John llllslaughlin York Eventhough they’re not primarily derived from Indian music, both recordings have related features worth noting. Our primary focuswill beMcLaughlin’s improvisingin an odd time signaturewith relativelycomplex tonalities. Ex. 1 profilestheintroto “Follow”fromthe /EQversion.Fist, let’sdealwith the 1118time signature(anon-traditionalIndianmeterthat wasbroughtinto vogueby RaviShankar).To concentrateon your playinginsteadof your countingin anodd timesignature,you need to find arelaxedwayto feelit. Insteadof counting beatsonethroughelevenat tempoand eventuallypassing out forlackof air,try counting the first eight beatsasquarter-notesat halftempo,andthenthefinalthreeaseighthnotesat regulartempo,like this:“1,2,3,4, l2-3.”Oryoumightcountallthe eighth-notes like this:“1 and2 and3 and4 andl-2-3.” Nowlet’slookat thechordvampin thefirst measure.Thesevoicingsarereminiscentof thoseBillBvansintroducedon theMilesDavis standard“SoWhat”andthoseof HerbieHancock on “MaidenVoyage.”Onewayto get a handleon themis to think of the Bmll and C//ml1 assubstitutesfor the I chord (EJin the Mixolydian mode.Both chordscontain notesfrom the parentscaleand from variousextensions of anE7chord:TheBml I islike an E7witha sus4anda 9,andthe C#mll has the 6th and9th scaledegrees in thebassand anE triad on top. Other chordsubshelpexpandthe tonality of “Follow”andkeepthingsfresh.In measures3 and4, the Gsus4 to D changeimplies thekeyof G,andthechordsworkastritoneand relativemajorsubsfor C#m andBm respectively. TheD to A changein measure4makes sense asa quickmoveto theIV chordin E,with the “V of the IV” (0) asa lead-in. Ex.2 showsa two-octavefingeringfor E Mixolydian. Keepin mindthat Johnwasnot overlyconcerned with theoreticalissues, ashe madeclearin anAug.‘78Guitar Playerintervim “It’snotreallyessential thatyouknowthe namesof the variousmodesand scalesyou play.Whatisimportantisthat you heartheir 42
HOW TO PLAY GUITAR / J A 2 2
Ex. 1 kca.
184
Bml l/E
C#ml l/E
Bml i/E
C#ml l/E
Elm. gtr.
Bml l/E
T A n
Gsus4
2 1 n n
1 2 ? ?
?
D
Bml l/E
9 ? 9 n n
Ex. 2
,-
Ex. 3
Em1 1
?
? 2 -9
D
A
2 ? n n
q 1 9 n
E Mixolydian ~-,
Dmll
Ex.4
El 1 or Bml l/E
Ex. 5 Harmonized E Mixolydian Amaj7add4 Bml 1
El1
C#mll Dmaj7#11
F#mll
G#dim7add4 Amaj7add4
I .
.
*
Ex. 6 Gtr. 1
Bml l/E
C#ml
.
l/E
Bml i/E
C#ml
l/E
I
Bml l/E
DED
E
DED
Emil
relationshipto the chords.” Nowlet’scomparethe“SoWhat” voicings of Ex. 3 to the “Follow”chordsin Ex. 4. You cananalyzethechordasbothEli andBml Iit all dependson what you hearasthe root. Ex. 5 listsallof the chordsin themodein this typeof substitutevoicing.Noticethat the two from“Follow”areamongthe leastdissonant. John’smelodyandrhythm work in measuresl-4 of the 12-barheadisthe subjectof Ex.6. As in the intro, he substitutesrhythm chordsin the3rdand4thbars,thistimebulldingtensionbyclimbingthefretboardthrough inversionsof
[email protected] to thesubstitutionof Em1 1lAfor theIVchord at measure5. Farrellplayedthemelodyontenorsaxon his]lQalbum, but we’llexploreJohnsoctave approachon acousticguitar from the MGB recording.Notice how he effectively uses
All
of fournotesin themeandvariationphrasing. In thesolodepartment, Ex.7 coversthefirst four-and-a-half bars of Johnsbreak.AsJoeFarrell finishes,McLaughlincomesin at measure3 of the 12-barform. Focushereon his rhythmicandharmonicchoices, andtheconstantdown/upcontourof hislines. Hisfirstmotif,basedonE9andEm7chord tones,runsat arelaxedpacethroughthefirst rapidlyarpeggiates Aland Bmi’in measures 4 and5. Hisquickbendandreleasein measure4 is typical of the Indian-styleembellishmentswe’llseein upcomingexamples. with Ex. 7 Bml l/E
