Guitar Techniques 263 (Sampler) by Future PLC

PLAY blues • rock • jazz • acoustic • lead • rhythm • AND MORE! 263 DECEMBER 2016

more music than any other guitar magazine!

train your way to...

flawless fretting Better accuracy for chords and soloing Improved hand-to-hand coordination Superior clarity, expression and tone

Gary Moore Discover the technique touch and tone of this stunning guitarist

ON VIDEO

STEVE LUKATHER

Masterclass Double ‘blues and beyond’ lesson with the master

Over

Licks, chords and solos!

classical

Granados

Play Dedicatoria from Cuentos de la Juventud

Your Top Style Studies

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ROCKABILLY! Cochran to Setzer: learn the licks of the legends from Shakin’ Stevens’ guitarist, Jon Bishop!

Learn the tastiest licks of the greatest players! Featuring: Skid Row, Ani DiFranco Lynyrd Skynyrd & Louis Stewart

ISSUE 263 } december 2016 Just some of your regular GT technique experts... richard barrett One of the best players around, Richard is adept at most styles but truly excels in the bluesier side of rock. He currently plays with Spandau’s Tony Hadley.

Shaun Baxter One of the UK’s most respected music educators, Shaun has taught many who are now top tutors themselves. His Jazz Metal album is considered a milestone.

jon bishop Jon is one of those great all-rounders who can turn his hand to almost any style. No ‘Jack of all trades and master of none’, he nails every one with ease!

phil capone Phil is a great guitarist who specialises in blues and jazz. He teaches at ICMP in London, writes for GT and Total Guitar and has published 10 top tuition books.

les davidson Les has worked with Mick Taylor, Rumer, Jon Anderson, Pete Townshend, Tina Turner & more. He also runs a recording studio and teaches at BIMM London.

charlie griffiths Guitar Institute tutor Charlie first came to fame in Total Guitar’s Challenge Charlie series. He’s also one of the UK’s top rock, metal and fusion guitarists.

phil hilborne The UK’s original magazine guitar tutor, Phil’s something of a legend. A great player, he’s currently touring Europe with the Champions Of Rock show.

pat heath BIMM Brighton lecturer, ESP product demonstrator and all-round busy musician, Pat brings you six cool licks each month in 30-Minute Lickbag.

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Welcome THIS MONTH’S LEAD feature is all about improving fretting-hand technique. Many readers complain about lack of left and right-hand co-ordination and blame it on poor picking technique, believing their fretting ability to be up to scratch. But try this: fast alternate pick (tremolo pick) a single note at the 12th fret, first string, using your first finger; I bet you’ll play it perfectly, without a hitch. Now retain that picking speed but run a finger per fret up to the 15th fret and back down. Unless you’re really well sorted in the technique department I’d bet one or two notes get fluffed here and there. I’d also bet that your picking hand remained machine-gun steady throughout, leading us to conclude that your fretting isn’t quite what you believed it to be. Okay, there is the ‘crossing strings’ issue with picking, which my onestring example doesn’t address; but we did that in issue 248 with Sort Out Your Picking, so you could dig that out and run the two

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in tandem as a sort of ‘ultimate technique booster’. But back to the issue in hand... Richard Barrett has laid out a full fretting-hand workout that covers every aspect you’re likely to encounter; if you diligently go through each example and retain the exercises as a regular practice routine, I guarantee your fretting will improve. And that means everything from accurate string bends, powerful hammerons and pull-offs (stamina), independence between each fretting finger, barres (all fingers) and loads more. The result will be increased strength and greater control in everything to do with fretting. And your fretting hand is where almost all your expression and personality comes from as a guitarist; it’s also what separates our instrument from all the others. So dig in, enjoy the issue and I’ll see you again next month.

Neville Marten, Editor neville.marten@futurenet.com

Don’t miss our amazing digital edition Guitar Techniques’ iPad* edition is now even better!

bridget mermikides Guildhall and Royal Academy trained, Bridget is a Royal College of Music, examiner, a respected classical player and award-winning blues guitarist.

Stuart Ryan Head of Guitar at BIMM Bristol, Stu is an acoustic guitar virtuoso who performs throughout the UK. His latest book/CD The Tradition is available now.

justin sandercoe One of the most successful guitar teachers ever, justinguitar.com is a mine of information, and his YouTube channel boasts almost 500,000 subscribers!

iain scott For over 25 years Iain has taught in the UK’s top schools and academies, as well as a stint at GIT in LA. He can also boast playing with the legend Brian Wilson!

john wheatcroft A phenomenal guitarist, John is a master at all styles but a legend in Gypsy Jazz. His new album Ensemble Futur is out now on iTunes and Amazon.

