DEDICATION ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~ To my wife, Jeannette, and my family, who tolerate, sustain, support, humor, humor, inspire, counsel, and best of all, most amazingly and wonderfully, love me. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~
DEDICATION ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~ To my wife, Jeannette, and my family, who tolerate, sustain, support, humor, humor, inspire, counsel, and best of all, most amazingly and wonderfully, love me. ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ ~~~~
FOR THE LO LOVE VE OF GUIT GUITAR AR by
Rik Emmett
O n e B o o k O
o o k B s c c i s a T h e B T w o B o o k T c s i c a B e h T o o k B s k c o o B l g B n n i d d l l i u B T h r e e o o k B B B o o k T g n n i m s t o r n n i a r B c s i c F o u r T h e B a o k B o o k F o B s c c i s d B a n o y e B T h e
FOREWORD If you’ve already chewed your way through the first two FOR THE LOVE OF GUITAR books to get here - congratulations, bless you, and I’m happy to see you again. At the end of Book Two, I talked about our paths crossing - people coming from different approaches and headed in different directions. Good, bad, or indifferent, I’ve committed something here, left something of myself revealed, open and vulnerable. As a reader, you still enjoy the freedom of coming or going, taking or leaving it. Writing a book is only an invitation to a meeting of minds, without guarantees. Still, I’m hoping that when you read this book, you’ll feel that the tables have been turned somewhat - that the challenge to reveal yourself and commit something has drawn you in, and drawn you out. What will you find here in these pages? Well, what are you prepared to bring to the dance? All four books in this series grew out of the Back to Basics columns that I wrote over the course of twelve years for Guitar Player magazine, so, naturally, they’re all focused on fundamental techniques, theories, and concepts. But right along with all the primary physical techniques, FOR THE LOVE OF GUITAR is basically about imagination, and spirit, and creativity, so many open-ended, infinite kinds of things that it’s virtually impossible to separate the hands from the head and the heart. This book in the series is about MOTIVATION, building some connections, setting up a network in the anatomy: getting you to touch, to feel and to know the beginnings of a little forever in your music. What do you think about your LOVE OF GUITAR? How do you think about it? C’mon, let’s do a little brainstorming…
I
THE BASICS BRAINSTORMING BOOK
BOOK THREE
CONTENTS Page Foreword . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .I Key to Notational Symbols . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .IV Eight Basic Secrets to Great Guitar Playing . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1 Jimi Hendrix: The Art of Rhythm Playing, Part One . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .4 Rhythm - The Ghost Who Oils the Cog in the Machine . . . . . . . . . .5 The Subtle Art of Rhythm Playing, Part Two . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .9 Playing and Singing at the Same Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .12 Django and One-Finger Chords . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .14 Open Tunings . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .16 The Case of the Hammer-On and Pull-Off Arpeggios . . . . . . . . . . . . . .18 Improvisation - Goin’ For It . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .22 Soloing Form . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .25 Soloing And Form, Part Two . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29 Creativity and Interpretation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .29 Developing Left-Hand Independence: A Fingering Exercise . . . . . . . . .32 The Six Laws of Tone, Taste and Feel . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .34 Cross Pickin’ . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .38 Vibrato . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .40 Shifty Moves: Two String Snakes and Ladders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .42 Rhythm Changes, Part One . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .44 Rhythm Changes, Part Two . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46 Working Through Changes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .46 Economy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .48 Less Is More . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .50 Copland’s Long Line . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .52
II
• • • • • • TABLE OF CONTENTS (Cont’d)
Learning Self-Help: Thirsty Horses Climbing Ladders . . . . . . . . . . . . .53 Musician, Help Thyself . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .53 Observation and Emulation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .54 The Big Three - Necessity, Willpower, and Focus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .55 Setting Goals - Building Ladders . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .56
III
KEY TO NOTATIONAL SYMBOLS
T HE FOLLOWING SYMBOLS are used to indicate fingerings, techniques, and
2
3
effects commonly used in the guitar music notation in this series of books.
1
4 4
T
ras
Left-hand fingering is designated by small Arabic numerals near note heads (1 = 1st finger, 2 = 2nd finger, 3 = 3rd finger, 4 = pinky, T = thumb).
////
In some music examples, the fingerings appear in the space between the standard notation staff and the tablature staff. i
m
5
CV
CV
3
Right-hand fingering is designated by letters (p = thumb, i = index, m = middle, a = ring, l = pinky).
a
p
D
Pick upstroke.
1
R
(7) 5 H
5 7
2
1 2
3
3
The C indicates a first finger half-barre covering either the first three or four strings, depending on what is called for in the notation.
Chord Diagrams In chord diagrams, vertical lines represent the strings, and horizontal lines represent the frets. The following symbols are used:
Left-hand finger vibrato. 5 (7)
2
D9
IV
The C indicates a full barre; the Roman numeral designates the proper fret.
Partial barre with the designated finger. B
E B T G A D B A E
The horizontal lines represent 0 the guitar’s strings, the top line represents the high E. The numbers designate the frets to be played. For instance, a 2 positioned on the first line would mean to play the 2nd fret on the first string (0 indicates an open string). Time values are indicated on the coinciding lines of standard notation seen directly above the tablature. Read the music from left to right in the conventional manner.
A circled number (1-6) indicates the string on which a particular note is to be played. Pick downstroke.
Indicates desired rhythm for chordal accompaniment (the choice of voicings is up to the player).
How Tablature Works l
p
Rasgueado.
Bend; play the first note and bend to the required pitch (bent note is in parentheses). See tab explanation.
Nut; indicates 1st position.
A reverse bend; strike an already bent note, then allow it to return to its unbent pitch (bent note is in parentheses).
x
Muted string or string not played.
o
Open string.
Hammer-on (lower note to higher).
Barre (partial or full).
P
7 5 T
Pull-off (higher note to lower).
•
Placement of left-hand fingers.
Indicates right-hand tapping technique.
V
Roman numerals indicate the fret at which a chord is located.
1
Arabic numerals indicate left-hand fingering (e.g., 1=index, etc.)
S
5 7
Slide; play first note and slide to the next pitch (in tab, an upward slide is indicated with an upwardly slanting line, while a downward side is indicated with a downwardly slanting line).
Note: For more info on understanding chord symbols, check out the chapter entitled “Outlining The Numbers Game” on page 29 of “For The Love of Guitar, Book One - The Basics Book”.
Strum (an arrowhead is often used to indicate direction). IV
EIGHT BASIC SECRETS TO GREAT GUITAR PLAYING Ex. 1B
Makes a great title, doesn’t it? Of course, this
Am
kind of “tabloid”-esque subject is fraught with the inconsistencies, omissions, oversights, and prejudices of a subjective viewpoint; next week we just might go and change our minds (again). Still, it’s food for thought and can serve as a starting point for discussion and self-examination (“Well, Rik’s list is bad because he forgot to add…”). At least you’ve now identified something that you value highly and should be pursuing in your own playing.
4 4
B
5
8
79
R
7
5
7
The most important step comes next, where you inject yourself into the lick. Hopefully, you can see the growth and difference between these two examples: the lick should evolve at least as much again when you interpret it. Attitude, desire, intellectual hunger, persistence, dedication. (Note: see the final chapter of Book One, entitled “On Success,” Book Two’s “Hungry Heart, Open Mind,” and pretty much all of Book Four, which concerns itself with the intellectual, the philosophical, and personal aesthetics.)
2
~
Emotion, soul, feeling, personality, interpretation. All of these things lead to an individual style that will be unique - revealing your character, which will help towards a public recognition factor and give your playing an identity. There must be honesty in your playing; you have to be involved and make personal statements with whatever music you play.
1
~
Andres Segovia was interviewed at 93 years of age and was asked what kept him going. “The mind and the will to work,” says the master. He is the all-time champion, and when he talks, we all should listen. I quote from a 1986 Reuter wire-service interview by David Zimmerman -
Am
4 4
“
A very wise philosopher once told me 5
T A B
8
B
muted
So, human nature being what it is, pure objectivity is an unrealizable ideal. But let’s face it, these kinds of things aren’t really National Enquirerstyle secrets, either. (You don’t think I’d go pokin’ around in Steve Morse’s trash now, do you?) No: something tells me common sense dictates content here, so without further preamble, here’s the list:
Ex. 1A
8 10
T A B
P
8
5
8
5
7
5
how to work,” said the maestro. “He told me to remember Jacob’s Ladder because the angel went up and came down step by step, even though he had wings. And this is how I work - step by step and very hard, with full attention. Otherwise, you cannot progress.”
7
Ex. 1A is a case of a lick with no character, no personality. It’s just notes. But if you play essentially the same notes as they’re rendered in Ex. 1B, you’ll find some personality and style coming to life there. 1
Continued • • • • • •
• • • • ••
EIGHT BASIC SECRETS TO GREAT GUITAR PLAYING (Cont’d) Timing , “feel,” being able to get “into the groove,” to play “in the pocket” or “behind the beat.” Especially in modern pop music (rock, fusion, R & B, etc.), this is a crucial element in great playing. To be sympathetic to other musicians, to swing, to rock - it’s the essence of communicating musically. A hot solo’s one thing, but a hot solo over a killer rhythm track is another thing again.
3
~
Ex. 2A Melodic sense can Am D ~ give you an accessi4 bility and a memorability 4 that are prerequisites of greatness. “The right note at the right time” does not 87 5 necessarily mean simplicity, 87 5 T 7 5 A but an awareness of what is B 7 going on around and under the melody. You could play the notes of Ex. 2A and you wouldn’t Ex. 2B Am D be “wrong,” but the melodic 4 sense illustrated in Ex. 2B has 4 more value and impact, even 3 though it is more economical.
Am
4
F
3
H
5
5 7
H
5 7
5
7
7 5
Am
7 5 7
F
3
Harmonic sense - the 8 7 8 7 T color, the landscape behind A B the subject. Demonstrating a highly developed harmonic sense is a sign of great musical maturity, and in a way it is linked very strongly to secret #4. Harmony is atmosphere, and it’s the glue that holds everything else together. Let’s just look at Ex. 2B again, but this time we’ll re-harmonize the melody (Ex. 3) to show how different, and how much more interesting, your playing can become by exploiting the potentials of harmony.
