--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I'm not that fluid when it comes to…" description: "\"I'm not that fluid when it comes to scales and modes. I just pick up the guitar and play. It's all about exploration: just tune the guitar any way you ..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca4/alex-lifeson-13262_exploration_i-m-not-that-fluid-when-it-comes-to-scal_1087826.jpg" --- # I'm not that fluid when it comes to scales and modes. I… ![“I'm not that fluid when it comes to scales and modes. I just pick up the guitar and play. It's all about exploration: just tune the guitar any way you want and start playing.” quote by Alex Lifeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca4/alex-lifeson-13262_exploration_i-m-not-that-fluid-when-it-comes-to-scal_1087826.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca4/alex-lifeson-13262_exploration_i-m-not-that-fluid-when-it-comes-to-scal_1087826.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/ca4/alex-lifeson-13262_exploration_i-m-not-that-fluid-when-it-comes-to-scal_1087826.jpg) > “I'm not that fluid when it comes to scales and modes. I just pick up the guitar and play. It's all about exploration: just tune the guitar any way you want and start playing.” [Alex Lifeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-lifeson/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Emphasizes intuitive, exploratory playing over technical theory, encouraging personal expression through free-form tuning and improvisation. **In simple terms:** Play by feeling, not rules. Key Takeaway Explore without strict theory. Themes creativity improvisation musical freedom Mood enthusiastic experimental Type inspirational musical When to use this quote - jam sessions - songwriting - learning new instruments - personal practice Key Concepts exploration personal expression instrumental intuition Questions to Reflect On - How does free-form tuning affect your sound? - What limits arise without theory? A Different Perspective May lack technical precision for complex pieces. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Exploration](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exploration/) [Fluid](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fluid/) [Guitar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guitar/) [Guitar Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/guitar-play-444569/) [Just Tune](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/just-tune-1169838/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Scales](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scales/) [Scales Modes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/scales-modes-2796306/) [Song](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/song/) [Tune Guitar](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tune-guitar-1136087/) [Tunes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/tunes/) [Want](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/want/) [Way](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/way/) ## Related quotes > [I learned to tune a guitar by ear. That method has served me pretty well.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/charley-pride/i-learned-to-tune-a-guitar-by-ear-that-method-has-served-me-pretty/) [Charley Pride](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/charley-pride/) > [You can tune a guitar, but you can't tuna fish. Unless of course, you play bass.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/douglas-adams/you-can-tune-a-guitar-but-you-can-t-tuna-fish-unless-of-course-you/) [Douglas Adams](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/douglas-adams/) > [If you are having trouble making a chord, get a book, that is how I learned. There are guitar tuning apps so you can…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-jett/if-you-are-having-trouble-making-a-chord-get-a-book-that-is-how-i/) [Joan Jett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-jett/) > [The meaning of life? To tune this guitar.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/talking-heads/the-meaning-of-life-to-tune-this-guitar/) [Talking Heads](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/talking-heads/) > [You can tune your guitar funky, and something's gonna come out. There's no secret to it - either you got it, or you don't.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dimebag-darrell/you-can-tune-your-guitar-funky-and-something-s-gonna-come-out-there-s/) [Dimebag Darrell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dimebag-darrell/) > [I didn't know that you were supposed to tune the guitar to an open chord, and I learned to play slide with a normal…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ken-hensley/i-didn-t-know-that-you-were-supposed-to-tune-the-guitar-to-an-open/) [Ken Hensley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ken-hensley/) > [When you tune your guitar in a different way, it lends itself to a new way of looking at your songwriting.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-crow/when-you-tune-your-guitar-in-a-different-way-it-lends-itself-to-a-new/) [Sheryl Crow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-crow/) > [“Music shouldn't be just a tune, it should be a touch.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-kalantri/music-shouldn-t-be-just-a-tune-it-should-be-a-touch/) [Amit Kalantri](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-kalantri/) > [I'm just in tune to myself and what I need from the universe.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/linda-perry/i-m-just-in-tune-to-myself-and-what-i-need-from-the-universe/) [Linda Perry](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/linda-perry/) > [God is whispering in your heart, in the whole existence, just tune your ears.