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Finding your way around the magazine is easy. Tapping the feature titles on the cover or the contents page, takes you straight to the relevant articles. Any web and email links in the text are tappable too!

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Songs and lessons have the audio built in with a moving cursor showing you exactly where you are in the music. Simply tap the ‘play’ button then you can fast-forward or scroll back at will.

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Certain articles have accompanying videos full of useful insight and additional information. Once again, tap the play buttons to enjoy video masterclasses on your iPad or smartphone.

PLUS! Get a FREE iPad/iPhone sample of GT. For full details and how to receive our digital edition regularly, go to bit.ly/guitartechniques (if you live in the UK) or bit.ly/guitartechus (overseas). * PLEASE NOTE: Only the Apple version contains interactive tab and audio. Zinio and others do not.

Disc audio Sometimes the GT CD features some articles’ backing tracks as mp3 files due to space. These will be found in a folder on the CD-ROM section of the disc, accessible only via a computer and not a conventional CD player. December 2016

CONTENTS TURN TO PAGE 28 NOW FOR THE LATEST SUBSCRIPTION OFFERS

• C ON T E N T S • DE C E M B E R 2 016 •

LEARNING ZONE Lessons Introduction

30-minute lickbag

Jason Sidwell discusses the merits and misconceptions that surround sticking to the ‘correct’ instrument for any given style. Pat Heath has six more licks for you to play at easy, intermediate and advanced levels.

blues

rock

HARD ROCK

jazz

Acoustic

creative rock

choRD CAMP

IN THE WOODSHED

Les Davidson pays music tribute to one of GT’s favourite players – the amazing Gary Moore.

Martin Cooper examines the playing style of those Southern rock kings, Lynyrd Skynyrd. Charlie Griffiths is up to his neck in Monkey Business with a look at the style of Skid Row.

John Wheatcroft explores the considerable talents of Irish jazz guitar legend, Louis Stewart. Stuart Ryan checks out the unmistakable acoustic style of all-rounder Ani DiFranco.

Shaun Baxter concludes his series on Mixolydian triads: this month he stacks ‘em up! Iain Scott explores the chord side of the Lydian mode and shows it in a variety of situations.

Sort out your fretting and everything else will follow!

FEATURES

Fretting impacts on every other aspect of your playing – if it sucks, so will everything else! Richard Barrett is here to help get your fretboard fingers functioning fabulously!

Welcome

Jon Bishop looks back at those heady days of rockabilly with some fab licks and chords from some of the genre’s finest players.

talkback

Intro

Your opinions laid out in print... Justin Sandercoe, Mitch Dalton, 60 Seconds, Jam Tracks, One-Minute Lick and more.

Subscriptions

BACK ISSUES

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STEVE LUKATHER Video Masterclass

Here we have two masterclasses for the price of one, with the legendary Luke showing how to break out of those standard Blues scales.

Missed a copy of GT in the last six months? See how you can get it here!

Albums

Reviews this month include: Gary Hoey, Marcel Dadi tribute, Seasick Steve and Shakin’ Stevens

transcription ENRIQUE GRANADOS Dedicatoria

Nev tries not to get his fingers in a twist...

SPECIAL FEATURE rockabilly It’s a revolution!

VIDEO tutorial

REGULAR FEATURES

COVER FEATURE FRETTING TECHNIQUE 10 great ways to improve it

Charlie Griffiths demystifies a technique that some find a little scary, but which can open up new musical horizons: sweep picking!

USER GUIDE

Next Month

Get more from GT by understanding our easy-to-follow musical terms and signs.

Bridget Mermikides arranges and transcribes a nostalgic and emotive piece originally written for piano but perfectly pitched here for guitar.

Texas Blues special; 10 fingerpicking patterns; five exclusive video licks from Robin Trower, plus Johnny Marr, Lenny Kravitz and more.

Take a lesson from the cool and charismatic Steve Lukather December 2016

TalkBack Post Guitar Techniques, Future Publishing, Ivo Peters Road, Bath, BA2 3QS. Email neville.marten@futurenet.com using the header ‘Talkback’.

