Shred Knowledge - Interview
SK- Hey, Fredrik. First of all, I would like to say thank you for allowing us to do
this interview with you. You're playing certainly has astonished me and the
rest of the shredknowledge team. Your first arpeggio video blew us away! I've posted a copy of your video in this article as well.
So,let me start by asking you about your background. You're obviously from Sweden. Did Yngwie have anything to do with you starting to play guitar? How old were you when you began?
FREDRIK - Hey Jeff! Thank YOU for having me on your website. I’m glad you guys liked the lesson. If time allows, I’ll make another one for you soon. Ok, enough sentimental talk… let’s move on to your questions.
I was born in Helsingborg in the south of Sweden. But today I live in a nearby town called Landskrona. I picked up the guitar at about age 12, after watching a live concert with Guns N’ Roses on TV with some of my friends. I thought Slash was the coolest guy in the band, and since he played the guitar, I had to start myself. So after constantly nagging on my parents, they bought me a electric guitar and a small amplifier. Even a distortion pedal.
Yngwie unfortunately didn’t had anything to do with my early guitar years. I didn’t know who he was at that time.
SK-How did you learn to play? Your technical ability and musical are amazing.
FREDRIK-My first years of playing weren’t to serious. I studied at a local music school. Learned basic music theory, tablature reading etc. Later I quit the school and decided to study on my own for a while. I got myself lot’s of music score books (Metallica, Iron Maiden, GN’R etc) and learn from them.
I started to play with some friends, making music. We did everything from Death metal to Punk music. I wasn’t into all this fancy guitar music at the time so I didn’t focus much energy on playing solos.
Some years later I heard players like Yngwie Malmsteen, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani and Marty Friedman. It had such a huge impact on me. I got some private lessons from a local guitar player for about a year, and I learned a lot during that time.
Later I got in touch with Mattias IA Eklundh from Freak Kitchen. Got some one on one lessons from him as well as visiting his annual Freak Guitar camp a few times. I learned a lot from IA, and we still get in touch from time to time. He’s such a nice guy.
I’ve also been fortunate enough to have gotten lessons from guys like Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal, Dave Martone and my good friend Magnus Olsson. That has all been of great help to where I am today.
SK-Wow!! That must have been awesome getting lessons from those guys! What kind of practice routines have you used, and how do you currently practice?
FREDRIK-In my late teens, I would practice day and night, working on my technique. Nowadays I don’t really practice in that sense. It’s usually more working on a hard part for a song I’m doing. Also I am constantly working on my vibrato and intonation. You can never be good enough, right? When I feel satisfied with my vibrato, I put on a Yngwie record and then go practice some more.
SK-I see you play fretless guitar? I personally have never played one. What's that like?
FREDRIK-What’s it like to play a fretless guitar? I would describe it like playing on a guitar with no frets. On a more serious note, it’s like a completely different instrument. Like having slide on each finger. No bending strings, just slide to the desired pitch instead. Vibrato is more a back and forward motion like on a cello or a violin. You also need to figure out different finger positions for chords, since regular bar chords can be a real pain in the butt. Intonation is also very hard at first, but it gets better the more you do it. I love playing fretless, and it has grown to be a bigger part of my playing.
SK-Man, I've really got to get one of those things! What kind of ear training have you worked on in the past?
FREDRIK-Well, I have been working on interval recognition, scales, chords, you know the usual stuff. Singing the patterns and exercises while practicing. Singing them in unison pitch, singing harmonies etc. It’s always good to train your ears. Putting on the radio and play along to the music… there’s many good ways to do it.
SK-Are you a music reader as well?
FREDIK-Yes sir, I am. I’m reading and writing notation quite regularly. Transcribing song parts (since I have a memory of a gold fish with Alzheimer’s disease). I always tell students to write down as much as possible. It’s good for your music reading and understanding.
SK-See that you met Guthrie. What was that like?
FREDRIK-Well, what is there to say about Guthrie that hasn’t already been said? The guy is from another planet when it comes to play guitar. I met him after a show in Svendborg – Denmark. He played with his Erotic Cakes band with Dave Kilminster as a special guest. They were soooo good. I hung out with him for about 20 minutes after the show, talking guitar stuff. He was really down to earth, and a cool guy.
SK-That must have been awesome! Who are your favorite musicians?
FREDRIK-There are so many, that I don’t even know where to begin. But here are some of the players and bands that pop out of my head as I write: Allan Holdsworth, Guthrie Govan, The guess who, Bumblefoot, Frank Zappa, The Beatles, Lalle Larsson, Shawn Lane and Steel Panther.