L/7
Em1 l/A
c ,A
c 7
,c
A
7
.c
4 7
4
c
Shakti
John’s formalinvolvementwith Indianmusic wasenrichedby hisstudyof the vina, ancestor of the sitar.Thevlna’sexpressive potential, whicharisesfrom itshighfrets(with no fretboardbelow),impressed McLaughlinassuperior to that of the guitar. Thisdisparityeventuallyledhimto accept an offer from Gibsonto build a custom13string acousticconcert guitar designedby AbeWechter. Withsixstringssetonascalloped fretboardthat approached thefeelof thevina, J A 2 2
/ HOW TO PLAY GUITAR
43
John McLaughlin Bml i/E
and seven more strings set diagonally across the soundhole, McLaughlin was able to develop a new technique: “I wanted to be able to play chords without stopping my single-line soloing. What was important to me was to extract the chord that was the most expressive of the emotion that I felt was embodied inside the scale
Follow Your Heart by John Mclaughlin 0 1974Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. All rights reserved, used by permission. Warner Bros. Publications U.S. Inc., Miami FL33014
or the mode of the raga we were playing.” (Guitar Player, Aug. ‘78.) ?tyo 13-strings were built, the standard-body prototype in 1975, and a cutaway in 1976. Concurrent with the arrival of the first model ln 1975, McLaughlin formed the acoustic Indo-jazz fusion group, Shakti. The name means “creative intelligence, b,eauty, and power.” McLaughlin was joined by fellow virtuosos L. Shankar (violin), Zaklr Hussain (tablas, percussion), and T.H. Vinayakram (Ghatam, percussion). The group recorded three ground-breaking albums between 1975 and 1977. The piece we’ll look at here is “India” from their third album, A Handful ofBeau@ it’s out of print, but you’ll find the song on Best ofShakti (Moment). Arranged like a raga, “India” follows an
Ex. 8
J=ca.40,
I
44
,
HOW TO PLAY GUITAR / J A 2 2
.
*
I
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* Chord arpeggio from upstroke ACROSS 7 string harp section of 13.string guttar.
Ex.9 E Minor
I
-,
All 3
---
z-
,5-
-e
l
b6
b7
.
-
1
2
b3
‘1
n
.
-
Scale
degrees:
ABCB pattern. Ex. 8 covers the opening phrase of the A section, or alap, traditionally a slow and serene solo exposition without meter. John begins with bend-release figures that resemble the expressive phrasing of the sitar, at the same time strumming the seven accompaniment strings, which are tuned to an Emadd2/4. Indian sitar players typically pull their strings down to bend, and this is John’s approach as well l?y that technique here and in the following related examples whenever practical. Eminor is the primary tonality of “India,” and Ex.9 shows a two-octave fingering of the scale at the second fret. As in Ex.2, nlav a single octave first to absorb the fundamental sound. To get the essence of these musical elements, you have to take them beyond where you found them. One way to get there is to run an idea through an entire scale or mode. Ex. 10 heads in that direction with a melodic sequence exercise derived from the lead figure in Ex.8. Ex. 11 takes us a step further with an
Em
freely
I
2
b3
4
5
T A
?cl<““l
cI?l<-dd Ex.
4
4
5
16
? -
n
b7
1 _
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1
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10 Em
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Ex.11 Freely
Em
1 A
BR 6 R BR n r\n\7.. 4 1% 1: /s n ? -
B
9 (4\1 \-‘I-’
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Ex. 12
.
.