10-MINUTE WORKOUT I enjoy your magazine a great deal. I have been a subscriber for a while now and had been purchasing it on the newsstand for a couple of years before that. Recently, I was working through Giuliani’s 120 Right Hand Studies and I thought that something similar would be a great monthly feature for your magazine. Say on the idea of your One-Minute Licks column. Picking hand workouts are pretty tedious and if you had a short column each month with a different workout, I think practicing in short bursts would make it less tedious. Thanks for listening! John Rhodebeck Funny how ideas we get from you keen-eyed readers often find their way into the magazine . As soon as I read your letter I realised what a great idea it was, I told music editor Jason Sidwell and he agreed. It might take a little while to organise, so bear with us; but if you see a new feature in the front end in the next few months, called something like ‘10-Minute Workout’, you’ll know it came directly from you.

IN THE SHADOWS Thank you so much for the Shadows feature in GT261. I’ve been a lover of their music since I first heard Apache on the radio way back when. Although I love all kinds of music and have done so all my life, it’s those days and that music that I hark back to every time I think about what I truly love. It’s hard for young people to realise the 6

December 2016

impact bands like The Shadows had on us. Before this there was nothing – Michael Holliday singing The Runaway Train, or other novelty songs like In The Middle Of The House by Alma Cogan. When we heard Apache, Kon Tiki and Man Of Mystery this was music made just for us! And we latched onto it like there was no tomorrow. Even when The Beatles came out a couple of years later, although the kids loved it (I did too), their mums did as well, so the effect was diluted slightly. Your feature, therefore, really made my day. Not only did I work through each example with ease, I also went back to that first Shadows album (pink Strat, white Tele!) and relived my lost youth one more time. Thanks, GT, for giving me a great time. Ross Davis

A SIDE OF SLIDE

no relation – the Landreth Brothers are actually Canadian – although Sonny did I know from time to time you do work with the boys’ musician father feature slide examples in bigger many years ago. But you are quite right, blues features and I believe there in that a new slide series would fit with was a slide series some years ago by no less than Guthrie Govan. But GT right now, especially as groups such as Joey and his brothers are making such with all these great younger bands waves. We would have to around today – and I’m wait until one series finishes thinking specifically of before we can slot it in. But Joey Landreth and the we like the idea of the Landreth Brothers – is ground-up approach. there not mileage in Several of our writers are big another regular series? I slide fans too. You have the don’t mean so much a New series communal GT brain cell well style-file type thing, but a on slide in and truly working, Mick. nuts and bolts, belt and the offing? braces slide series, teaching it from the ground up. GLORY DAYS Now you might argue that slide is I have to admit that when GT first one of those styles that players stopped using the likes of Guthrie, usually learn as a side show to Dave Kilminster and Jamie their regular technique. But surely Humphries, I felt that it would hit GT is here to teach us all manner of the doldrums and become a techniques and theory, and with shadow of its former self. To be fair you’ve tried a few things that didn’t work that well in my opinion, but these days the range of writers you’ve gathered around you is second to none. Each one of them that in mind a full-blown series brings a particular voice to the would be great for people like me. I magazine. Of course, I have my know you don’t do interviews, but favourites as I’m a blues-rock-jazz I’d love to see a 60 Seconds With guy, but I just wanted to say that Joey Landreth to get some insight GT is as good now as it ever was in into his thought processes. And those perceived ‘glory days’. Long while we’re on the subject, couldn’t may it continue. Les Davidson include him one Danny Martin month in his Blues column? I think you can probably tell I’m a bit I’m not sure what we tried that didn’t besotted with this band and the work, Danny, because I think everything way Joey plays. Check them out if we do in GT has merit as a piece of you’re not familiar. tuition. However, I’ll happily take your compliment on behalf of the brilliant Mick Ryan team of folk that contributes so tirelessly to this almost 23-year-old institution. I To take your first point: yes we do believe the balance in the magazine is regularly feature slide in the magazine great, but it can always be improved but no, not in an ongoing feature of late. – witness the two excellent suggestions Guthrie’s series was several years ago on this very page. So you keep reading now, and went from simple blues slide and we’ll keep producing it for you! into more complex Duane Allman territory, then on to the more challenging Derek Trucks, Sonny A few members of GT’s current roster Landreth and beyond. Sonny is actually of teachers: the new ‘glory days’!

