Congratulations on getting through the first six Systems! You should now have a great deal of confidence with your major scales, pentatonics, and arpeggios. You should also see how the neck is arranged geometrically, and have much better synchronization of left and right hands. As with all of these systems, System Seven will push you into some brand new territory, tackling new arpeggios, scales, and pentatonics. Your harmonic language will begin to expand, and hopefully your musical vocabulary will as well.
As always, it is important to remember that these are merely exercises designed to develop your ears, give you dexterity and muscle memory, and increase your physical capabilities. (Also, though this is a systematic approach that covers most of the vital skills needed for guitar, there are many more excellent exercises to be practiced that are not in these volumes).
My hope is that, even if you knew some of these concepts before practicing these systems, you became a more capable guitarist after practicing each of the six systems for 12 weeks. The hard work will pay off if you can keep at it!
These Systems are not an end in and of themselves. As musicians, we need scale practice as well as exercises to develop hands, ears, and mind. However, these alone do NOT make a complete player. You need to learn how to apply these ideas in real musical settings. Learning how to play these concepts in real-world situations is what makes a pro musician. So, practicing over changes (common progressions) using backing tracks or loops and jamming with friends to learn to apply these concepts is vital. Ultimately, putting them on stage, studio, or videos is the goal.
Equally important is learning how musicians who have gone before us used these concepts and approached music. Muddy Waters would not have been the musician he was without Robert Johnson. Eric Clapton wouldn’t have been the musician he was without Muddy Waters. Stevie Ray Vaughn and Eric Johnson would not have been the musicians they were without Eric Clapton (as well as Muddy Waters and Robert Johnson). The same can be said about Charlie Christian, Wes Montogomery, George Benson, and Norman Brown. Every genre of guitar playing has similar “family trees.”
We as musicians stand upon the shoulders of the giants who went before us. And it wouldn’t be the same in the future without some of the greats who are making wonderful music today. Perhaps you will one day be in the line of the greats who will influence future generations!
It is imperative to learn from those who have gone before us and to amalgamate their playing concepts into who we are. Be broad in your search for great players, especially those who changed the course of music. We should know why Eddie Van Halen was important as well as Les Paul. And we should be able to glean from their playing concepts in a way that defines and influences ours.
You should have a couple of favorites who you try to emulate. It’s not just flattery to copy another guitarist–it is essential learning. And while you are emulating others, be sure to push into becoming more fully yourself. God gave you a musical voice. You don’t want to simply be a cheaper copy of another player, but you do want to study them so that your playing can incorporate some of their concepts. The ultimate goal is not about becoming the guitarists you emulate, but becoming a better version of you. By learning from others, you will develop your unique voice if you go about it right. And that is the end goal of our practice–to blossom into the best version of you. It’s our obligation both as musicians and humans.
Work hard, know that it won’t come easy, and know that the more you learn, the more you’ll realize the little that you really know. Be humble no matter how good you become! Music is a gift from God. He placed it in us. It’s our job to dig it out and polish it to give to others, to bring them joy through that great gift of music!