5
~
5
5
4
5
3
Ex. 3 Am7
Gsus
D9
V
1 IV
1
G
Fmaj7
1
2
1 2
3
3
3
4
3
2 4
3 4
4
Am7
D9
Gsus G
Fmaj7
4 4 3
3
Continued • • • • • • 2
• • • • ••
EIGHT BASIC SECRETS TO GREAT GUITAR PLAYING (Cont’d) Physical technique - perhaps the most obvious, attractive, and compelling aspect of great playing, but also the most dangerous and abused. On the positive side, it is necessary to have your chops in shape, to have the endurance and wherewithal to handle the limits of your imagination. But it can have a negative impact when it manifests itself in a “gunslinger” mentality (who’s-the-fastest arguments), which is immature and wasteful. The reality of the successes of the Eddie Van Halens, Stanley Jordans, Paganinis, and Liszts is that they did not sacrifice secrets 1 through 5 at the altar of #6.
6
~
Mental approach - this ties into #2 but is deserving of its own category because it covers a lot of ground. Great playing requires great preparation: you must be organized, warmed-up, confident. You need to be focussed and in the right headspace, concentrated on the job at hand. Then your actual performance presentation should have pacing, versatility, and flexibility: it should feel like a living, breathing thing of its own. Exhibit taste and discretion to imbue the proceedings with a sense of occasion and style.
7
~
Last, but not necessarily least, is your sound, the golden tones you produce. You need the right equipment to make it happen - although I’ve found that this can be as evolutionary and elusive as the music itself - and you may want to have a sound that is as distinctive as your style. I don’t want to mislead you here: your sound will come more from how you play than from what you’re playing through.
8
~
M ore often than not, it’s the amazing combinations of the elements on the list that make a guitarist a virtuoso or legend. And, of course, after all this intellectual analysis, it might behoove us to recall other kinds of attitudes and philosophical approaches. For example, this quote from Tom and Mary Anne Evans’ book, Guitars (Paddington Press):
“I don’t have a love affair with a guitar,” said one Pete Townshend, “I don’t polish it after every performance, I play the ****ing thing.”
3
JIMI HENDRIX: THE ART OF RHYTHM PLAYING, PART ONE Everyone pays lip service to the legend and legacy of Jimi Hendrix, but the hyperbole, apocrypha and exploitation that have shrouded his very real artistic accomplishments could serve to discourage many younger guitarists from really taking the time and energy to examine Jimi’s contribution to the art form of guitar playing in the depths that it deserves. There really is a lot to talk about, and to hear, far beyond attention-getting dental work, behind-theback passes, and lighter fluid pyrotechnics, and so much that can be learned. For this chapter, I’ll focus on just one of Jimi’s many talents, rhythm playing.
“This is a world of lead guitar players, but the most essential thing to learn is the time, the rhythm.” Jimi Hendrix
“That’s why he liked rhythm guitar playing so much - the rhythm guitar could lay out the structure for the whole song.” Mike Bloomfield, talking about Jimi. (Both quotes are from “The Life of Jimi Hendrix: ‘Scuse Me While I Kiss The Sky,” by David Henderson, Doubleday)
There’s the whole lesson, wrapped up neatly in two quotes. Lead guitar playing starts out as a world of riffs, scales, and patterns. Those caught up in the pursuit often become self-absorbed with fancy techniques, and dedicate all their focus and energy on something that is, after all, only a small part of the picture. Think about it for a second; how long does a
solo last in a song? Even your most favorite solo of all time, no matter how brilliant, more than likely resides as a small part riding along on top of a musical structure of verses, and choruses, probably a bridge, intros, re-intros, extros; an architecture composed of the three basic, fundamental musical ingredients: melody, harmony, and rhythm. 4
JIMI HENDRIX: THE ART OF RHYTHM PLAYING, PART ONE (Cont’d)
• • • • ••
In the context of a song, a solo functions primarily as a melodic element, and quite often the solo section itself performs a secondary function of providing harmonic and/or rhythmic contrast from the rest of the song in which it resides. A great rhythm guitar part, however, primarily performs integral harmonic AND rhythmic functions in a song. Sadly, many guitarists, drawn like moths to a warm flame, have devoted their energies to the licks, tricks, fills and thrills of soloing, ignoring two thirds of the musical vitality, and have become Fancy Dans looking for an excuse to blow. But, happily, one of the greatest, most legendary Fancy Dan guitar players that ever touched down on this Third Stone From The Sun was a very complete musician. Jimi was a great lead guitarist, but, unquestionably what made him even greater was that he was a brilliant rhythm guitar player, a man who understood what the word RHYTHM meant in the phrase rhythm and blues, somebody who understood that ROCK and ROLL referred to musical interpretations of body movement.
RHYTHM - THE GHOST WHO OILS THE COG IN THE MACHINE
Rhythm guitar playing is not an egotistical pursuit. It’s a marriage to the structure, a complete union to the piece of music. It sublimates itself to vitally serve the WHOLE PICTURE. If a soloist can be described as someone who is searching for self-expression by riding on the vehicle of a song, then a rhythm player could be said to be seeking to become the perfect cog - or maybe the lubricating oil, perhaps even the ghost - in the machine.
Continued • • • • • • 5
JIMI HENDRIX: THE ART OF RHYTHM PLAYING, PART ONE (Cont’d)
• • • • ••
Ex. 1
E
D/F
A 3
3 H
T A B
9 9 7 0
H
H
9 9 9 9 9 11 9 9 11 11
9 9
P
9 9119
H
7 7
12
E
7 7 9
9
H
7 7 9
2 2 0
S
X12 14 X12 14
S
S
12 12
12 14 11 13
S
P
12 11
12 12 12 11 13 11
H
14
0
9 9 11 0
H
7 7 9
P
7 7
9
7 9 7
D
E
H
10 10 9 9 9 11 11
Some of Jimi’s finest moments came in the R & B style ballads, like “Wind Cries Mary,” “Little Wing,” and “Angel,” using little chord fills ornamented with country pentatonicish melodic noodling. I’ve tried to illustrate the gist of the style in Ex.1 . Notice how the 3rd often hammers on, up from the 2nd to become the bottom of a chord, a structure that’s called first inversion, and a chording accompaniment lick that has widely become known as something of a Hendrix trademark. In “Wind Cries Mary,” Hendrix even employed the 5th at the bottom of his chords (Ex.2 ), a stacking order referred to as second inversion. Another thing to watch out for in Ex. 1 is the simultaneous down stroke combined with a pulloff inside the 16th note riff on beat 4 of bar 3. This gives the G# a slightly delayed kick action down to the F#, and helps expose it a little more against the repeating high B above it. Generally, you should try to play Ex.1 with a really laid back, loosey-goosey feel, where the grace note lead-ins would almost lead you to believe they should be notated with a sixteenth note value. If you normally use a heavy kind of pick, try experimenting with a medium or even a soft one on this style of playing, and consciously think about playing on the back side of the beat. 6
H
7 7 7
A
X X
T A B
H
7 7 7 5
7 7 7 5
0
8 8 8 6
8 8 8 6
8 8 8 6
8 8 8 6
JIMI HENDRIX: THE ART OF RHYTHM PLAYING, PART ONE (Cont’d)
• • • • ••
Ex. 2
G
Fadd9
C
G
Fadd9
C
1
S
1 1 0 3 3
T A B
H
3 3 5 5
3 3
3 3 0 5 5
P
3 3 5 3 3
G
P
3
5 0
H
3
3 1 0 3
3 1 0 3
S
1 0 0 2 3
H
3 3 0 5
0 0
3
D
3 3 0
P
P
3 3 3 3 3 3 5 3 3 4
1 1 0 3
0
1 1 0 3
0 1 0 2 3
5
C
3 0 2 3
1 0 2 3
D 3
3
3
H
T A B
10 10 12 0
H
H
H
10 10 10 10 5 12 12 10 12 10 5 7 0 12 7 0
Em
5 7 7
5 7 7
55 75 7 7
H
5 5
5 5 5 5 7
7
Bm7
H
P
S
5 5 7 5
Am11
7
5 5
H
8 8
8 8
7 9
P
8 8 10 8
S
H
10 10 10 12 10 10 10 10 10 11 9 11
C
D
5
S
T A B
12 12 12 12 14 12 12 12 12 14 9 9 9 9 10 0
S
H
12 10 12 7 7 7 9 7
10 10 10 10 7 3 7 7 7 7 10 3 7 7 7 7 5 5 0
5 5 3
5
H
7
5 5
7
5 5
S
7 7
7 7 5
In the 7th bar of the intro to “Little Wing,” there’s a chord move that’s a perfect example of pure Jimi magic. He had big hands, huge long fingers, and often used his thumb to wrap around over the top of the neck to grab bass notes. A natural genius is at work, with the employment of the open G string on the inside, while another of Jimi’s fave tricks, the add 9 on the top, extends the harmonic color. A lot going on for just one little bar, isn’t there? You should be able to spot more than a few “Little Wing”-isms in Ex. 2.
Continued • • • • • • 7
JIMI HENDRIX: THE ART OF RHYTHM PLAYING, PART ONE (Cont’d)
• • • • ••
Perhaps the most well-known Hendrix solo (it was the only one that ever charted on the Billboard top 40) occurs in his classic cover of Bob Dylan’s “All Along the Watchtower.” The second solo is divided into 4 eight bar sections, and Jimi uses regular lead guitar, 12 string slide guitar with a heavy echo and compression sound effect, wah-wah with echo, and then, to culminate this mini extravaganza… you guessed it (well, you’ve probably only heard it a million times) a rhythm solo! It’s not that it blows you away with a lot of amazing notes or a display of awesome technique, but that it grabs you, and physically moves you, because it grooves so well and possesses the quality that all great rhythm playing does, whether it’s Freddie Green, or Keith Richards, or Melissa Etheridge, or Phil Upchurch, or Jimi Hendrix: let’s call it propulsion. You want to hear what I mean? Listen to Purple Haze. Once you get past the intro, when the band kicks into the groove of the tune, listen to what Hendrix does as a rhythm guitar player to propel the music. There are, of course, a thousand other moments in his recordings that I could point to in order to illustrate the value of propulsion over flash to make the music work, but I suggest that you just get a hold of Jimi’s first four albums and try to get in to the musical Experience. In the interim, work on Example 3 to bone up on some of these techniques I’ve been talking about. Ex. 3 etc.
one e and a two e and a three e and a four e and a
First, set your metronome around 60 bpm (slower, if necessary). Then get your strumming hand brushing up and down strokes across the strings in a 16ths groove, and begin by accenting the downbeats ONE ee and uh TWO ee and uh THREE ee and uh FOUR ee and uh . After you’ve got that steady as a rock, you’re ready to try for the first hallmark of great rhythm playing: the placement of accents, putting em-PHA-sis in inter-EST-ing places. Check out how stressing one different accent in a bar can completely alter the feel.