i’d love a nuts and bolts, belt and braces slide series, teaching it from the ground up We knew this feature would resonate, Ross. One of my best friends (bassist Roger Newell) is a huge Shadows fan, and he has collected almost every take and outtake of every track that they ever recorded. But get this: he was also a Shad for a moment on Marty Wilde’s 50th Anniversary concert at the London Palladium in 2007. Brian Bennett had joined us with Bruce Welch to guest on Summer Holiday, and unknown to Marty I’d got Hank to come along too. At the last moment Hank agreed to play, and so Bruce having replaced our other guitarist, Brian having replaced our drummer and Hank replacing me, Roger found himself doing Move It with Hank, Bruce and Brian, and Marty taking Cliff Richard’s vocal. If you Google it, you can see the moment of realisation on Rog’s face: “I’m A Shadow!” We’d also backed Jet Harris that same night so it made Roger’s year. I’m so glad you enjoyed the feature – and I hope my little story didn’t make you a tad jealous!

Intro Food For thought

Every month, Justin Sandercoe of justinguitar.com lends GT his insight as one of the world’s most successful guitar teachers. This month: mindful listening.

TINA K

suspect that some of you will have heard of this ‘mindfulness’ thing, which is gaining popularity at the moment. It’s a kind of meditation which comes from Buddhist practices and the most common way to learn it is by spending time focusing on your breathing and trying to maintain that focus, with the aim to become ‘always present’ for every moment. I got into mindfulness around the start of 2016, mainly as way of clearing my mind and relaxing (I get bad ‘monkey mind’ where it just won’t turn off!). I’ve found it very helpful in my day-to-day life. I sleep better and feel generally more relaxed, which is a big positive. Then I discovered ‘mindful running’ where, instead of focusing on the breath, you move your attention to the fall of your feet and let that become the complete focus of your attention. Great, I could get my morning run and my meditation done in one go. But, ‘What’s that got to do with guitar practice?’ I hear you ask. This year I’ve been trying to make time each day to listen to music. Like, really listening closely, not just having music on in the background or be listening ‘for work’. I think it’s something many of us forget about and it’s incredibly important on many different levels, and something I notice many of the great players I admire talk about often. With music being so available these days, I think taking time to really appreciate the good stuff is a big deal and something we should all try to do more of. So I thought I’d try and mix in this ‘mindful’ practice with my listening. I’m loving the results, so I have to share! I feel I’ve regained that deep kind of listening I used to do back when I’d order a new album from the record store, wait months for it to arrive and then spend weeks listening to that one record and really absorbing it and appreciating its value to my life.

December 2016

Justin says be mindful in your practice sessions Some experience in mindfulness will probably be a big help to get yourself started – I used an app called Headspace for a few months and found that to be really helpful, but there are many websites devoted to the practice, which you can seek out on your own. When it comes to transferring the ideas to music, I start in the same way as in normal meditation, getting comfortable and trying to get myself ‘still’. I prepare a playlist in advance (usually 30 minutes) or just pick an album I’d like to absorb. Then while listening I start by letting my focus wander over the music and see where it lands, and then try to get really into that aspect and drill deeper. It might start off being the guitar tone and then specifically how it sits in the track.

Then maybe into the sound of the pick hitting the strings. It might be the drum groove and then the hi-hat and then the locking-in of the hi-hat and acoustic guitar, or the pattern it makes. It’s not really important where your focus ends up but I think it can be helpful to try to guide yourself deeper into wherever your focus drifts. It’s really opened up some albums that I was already very familiar with and I’ve discovered new depths to explore. I now listen to something with a specific aim; for example, I wanted to explore Angus Young’s vibrato, so while AC/DC is probably not the kind of music one would associate with meditation, I found myself in a mindful state with all my attention centred on this one thing.

i thought i’d mix this ‘mindful’ practice in with my listening. I’m loving the results

Something else I got into was exploring the ‘pocket’ of funk grooves and trying to focus in on the relationships between the instruments and how tight (or loose) they were rhythmically. Music production, focusing on reverbs and textures, and exploring guitar layers is all fascinating. You can choose to get into the zone with a goal to explore something, or just let yourself get absorbed into the music. It’s all good – there are no rules, just fun things to explore. If you follow these columns you will know that I recommend using a timer for practice and learning to keep your focus while practising is pretty much the ‘mindful’ approach anyway. I hope that you find this idea of some benefit and that at the very least it inspires you to get into deep listening. Happy days! Get more info and links to related lessons on all Justin’s GT articles at www.justinguitar.com/gtmag

