Vault Vol.4 No5 May 2014

MAY

2014

GEORGE HARRISON HARRISON REMEMBERED M O C . R E Y A L P R A T I U G . W W W

IN THIS CLASSIC COVER STORY FROM 2002, WE PAY TRIBUTE TO THE FAB FOUR GUITARIS GUITARIST T WHO WROTE CLASSIC SONGS, PLAYED TIMELESS PARTS, AND TURNED THE ROCK R OCK WORLD ONTO EASTERN MUSIC. MARK KNOPFLER ERIC CLAPTON’S “LITTLE GIRL” SOLO TRANSCRIPTION PLUS 3 FREE SONG TRANSCRIPTIONS

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the world’s most epic guitars

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4 | May 2014 | GUITAR PLAYER VAULT

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May 2014 · Volume 4, Number 5

nn

from the vault 8

George Harrison This tribute to Harrison from the March 2002 issue, celebrates the guitarist who played timeless parts, wrote classic songs, and hipped the rock world to Eastern music. Features recollections from Les Paul, Brain May, Steve Lukather, Andy Partridge, Brain Setzer, and many more.

20

Mark Knopfler From the February 2001 issue of Guitar Player .

Gear 28

New Gear From the May 2014 issues of Guitar Player .

oN the NewsstaNd 30

GP May 2014 Table of Contents

lessoNs 33

Play it Right Eric Clapton’s “Little Girl” solo, as transcribed by Jesse Gress (from the September 2000 issue of Guitar Player )

sessioNs 38

The ever-popular TrueFire Lessons

traNscriptioNs 40

“I Wanna Be Your Man” The Beatles

44

“Echo” Trapt

52

“Orange Crush” R.E.M.

George Harrison - Page 8

GUITAR PLAYER VAULT | May 2014 | 7

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classic interview march Appropriately, it was his serene celebration of creativity and spirituality that transformed popular culture. And although those changes weren’t heralded by bombast or fanfare, they are still molding our consciousness today. He popularized the concept of world music, for example, by cross-pollinating Western pop structures with Indian instruments and melodies. The concept of borrowing musical elements from other cultures didn’t originate with Harrison, of course. But adding a sitar to “Norwegian Wood” in

A L L A

1965—while a member of the biggest band in the universe—shattered the so-called stylistic limitations of the pop song, and initiated a frenzy of artistic freedom that can be traced all the way to contemporary dance music. The use of synths and tape loops on Wonderwall Music (1968) and Electronic Sounds (1969) further presaged tracks that artists such as the Chemical Brothers would build careers upon throughout the electronica-crazed ’90s. Then there was the gorgeous shimmer of Harrison’s Rickenbacker 12-string—a sound that inspired the Byrds, R.E.M., and countless jangle-obsessed indie bands. And i t’s not a stretch to maintain that Harrison is partly responsible for launching the folk-rock genre. In addition, his unique, instantly identifiable

THOSE

CHRONOLOGY

OF

approach to slide challenged melodic conventions. Players who held tightly to blues-based phrases were put on notice that more creative options are available. But Harrison’s cultural contributions weren’t limit ed to music. Bob Geldof can rightly take credit for the mammoth impact of 1985’s Live Aid festival, but it was Harrison’s Concert for Bangladesh in 1971 that first established the concept of the rock-star-studded uber-benefit. He almost single-handedly revitalized the independent British film industry during its ’80s doldrums by producing stupendously subversive and darkly humorous flicks such as Monty Python’s Life of Brian (1979), Time Bandits (1981), Mona Lisa (1986), Withnail and I (1987), and How to Get Ahead

YEARS

HARRISON’S

2002

AGO

BEATLES-ERA

G E A R

First Guitar, 1955. Egmond acoustic (made in The Netherlands,

and distributed in England by Rosetti). The Quarry Men, 1958. Hofner President and Club 40 guitars. Johnny & the Moondogs, 1959. Delicia Futurama (made in