8
THE SUBTLE ART OF RHYTHM PLAYING, PART TWO One of the perceived dangers of total immersion
Let’s look at some wide-ranging examples:
into modern technology’s role in music (computers, MIDI, drum machine programming, etc.) is that it could have a detrimental effect on a musician’s perception of time. Couldn’t one end up thinking of time (the rhythm of the piece of music) as some sort of simplistic, digitally metronomic, mathematically sub-divided, rock solid permanent foundation?
1. JULIAN BREAM PLAYS GRANADOS and ALBENIZ (Music of Spain vol. 5) RCA RCD 14378
Consider this metaphor:
Probably any recording by any world class classical guitarist would serve to illustrate the point, but this recording is one of my particular favorites because the playing is so expressive. A solo guitarist does not need to worry about a lack of tightness with other players, and so the playing with time can become even more exaggerated: tempo can shift up and down like a heart rate affected by emotions, and this recording is liberally sprinkled with the performer’s personal fermatas, ritards, and occasional metric stretches to accommodate technical challenges (i.e. a quick shift that tries to avoid string squeaks…) Maestro Bream proves that a great performance of great music need not be completely governed by a metronome.
TIME is like an
elastic band. It is flexible, it has give and take, not to be stretched too thin, nor left floppy and limp, but kept at a comfortably appropriate tension, to be stretched, or relaxed, whenever necessary. Your “feel” for a piece of music, your interpretation of its rhythmic essence(s), can be every bit as idiosyncratic and complex as the colors and textures of other principal musical dynamics, like melody and harmony. Oh, there are lots of killer songs where that drum machine provides an unwavering number of Beats Per Minute, and yes, you’re supposed to lock into the groove. But if you’re thinking of each beat as a perfectly machined pinpoint in time, you’re discounting the work of some of the greatest rhythm guitarists of all time, and their rhythm sections. (Not to mention updated drum machine programs with “human feel” options, to escape quantized sterility.) You aren’t limited to a precise, clinical mathematical interpretation. A beat in a bar has some width to it: you can drive a tempo by chugging on the front side, lending a sense of urgency and excitement to the proceedings, or you can sit on the backside of the beat, and make it feel heavy and sexy and as comfortable as an old pair of broken-in jeans.
2. THE POLICE (ANDY SUMMERS) EVERY BREATH YOU TAKE (from SYNCHRONICITY A&M SP-3735) Here’s an example of a highly popular rhythm guitar part that must sit in with the drums and bass rhythm section, and by the very nature of its arpeggiated construction would seem to have to be, well, metronomic. But listen closely: the guitar, in fact, sits a little farther behind the beat than the bass does, aided in this feeling by a hint of a delay/repeat Continued • • • • • • 9
• • • • ••
THE SUBTLE ART OF RHYTHM PLAYING, PART TWO (Cont’d)
sound effect. This gives the whole basic bed track a nice, slightly wider “pocket” than you might have previously been aware of. Then, check out what happens when the bridge hits (“Since you’ve gone I’ve been lost,…” etc.) The big power chord comes slicing in, way in front of the downbeat at the bar line, “pushing” the section, and, by contrast, (both tonally and time-wise) adding a new sense of urgency and intensity to the moment.
Mongan goes on to quote Kenny Burrell from down beat magazine;
“…there’s quite a big involvement playing rhythm guitar. …you have to coordinate your thing with the rest of the cats. …You have lines, moving voices that blend in with what the bass is doing. And Freddie Greene is a master of this. The middle strings, the G and B, set up a sort of interval with the bass and you get a thing going.”
Good rhythm guitar parts often have a natural, fluid flow to them, like the current of a river. It’s not the boats, or the boaters, waving as they pass by and garnering all the attention. It’s not the riverbed that defines the shape and size of the river, not even the water itself, but gravity , the invisible propelling force that reveals itself through its actions on all the other elements. Andy Summers has an instinctive (and quite possibly consciously cultivated) rhythmic gift that is shown to great advantage on Synchronicity.
“ Greene sets a very high standard for the art of rhythm guitar playing in ANY style. He is sympathetic to the music and the players that surround him. He willingly becomes a role player, working the inside of the music, functioning as a catalyst, sacrificing his own ego and chops for the greater good of the musical and artistic whole. Again, I’ll bow to Mongan’s excellent research, as he quotes the critic, Raymond Horricks:
3. FREDDIE GREENE :
COUNT BASIE AND HIS ORCHESTRA (ALL-AMERICAN RHYTHM SECTION) The Best of Count Basie MCA MCAD 4050
“(Greene was) reliable without being obtrusive, a sound component part of the rhythm, yet with a personal sense of rhythm which is virile and spirited, technically well-versed; …He has given the band both individuality of sound and rhythmic stamina. His inherent sense of tempo and his durability when performing a regular beat have set standards well above those of the average band guitarist. …evidencing throughout that essential relaxation which is part of the familiar Kansas City beat. …his touch has been definitive though still delicate, …emphatic without ever becoming ponderous.”
I quote from “The History of the Guitar In Jazz,” a wonderful labor-of-love book by Norman Mongan (Oak Publications, dist. by Music Sales Corp. 24 East 22 Street, NY NY 10010): he All American Rhythm Section became T
“
Count Basie’s visiting card; it was the first section with an immediately recognizable sound. The leader’s economical piano playing left plenty of room for the pulse of the Greene guitar. The band’s unmistakable characteristic beat depended to a large degree on the steady, accurate, cutting sound of Freddie’s acoustic guitar.”
For lessons on great rhythm guitar playing, you could do a lot worse than beginning and ending with Freddie Greene. 10
• • • • ••
THE SUBTLE ART OF RHYTHM PLAYING, PART TWO (Cont’d) 5. KEITH RICHARDS How can one discuss the vagaries of time interpretation in guitar music without mentioning The Rolling Stones and, in particular, Keith? Here’s how Tom Wheeler described their records in the Dec. ’89 Guitar Player magazine:
4. MELISSA ETHERIDGE (LIKE THE WAY I DO, BRING ME SOME WATER) ISLAND ISLC-1143 There are, of course, an infinity of ways to skin a musical cat, and even though there’s a complete musicality present in the work of Bream, or Summers, or Greene, it is one of personal expression within the stylistic boundaries of their choosing. From a very different area comes no less of an artistic rhythm guitar player; indeed, anyone who’s ever heard Ms. Etheridge perform, knows how powerful and invaluable her guitar accompaniment is to her music. Her right hand is the engine that drives her band, functioning like the main terminal that generates the click track and sync code for all the other instrumentalists to lock into. The two songs mentioned above provide an example of a 16ths groove (Like) and 8ths (Bring). Melissa gets her right hand strumming a steady up and down stroke, and then, like a percussionist on a conga drum, creates patterns by omitting strokes, and accenting others, sometimes on the downbeat, sometimes on the up. It is exciting, and emotionally charged, and she is rock-solid steady as she goes, which makes it that much more appealing a ride for the listener to want to take with her.
“…blurred by ambiguity at every stage… hybrid rhythms bumping and grinding up against each other. …in the spaces between the beats, shrouded mysteries lurk and rumble, keeping the records ultimately impenetrable.” …bold, blotchy guitar strokes. …a guitar in Keith Richard’s hands is a lethal rhythm device that skewers the listener and has him wriggling like a speared fish.”
Keith plays so far behind the beat sometimes he’s almost on the front end of the one comin’ up. “Start Me Up,” and “Honky Tonk Women,” and so many other classic guitar riff heads, feel so funkily good partly because he’s stretching the elastic of time. At other times he slashes and jabs and punctuates with notes and chords and licks that are quite intentionally jammed on the front side - hell, in front of the front side. In a way, it’s like time is an important element to Keith’s guitar playing because he’s totally unafraid to screw around with it. It’s not like complete anarchy; there is a conscientious thread. But it is a true Rock and Roll guitar spirit at work.
Ah ha! I can hear you saying; now you’re contradicting yourself, because you previously said that the key to great rhythm playing was NOT to be metronomic and rock-solid steady. Well, no, I didn’t. I asked you to consider that Time was elastic, and flexible. That doesn’t mean that it can’t be a meticulously consistent groove crafted over a perfectly steady beat. Sometimes that kind of tightness is exactly the ingredient that makes the music happen: think of the music of James Brown, or Tower of Power, or from a completely different perspective (but with this dedication to the solid groove ethic in common), think of AC/DC, or Judas Priest. There’s no contradiction in admiring divergent approaches.
I hope the range of examples in this chapter effectively illustrates a central theme. Styles can be worlds away from each other, and yet there can be a remarkable link between them all - an artistic, musical search, digging down into the rhythmic structure, surrendering themselves to what the music seems to be asking them to try and do there. That secret heart, inside the music, is where the subtle art of rhythm guitar playing starts. The challenge is to keep looking for it, to keep finding it, and to make it come alive in your work.
11
PLAYING AND SINGING AT THE SAME TIME Contrary to popular belief, some things
When accompanying yourself, try to minimize awkward chord forms and long positional shifts. This requires a thorough knowledge of inversions of chords in different forms and positions all over the neck. Then, by employing a technique I call “blind guide finger” changing (alluded to in the chapter “Shifting and Strumming” in Ex. 1 Ex. 2 Book Two), you can G Am make all your left-hand 1 chord fingerings without 2 2 3 looking or thinking 3 about them, and concentrate on the vocal.
are a little tougher and more complex than walking and chewing gum simultaneously. Just as learning to play the guitar requires the development of coordination between independent tasks - those of each hand and, ultimately, each finger of each hand - so does accompanying your own singing. You have added another element to your performing process, and must come to terms with the fact that it compromises the sublimity of the two disciplines. For myself, it is usually a case of learning the guitar part until it’s stone-cold, embedded as an unconscious, autonomic function. Let’s call this “Blind Memorization” - no peeking! Even then, I usually have to tap my foot, pump my leg, and shake my booty, as it were. (In the same way, a drummer might maintain one “steady time” limb, while his other three go polyrhythmic: his body language keeps it all together, while he consciously concentrates on the thickest, “top” element of the layering process.) Then I must concentrate completely on the vocal line’s rhythms and accents. Helpful hint: For your foot taps, figure out which subdivision of the “count” makes it easier for you to sing your melody line eights, quarters, or half-notes.
4
The “blind guide finger” technique goes something like this. You’re playing an Am in the first position (Ex. 1), and you’ve got to go to a G (Ex. 2), but it seems an insurmountable problem because you can’t look at it. And you can’t take your yapper away from the microphone because you’re singing an emotional, flowing legato line. What will you do? Ex. 3 1 2
2
3 3
Am
3
G
3
G
G
4 4
On the extremely rare occasion (hack, cough) that I cannot manage a guitar part under a vocal, I give priority to the vocal melody and try to keep phrasing as close to the original as possible, and rearrange the accompanying guitar part. I try, at least, to keep the changes in the right places. Using techniques of muting, resting, and stroking fewer strings to make a part more sparse (and manageable), I sometimes am forced to employ that time-worn musical practice: faking.
