Someone recently asked the question above, and instead of answering it to the individual alone I just decided to also answer it as an article because I thought it might be a question in the minds of a good number of people.

As a session guitarist in Zimbabwe, one is expected to be versatile and have knowledge of at least all the major genres that are relevant to the Zimbabwean music industry, these are mainly Mbira, Sungura, Rhumba, Jazz, Rock, Blues, and Mbaqanga guitar styles, but naturally one cannot be 100% fluent in everything, the same also applies to me.

But as an answer to the above question:
Looking back from the days I entered the music industry professionally in 1988, the majority of the bands that I played for basically played Mbira based music and roots Reggae music, which also happens to be my two favorite genres, however, I also played for a number of bands that played Sungura music, so of all music genres in terms of guitar work I am most fluent in Mbira guitar, followed by Sungura. But since reggae always fuses its guitar work with Rock, blues, and jazz, that is how I started learning these other styles too, so I have a healthy understanding of these genres too, but I try to lower people’s expectations of my abilities in these genres since they are foreign genres and it is not easy to keep up with the trends that are associated with the genres lest I am found wanting when demand gets tough, so I simply advertise myself as basically a Mbira music guitarist who is also versatile enough to have a healthy understanding of other genres.

Speaking of Jazz, I know the media in Zimbabwe one time always referred to me as a Jazz guitarist, but throughout my career, to date, I have never been part of any jazz band of any kind, although I did a few jam sessions and a few cameo performances with a few jazz bands, as a result, I never learned any jazz standards or covers like what jazz guitarists do. Jazz musicians are very much expected to be able to play jazz standards, that is one thing I never did up to this day, all the bands that I was part of played original music and during the era that I joined the music industry in the 1980s playing Reggae covers was the in thing, so the few times that I played covers it was always Roots Reggae covers only.

But after befriending a number of jazz musicians in Harare early 2000s, people like guitarist James Buzuzi , bass player Sanchez both from the Jazz band the Other four, and also vocalist Dudu Manhenga and her husband and drummer Blessing Muparutsa,
my interest in jazz picked up, that is when I sat down to study the genre on my own listening to recordings and reading books, I basically concentrated on the chord progressions, chord constructions, and soloing, I have always been fascinated by Jazz harmony, as a result, my appreciation in Jazz increased and this resulted in me recording an Afro jazz-influenced album “Poor and famous” in 2006,& that is when I was given the label of a Jazz guitarist by the media, but I have never really considered myself to be a jazz guitarist.

Concerning Rock & blues music, it is genres that I listened to occasionally as I grew up, as a guitarist I heard a lot about Jimi Hendrix’s prowess on guitar, so I started listening to him a lot and other great rock guitarists, but again, I never got to be part of Rock bands except for when I briefly joined a Christian Rock band The Line crossers in the late 90s that was led by a friend of mine Herman Chimusoro, but generally speaking I basically initially got exposed to Rock & blues guitar solos by listening to Reggae music particularly by Bob Marley, since his guitarists always incorporated rock and blues solos in their music, as a result, looking back at my career and experience I cannot also label myself as a rock guitarist.

Concerning the above and other issues concerning me as a guitarist, the following is an extract from my book “Poor and famous”(2018) chapter: 21

DEBATE ON THE BEST GUITARISTS IN ZIMBABWE

Zimbabwean music fans always ask this question, who is the best guitarist in Zimbabwe and my answer always is that music is not like athletics where there is an accurate measuring medium. In soccer, a team’s excellence is measured by goals. In athletics, excellence is measured by speed. This helps us conclude that people like Usain Bolt, Tyson Gay, and Caster Semenya are some of the best runners.

But in the music field, you can be the slowest, like B.B King, but be better, more honored, and recognized than the fast-playing ones. Some guitarists, like Leonard Dembo, play very simple lines but which are very catchy. They are great in their simplicity. Others, like John Chibadura and Eddie Van Harlem, play very complicated lines and they are extremely good that way. Then there are those that do not use speed but have captivating techniques, like Jimi Hendrix and Ashton “Sugar” Chiweshe.
In music, emotion, tone, and precision are also considered as much as skill. Some artists are good at stage gimmicks and these have nothing to do with the ability to play. Music fans who are not savvy with instruments will judge a guitarist’s skill by his stage gimmicks and they will be surprised when that musician is not counted among the best when comparisons are made by professionals.