SK-And what kind of gear do you use?
FREDRIK-Vigier guitars for electric and fretless guitars. Curt Mangan strings (different gauges), Spectraflex cables and Clayton guitar picks. Also been using a cool guitar pick with built in leds called “The light pick”. Cool stuff. Ibanez and Washburn acoustic guitars.
SK-How many students to you currently teach, and do you do webcam lessons as well?
FREDRIK-Currently I have been putting the teaching on hold. Just not enough time to do it. Never did webcam lessons. I want to interact with the student I’m teaching. There can be small mistakes the student is doing that can’t be seen through a computer screen.
SK-When you are what is your teaching style? How do you approach teaching a beginner as opposed to teaching a more advanced student?
FREDRIK-It’s all individual. I make the lessons based on the students musical interest, playing style and level. Also all students have different personalities,
and they need to be thought very different.
SK-What are some of your favorite instructional books/dvds?
FREDRIK-I haven’t been watching instructional dvd’s for a long tome, so I have no idea what’s out there. But when I was younger I appreciated John Petrucci’s Rock discipline a lot. There were lots of other good videos: Paul Gilbert, Frank Gambale, Shawn Lane, Brett Garsed among others. Also Guthrie Govan’s creative guitar books are really, really good.
SK-The first song I listened to on your myspace profile, http://www.myspace.com/fredrikpihl was Dance of the Bourbon Shoes. After listening, it got stuck in my head and I had to have it! I have to admit I was a little dissapointed to see that it was not available for purchase yet. When do you expect your instrumental album to be complete?
FREDRIK-Yeah, I need to finish the damn thing already! The problem is that I’m never satisfied enough with the songs. I write ten songs and record. And by the time I’m ready with song number ten, the first one isn’t good enough in my ears anymore… Like Bourbon shoes for example. Gonna remix some parts of it before I feel satisfied with it. But I hope it’ll be ready in a near future.
SK-Well, I sure can't wait to get my hands on it. Lastly, what advice do you have for upcoming players?
FREDRIK-Most of all have fun playing, and don’t just focus on your technique, and speed the whole time. There are other aspects that are as important. Vibarto, intonation etc. And be open to as many musical styles as possible. The more you know, the better you get.
Peace!!
/Fredrik Pihl
this interview with you. You're playing certainly has astonished me and the
rest of the shredknowledge team. Your first arpeggio video blew us away! I've posted a copy of your video in this article as well.
So,let me start by asking you about your background. You're obviously from Sweden. Did Yngwie have anything to do with you starting to play guitar? How old were you when you began?
FREDRIK - Hey Jeff! Thank YOU for having me on your website. I’m glad you guys liked the lesson. If time allows, I’ll make another one for you soon. Ok, enough sentimental talk… let’s move on to your questions.
I was born in Helsingborg in the south of Sweden. But today I live in a nearby town called Landskrona. I picked up the guitar at about age 12, after watching a live concert with Guns N’ Roses on TV with some of my friends. I thought Slash was the coolest guy in the band, and since he played the guitar, I had to start myself. So after constantly nagging on my parents, they bought me a electric guitar and a small amplifier. Even a distortion pedal.
Yngwie unfortunately didn’t had anything to do with my early guitar years. I didn’t know who he was at that time.
SK-How did you learn to play? Your technical ability and musical are amazing.
FREDRIK-My first years of playing weren’t to serious. I studied at a local music school. Learned basic music theory, tablature reading etc. Later I quit the school and decided to study on my own for a while. I got myself lot’s of music score books (Metallica, Iron Maiden, GN’R etc) and learn from them.
I started to play with some friends, making music. We did everything from Death metal to Punk music. I wasn’t into all this fancy guitar music at the time so I didn’t focus much energy on playing solos.
Some years later I heard players like Yngwie Malmsteen, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani and Marty Friedman. It had such a huge impact on me. I got some private lessons from a local guitar player for about a year, and I learned a lot during that time.
Later I got in touch with Mattias IA Eklundh from Freak Kitchen. Got some one on one lessons from him as well as visiting his annual Freak Guitar camp a few times. I learned a lot from IA, and we still get in touch from time to time. He’s such a nice guy.
I’ve also been fortunate enough to have gotten lessons from guys like Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal, Dave Martone and my good friend Magnus Olsson. That has all been of great help to where I am today.
SK-Wow!! That must have been awesome getting lessons from those guys! What kind of practice routines have you used, and how do you currently practice?