Solution: Isolate the 3rd-finger move from the 2nd fret of the G string to the 3rd fret of the big E string. Make that move one of pure “blind memorization” and alter your strumming to pick that low G note on the change. On the next beat of the bar, you could strum just the open strings. Then on the third beat of the bar, you could fold the 2nd and 4th fingers in and upstroke through all of the strings (Ex. 3).
Continued • • • • • • 12
4
• • • • • • PLAYING AND SINGING AT THE SAME TIME (Cont’d)
Here’s an example of how inversions and forms in one position can make life easier. Let’s say you’re in the key of G, and you have to play an E to F to G progression (Ex. 4). Your barre never moves: It allows you, through some practice and blind guide finger manipulation, to make the changes without looking for different neck positions.
Ex. 5 3
F/A
III
1
4 4
1
4
or
III
1
2 3
Right Hand
G
III
4
C
Ex. 4 E
1 2
or
p m p m a p m i a p i p i
etc. etc. etc.
2 2
3
3
4
shows a simple, standard broken-arpeggio fingerpicking style pattern for vocal accompaniment. Option A shows how you could play with a flatpick and one, two, or three right-hand fingers. Option B is the standard, “by the book” thumb-and-three-fingers, approach, while option C, I’m slightly abashed to admit, is the most natural way I seem to be able to get the job done. (Hey - Doc Watson worked miracles with a banjo style thumb and index, with the occasional middle finger thrown in.) Ex. 5
4
If a chord or form is presenting an awkward problem, you might also alter the right-hand strumming or picking to allow you to strike an open string or an easy-to-grab first-position chord form. Another way to ensure that you’ll be able to handle playing and singing at the same time is to compose the song that way. It sounds simple enough, but a lot of writing and song construction takes place away from the guitar; in your head, on the written page, or at a keyboard. Nowadays, more and more songs are written and recorded in a multi-track piecemeal fashion, and a performer doesn’t find out whether he can handle all his overdubbed parts at once until he goes into tour rehearsals.
Even though simultaneous playing and singing puts its restrictions on both pursuits, it can also provide a unique and sympathetic interpretation of a song, as the two disciplines emanate from one source. And unless you’re an unrehearsed schizo, what could be tighter?
There is an extremely high level of guitar skills sublimated in the work of “traditional” singer/ songwriters such as Paul Simon, Bruce Cockburn, and James Taylor (some of my personal favorites). You could do a lot worse than trying to emulate their fingerstyle accompaniment chops.
13
DJANGO AND ONE-FINGER CHORDS Ex. 1
Five Functions
V
1
Am
D9 root 5
F#m7 5
Fmaj7 5 9
3
7
root
root
C6
3 7
3 7
6 3
5
5
root
root
root
root
Consider the legendary Django Reinhardt (1910-1953), the unique Gypsy Jazz guitarist, who, at the age of 18, had his left hand accidentally mutilated by fire. Damage to the back of his hand left his third and fourth fingers paralyzed, permanently bent back at the knuckle of the proximal phalange, and severely hooked over and in at the knuckle of the middle phalange. Despite, indeed, perhaps because of this disability, Django reinvented his musicianship, his technique, and his style, and went on to become one of the greatest guitarists in history. Obviously, his physical ability to execute complicated chordal fingerings was limited, but his musical imagination was not. Harmonically, his music remained relatively sophisticated - and here, in part, is how. A couple of one-finger, three-string chord forms (Ex. 1 and Ex.2 ) actually function as several very different chords - it’s the right bass note at the right time that defines the many different chords that a one-finger voicing can be. Django developed a technique of using his left thumb to wrap up and around the neck, providing bass notes for five, and even six string voicings.
Ex. 2 V
Two Functions 1
C
Am7 3 root
5
5 3
7
root
root
Continued • • • • • • 14
• • • • ••
DJANGO AND ONE-FINGER CHORDS
Ex. 3 V
V
1
V
1
Am
V
1
Am7
D9
1
Fmaj7
4 4 X
1
Bm7 5
VII
1
E9
IX
1
E
X
II
1
F
1
G
In Ex. 3, notice how the bass notes give the definition to the chord voicing. Ex. 4 is a chart that shows you some of the positions of the fingerboard where these particular one-finger, three-string chord forms exist with their different functions. With a little logical ingenuity, you should be able to find almost any chord, somewhere on the neck. So whenever you’re feeling limited, remember Django, use your imagination, and the possibilities may once again become infinite.
Ex. 4
Strings
Em7 5 B maj6 Gm A C9 F m7 E maj7 II
III
Am D9 Fmaj7 F m7 5 C6
D Bm7
V
VII
1 2 3 4 5 6
15
Cm F9 Dm G maj7 G9 E E 6 Bm7 5 Am7 5 C m7 F6 VIII
IX
X
(Cont’d)
• • • • • • OPEN TUNINGS (Cont’d)
and used D A D F# B D, a D6 tuning, when he recorded “The Very Thing That Makes You Rich” on Bop Till You Drop (Warner Bros. BSK-3358). Perhaps the most exploited alternate tuning, beyond the major open ones, is Dadgad, which is, quite obviously, a D A D G A D arrangement. It is modal, neither major nor minor, and offers a drone-like quality with its fourths and fifths. I first encountered it on Jimmy Page’s “Black Mountain Side” Led Zeppelin, Atlantic, 19126), but its versatility becomes apparent when one realizes that it’s the preferred “standard” tuning of modern European acoustic artists such as Pierre Bensunan, Bert Jansch, and John Renbourn. As we move farther afield, we enter areas where tunings develop out of personal experimentation, eclecticism, and conceptualism. Stanley Jordan has helped establish a whole new guitar vocabulary on an E A D G C F parallelfourths tuning system. Narciso Yepes added four extra bass strings to a standard 6-string classical guitar, tuning them to C B A G (low to high), not just to expand its range, but also to lend a natural sympathetic vibration overtone series for all the notes in the chromatic scale. Sometimes a tuning is uniquely born from a piece, and ends up being referred to by the song title. An example would be Michael Hedges’ “Hot Type” tuning from Aerial Boundaries, Windham Hill, WH-1032): A(-7!) B(+2) E(+2) F#(-1) A(-2) D(-2). (Again, numbers in parentheses represent semitone adjustments from standard tuning.)
SO AFTER ALL OF THIS, W H AT C A N O N E S AY ?
Once, Don Menn asked Mr. Guitar, Chet Atkins, “What would you like to see happen to the electric guitar?” Chet replied, “I would like to see the standard tuning kept.” Now there’s a radical school of thought.
17
THE CASE OF THE HAMMER-ON AND PULL-OFF ARPEGGIOS “Err On The B String”
Exhibit A B
Bmaj7
6
4 1 0
6
4 1 0
B7
6
6
6
6
6
6
etc.
P P H P P H etc.
P P H P P H etc.
12 7 0 12 7 0 12 7 0 12 7 0 11 7 0 11 7 0 11 7 0 11 7 0
T A B
E
Em
B
10 7 0 10 7 0 10 7 0 10 7 0 9 5 0 9 5 0 9 5 0 9 5 0
C m
F
hold right hand 1st finger
6
4 1 0
6
4 1 0
6
6
6
P P H P P H etc.
6
6
P P H P P H etc.
8 5 0 8 5 0 8 5 0 8 5 0 7 4 0 7 4 0 7 4 0 7 4 0
T A B
6
etc.
9 5 2 9 5 2 9 5 2 9 5 2 11 7 2 11 7 2 11 7 2 11 7 2
Your honor, ladies and gentlemen of the jury, peruse if you will Exhibit A. The defendant/author/composer in question refers to this four-bar excerpt from one of his solos as “Err On the B string.” What the plaintiff will try to demonstrate is that, for all the pyrotechnic, histrionic, sixteenth-note sextuplet noodling going on here, the defendant is actually guilty of fraud: a technical and harmonic analysis of this exhibit reveals it to be a simple, basic exercise in arpeggios, and nothing more.
Ex. 1 B major scale
scale degree:
R
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
Fingerings
4
1
3
4
2
4
1
4
9
9
9
8
7
8
6
T A B
9
Please direct your attention now to Ex. 1, which is a B major scale. In order to construct a B major chord, one must extract the 1st, 3rd, and 5th degrees of this particular scale (Ex.2). The defendant tries to mislead us in the very first sextuplet Continued • • • • • • 18
• • • • ••
THE CASE OF THE HAMMER-ON AND PULL-OFF ARPEGGIOS (Cont’d) 5th
Ex. 2 B major chord
And if the chord is “broken,” as it were, so that the notes that make it up are played in an up-and/ordown, running, consecutive fashion, then we have what is called an arpeggio. As illustrated earlier, the root, major 3rd, and perfect 5th of the B major scale (the 1st, 3rd and 5th degrees of Ex.1) form a B major chord (Ex. 2). Those same notes, played as they appear in Ex. 3A, become a B major arpeggio. (Keeneyed observers that you are, you will note the singular addition of another B note, played an octave above. This only serves to flesh out the arpeggio and make it a more “traditional” playable exercise.)
3rd root
VII
1 2 3
7 8 9
T A B
of the exhibit by omitting the major 3rd scale-degree note (D#) from his arpeggio, but he exposes his chicanery somewhat in the second half of the first bar, when his top note descends from a B to an A#, and we have what is very clearly the suggestion of a Bmaj7 arpeggio. As you can see from Ex. 1, the A# is the 7th degree of the B major scale, and along with the root note, B, and the perfect 5th, F#, we have 3 of the 4 specific ingredients of a Bmaj7 arpeggio (Ex. 3B).
Ex. 4 E major scale
But what is an arpeggio?… you may well ask, purely for clarification. As you know, the most basic element of harmony requires two notes, played simultaneously, which is called an interval. Three or more notes played simultaneously is called a chord.
Fingerings
T A B
T A B
3
9
2
8
1
7
1
7
1
7
2
8
3
9
Ex. 3B B major 7th arpeggio
Fingerings
T A B
4
9
3
8
2
7
1
6
2
7
3
8
2
4
4
1
2
4
1
2
4
1
3
2
4
4
5
The culpability of the defendant becomes even more evident as we move to the second bar of the exhibit. Notice how the top note of the arpeggio descends another half-step to an A natural, and the chord symbol is B7 (B dominant 7th). What is the trick? There is no A natural in the B major of Ex. 1; the Major 7th is an A#. What does this mean? It means that the sneaky fraud is changing the key sense, that’s what! Cast your eyes a halfbar ahead, and you’ll see an E major arpeggio coming up. Ex. 4 is an E major scale: (above).