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Ex. 13
J=ccl.144
Cadd9 #4
BmGadd4
let ring throughout
A7sus4add6
A7add6
Am7add6
Am7add /$3
India by Lakshminarayana Shankar and John Mclaughlin 0 1977 Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., Basque Music Inc., and Ganesh Music. Au rights o/b/o Basque Music, Inc. administered by Warner-Tame&me Publishing Corp. All rights reserved, used by permission. Warner Bros. Publications U.S. Inc., Miami FL 33014
abbreviated version of the final phrase of the alup, a more developed look at John’s Indianstyle phrasing. Notice how almost every note is connected by an embellishment-this is one of the main stylistic differences between Indian and Western melodic styles. Ex. 12 is a melodic sequence exercise derived from beat three of Ex.11. Similar in approach to FX. 10, this time it’s fingered up the neck. Next up is the B section, or dadru, where a moderate 614 tempo is introduced as the theme and arpeggiated chords are played by violin and guitar, respectively. This alternates with soulful, rapid-fire unison lines by guitar and violin, a pattern that is developed many times in this section. One pass of the chords is notated in Ex. 13. Beginning with cadd9/#4, John starts things off with a smooth substitution for the previous alap tonal center of Em7add2l4. As usual, it works due to the common tones between the two chords: E, G, D, and F#. Such arranging is an example of the East/West fusion within Shakti’s music, a key element introduced by John to the traditionally non-chordal Indian style. One Truth After Shakti disbanded in 1977, McLaughlin formed the primarily electric-oriented One IYuth Band with L. Shankar and others. The opening track from their 1978 Electric Dreams (Columbia/Legacy) features an acoustic duet with Shankar, “Guardian Angels.” Departing from the raga form, it consists of an Indoblues style theme over a set of modallypivoting chord changes. Like Ex13, it’s based on shifting time signatures, and arpeggiated inversions allow for melodic voice-leading between chords. For the rhythm part, John plays a 12string acoustic. Ex. 14 covers the Brst 12 bars of the melody and chords. Instead of emphasizing the Indian melodic style alone, it blends it with basic Western blues figures to create a hybrid. Originally recorded with violin and six-string acoustic cutaway in unison, the theme is J A 2 2 / HOW TO
PLAY GUITAR
IS
John Mclaugnlin Ex.
arranged here for guitar only It’s the phrasing that matters most. Fist of all, it’s melodic and flowing, regardless of the continual time signature changes. Secondly, notice how it starts with a short question in bars l-4. Then, on the last beat of the fourth measure, it follows with an answer that might normally have ended on beat two of measure 8. Instead it continues, trailing off through bar 12 like the tail of a comet. The
Wish
Cmaj7IE
D6
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ensemble
Our fInal examples are taken horn Johns great 1995 concept album, The Promise (Verve). With”thisrecordingJohnseta newstandard for himself,not only gatheringmusicians togetherto playinvariousstylesfromthroughout his career,but writing and arranging musicto highlightand inspiresomeof the worldsbestplayers. Herewe’lltakea lookatJohnsnodto India in hiscomposition,“TheWish.”Thefollowing examplesarenotatedin C#majorto correspondto the C#tuning of the sitar.Whileit iscustomaryto publishthismusicin C,using the actualkeywill helpin playingalongwith the recording. Returningto theragaform,Ex. 15 getsus goingwith a lookat the first passof the secondmovement(ior) themeof “TheWish.”The themeisrepeatedby the sitarin unisonwith John’selectricguitarandfollowedeachtime by a ill1in 6/4. This18-beatcycle(or r&a) of three measures of 414and oneof 614runs throughoutthe piece. Ex. 16 showsthe C#Lydian-modefingeringthatisusedin Rx.15.Togeta feelfor the tonalityimpliedby thetheme,try the C#nzzj7 andC#muj9 chordsillustratedin Ex. 17. Finally,Ex. 18 demosJohn’ssolophrase at 654,ajazz-stylephraseplayedovera backgroundthat combinespercussionist Trilok Gurtu’sIndoljazz swinggroovewith a traditionalIndianrhvthrnicfeelfromZaklrHussain. Try practicing studiesof any three- or four-notefiguresyou like,and(withthisand all the examplesabove) practice with a metronome,startingat a comfortabletempo. 46
14 h = 2~
HOW TO PLAY GUITAR / JAZZ
I
I
-
I
*Violin arranged for guitar. “%&SttitPQ
ilM)UStiC
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Bm6
csus#4
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Am
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1
Bm
n
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Guardian Angel by John Mclaughlin 0 1979 Warner-Tamerlane Music, Inc. All rights administered by Warner-Tamerlane reserved, used by permission. Warner Bros. Publications
1
I I I
n ?
n
1
Publishing Corp. & Basque Publishing Corp. All rights U.S. Inc., Miami FL 33014
#
,
1
.
Ex.15 J=
#
C#maj7
ca. loo
That’sit for the Indianlegof our itinerary, but theadventuremayhaveanotherstop.At the time of thiswriting, thereareplansfor a British/Europeantour this fall featuringan ensemble of John,ZakirHussain,andnorthIndianflautistHariparasad Chaurasia. W
Ex.16
,-
degrees:
Ex.17
3
#4
C#maj7
5
6
7
C# Lydian ,
1
2
3
#4
5
6
7
I
2
3
#4
Ithat
C#majQ
4n!ar
Ex.18
The Wish by John Mclaugblin used by permission. Warner
0 1995 Basque Music, Inc. All rights reserved, Bros. Publications U.S. Inc., Miami FL 33014
jplu
their