There are many gimmicks that include playing the guitar with teeth that were popularized by Jimi Hendrix, playing the bass with the feet, forehead, and elbows like Alick Macheso. All those theatrics are very good for showmanship but are not considered when people speak of the best.
When it comes to those who have not mastered the instrument, there is no debate. But the problem arises when you want to judge two people that have reached virtuoso level. Trying to compare good instrumentalists with each other is like comparing Coke and Fanta. Both soft drink brands taste good, but they are different. It is like comparing sugar and salt. Although they taste very different, they are both very useful.

                                 QUALITIES OF A GOOD GUITARIST

Here are some qualities that all music professionals concur on:

Personal Style
Being different or coming up with a new style is a very good selling gimmick in the music game, whether one is a singer or instrumentalist. When Alick Macheso came into the game, his plectrum plucking bass style was so different from the rest. That was how he got attention and, all of a sudden, every Sungura bass player wanted to sound like him. But if you do your own survey, you will notice that none of them even got half as popular as him. As I have stressed over and over again, copying someone’s style will not help grow your career. Sometimes the uniqueness is brought in by just adding a new element that is interesting. Ashton “Sugar” Chiweshe, for example, just added some Blues techniques to his Chimurenga guitar and it got him noticed because no one had done it before. Going back in time with Chimurenga music, it was Jonah Sithole and Leonard “Picket” Chinyanga who created that Mbira guitar sound. When they started, it was something fresh and new and got everybody’s attention.


Versatility
If there is any country that demands versatility from instrumentalists, it is Zimbabwe. In all my travels, I have never come across instrumentalists who are as versatile as Zimbabweans. To be considered a good guitarist in Zimbabwe, you need to be versatile. Top of the list of the styles of music you must be fluent in are these:

• Sungura
• Mbira/Chimurenga
• Jazz/Blues
• Mbaqanga
• Rhumba
• Rock

Quick to Learn and Create
If you are a guitarist and you can play very well but you are very slow to learn, you cannot be called good. To be in a band, or even to be a session musician, you are told what to play and you are also asked to create your own lines. When you join a band that has music already, especially recorded music, you cannot create new lines. They want you to play note for note what is on the record, so you have to be able to learn fast and when you are in the studio it is not always that they will ask you to create something. Sometimes the one who composed the song already has melody lines for the song, so you must catch up fast when you are given the melody lines.

Clean playing
whatever you play, whether fast or slow, your notes must be precise and clean. There are some guitarists who have not worked on this area and usually, producers do not want to work with them because they will have a hard time trying to clean up the music during the mixing stage.

Knowledge of Chords and Terms
It is a great advantage for a musician to know his chords by name and even the names of his techniques so that you speak the same language with everybody. Some songs are difficult to learn, especially if they have complicated chords so if you are working with a guitarist who does not know his chords it would be very difficult. Of course, for genres like Sungura one can get away without knowing the names of his chords since Sungura predominantly uses 3 major chords always, but to be on the safe side it’s best to just know all that is needed to be considered a good guitarist. The chord numbering system is also now a must for every musician to know.

Inspiration
It is very difficult to be a good instrumentalist without someone who inspires you, all the greats that went before us were inspired by someone who they took time to listen to and study, copied them a bit then created their own style from there. You do not have to be a copy of your hero. Jimi Hendrix was inspired by B. B King but he developed it into something new and came up with very new styles that were his own.

Be in Tune
You can never be called a good guitarist if you play out of tune, I advise every guitarist to know how to tune by ear and to buy a tuner too.

Practice
There is no way you can be good without practice, you have to work at it. If you touch a guitar just once a week, you will not be good. No matter how good your teacher is, it will not help you if you do not practice. My theory is when a student comes for a guitar lesson he is just coming to get stuff to go work on. The real improvement comes when you are alone.

Sight Reading
As far as Zimbabwean music bands are concerned, you come across Sight Reading in very few cases — that is in Chord Charts only. Music is mostly played by ear in Zimbabwe.

Clive “Mono” Mukundu
Music producer and guitarist
Monolio studio, Harare, Zimbabwe
Contacts: +263772303736