Ex. 3A B major arpeggio
Fingerings
2
4
9
Continued • • • • • •
19
• • • • ••
THE CASE OF THE HAMMER-ON AND PULL-OFF ARPEGGIOS (Cont’d)
Ex. 5 E major chord
5th
root
If we extract the 1, 3, and 5, we get the notes B, D#, and F# - a B major chord - and when we add the 7th degree, which is an A, it gives us the B dominant 7th chord (Ex. 8). Compare that to the notes of the sextuplet beginning at bar 2 of Exhibit A, (A, F#, and B), and we have categorically defined a B7 arpeggio.
3rd
1 2 0 1 2
T A B
Ex. 8 B7
The 1st, 3rd, and 5th degrees of that scale form an E major chord, (Ex. 5), and played separately but consecutively, provide an E major arpeggio (Ex. 6). Notice how the notes of Ex. 6 correspond exactly to the third sextuplet of Exhibit A.
7th 5th
3rd root
1 2 4
Ex. 6 E major arpeggio
Fingerings
T A B
4
7
3
6
1
4
2
5
1
4
3
The pattern remains the same (only the names have been changed to protect the innocent) as we proceed into bar 3 of Exhibit A. However, the key and scale have changed yet again. No matter: The root, 3rd, and 5th of Ex. 9 still give us the E, G, and B of an Em chord, and the G, E, and B of Exhibit A’s third-bar Em sextuplet arpeggio. The second half of bar 3 is a basic, classic B major arpeggio, as we have seen before (Ex. 3).
4
6
7
And where did this B7 come from? Well, since the accused has changed the key sense to E major, (and if we continue to apply the principle of extracting 1st, 3rd, and 5th degrees of scales to build chords), let’s look at the E major scale again, except let’s start it on B, the 5th degree, which is commonly known as the dominant degree of a major scale (Ex. 7).
Ex. 9 E minor scale
Fingerings
Ex. 7 B dominant 7th - scale form of E major
Fingerings
T A B
4
9
1
6
3
8
4
9
1
7
3
9
T A B
4
10
5 7 8 9
T A B
3
1
2
3
4
4
5
1
3
4
2
4
5
2
3
4
5
1
9
Continued • • • • • •
20
• • • • ••
THE CASE OF THE HAMMER-ON AND PULL-OFF ARPEGGIOS (Cont’d)
There remains only the mystery of bar 4. Suddenly, the pedaling, ostinato repetition of the open B string (like every third note in all of the previous sextuplets) becomes, of all things, - a C#! What sleight of hand is this? It is the final twist of larceny, the damning bit of proof against the defendant. He cannot alter his static, repetitive left-hand fingering (4, 1, open; 4, 1, open: etc.). In fact, he has not picked a single note through the entire exhibit; he has merely hammered-on and pulled-off to achieve his sham! So he finally decides to make use of his right hand - not to pick, but to reach up, behind his left-hand fingering, and fret the B string at the 2nd fret (C#) with the 1st finger of this hitherto innocent bystander, drawing it into the sordid affair and making it an accessory to the crime, the party of the second part. When all is said and done, good people, we have finally exposed the con man at his game. His impressive, fancy, machine-gun licks are displayed as nothing more than basic arpeggios, a little four-bar exercise in hammering on and pulling off.
I t is my sincere hope that you shall now retire to your chambers,
P R A C TI C E A N D P O N D E R this, and return with the only
verdict that you can: G U I LT Y A S C H A R G E D .
I rest my case.
21
IMPROVISATION - GOIN’ FOR IT Ex. 1 Dm 1
1
4 1
4 4
1
3
1
3
4
1
1
3
3
1
1
1
1 1
2
1
10
13 10
10 12 10
12 10
12
R
B
B
R
H
P
S
13(15)13 12(14)10(12) 10 1012 10
When you improvise, what are you consciously
S
12
S
1 2 4
1
1
B
T A B
4 3 1
3
S
8 10 8 8 10 5 7 5 5 7
S
S
S
S
68 6 79 7 57 5 57 5
7 7 8 10
PACING
attempting and what are you unconsciously drawing upon? Usually, this kind of question gives rise to vagaries concerning subjective, random concepts of feeling and emotion in combination with intellectual challenges. It’s hard to be articulate about something that is essentially ephemeral. Besides, music ain’t about words. Sound in motion , Eduard Hanslick said. Still, let’s try to give the question of improvising a shot. Here goes.
Every solo tells a story, doesn’t it? Will your story slowly build in intensity until it’s at a fever pitch and then end with a bang, or will it be like waves washing over you, then gently drifting you out to sea, winding down as you slowly vanish over the horizon into the sunset?
CONTEXT AFFECTS CONTENT Content and style are often conscious predeterminations. I may decide to attempt a “theme and variations” approach on a particular solo, while another time I might feel that it’s appropriate to play a “greatest hits” package of licks and tricks, using primarily pentatonic and blues scales with two handed stuff, radical whammy bar, rapid double-picking scalar runs, pick slides, etc. Another song might suggest a more jazzy approach, so I employ more octaves, double-stops, and advanced harmonic exploration. Context affects treatment. Depending on a song’s mood and style, I might play the same riff with an entirely different treatment of technique, phrasing, and physical intensity (see Ex. 1).
Appropriate Emotion -
SPECIFIC CONCEPTUAL ELEMENTS Try to get in touch with how you feel, with what mood the song seems to be suggesting. Does the music that will surround and accompany the solo imply a lightness, cuteness and cleverness, or perhaps a dark, bluesy sadness? Sometimes, one may intellectualize and try, for example, to combine wholetone and diminished scales into an Angus Young AC/DC-type riff thing, thinking they can marry that to the music with propriety. Hmmm. Supposedly, anything’s possible. At the outset, try to be conscious of motivation. Are you angry? Relaxed? Do you feel tasteful and introspective, or are you in a clowning kind of mood?
Continued • • • • • •
22
• • • • ••
IMPROVISATION - GOIN’ FOR IT (Cont’d)
Q UE S ER A, S ER A
emotion and intensity at the drop of a hat. More power to you. Personally, the artist side of me consciously strives for this, but the muse tends to be elusive and transient. On the other hand, the practical musician side of me can memorize very real technical information that can reside in my brain and be at my fingertips’ disposal. The more I know and the better I know it, the more I am able to take advantage of it in an unconscious and autonomic way, and warp and mutate it in my quest for musical insight.
Having said this, a lot of it still boils down to a question of attitude. A very persuasive case can be made that the raison d’etre of improvisation is “Lets not talk about it, let’s just do it.” Too much consciousness leads to self-consciousness, which is a curse upon the ad-lib attitude. What is, is; what will be, will be; existential philosophy and all that. However…
When I analyze my Ex. 3 improvising, I find that I (often) A dorian ascending tend to organize myself into positions that have little arpeggio 1 “blocks” or fingerboard shapes in III 2 them. For example, if I were 1 1 4 4 2 2 V blowing in basic A minor, I would think of the fretboard as VII 4 4 4 1 1 shown in Ex. 2. Depending on 2 2 the harmonic structure I’m 4 playing over, I would X 4 4 superimpose and add the groups 4 of arpeggio shapes from the other chord changes, as well. Like many other improvisers, I then tend to think in particular scales to carry me from one position to another (Ex. 3).
YOUR VERY OWN PERSONAL REFERENCE LIBRARY Billy Sheehan says that you can’t break the rules until you know them, which leads me into this whole unconscious business. When you improvise, you draw upon the things that you know so well that they are autonomic functions, like breathing and heartbeating. In a way, this relates back to the previous paragraph. If you’re a very hip and together person who’s at one with the universe, you may be able to get in touch with your inner feelings and play with
Ex. 2
II
V
VII
VIII
IX
1 2 3 4 5 6
Strings
Continued • • • • • • 23
• • • • ••
IMPROVISATION - GOIN’ FOR IT (Cont’d)
Another unconscious organizational tool is exploiting a tonal center. When I first started improvising, the easiest notes to play off of and around were the root and the fifth. The next step was to include the blue notes - 3rd, 5th and 7th, and the whole-step bends of 4th to 5th and 7th to tonic. I must admit a personal preference and tendency to exploit the 2nd or 9th as a tonal center to develop a solo around, but it’s a pretty common trick in any improviser’s bag to consciously select a particular mode and then exploit the particular altered notes that are characteristic of that mode. (Refer back to the charts in the Modes chapters, Book Two.)
W H AT A R E B A S I C S ? Northrop Frye once said,
I very much distrust slogans like
“
‘Back to Basics’ because the question of what is basic has to be perpetually redefined. But there are essential things to be taught if you are going to take your place in modern society…”
This is especially true when applied to musical improvisation, because everything you know, combined with how you feel, is involved in your extemporaneous and spontaneous effort to transcend the sum of the parts. Everything you learn, no matter how complex or challenging initially, will eventually become just another accumulated “bit” of your basic understanding.
Y o u j u s g ot ta k e t g oi n’ e p f o r i t.
24
SOLOING FORM
he young guitarist Jonathan B. Goode is at T his first audition, sweaty palms and all. The singer has just finished destroying the second chorus of the tune they’re running down, and all eyes in the room turn to our hero for his solo. In the first two beats of the first bar, John decides to use the killer two-hand tapping arpeggio lick he’d been practicing all week. However, he’s nervous, and it’s new and tough, and he fluffs it. In the next two beats of bar 1, he decides to redeem himself and play his trusty standby super speedball descending blues scale run, and he whips it off with the alacrity that adrenalin can provide - maybe a little too much, though, because he ends up a little ahead of the first downbeat of bar 2. No problem! He just goes for the whammy bar and does what every righteous modern dude does in times of trouble: When In Doubt, Dump. This gives him a spectacular sound effect (as opposed to a musical melodic or harmonic statement) and buys him a little time to think. On the final beat of bar two, he plays a Steve Vai lick he copped from the “Crossroads” movie guitar battle, and in bar 3 he plays a T-Bone Walker riff because he knows he’ll score big points for showing off a knowledge of authentic roots. Uh-oh: nine bars to go, and he’s drawing a blank! So he noodles around aimlessly on the blues pentatonic (there’s not too many of those weird notes to worry about there), takes another shot at the two-hander (this time around, he nails it clean, and so, buoyed by new found confidence, repeats it 10 times), runs the old faithful blues scale up the neck in thirty-second-notes and caps it off with a series of high, screaming bends up around 1,200 Hz at about 120 decibels.