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amit-ray/god-is-whispering-in-your-heart-in-the-whole-existence-just-tune-your/) [Amit Ray](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amit-ray/) > [I just take a tune and play it the only way I can. That's it. I don't really dwell on it very much. Some…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/zoot-sims/i-just-take-a-tune-and-play-it-the-only-way-i-can-that-s-it-i-don-t/) [Zoot Sims](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/zoot-sims/) > [Everyone has an opinion about things they don't know much about. You just have to tune everybody out.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/austin-rivers/everyone-has-an-opinion-about-things-they-don-t-know-much-about-you/) [Austin Rivers](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/austin-rivers/) > [“However beautiful a song may be, it is just a tune to those who do not understand its meaning.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/milarepa/however-beautiful-a-song-may-be-it-is-just-a-tune-to-those-who-do-not/) [Milarepa](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/milarepa/) > [You don't have to die to go to heaven or hang around to be born again, just tune into what this place has to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/van-halen/you-don-t-have-to-die-to-go-to-heaven-or-hang-around-to-be-born-again/) [Van Halen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/van-halen/) > [TV is tricky. You can do some stuff and people will tune out and never tune back in. It's sort of like putting a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/nene-leakes/tv-is-tricky-you-can-do-some-stuff-and-people-will-tune-out-and-never/) [NeNe Leakes](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/nene-leakes/) ## More by Alex Lifeson > [Pete Townsend for me was a huge influence. Because essentially they were a three-piece band and the way he structured his chords and took…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lifeson/pete-townsend-for-me-was-a-huge-influence-because-essentially-they/) [Alex Lifeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-lifeson/) > [But when Neil called, I have to say that my heart soared. And the reason was, because it said so much about his recovery...…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lifeson/but-when-neil-called-i-have-to-say-that-my-heart-soared-and-the/) [Alex Lifeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-lifeson/) > [The shock of any trauma, I think changes your life. It's more acute in the beginning and after a little time you settle back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lifeson/the-shock-of-any-trauma-i-think-changes-your-life-it-s-more-acute-in/) [Alex Lifeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-lifeson/) > [The Rush fans are pretty crazy everywhere, but they're particularly wild in South America.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lifeson/the-rush-fans-are-pretty-crazy-everywhere-but-they-re-particularly/) [Alex Lifeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-lifeson/) > [When I look out at the audience at some of our shows, I think we are reaching a younger audience... I see lots of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lifeson/when-i-look-out-at-the-audience-at-some-of-our-shows-i-think-we-are/) [Alex Lifeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-lifeson/) > [I dreamed of having a Gibson. I had a cheap Kent - you know, a Japanese guitar - and then a Kanora, a Japanese…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lifeson/i-dreamed-of-having-a-gibson-i-had-a-cheap-kent-you-know-a-japanese/) [Alex Lifeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-lifeson/) > [A lot of '2112' was written in the back seat of a car and in cold dressing rooms while on tour in northern Ontario.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lifeson/a-lot-of-2112-was-written-in-the-back-seat-of-a-car-and-in-cold/) [Alex Lifeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-lifeson/) > [I'd say we do reach somewhat of a younger audience, but I think for the most part that younger audience is picking our music…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lifeson/i-d-say-we-do-reach-somewhat-of-a-younger-audience-but-i-think-for/) [Alex Lifeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-lifeson/) > [It's hard to stop wars, and it's hard to stop the abuse of the planet and all of those things. I guess you just…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lifeson/it-s-hard-to-stop-wars-and-it-s-hard-to-stop-the-abuse-of-the-planet/) [Alex Lifeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-lifeson/) > [My parents got me a $25 Kent steel-string acoustic guitar when I was around 12. The following Christmas, my parents bought me a Conora…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lifeson/my-parents-got-me-a-25-kent-steel-string-acoustic-guitar-when-i-was/) [Alex Lifeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-lifeson/) > [I went to Kalamazoo to get my first Gibsons back in '76.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lifeson/i-went-to-kalamazoo-to-get-my-first-gibsons-back-in-76/) [Alex Lifeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-lifeson/) > [When we signed our deal in 1974, we'd already been together for six years. When they lowered the drinking age in Ontario in 1971…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lifeson/when-we-signed-our-deal-in-1974-we-d-already-been-together-for-six/) [Alex Lifeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-lifeson/) > [The more I got into playing guitar, the more I enjoyed music, and the broader my listening became. The instrument itself became important to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lifeson/the-more-i-got-into-playing-guitar-the-more-i-enjoyed-music-and-the/) [Alex Lifeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-lifeson/) > [Rush has never been a spontaneous group. We may be spontaneous in our writing, we may be spontaneous as individuals in our day to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lifeson/rush-has-never-been-a-spontaneous-group-we-may-be-spontaneous-in-our/) [Alex Lifeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-lifeson/) > [In September 1968, Rush played for around 20 people at a small hall in a church basement. We played songs like 'Spoonful,' 'Fire' and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alex-lifeson/in-september-1968-rush-played-for-around-20-people-at-a-small-hall-in/) [Alex Lifeson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-lifeson/) [Explore all 51 Alex Lifeson quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alex-lifeson/) ## More Exploration quotes > [“Mars looks like Vegas without the casinos.