FREDRIK-In my late teens, I would practice day and night, working on my technique. Nowadays I don’t really practice in that sense. It’s usually more working on a hard part for a song I’m doing. Also I am constantly working on my vibrato and intonation. You can never be good enough, right? When I feel satisfied with my vibrato, I put on a Yngwie record and then go practice some more.
SK-I see you play fretless guitar? I personally have never played one. What's that like?
FREDRIK-What’s it like to play a fretless guitar? I would describe it like playing on a guitar with no frets. On a more serious note, it’s like a completely different instrument. Like having slide on each finger. No bending strings, just slide to the desired pitch instead. Vibrato is more a back and forward motion like on a cello or a violin. You also need to figure out different finger positions for chords, since regular bar chords can be a real pain in the butt. Intonation is also very hard at first, but it gets better the more you do it. I love playing fretless, and it has grown to be a bigger part of my playing.
SK-Man, I've really got to get one of those things! What kind of ear training have you worked on in the past?
FREDRIK-Well, I have been working on interval recognition, scales, chords, you know the usual stuff. Singing the patterns and exercises while practicing. Singing them in unison pitch, singing harmonies etc. It’s always good to train your ears. Putting on the radio and play along to the music… there’s many good ways to do it.
SK-Are you a music reader as well?
FREDIK-Yes sir, I am. I’m reading and writing notation quite regularly. Transcribing song parts (since I have a memory of a gold fish with Alzheimer’s disease). I always tell students to write down as much as possible. It’s good for your music reading and understanding.
SK-See that you met Guthrie. What was that like?
FREDRIK-Well, what is there to say about Guthrie that hasn’t already been said? The guy is from another planet when it comes to play guitar. I met him after a show in Svendborg – Denmark. He played with his Erotic Cakes band with Dave Kilminster as a special guest. They were soooo good. I hung out with him for about 20 minutes after the show, talking guitar stuff. He was really down to earth, and a cool guy.
SK-That must have been awesome! Who are your favorite musicians?
FREDRIK-There are so many, that I don’t even know where to begin. But here are some of the players and bands that pop out of my head as I write: Allan Holdsworth, Guthrie Govan, The guess who, Bumblefoot, Frank Zappa, The Beatles, Lalle Larsson, Shawn Lane and Steel Panther.
SK-And what kind of gear do you use?
FREDRIK-Vigier guitars for electric and fretless guitars. Curt Mangan strings (different gauges), Spectraflex cables and Clayton guitar picks. Also been using a cool guitar pick with built in leds called “The light pick”. Cool stuff. Ibanez and Washburn acoustic guitars.
SK-How many students to you currently teach, and do you do webcam lessons as well?
FREDRIK-Currently I have been putting the teaching on hold. Just not enough time to do it. Never did webcam lessons. I want to interact with the student I’m teaching. There can be small mistakes the student is doing that can’t be seen through a computer screen.
SK-When you are what is your teaching style? How do you approach teaching a beginner as opposed to teaching a more advanced student?
FREDRIK-It’s all individual. I make the lessons based on the students musical interest, playing style and level. Also all students have different personalities,
and they need to be thought very different.
SK-What are some of your favorite instructional books/dvds?
FREDRIK-I haven’t been watching instructional dvd’s for a long tome, so I have no idea what’s out there. But when I was younger I appreciated John Petrucci’s Rock discipline a lot. There were lots of other good videos: Paul Gilbert, Frank Gambale, Shawn Lane, Brett Garsed among others. Also Guthrie Govan’s creative guitar books are really, really good.
SK-The first song I listened to on your myspace profile, http://www.myspace.com/fredrikpihl was Dance of the Bourbon Shoes. After listening, it got stuck in my head and I had to have it! I have to admit I was a little dissapointed to see that it was not available for purchase yet. When do you expect your instrumental album to be complete?
FREDRIK-Yeah, I need to finish the damn thing already! The problem is that I’m never satisfied enough with the songs. I write ten songs and record. And by the time I’m ready with song number ten, the first one isn’t good enough in my ears anymore… Like Bourbon shoes for example. Gonna remix some parts of it before I feel satisfied with it. But I hope it’ll be ready in a near future.
SK-Well, I sure can't wait to get my hands on it. Lastly, what advice do you have for upcoming players?
FREDRIK-Most of all have fun playing, and don’t just focus on your technique, and speed the whole time. There are other aspects that are as important. Vibarto, intonation etc. And be open to as many musical styles as possible. The more you know, the better you get.
Peace!!
/Fredrik Pihl
Originally posted at: http://www.shredknowledge.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=534:interview-with-fredrik-phil&catid=162:artist-spotlight&Itemid=312