Does this story sound familiar? Continued • • • • • • 25
• • • • ••
SOLOING FORM (Cont’d)
All you poor guys who work in music stores,
I think that form is an absolute basic necessity. You need to be so familiar with it that it seems totally natural. Indeed, you should get to the point where you are exploiting it without being conscious of it. Then it makes some real artistic sense when you say you feel the need to travel beyond its confines.
isn’t this the same solo you’ve all heard 10 million times from those young aspiring rock stars trying out new mega-gear? Let’s try to be honest with each other and ourselves: When we “ad lib,” just how much of what we’re actually doing are we consciously aware of, and how much is truly and purely extemporaneous? How much is sincerely a personal artistic statement and how much is vapid bull shine?
There are plenty of standard musical forms (get out your music dictionaries): strophic song, simple binary, ternary, rondo, sonata (compound binary), sonata-rondo, air with variations. Hey, even if you compose aleatoric music, opting out of historically structured forms has still slotted you into a category! (In the words of Rush’s Neil Peart, “If you choose not to decide, you still have made a choice.”)
There’s no denying that we are assembling and exploiting pieces of our previous knowledge and experience. The art of music making is really a constant state of fusion between what we know, what we feel, and how we can (physically and technically) express this. Improvisation is supposed to be on-the spot composition, and in an age where we are being increasingly rigidly structured by both our technology and programming formats of radio and record companies, we must be making an equally conscious, concerted effort to tie our feelings, personality, and our heart and soul to those moments when we are given the chance to shine our light.
But what is basic solo form? The most basic definition that would suit my purposes here is that it’s just a predetermined idea in your head of structure, an overall concept, or even just a sense of purpose. There was a really terrific article by Jas Obrecht in the July ’81 Guitar Player magazine issue that was a compilation of quotes from many guitarists on the topic of soloing. With all due respect to the artists involved, and to Jas, I’d like to pirate a group of statements from that article to build (and support) a personal theory on form.
But how can you marry the wild, uncontrolled aesthetic passions of your soul to something as mundane and archaic as FORM? Well, if you are of a mind that your inner spirit should be allowed to run free, without rules or inhibiting structure, then I guess you won’t need these humble attempts at edification. The danger you face, however, in a freeform world of improvisation is that your work can take on an appearance of being makeshift and haphazard, even completely random, to the uninitiated and the traditionalist alike. Frankly, these qualities would not seem to have much intrinsic value, nor will this attitude get us very far in an educational forum.
“Before I even pick up a guitar, I’ll think.” Elliott Easton
This is an excellent start. Some guys don’t even bother to think until they’re actually finished playing, and then what they’re thinking about is the lady in the micro-mini at the bar. Ex. 1 shows two contrasting phrases: Both have the same melody, but the second phrase has been well thought-out and planned. Notice fingerings, positions, use of open strings, phrasing, smoothness, and the logic of the picking pattern.
On the other hand, if we can accept as a basic premise that a great deal of our art is enhanced by the discipline of form, then we have added a useful ally to our cause of communicating our thoughts and feelings. As a cartoonist, a writer of prose and music lyrics, and as a guitarist,
Continued • • • • • • 26
• • • • ••
SOLOING FORM (Cont’d)
Ex. 1
“There are four things about solo construction: the entrance, tone, building the solo, and how it’s going to end. Keith Moon, who was the drummer for the Who, used to say, ‘Remember, mate, they remember your entrance and your exit. Everything else in the middle don’t mean a goddamn thing.’ Try to make it so the end of the solo will help the next section along.”
4 4
H
H
T A B 8 10
8
8
10
10
7 10
8 10
11
9
10
Leslie West
4 4
H
T A B
3 5
P
P
H
3 0
3 0
S
B
10 8 10 12
No solo is an island. It draws life from the song around it, and should pay the favor back with interest. E x. 2 shows a little melodic riff. See how Ex. 3 exploits the riff, in the process providing another facet to the solo, and more important, to the song as a whole. Ex. 2
Gm
F
6
5
Textbook performance form! When the Mountain man speaks, all cellar dwellers and garageband blowhards should listen. Ex. 3 takes his advice about exiting: the vocal was coming back in on a G, so by adding a lower third harmony, I gave some extra support to that re-entry.
Dm
11
10
12
“ A s ol o s h s om e t hi n o ul d d o g . I ld h av e s o t s ho u m e a i m , t a ke t he t u ne s om e w h e re . ” J e ff B e ck
Tommy Bolin
Pacing, like taste, is a sign of maturity and wisdom in your playing. Some guys seem to play way beyond their years, and some cats, like Tommy or Jimi Hendrix or Charlie Christian, never did get to enjoy the benefits of age. Part of their legacy is their example of exercising tasteful pacing as classic form, showing predeliberation and a firm sense of purpose in their playing.
C
4 4
T A B
6
7
Ex. 3
“If you blow your cookies in the first bar, you have nowhere to go.”
5
Gm
Gm7
F
E
4 4 3
3
B
T A B
7
8
R
6 8 10 8
3
H P
B
6 8 6
5
6
5
R
7
H P
5
S
5 7 5 3
Continued • • • • • • 27
• • • • •• Ex. 4 . c t e , y t i s n e t n I , t n e m e t i Y c x G E , R t s E e r e N t n I E
s u r o h C e r P
Intro
First Verse
Chorus
SOLOING FORM (Cont’d) A Grabber Intro
s u r o h C e r P
o r t n I e R
Second Verse
B u i l d
Second Chorus
Climax
To Billboard #1
Set-Up and Rebuild
Solo
Bridge
Choruses Out
FORM
“Don’t go in business for yourself until you know what the composer had in mind… The good players are giving you a message, and the message is not how many notes they are playing; it’s the feeling they get.”
particular form. Notice how it bears a remarkable resemblance to West’s and Travers’ outlines: l. 2. 3.
Introduction Body (argument) Conclusion
Herb Ellis
An introduction should have a strong lead, or hook, to get the reader (listener) interested, and should clearly state the thesis, the main proposition, theme, or argument of the piece. The main body of the essay contains a convincing elaboration, illustration, and defense of the thesis. And the textbook definition of a proper conclusion should have three things: a restatement of the main thesis, a summation of the points raised in the main body, and your closing remark (having the last word in an argument, if you will, and making it a real zinger).
What’s the attitude of a song? What is the emotion? How well are you capturing it and interpreting it?
“A solo should be a statement, like a good novel. It should start someplace, grab your interest, work up to a climax, and then go down and lead into… whatever comes next. And it should follow a theme.” Pat Travers
Solos that are a constant stream of climaxes end up having no climax at all. A (slightly tongue-incheck) line-graph illustration of a “standard” song concept based on the Barry Manilow ballad formula arrangement, containing such a solo form, might look something like Ex. 4.
My use of essay form is only an illustrative example. You may personally and quite rightly find it inappropriate, in that you can easily envision one solo constructed along the lines of, say, climbing Led Zeppelin’s “Stairway To Heaven,” and another song’s solo being nothing more than a driving one-note wonder. (Remember Crazy Horse’s “Cinnamon Girl”? Now, it’s not what I would have chosen to do, but it leaves an undeniably effective impression.) All I am suggesting is that concept breeds form, and some forms are more universal than others.
“It’s like trying to describe something to someone; it’s a conversation where you say something a certain way.” B.B. King
And we all know what a succinctly eloquent lady Lucille is.
And without negating any of the above, be mindful that in some contexts, form can simply be pure emotion: “I get the blues, and I just let go in the middle of it,” said Muddy Waters.
I particularly like the analogies to speech, or writing stories. The most basic writing structure is the essay, and I think it behooves us to take a look at that 28
SOLOING AND FORM, PART TWO Creativity and Interpretation Ex. 1 Chet Atkins style
Form is shape: just a solid, personal concept of structure, a sort of general outline. Earlier, we broke solo content down into a few components. To review:
EMOTION Feeling, motivation, soul, heart, feel. H
PACING T A B
Taste, intensity.
CONTEXT Being appropriate, maintaining stylistic integrity.
7
5
3
P
3
5
5
H
3
3
5
5
jazz
In this chapter, let’s focus on another concept thinking creatively and discovering your interpretive voice. S
T A B
“The point of music is to tell stories with a melody.”
67
S
5
S HP
7 89
8
S
8 9797 5
89
10
bluesy
Carlos Santana
Once you get past the physically technical point of being able to pick out the notes and get from one to the next, how do you express your personality through them? Ex. 1 shows the same melodic riff played from four different stylistic sensibilities, which gives us four different stories. This illustrates the technical interpretations inherent in any given musical statement. What it doesn’t show are the personal emotional interpretations that are possible: dynamics, phrasing, and stylistic variations can occur on, between, or inside any given note in any of the four examples (not to mention the amount of vibrato you employ, or where you’re moving the picking position around on the string, or how slowly or quickly you reach your destination on bends or slurs, etc.).
S
T A B
7
B
5 7(9)
R
8
B
P
9(7) 5 7(9)
5 8 5 8(10)
two hand tapping
T
T
H
T A B
Continued • • • • • • 29
57
B
P R
5 7(9) 10 (9) 7
P
B
B
5 7(9) 12
5
• • • • ••
SOLOING AND FORM, PART TWO (Cont’d)
Should you be conscious of these kinds of things when you solo? When you’re practicing, absolutely. Get out the microscope and the fine-tooth comb. But when you’re performing, if it’s going to get in the way of the flow, forget about it.
“To truly improvise requires you not to know anything, in a sense. In this state of mind you see everything before you, every possibility. All avenues suddenly open to you.”
Historically, by nature, the sound of acoustic guitars was front-end loaded with percussive attack and a relatively swift decay, without much sustain to speak of (see Ex.2). Blues players such as Tampa Red and Robert Johnson changed all that by popularizing
Ex. 2 classical
Em
B7
3 4
John McLaughlin T A B
0 0 0 2 2 0
0
You sense bad actors or politica n u o y , cians because the k no w ne “ Yo u he n so meo m speeches that come out of their te l l w s peec h f ro t mouths are unnatural and s sa ma k e ea r t; i t ’s j u rehearsed-sounding. But a h is h ta neo us .” truly great acting job isn’t really s po n o s C a r l acting at all, because the actor a n a S a n t has become the character, and there is a symbiotic flow between the role and the person playing it. And therein lies their true art. But is a soloing musician acting? No and yes - no, a musician does not “pretend”, but strives to be honest, to be him or herself: but also yes, because the musician surrenders the ego and self-consciousness to the service of the music. The musician becomes a conduit for the music: this is the act of a true artist.