Czechoslovakia, and imported by Selmer). The Hamburg & Cavern Club Eras, 1960-62. Delicia Futurama,

’57 Gretsch Duo Jet, Selmer Truvoice Stadium amp, Gibson GA-40 amp. Beatlemania, 1962-64. Gibson J-160E, Gretsch Chet Atkins

Country Gentleman, ’63 Gretsch Tennessean, Gretsch George Harrison model electric 12-string, Rickenbacker 425, ’63 Rickenbacker 360-12, Ramirez classical, Vox AC30, Vox AC50, Vox AC100. Help! & Rubber Soul, 1965. Fender Stratocaster, Framus Hoote-

nanny acoustic 12-string, Gibson J-160E, Gibson ES-345, ’65 Rickenbacker 360-12. The Final Live Shows, 1966. ’65 Gibson SG Standard, Vox 7120

amp, Epiphone Casino, Fender Showman, Vox Super Beatle, Vox Conqueror. Sgt. Pepper, 1967. Epiphone Casino, Gibson J-160E, Fender

Stratocaster (now nicknamed “Rocky”), Fender Showman, Vox Defiant. The End, 1968-70. Vox V846 wah, Leslie rotary speaker, Moog

IIIp synth, Epiphone Casino, Fender Strat, Fender VI, custom Fender rosewood Telecaster, Gibson SG, Gibson J-200, Gibson Les Paul (“Lucy”), Fender Showman, Fender Deluxe ReThe Tools of Beatlemania: The young fabs pose with John’s Rickenbacker 325, George’s Gretsch Duo Jet, Paul’s Hofner 500/1 bass, and Ringo’s Ludwig kit.

verb, Fender Twin. Info culled from Andy Babuik’s Beatles Gear , published by GP’s Backbeat Books. PHOTO: L.A. MEDIA/RETNAUK/RETNA


march 2002

classic interview P H O T O : C A M E R A P R E S S / T H O M A S P I C T O N / R E T N A

A N D IN TH E END... Guitarists touched by George Harrison’s transcendent talent always have tales about special “George moments” that inspired them. Here’s a small collection of remembrances by some mighty players who knew him, played with him, or were forever changed by him. —MM L E S P A U L There aren’t many great

guitarists—even though there are billions of players out there. So few have something to say, and have the privilege of saying it. For those, we should be very grateful. George was one of the greats. R O B B E N F O R D I first met George

Harrison playing the sitar for then-wife Patti B oyd in 1965. The sitar’s appearance on “Norwegian Wood”

Harrison in 1974, while I was backing

brought world music to the pop charts.

Joni Mitchell with Tom Scott and the L.A. Express. George came to our concert in

in Advertising (1989) through his HandMade Films company. While HandMade ultimately forced Harrison to near bankruptcy, his willingness to fund “small,” quirky films yielded some of the finest jewels of British cinema. Finally, his belief in God, love, and Eastern mysticism shot beams of goodness through his work. And while many disparaged his “Krishna consciousness,” Harrison’s devotion to love did affect society. Getting “My Sweet Lord” to succeed as a hit pop song and a jubilant prayer was almost a miracle in itself, and his unflinching spirituality was a quiet, nonjudgmental rebuke to the self-absorption and selfishness that rests in us all. “Everybody dreams of being rich and famous,” Harrison once said. “But once you get rich and famous, you think, ‘This isn’t it.’ That made me try to find out what it is, and, in the end, you’re trying to find God—that’s the result of not being satisfied. And it doesn’t matter how much money or property you’ve got, because you’ll never find perfect happiness until you reach a state of consciousness that enables you to be happy in your heart.” Harrison’s optimism, wit, and inner strength were in full flower until he passed away on November 29, 2001, at 58 years old. He was first diagnosed with lung cancer in 1997. He never beat the beast, and also endured surgeries and treatments for throat nodules and a brain tumor. It didn’t help that

