"I had to learn chord shapes. I bought books with chord charts. I used to listen to all kinds of pop music"
About this Quote
There is a quietly radical humility in Mick Taylor reducing musical evolution to the unglamorous mechanics of chord charts and pop radio. This is a guitarist people associate with virtuosity and mythic bands, yet he frames his development like a kid doing homework: learn the shapes, buy the books, listen widely. It punctures the rock-god narrative that talent arrives fully formed, or that “real” musicians are born knowing the neck. Taylor’s intent feels almost corrective, as if he’s pushing back against romanticized origin stories and insisting that craft is built, not bestowed.
The subtext is classically musician-to-musician: stop waiting for inspiration and start accumulating tools. “Chord shapes” signals practical fluency over flashy technique; it’s the vocabulary that lets you speak in any style, with any band, under any pressure. The mention of pop music is especially telling. For a player rooted in blues-rock pedigree, “all kinds of pop” reads like a permission slip to be porous. Pop is where harmonic shortcuts, hooks, and rhythmic economy live. Listening to it isn’t selling out; it’s studying what actually moves people.
Contextually, coming of age in postwar Britain meant learning from records, radio, and whatever instructional material you could get your hands on. Before YouTube tutorials and infinite tabs, buying books and training your ear was the infrastructure. Taylor’s plainness becomes its own statement: the route into excellence is less mystique than repetition, curiosity, and a willingness to learn from “low” culture without embarrassment.
The subtext is classically musician-to-musician: stop waiting for inspiration and start accumulating tools. “Chord shapes” signals practical fluency over flashy technique; it’s the vocabulary that lets you speak in any style, with any band, under any pressure. The mention of pop music is especially telling. For a player rooted in blues-rock pedigree, “all kinds of pop” reads like a permission slip to be porous. Pop is where harmonic shortcuts, hooks, and rhythmic economy live. Listening to it isn’t selling out; it’s studying what actually moves people.
Contextually, coming of age in postwar Britain meant learning from records, radio, and whatever instructional material you could get your hands on. Before YouTube tutorials and infinite tabs, buying books and training your ear was the infrastructure. Taylor’s plainness becomes its own statement: the route into excellence is less mystique than repetition, curiosity, and a willingness to learn from “low” culture without embarrassment.
Quote Details
| Topic | Music |
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