0
0 2 1 2
0
1
0
2
0
4
2 2 0
slide guitar, which could give the guitar the necessary sustain for sliding, bending, and legato effects of a human voice (Ex.3 ). In the ’30s, George Barnes and Eddie Durham pioneered the use of the electric guitar in jazz - more power, more volume, more sustain. By the late ’30s, clarinetist Benny Goodman’s guitarist Charlie Christian popularized the instrument, playing amplified guitar lines that were heavily inspired by the tenor sax work of Lester Young (refer to Ex. 4). The phrasing and concepts of horn players are very vocally oriented, as well, since they also run on lung power.
“My goal is to get the fluidity and hip line of horn players on the guitar.”
How can I teach you to get in touch with yourself? How can I describe the process of opening up and letting the music flow through you? That’s something you’ll have to work out on your own. Still, there are some concepts that can get you away from the guitaristic technical traps and move you towards the discovery of your “inner voice.”
Mike Stern
Ex. 3 slide 8va
3
“Make your solo as vocally oriented as possible, just as if someone were singing it, so the sound grows more human and natural.”
S
T A B
Ronnie Montrose
30
12
S
12
10
S
10 12 10
S
0
S
5 8 5
• • • • ••
SOLOING AND FORM, PART TWO (Cont’d)
Ex. 4 sax inspired Gmaj7
HP
T A B
9 79 7
Am7
D11
G6
S
10
S
9
7
8 7
8 10
8
7
10 9
B
11
9 10
12
12 (14)
In the late ’50s, James Burton put slinky banjo strings on his guitar to ease his string-bending leads on Ricky Nelson’s “Believe What You Say.” Now guitarists could imitate the sliding and bending of a voice or another instrument quite easily ( Ex.5). Ex. 5 bluesy
B
T A B
5(7)
B R
3 6 3
B R
6(8) 6 3
6 (8) 6 3
Check out Ex. 6 for an arpeggio in the Yngwie style of Paganini. Volume, distortion, and sustain (not to mention whammy bars) have all increased the range of a guitar’s interpretive and expressive solo potential. We can see how the fusion of such diverse elements as creative personality and technical advance can lead to a higher ground, always offering new, exciting options for the brave artistic soul. Yet it will always come back to this: It won’t amount to a hill of beans unless it is your voice, your personality in the solo.
B R
5
(7) 5 3 5 3
5
“If you want extreme guitar playing, you should listen to Paganini. His way of playing the violin was kind of the way I wanted to play guitar.” Yngwie Malmsteen
Ex. 6 Paganini-like arpeggio Am
How do you feel? What do you think? What do you know? For all of the infinite possibilities that lie outside the physical and technical borders that exist, there is an equally infinite potential that dwells inside each and every artist.
T A B 5 8
31
E7
7
7
5
5
5 8 7 4
5
7 4
6
7
7
DEVELOPING LEFT-HAND INDEPENDENCE: A FINGERING EXERCISE Sitting down, or in, with different musicians as
Here’s how it goes: start off with Ex. 5 all four fingers fretting at consecutive 1 2 frets along an inside string (the A, D, 3 G, or B). In Ex. 5, I use the G string 4 in the first position, but you really should try it on all the inside strings and in all positions all over the neck. Next, move your 1st finger up across the fingerboard to the adjacent string and your 2nd finger down to the string below, while leaving your 3rd and 4th fingers firmly planted right where they are (refer to the first chord diagram in Ex. 6). Play the interval you’ve created, and then switch the fingers around, with the 1st finger going from the D# at the 1st fret on the D string, down across the fretboard to the C at the 1st fret on the B string, while your 2nd finger goes from the D across and up to the E, 2nd fret of the D string, still without moving the 3rd and 4th fingers at all. Play the new interval.
often as possible offers some of the greatest potential for your ongoing, lifelong artistic education (open ears, open mind, no pride, no pretension, hungry and humble, and so on). Ex. 1
Ex. 2
G7
G7 5
III
1
II
1
2
2
3 4
Ex. 3
Ex. 4
Gmaj7 II
1
G6 2
3 4
II
1 2
3 4
Ex. 6 1
1 2
A friend complained about a physical/mental block that he had about making the change from a particular G7 to G7 5 voicing (Ex. 1 and Ex. 2). I could relate, recalling how years ago it had taken me months to get used to the change of Gmaj7 to G6 ( Ex. 3 and Ex. 4) that appears in Lesson One of the great classic, Mickey Baker Complete Course of Jazz Guitar, Book 1 (Lewis Music Pub., 263 Veterans Blvd., Carlstadt, NJ 07072). We got to talking about how these problems stem from a lack of independence, equal strength, and flexibility between the left-hand fingers. Later, another friend, Sil Simone, showed me an exercise that he’d learned from Matt Clark at Eli Kassner’s Toronto Guitar Academy (see what I mean about musical networking?).
2
3 4
3 4
2
1
1
T A B
2
2
1
1
2
Now go back and forth until you’ve got it smooth and accurate, in time with a metronome at a comfortable tempo. Make sure the static 3rd and 4th fingers aren’t muting the adjacent strings. Got it? Good! That’s the technical procedure. Now let’s learn the form of the complete exercise. 32
• • • • • • DEVELOPING LEFT-HAND INDEPENDENCE:
A FINGERING EXERCISE (Cont’d) Ex. 7
And that’s only the first part of the exercise; the full program looks like this:
1
~
2 3~ 4~ 5~ 6~ ~
The 1st and 2nd fingers are the “switching” digits, while the 3rd and 4th remain static (as in our examples). The 1st and 3rd fingers switch, while the 2nd and 4th remain static. The 1st and 4th fingers switch, while the 2nd and 3rd remain static. The 2nd and 3rd fingers switch, and the 1st and 4th remain static. The 2nd and 4th switch, while the 1st and 3rd remain static. The 3rd and 4th switch, while the 1st and 2nd remain static.
That gives you a grand total of 120 combinations of little switches of different fingers on different strings, and that’s exactly 240 different intervals, which at first glance seems to threaten great, tedious boredom. But once you’ve tried this exercise, you’ll find that every switch serves as a challenging and painful reminder of what an uncoordinated, physically bankrupt specimen of a guitar hero you are. Feeling cocky, eh? Walk through all the way and tell me you’re not burning from the elbow on down, pilgrim.
shows the four interval switches possible using the A string as home base for the “static” fingers. Ex. 8 illustrates two out of six possible switches from the D string. Likewise, there are another six from the G string, and four from the B, which aren’t shown here. Ex. 7
Ex. 8
33
THE SIX LAWS OF TONE, TASTE AND FEEL Ex. 1 4 4
T A B
0
5 4
9
14
10
14
19
19
Law #1:
At risk of dating myself, I recall high school
Be in the right place at the right time.
discussions weighing the relative merits of Alvin Lee’s speed, Carlos Santana’s soulful tone, Jimi Hendrix’ flash, and Eric Clapton’s tasty feel. While rankled by the stupidity of either/or arguments, I’ve always leaned towards the tone/taste/feel side of the debate, because I feel that if you apply yourself to fundamental musical disciplines, the speed and flash of good chops are an inevitable result.
Play the notes in Ex.1 , and listen to how different the notes sound in each position. Warm and dark? Brittle and thin? Now try picking close to the bridge, soft, then hard. Try free strokes (Fig. 1) for tone and rest strokes (Fig. 2) for power. Now try the same variations, but picking over the end of the fingerboard. How and where you pick drastically
Oh, there’s no mistaking the exhilarating impact of blinding speed and physical prowess; I’m often guilty of going to that popular well. But in my best “do-as-I-say-not-as-I-do” voice, I urge you to beware the empty sugar rush of a Twinkie and a cola! There’s no getting around it: it takes a developed, discerning palate to appreciate a vintage wine.
Fig. 1 free stroke
Plane of strings
Since those late ’60’s high school days, there have been a few new generations of chops-literate guitarists taking advantage of increasingly accessible educational materials. Technique has risen across the board. Indeed, we passed through a “techno-shredder” phase and into a “retro” movement backlash. Throughout the cycles of fashion, we are still left with the thorny problem of teaching tone, taste, and feel, areas of playing that are often regarded as “natural,” or “God-given” gifts that supposedly “can’t be taught” because “you either have it or you don’t.” So how do you teach the “unteachable”? Let’s start with some real basic basics.
Fig. 2 rest stroke
Plane of strings
affects your tone. The biggest downfall of musical performance is when the player becomes consumed by thinking about notes instead of listening to the sound of the music, getting inside the music and becoming one with the momentum of the transportation. Somehow, this position lends itself much more readily to an almost unconscious exploitation of the expressive, tonal palette.
34
• • • • ••
THE SIX LAWS OF TONE, TASTE AND FEEL (Cont’d)
Ex. 2 4 4
H
5
T A B
8
8
5
5
P
8
8
P
5
3
5
3
H
0
P
0
3
3
0
Law #2: Pick a style that’s picking you. Ex.2 shows four ways to pick a simple phrase. Can you play them with consistent tone, volume, and rhythm? Each variation has unique characteristics. Your own physical capabilities will lead you to favor one alternative over another in a given
situation. This is the basis of personality in your playing.
Ex. 3 3
3
3
3
3
4 4 3
3
H P
T A B
23 2
H
5
H
2 3 5
H
H
2 4 5
H
H
2 4 5
H P
454
H
7
H
4 5 7
H
3
H
5 7 8
H
3
H
5 7 8
P
3
P
3
P
10 8 7 8 7
10
Law #3: If it doesn’t sound good when you play it quiet, it’ll never sound good when you play it loud. Play your favorite speedball run. (For those without one, Ex. 3 is conveniently provided.) Okay, Roadrunner, now put your amp on a clean setting and turn the volume 4 3 down to 1. When you can execute fast runs with 2 this setup, getting a decent, cleanly articulated tone, then go ahead and crank the amp. Never use 0 volume and distortion to compensate for a weak physical performance. 1
5
6 7 8 9
1
0
Continued • • • • • • 35
7
8
9
10
• • • • ••
THE SIX LAWS OF TONE, TASTE AND FEEL (Cont’d)
Law #4: If you can’t play it good and slow, yo u’ll ne ve r pl ay it good and fa st. If you can’t play Ex. 3 at the suggested tempo of 192 beats-per-minute, cut the tempo in half. If you can play it solidly at 96 beats-per-minute, I guarantee that it’s just a matter of time and practice before you can speed it up. But remember…
Law #5: Never play two where one will do. Just because you can jack up the speedometer, or get fancy, doesn’t mean you have to.
Law #6: When in doubt, lay out. Listen. Trying to play your way out of confusion usually only makes the music go from bad to worse. Just relax and listen. Then, get back to basics. A baseball slugger on a hot streak is described as “on automatic” or “in a groove.” On the other hand, the batting coach of a hitter in a slump will take him back to the fundamentals to help him “rediscover” his swing and regain his confidence. The quickest route to confidence is through the fundamental things you know and love so well that they are almost autonomic functions. If you’re having trouble finding your “voice,” it may be because you’ve gotten outside your limitations.