a wacko broke into his Friar Park estate in 1999, and punctured the guitarist’s lung with a knife before being subdued by Harrison and his wife, Olivia. Yet throughout the cancer battles, Harrison continued to work on a new album in his home studio, as well as contribute tracks to other projects. In the weeks before his death, he and his son, Dhani, wrote and recorded “Horse to Water” for Jools Holland’s duets album, Small World Big Band , and Harrison played guitar on “Love Letters” for Bill Wyman’s Rhythm Kings’ Double Bill . He also played slide on “A Long Time Gone” and “All She Wanted” on the recent Electric Light Orchestra album, Zoom, which was released in June 2001. (Harrison’s dark sense of humor was explicitly asserted on the Holland project, when he chose the name “RIP Ltd 2001” as his song’s publishing company.) In November 2001, Ringo Starr and Paul McCartney gathered at Harrison’s bedside at Staten Island University Hospital. Although the meeting of surviving Beatles was reportedly upbeat, it was definitely a goodbye. During his last moments, Harrison played guitar and chanted. He died bravely and privately with his wife and son at his side. His ashes were allegedly scattered along the Ganges river in India, but t hese reports were not confirmed at press time. Continued on page 14

London, and he invited the group over to his place at Henley on Thames to do some recording for

Dark Horse.

We tracked “Simply

Shady” and “Hari’s on Tour (Express)” at his home studio—which was a beautiful, stateof-the-art room. When George began putting a group together for a tour, he called me. He had Willie Weeks on bass, Jim Keltner and Andy Newmark on drums, and Billy Preston on keyboards. George had also hired Ravi Shankar and a 16-piece Indian orchestra. We toured the U.S. and Canada for two months—from December 1974 through January 1975—doing two shows a day, three or four days a week. It was a hard-working tour, and the shows were long. We’d play an opening set with George, and then Shankar’s orchestra would play a set. We’d come back and play two songs with the Indian orchestra, and then do another 45 minutes by ourselves. George kept his playing simple. He had pretty much given up single-string soloing by that time, and was just into playing slide. He had a sunburst ’58 Strat with the action set high, and he played through a Mesa/ Boogie amp. We didn’t see much of George on show days, but we had a private jet with a lounge, and that’s where people would hang out and talk. George was used to being the center of attention, and he was very funny and entertaining. He was always telling lots of Beatles stories.

Continued on page 18


classic interview march

2002

STORY AND PHOTOS BY GEORGE HARRISON

It was one of those unbelievable gifts of grooviness. Before his interview with Guitar Player in 1987, Harrison actually went to the trouble of hauling out his guitars, positioning a few instruments around his house, and then taking snapshots of the models he thought would interest our readers. Some favor! Here, we reprint some of those photos, along with Harrison’s original comments about his fave guitars. And what a gas it is to be able to have the byline, “Story and photos by George Harrison” in —MM our magazine!

T hat’s Rock y on the left. John and I bought identical ear ly-’60s Str ats that w er e pale blue, and they w er e f ir st used on “Now her e Man.” Later —w h en w e all took cer tain substances— I decid ed to paint mine in day-glo colors. Now I hav e it set up f or slide. T o the r i ght of the Rick enback er 12-str ing is my or iginal Gr etsch Duo Jet. I gav e it aw ay once, but I got it back . One pick u p had been changed, but [tech] Alan Rogan got it back to or iginal.


John and I scr aped t he v ar nish of f our Epiphone Casinos, and t hey becam much bet te r guit ar s. I t hink t e hat w or ks on a lot of guit ar s— if y ou t ak e t he paint and v ar nish of f, and get t he bar e w ood, t he guit a r seems t o sor t of br eat h e.

se o f the Ra vi thing. It’s Here’s the Coral Elec tric Si tar the y ga ve me becau trip on the back tha t sa ys, supposed to be the ver y firs t one, and i t has a s said, “Oh, can I borro w “Pa ten t Pending.” Spencer Da vis sa w i t once, and for t wo years! B y tha t tha t for the nigh t?” He hijack ed i t—I didn’ t see i t again y used it m ysel f. time, e ver ybod y had used one, so I ne ver ac tuall

march 2002

classic interview

en it go t k idnapped and tak en Eric Clap ton ga ve me the Les Paul (le f t ), and th ge t i t back ! And there’s to Guadalajara. I had to bu y this gu y a Les Paul to y’s Nigh t.” I t’s the second the original Rick y 12-s tring I used on “A Hard Da 12-s tring Rick enback er made.