Intro

ay back when Uncle Noah was bringing joy to the clients of Ark Introductions Plc, ‘variety’ was the catch-all name given to the attempts to brighten the lives of the great unwashed and bring temporary respite from their daily grind. The music hall, the end-of-the pier show, the summer season, touring productions and pantomime all featured a roster of acts. And within this ‘variety’ wrapper the working man could expect to be entertained by a cornucopia of ventriloquists, trampoline acts, jugglers, birdsong impersonators, magicians and any number of other ‘spesh’ acts. A distant echo of Britain’s Got Talent. But with talent. All in need of accompaniment by hundreds of musicians, I’m happy to say. Standing at the top of the bill one would find the star of the show, invariably a singer or comedian of national renown. Remarkably, this format was still surviving, although in terminal decline, by the time I appeared on the entertainment scene in the late 70s, plectrum in one hand and invoice book in t’other. My first ‘proper’ professional engagement was Startime 76. Eight shows per week for eight weeks at the Congress Theatre, Eastbourne. The sun shone, the punters flocked in and the format was still remarkably unchanged. All singin’ and dancin’ excerpts from Camelot kicked off proceedings, complete with dry ice of variable density. An as-yetunknown Michael Barrymore as second spot comic, Ray Alan And

Mitch Dalton’s

Session

Shenanigans

The studio guitarist’s guide to happiness and personal fulfilment. V is for Variety.

Lord Charles (ventriloquist), Pepe And His Friends (puppets), and Johnny Hutch And The Half Wits (slapstick) all competed for the attention of the mercifully benign family holiday audience. In time-honoured tradition, topping

friendly ecosystem forever but the formula remains trusted and true to this day. The ‘rules of variety’ seem to live on, if in attenuated form. I was struck by this notion as I sat in Westminster Abbey this week, a minor contributor to the

standing at the top of the bill would be a singer or comedian of international renown the bill for most of the second half, was Cilla Black, still in mark one pop star mode. And there in the gloomy pit I sat, gleaning what I could of the ways of showbiz in my capacity as electric guitar (doubling acoustic and banjo) in the Gordon Rolfe Orchestra. Of course, the advent of TV and cinema swept away this musician-

memorial service for Sir Terry Wogan. The BBC Concert Orchestra (“Please do not put instrument cases on the tombs”) entertained the massed ranks of the light entertainment great and good with some Classic FM-esque tidbits. Joanna Lumley recited a poem. Ken Bruce and Chris Evans paid tribute. K Melua sang. P Gabriel sang some

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by Phil Hilborne

SEQUENCE ARPEGGIO TAPPING LICK

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For more info on Mitch Dalton go to: www.mitchdalton.co.uk

Sequenced arpeggio tapping lick

PHIL HILBORNE’S ONE-MINUTE LICK This month’s lick is a sequenced arpeggio idea loved by Greg Howe. It sounds cool and works great! It’s based on a descending and ascending tapped triplet pattern using notes from an A major arpeggio (A-C#-E). It’s challenging to play, especially cleanly and fast. Handling noise and fretting-hand hammerons that are not loud enough are key areas to watch. To combat handling noise you can use a fret-wrap or hair tie around the 1st fret; but if you play accurately and mute offending strings the result will be worth it. After playing through it as written, work on ideas of your own using different types of arpeggio in a similar manner, then apply these ideas to various chord progressions. It’s a fun challenge!

ONE MINUTE LICK -

more and the proceedings were topped off with strains of Floral Dance ringing around the resting place of Purcell, Vaughan Williams and other pioneers of variety. There were a few prayers too, I recall, but they didn’t interrupt the flow unduly. No more than theological commercial breaks, if you will. You could have packaged it as ‘Startime 16’, booked the Palace Theatre, Torquay for the summer and been back in showbiz before you could say, ‘Extra matinée due to demand’. Plus ca change, plus c’est le meme chose. And I’m sure the great man would have approved. Variety is the spice of life. And death, apparently.

A7 (no 3)

A6 (no 3)

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E B G D A E

December 2016

Intro Instrumental inquisition!

Instrumentals have supplied some of music’s most evocative and exciting moments. We asked some top guitarists for their take on this iconic movement. This month: speed rock phenomenon, Rusty Cooley.