The
is l a w # 6 o t y r c o r o l l a
S . . S . I . . K , s t u p i d
p l e m i s t i K e e p
Continued • • • • • • 36
• • • • ••
THE SIX LAWS OF TONE, TASTE AND FEEL (Cont’d)
Ex. 4 * 4 4
10 8
7
T A B
10
8
7
10 8
7
10 8
10
* 10 8
10 9
8
10 9
7 10 9
7
10 9
7 10 9
7
10
9
7
9
7
10 9
7
10 9
7
Ex. 5
4 4
T A B
15 13 12
14
13 12
14 12
12 10
12 10
10 8
10 9
8
Heed Spencer Tracy’s advice on acting:
“Just know your lines and don’t bump into the furniture.” Let’s say you’re learning your line ( Ex. 4), but you keep bumping into the furniture at the asterisk, because it feels awkward to cross to the third string to play the F with your 4th finger, then cross back to the second string to play the A with the same finger at the same fret. Positioning is not written in stone. You might “rearrange the furniture” to make it easier for yourself. (Remember Law #2.) Ex. 5 shows a refingering of the same phrase that will probably feel more natural. Search for ways to make personal adjustments in order to gain interpretive control and improve your confidence. The true test of your musicianship is to play out while searching for the sounds and emotions that you have inside. If you can do that, there isn’t another person on the face of the earth who can sound like you.
37
10
CROSS PICKIN’ Problems of stagnation and frustration are just as likely to be mental as physical. We start out by learning to recognize certain patterns and shapes, memorizing them and locking them in. But in order to advance, we must sometimes learn to unlearn, as it were, and overcome old habits. Ex. 1
A
T A B
4
12
4
1
4
9 11 12
0
B
T A B
3
3
4
1
3
9 11
0
3
H
0
0 12
11 12
11
1
2
9 10
1
2
2
1
10 9
2
1
H
P
9 10
10 9
3
1
11 9
3
0
4
3
1
12 11 9
4
3
0
4
12
4
P
0 11
0 12 11
12
Ex. 1A shows a
nice, simple, “linear” approach to the A major scale. But consider how Ex. 1B deals with the same animal: It uses a device called cross picking. Such an approach challenges all the tidy preconceptions contained in Ex. 1A. It forces us to think in seemingly contrary and illogical ways (i.e., going backwards across more than one string for a consecutive scale degree, or going all the way down the fingerboard to an open string in order to move to a higher note, and vice versa). Ex. 2
T A B
Another interesting thing about this technique: You can leave your fingers in place after you’ve plucked the 0 2 0 1 3 0 1 4 4 2 0 4 1 0 3 0 note, sustaining it across the following H H P P notes for a banjo or Ex. 3 0 0 0 0 pedal-steel effect. Two 11 12 12 11 0 0 10 12 12 10 more cross-picked scale 12 12 voicings are shown in Ex. 2 (G major) and Ex. 3 (D major), but you should be catching 0 1 3 0 3 0 2 4 the drift here - any scale with notes that can be sounded on the H H open strings is fair game for this approach. Try E major (hint: 0 T use the open E and B strings), F major (E and G), B major 0 A 0 11 12 B 7 9 12 (G and D), and so on.
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CROSS PICKIN’ (Cont’d)
• • • • ••
Ex. 4
0
1
2
0
1
3
H
T A B
0
7
2
0
3
H
8
1
0
2
P
0
0
0
1
0
P
0
0
12 12
12 14
1
13 12
8
7
0
Ex. 5
0
1
0
2
0
1
0
2
0
3
0
H
T A B 0
0
0
3
8
7
7
7
7
0
0
0
4
Ex. 6
4
2
T A B
0
0 12
9
1
0
4
0
0
0 7
1
11
7
0
1
4
0 7
0
1
0 10
7
0
4
0
And don’t forget those minor scales! How about A Dorian and A Aeolian ( Ex. 4)? Try the E minor pentatonic, or blues, scale in Ex. 5. And just for laughs (or Holdsworthian stretching agonies), there’s Ex. 6, which ascends Dorian and descends Aeolian. It’s only slightly less tortuous to accomplish on a 24 3/4" scale neck than on today’s ever-popular 25 1/2". (How about on a Gibson Byrdland, at 23 1/2"?)
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2
9
12
VIBRATO One of the things that separates the maestri from the sophomores is finger vibrato, an important technique for creating a distinctive sound. Because vibrato is such a highly personalized technique, there is really no “right” or “wrong,” no universal method. The how, when, where, and why of its application speaks directly to your artistic heart and soul. Nevertheless, here’s some entirely subjective thoughts on the topic.
Ex. 2 faster vibrato 4 4
4 4
3
3
3
3
3
3
3
What do I mean by “musical”? Slow finger vibrato usually moves at the rate of an eighth-note (or eighth-note triplet) against the beat, as shown in Ex. 1. If you want a faster vibrato, try the sixteenth-note and sixteenth-note triplet rhythms shown in Ex. 2. This is all unconscious stuff. When you’re experienced and in the groove, you won’t even think about it - it will just feel right. Listen to guys like Edward Van Halen, Eric Clapton, B.B. King, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Carlos Santana, and Mark Knopfler, and concentrate on the tone and feeling that their vibrato gives to the notes.
There are two general types of guitar vibrato that which is generated from a wiggling of the finger that’s depressing the string on the fretboard, and a second style that comes from shaking the whole hand at the wrist. Again, generally speaking, the finger vibrato tends to be used for a smaller, quicker effect, where the pitch range of the “vibrating” note isn’t too wide. A vibrato that starts back at the wrist tends to be stronger and more dramatic, with a wider pitch variation. Beginners tend to overuse vibrato, often in such a way as to make notes “flutter.” Learn to be judicious with vibrato. Many notes don’t require it, so don’t vibrate them to death. When you do settle on the right notes, use vibrato with the correct “time.” For example, try to make long notes at slower tempos warmer and rounder, or make short notes “laugh,” oscillating and resonating in a musical way.
Ex. 3
B
T A B
Ex. 1 slow vibrato
7
5
7
7
9
Don’t rush vibrato. Check out Ex. 3: The bent note might go smoothly up to pitch, then a little vibrato might warm it up nicely on the fourth beat of the bar. On the other hand, if you were “stinging” a single note without a bend - as B.B. King does so often and so well - you might want it “laughing” (or “crying,” as the case may be, depending on the song’s harmonic mood and lyrical content) right from the get-go.
picked note value
4 4
4 4
3
3
3
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• • • • ••
VIBRATO (Cont’d)
Be mindful of the fact that vibrato makes an unbent note go sharp, but that a bent note can travel both above and below the standard pitch. My personal taste is to be conservative with the former and more aggressive with the latter. (Of course, floating whammy bars give you mechanical options on everything, including open strings.) Fig. 1 shows a common method for producing a rock or blues-style
Fig. 1
vibrato. But there is still another method that bears our attention (Fig.2), one that is commonly employed by classical players (I have fond memories of it from my high school violin lessons.) Here, the string is not “vibratoed” vertically across the neck. Instead, you use a rapid motion, parallel to the neck, of the entire forearm, right back to the elbow. Even though the fingertip never moves the string vertically, the horizontal shaking motion changes the pressure of the fingertips, which act as a pivot point, and make the string vibrate in an almost imperceptible fashion. More often than not, the thumb comes right off the back of the neck to help exaggerate the motion. Vibrato is the most commonly used expressive tool, and is strongly related to bending (back in Book One). It animates a note, makes it more human, and more dramatic. So, on occasion, when the feeling is irresistible, you go ahead and pick yourself some real nice notes, and shake ’em up real good.
Pivot point where vibrato takes place Elbow moves back and forth in opposite direction from back of hand.
Fig. 2
Finger, hand and wrist shake back and forth Keep a strong, locked line from fingertip through finger, back of hand, wrist, and forearm
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RHYTHM CHANGES, PART ONE Ex. 1
B B maj7 [B 6]
A
Gm Bdim7
F7 C dim7
Am
D7 [D9]
Cm Cm7
F7 C dim7
B Dm7
Gm G7 9 [G7 9]
Cm Cm7
F F7 9
Dm7
G7 [G13]
C7 C7 [C9]
Cm Cm7
F F7 9
B Fm7
B Fm7 [Fm9]
B Cm F Gm Dm7 E maj7 Edim7 B 7 [B 13] [E 6add9] [G, B , or [Dm9] C dim7]
F G7 [G13]
B (F) Cm7 F7 [Cm9] [F13]
1
4 4
D7 D7
B
Cm Cm7
G7 G7
Gm7
C7 [C9]
F7 F7
Cm7
F7
B B maj7
(F7)
17
B B maj7
Gm Bdim7
B Dm7
Gm G7 9
Gm B 7
Cm
F
E maj7
Edim7
F Cm7
B Dm7 G7
A
F7
25
In the 1920’s George Gershwin wrote a popular
In modern practice, however, the harmonies are fleshed out into something like those shown in the second line of Ex. 1. Notice the chromatic ascent of the bass line in bars 1 and 2 and the frequent use of altered, extended, and substitute chords. (Ex. 2 shows some chord voicings you can use to play these progressions.)
tune called “I Got Rhythm.” It was based on the common AABA song form and a chord progression that has since evolved into a standard jazz performance instruction vehicle. Playing through the sequence of chords that has become known as “rhythm changes” exposes a musician to several basic concepts - such as II-V7 changes, chord substitution, and harmonized bass lines - in one comprehensive package.
Don’t be fooled by the term standard ; it doesn’t mean that the harmonic content is etched in stone and shouldn’t be experimented with. For example, Jamey Aebersold’s Turnarounds, Cycles, and II-V7s (Aebersold Pub., 1211 Aebersold Dr., New Albany, IN 47150) offers seven substitute progressions for just the first eight bars.
Begin with the relatively humble harmonies shown on the top line of Ex.1 . The first “A” section was a simple I-VI-II-V7 turnaround figure, repeated three times, and then tagged with a I-V-I. This section was repeated, and then followed by an eight bar bridge based on a common harmonic structure of the day, a cycle of four dominant 7th chords played for two bars each, with each chord functioning as the dominant of the following harmony. The “A” section is then repeated in bars 25 through 32.
But while there’s no such thing as “wrong” in music, some chords make more logical-sounding substitutions than others. The bracketed chords on the third line of Ex. 1 show some common chordal alternatives. In bars 1 and 6, maj6 and maj6 (add 9)
44
