th strings, which will force you to move up and down the neck eventually. Or pick up a different guitar, acoustic to electric, or vice versa. Try exercises such as only playing 2 bar phrases, or only playing variations on a particular melody. If you change your point of view by changing the circumstances, you will open up your creativity.
From Joseph in Brussels, Belgium
It is quite amazing to see how much Deep Purple has been touring in the past
decade. I was wondering if it became some sort of (good) addiction to
perform and being always on the road. Don't you feel like sometimes you-and
the rest of the band- should spend more time writing new material- with the
band or solo- as you used to, or has the stage performances becoming more
important? I really enjoy each concert I see, but on the other hand I miss having new recordings. Wish you all the best, to you, your family and friends.
Steve Morse
The amount of time we spend on the road has been the one thing that stresses me out more than anything else. On the one hand, I love the band, and it's just fun to play with them. On the other hand, I really miss my family, and the home time. I also wish I could have a big chunk of time off to do a project with my band. But.........reality is what you get. The band is at a great point in their career with opportunities everywhere, and I'm the only one wishing for more time at home! Also speaking of reality, it may be different for huge pop stars, but recordings don't feed my kids, it's the tours. Bottom line is that I really like being part of Purple and right now the majority votes to stay on the road a lot! So, I keep my bag packed and make every day at home important!
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