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sam-neill/mars-looks-like-vegas-without-the-casinos/) [Sam Neill](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sam-neill/) > [I definitely go through periods where I'm in a particular mood, or there's a consistent imaginative context that I feel I'm in, and I'm…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tom-hiddleston/i-definitely-go-through-periods-where-i-m-in-a-particular-mood-or/) [Tom Hiddleston](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tom-hiddleston/) > [My familiarity with the successful use of very long steel ropes for mining purposes naturally suggested their adaptation to the new purpose of deep…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alexander-agassiz/my-familiarity-with-the-successful-use-of-very-long-steel-ropes-for/) [Alexander Agassiz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alexander-agassiz/) > [One day I may commit to a city and settle down and do the restaurant thing - when I'm ready and however and whatever…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kristen-kish/one-day-i-may-commit-to-a-city-and-settle-down-and-do-the-restaurant/) [Kristen Kish](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kristen-kish/) > [When you're younger, you're more selfish, because there's so much self-exploration, you're in your own mind.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/miley-cyrus/when-you-re-younger-you-re-more-selfish-because-there-s-so-much-self/) [Miley Cyrus](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/miley-cyrus/) > [“The depth of a man is a limit only he can know, should he have the courage to explore into the dark.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/kyle-schmalenberg/the-depth-of-a-man-is-a-limit-only-he-can-know-should-he-have-the/) [Kyle Schmalenberg](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/kyle-schmalenberg/) > [Fiction, maybe art in general, is a tentative, uncertain enterprise; it's not science, it's an exploration, but you never find much in the way…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tim-o-brien/fiction-maybe-art-in-general-is-a-tentative-uncertain-enterprise-it-s/) [Tim O'Brien](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tim-o-brien/) > [If I had to define my philosophy, it would be about exploration, a journey, a story-telling.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/hussein-chalayan/if-i-had-to-define-my-philosophy-it-would-be-about-exploration-a/) [Hussein Chalayan](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/hussein-chalayan/) > [“Life is short. The world is big. It awaits your exploration. If you're not living on the edge, you're just taking up way too…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/paul-beaver/life-is-short-the-world-is-big-it-awaits-your-exploration-if-you-re/) [Paul Beaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/paul-beaver/) > [I stayed in the astronaut program until 1993. People ask me why I left. I thought I had a lot of things to contribute…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mae-jemison/i-stayed-in-the-astronaut-program-until-1993-people-ask-me-why-i-left/) [Mae Jemison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mae-jemison/) > [To those of us who remained committed mainly to the exploration of moral distinctions and ambiguities, the feminist analysis may have seemed a particularly…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joan-didion/to-those-of-us-who-remained-committed-mainly-to-the-exploration-of/) [Joan Didion](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joan-didion/) > [Prominent exploration experts have recently predicted that total world production of liquid oil will peak by about the end of this decade-or a few…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/amory-lovins/prominent-exploration-experts-have-recently-predicted-that-total/) [Amory Lovins](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/amory-lovins/) > [I live an artistic double life: one of classical realism and the other of aesthetic exploration.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/alton-tobey/i-live-an-artistic-double-life-one-of-classical-realism-and-the-other/) [Alton Tobey](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/alton-tobey/) > [All that is happening in art is part of a process of exploration and discovery. I hope to live for a few more years…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-plaskett/all-that-is-happening-in-art-is-part-of-a-process-of-exploration-and/) [Joseph Plaskett](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-plaskett/) > [“But first whom shall we send In search of this new world, whom shall we find Sufficient? Who shall tempt, with wand'ring feet The…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/john-milton/but-first-whom-shall-we-send-in-search-of-this-new-world-whom-shall/) [John Milton](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/john-milton/) [Browse all 1,037 Exploration quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/exploration/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I'm not that fluid when it comes to scales and modes. I just pick up the guitar and play. 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