WILKINSON IMAGE & DESIGN

GT: What is it about guitar instrumentals that appeals to you? RC: The first instrumental stuff I heard was Yngwie, and the intensity just blew me away. But it’s not always about that. I listen to certain guitarists for certain things based on my mood. Satriani writes some of the best modal progressions that I’ve ever heard – he really knows how to put the chords together to pull the most from each mode’s tonalities. I’m also a huge fan of instrumental music in general; (country fiddle player) Mark O’Connor’s Midnight On The Water is some of the greatest playing I have ever heard. GT: What can an instrumental provide that a vocal song can’t? RC: Van Halen said it best when he said: “If you told Beethoven a song wasn’t a song without a singer, he would have punched you in the mouth.” So it’s all about the mood; there’s certain music that can help you meditate, drive 100 miles per hour, or provide inspiration. I think they both can be equally fulfilling.

GT: What do you embrace or avoid (rhythms, harmony, etc?) RC: I avoid writing around a guitar lick. I start with the foundation; if the structure and chords can’t stand on their own I scratch it. I usually write as if someone were going to sing over it, or I ask myself, ‘Would I be bored playing just the rhythm guitar parts?’.

beneficial. I recently discovered that Nadia wasn’t written by Jeff Beck (written by Nitin Sawney) and when I heard the original version with the female singer (Niki Wells) I was blown away and then again at how well Jeff was able to emulate her vibrato and melodies on the guitar. GT: How do you start writing one; is there a typical approach?

satriani knows how to put the chords together to pull the most from each mode’s tonalities GT: Is a typical song structure always relevant? RC: The thing I kept reminding myself when writing my album was that this is my music, do whatever you want. As the composer there are no rules. Something I have wanted to do is write a tune where no part is ever repeated; it’s a constant forward motion. GT: How useful is studying a vocalist’s approach? RC: That’s something I’ve been very interested in lately. I think it’s very

RC: It all starts with the chord progression or riff, which can be inspired from hearing something new, to learning a new chord or scale and exploring the tonality. GT: What do you aim for when your performance is centre stage? RC: Most importantly, I want to do my best to nail it. But at the same time I like to put on a show. I’m not one usually to just stand there and play in one spot unless I have a horrible soundman and not a good mix in my monitors.

Rusty Cooley and his sevenstring assault

December 2016

GT: Many songs have a solo that starts low and slow but finishes high and fast. Is this structure useful for instrumental writing? RC: No, I let the music dictate where I go; I try not to use formulas. GT: What type of guitar tone do you prefer for instrumentals? RC: I like my tone to be very tight and track well on the low end, so it doesn’t get muddy. Good sustain helps, and some delay for the leads. GT: Any favourite keys or tempos? RC: I usually write in the lower end of the seven-string so things tend to be in B, C, C#, D or even E and that could be in any mode. Tempos are usually pretty quick. GT: Minor or major keys? RC: I have spent years exploring the vast sounds you can get out of both. GT: Any favourite modes? RC: I love the Phrygian tonality; Phrygian Minor, Major, Dominant and Spanish Phrygian, as well as Pentatonics based around that mode and Diminished Half-Whole, Lydian Major and Dominant. But I love so many different sounds. GT: Modulations into new keys? RC: Sure, I think that’s cool as it keeps things interesting; and I like to utilise different modes or parallel modes or modal interchange. GT: Do you view the backing band differently than on a vocal song? RC: Simple: if the song can’t stand on its own without guitar melodies or vocals, it’s not good enough. GT: What are your views on harmonising melodies? RC: I think it’s great as long as you can play it live, but that might mean you have to have a second guitarist, keyboardist or a harmoniser. GT: What three guitar instrumentals have inspired you? RC: Black Star by Yngwie; YRO by Racer X; and Mabel’s Fatal Fable by Jason Becker. My three biggest influences when I was growing up. Rusty Cooley’s new EP, Day Of Reckoning – Into The Fire Part 1, is out now.

Intro SIXTY SECONDS with...

A minute’s all it takes to find out what makes a great guitarist tick. Before he dived into his limo for the airport we grabbed a quick chat with Ocean Colour Scene’s Andy Bennett, on the launch of his first solo release. GT: Do you have a type of pick that you can’t live without? AB: I use 60mm Dunlop picks. I used to use the embossed type but they don’t make them any more, or I can’t find them. GT: You have to give up all your pedals but three: which remain? AB: I don’t really use pedals much but I do like my wah-wah (Dunlop original Crybaby), also my Boss digital delay (DD-6). But the pedal I can’t live without is my Boss TU-2 turner as I hate being out of tune. GT: Do you play another musical instrument well enough to be in a band? And have you done so? AB: I’m not a bad drummer and I’ve played drums at the Royal Albert Hall for Ocean Colour Scene on one song. But do I love the drums and play them on four or five tracks on my new album, Thinking Drinking Singing. GT: If a music chart were put in front of you, could you read it? AB: Not a chance! But I would love to be able to do that. Maybe in the future I’ll go to college and study music properly! GT: Do guitar cables really make a difference? What make are yours? AB: I think good guitar cables are probably the way to go. I use Planet Waves cables at the moment. GT: Is there anyone’s playing (past or present) that you’re slightly jealous of? AB: I am jealous of quite a few guitarists, usually friends of mine who I jam with. I love people like Robbie Robertson, John Frusciante and Andy Fairweather-Low – the list goes on and on. GT: Your studio is burning down: which guitar do you salvage? AB: I’d save my good old Epiphone PR350 acoustic. It’s my main guitar and I write on it, gig with it and record with it. GT: What’s your favourite amp and how do you set it? AB: My favourite amp is a 2x12 Fender Deville set with the treble and bass around 7, the mid around

Andy Bennett of Ocean Colour Scene launches his first solo album 5, volume at around 2, gain to about 4 or 5 with a touch of reverb. GT: What kind of action do you have on your guitars – any particular quirks etc? AB: Not really. I have quite a low action on all my guitars as I just find it easier and nicer to handle when they are set like this. GT: Who was your first influence to play the guitar? AB: Actually, it was Buddy Holly, although he was long dead before I was born. But the guy who taught

me to play my first few chords played me That’ll Be The Day and I was hooked. GT: What was the first guitar you really lusted after? AB: I always wanted a Gibson Les Paul like Paul Kossoff, from Free. He looked really cool with it and I wanted one instantly! GT: What was the single best gig you ever did… AB: With my first band Sergeant as a support act at Wembley Arena. Just insane for a 17-year-old.

i’m not a bad drummer and I’ve played drums at the royal albert hall for ocean colour scene

GT: …and your worst playing nightmare? AB: Breaking four strings in one go at an Ocean Colour Scene show at Shepherd’s Bush Empire in London – it didn’t leave me much room for manoeuvre as my spare was having a string put on from breaking one the song before! GT: If you could put together a fantasy band with you in it, who would the other players be? AB: Jim Keltner, Hal Blaine and Ringo on drums; Robbie Robertson on rhythm guitar; Paul Carrack on organ; Paul McCartney on bass; Joe Walsh on lead guitar; The Memphis Horns section; Dusty Springfield, Aretha Franklin and Etta James on backing vocals; Ray Cooper on percussion; Dr John on piano; and me on vocals, acoustic and electric! Oh... and maybe Stevie Winwood on organ too! GT: Present company excepted, who’s the greatest guitarist that’s ever lived? AB: Probably Jimi Hendrix, just for the way he changed how electric guitar was played and could sound. GT: Is there a solo by some other guitarist, that you really wish you had played? AB: Yes, I love the solo on Struttin’ On A Sunday by Aaron Neville, but I have no idea who played it. It could be the guitarist from The Meters Leo Nocentelli. I wish I’d played that – very funky, clean and classy. GT: What’s the solo or song of your own of which you’re most proud? AB: The song I’m most proud of on this album is a track called Don’t Forget Who You Are; it has a great feel and I really like the lyrics. GT: And finally... what are you up to at the moment? AB: I’m releasing my first solo album. It’s called Thinking Drinking Singing and it’s out on 25th November. The first single from it is called A Little Love. We’re already doing demos for the next project and, of course, there are loads of gigs, as always. December 2016

That Was The Year...

Intro

1953

munists m o c s, e y E s ’ t Ca Grail and the Holy HOFNER IS WORKING ON its

462/S acoustic archtop, affectionately known as the ‘Cat’s-Eye’ model due to its elliptical soundholes. This single-cutaway, fully bound beauty features a striking flamed maple body, selected cedar top, split trapeze tailpiece plus a pearloid scratchplate and two-tone headstock face.

THE CORONATION OF QUEEN ELIZABETH II

at Westminster Abbey sparks a buying frenzy on television sets and it‘s estimated that a quarter of British households are now in possession of one. The BBC airs the first edition of Panorama, a still-going current affairs programme, along with variety show The Good Old Days and sci-fi thriller The Quatermass Experiment.

BILL HALEY GIVES THE FIRST PERFORMANCE

of Rock Around The Clock in America and rock and roll is born. We take a while to catch on – when the Queen was crowned, Frankie Laine’s I Believe was number one in the charts. Dizzy Gillespie’s trumpet’s bell was accidentally bent upwards at Snookie’s in Manhattan, but he liked the sound so much that he had a special trumpet made with a raised bell. It becomes his trademark.

POPPING INTO EXISTENCE ARE

Tom Petty, Midge Ure, Andy Partridge, Ian Bairnson (Alan Parsons Project), Malcolm Young, Mike Oldfield, Chaka Khan, Merrill Osmond, Alex Lifeson, Cyndi Lauper, Geddy Lee, Robert Cray, Pat Benatar, Kevin Rowlands (Dexy’s), Lucinda Williams and Michael Bolton. Stepping out are Django Reinhardt and Hank Williams.

AMERICA’S FEAR OF THE Communist threat is heightened as Moscow announces the successful explosion of an RDS-6 hydrogen bomb. Alleged communist Charlie Chaplin leaves America; and the armistice is signed by representatives of the United Nations, Korea and China finally bringing the three-year long Korean War to an end.

MORE THAN 1,800 PEOPLE lose their

lives as a powerful storm breaches sea dikes in the Netherlands. It rages upon England’s east coast too, causing massing flooding and a loss of over 300 lives. Our new Queen extensively tours the stricken areas lending support to the survivors and helping to boost morale.

GUILD GUITARS BEGINs PRODUCTION AT

its new premises in Pearl Street, New York. During this first year of production the company concentrates on full-depth hollowbody electric guitars reflecting Al Dronge’s passion for jazz! Meanwhile, Gibson deems it’s time to pull the plug on its ES-300 model.

INADVERTENTLY FENDER PRODUCES what

becomes the most sought-after Telecaster in years to come. A 1953 ‘blackguard’ Tele is Holy Grail to collectors. The ensuing three years in which to perfect the model added up to this exceptional Telecaster. Even then it had a list price of $189.50.

December 2016

Jam Tracks tips

Use these tips to navigate our bonus backing tracks ➊ Blues ballad (Cm) Slow blues at 60 bpm with a G-Ab-G turnaround. You can use C Minor Pentatonic (C-Eb-F-G-Bb), C Minor scale (C-D-Eb-F-G-Ab-Bb) and C Harmonic Minor (C-D-Eb-FG-Ab-B) as a starting point. Triads will also come in handy: Cm (C-Eb-G), Fm (F-Ab-C), G (G-B-D) and Ab (Ab-C-Eb). Enjoy!

➋ 2-5-1 jazz jam (Gm)

➍ Chicago-style shuffle blues (E)

This fundamental jazz progression consists of the chords Am7b5, D7 and Gm. Plenty of space is left for you to practise your chord playing as well as your soloing – or both at the same time! Use G Minor scale (G-A-Bb-C-D-Eb-F) for Am7b5 and Gm chords, and G Harmonic Minor scale (G-A-Bb-C-D-Eb-F#) for the D7 chords.

Head-bopping 12-bar blues at 90 bpm, with a Chicago style turnaround at the end of each cycle – resulting in the chords E-E7/DA/C#-Am/C-E/B-B7. Try mixing E Minor Pentatonic (E-G-A-B-D) and E Major Pentatonic (E-F#-G#B-C#) for an old-school sound.

➌ B Dorian groove jam Fun groove track with a simple chord progression consisting of Bm and E chords. You can use good old B Minor Pentatonic (B-D-EF#-A) and B Minor Blues scale (B-D-E-F-F#-A), but B Dorian mode (B-C#-D-E-F#-G#-A) really hits the spot!

Jam tracks by Jacob Quistgaard. For free scale maps and hundreds more tracks, visit www.quistorama.com. You can also subscribe to www.youtube. com/QuistTV to get all the latest tracks and licks. Or find Quist and his jam tracks on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.

Newsy titbits from inside GT After John Wheatcroft’s article on jazz legend Steve Khan he got an email saying how much Steve loved the feature. John then sent a copy of his own album, Ensemble Futur, and had this back: “I can only say that your playing is masterful throughout. Beyond impressive.” Jon Bishop is all over Shakin’ Stevens’ highly-praised new album, Echoes Of Our Time, and single, Last Man Alive. Check it out! Neville recently did a short piece to camera on Gary Moore’s ’61 pink Strat and CS Limited Edition. Look out for a feature and video from Guitarist mag, soon!

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