I had t his guit ar made by John Gr ev en ar ound 197 4. I t old t hem not t o put all t his f ancy pear l w or k on t he f inger boar d, because I can’t t ell w her e I am. So it has t he gr eat est pear l inla y , but I’v e got gaf fe r ’s t ape ov er it so I’ll k now w hich f re t I’m on.

T his is a little Hof ner . It’s the gr oov iest little guitar . It’s v er y str ange look ing, but I alw ays lik ed it as a k id, and I had a one-pick up v er sion [ the Club 40]. I sw apped it f or something, but I finally got another one. In the case w as a f aded set list w ith “Sheik of Ar aby” and e v erything its ow ner played. It r eally f eels lik e the ’50s.

I’ve go t a “couple” o f really nice handmade gui tars b y Ton y Zemaitis, tring including a 12-s tring with a heart-shaped soundhole —I also had a 6-s the in fit t can tha version made for Carl Perk ins —and a small acous tic [carr y-on] rack o f a plane.


classic interview march P E T E R F I G E N

Continued from page 11

Harrison’s final album—tentatively entitled Portrait of a Leg-End —will be released sometime this year. And while it may not stand as his greatest work, the fact that he spent his waning reserves of strength making music for us is a testament to the man’s grace. To end this tribute, we’ve decided to let Harrison himself weigh in on creativity and guitarcraft. The following snippets are excerpted from Guitar Player ’s November 1987 cover story—with a final goodbye from Harrison’s February 2001 Yahoo! Web chat, and a set list from his last tour. •

•

•

•

•

GUITARS, GUITARS, GUITARS

My first guitar was a cheap little acoustic, and then I got what they call a cello-style, single-cutaway Hofner. I got a pickup and stuck it on the Hofner, and then I swapped it for a Club 40—which is a litt le Hofner that looked like a solidbody, but it was actually hollow with no soundholes. Then this guitar came along called a Futurama. It was a dog to play—it had the worst action. It had a great sound, though, and a real good way of switching in the combinations of the three pickups. But when we got to Hamburg, I saw the first real Strat I’d ever seen in person. I was going to buy it the next day, but the guitar player from Rory Storm & the Hurricanes—which was the band Ringo was with—got his money first, and he bought it. When I got there, it was gone, and then I saw him onstage playing it. Then we started making a bit of money, and I saved up 75 pounds. I saw an ad in the Liverpool paper, and this guy was selling a Gretsch Duo Jet. It was a sailor who bought it in America, and had brought it back. It was my first real American guitar, and even though it was second hand, I was so proud to own it. I polished that thing all the time. When we went to the States to play theEd Sullivan Show , Gretsch gave me the guitar I used for the performance. I read somewhere that after the Beatles appeared on t he show, Gretsch sold 200,000 guitars a week or something. I mean, we should have had shares in Fender, Vox, Gretsch, and everything, but we didn’t know—we were stupid. SONGWRITING

Try and write some melodies, and some

Harrison posing with his Gretsch Country Gentle-

2002

THE POLITI CS OF BEATLES SOLOS

We all contributed a lot to the songs, and I didn’t care who played what. I was pleased to have Paul play that bit on “Taxman.” If you notice, he even did a little Indian thing for me. And John played a brilliant solo on “Honey Pie” that sounded like Django Reinhardt or something. It was one of those things where you close your eyes and happen to hit all the right notes. If someone is going to make my song sound better, it doesn’t matter to my guitar player’s ego. I worked out my solos largely because, in the early days, we went straight to mono or stereo. Then we got a 4-track. But for a lot of those takes, we had to do everything at the same time—or as much as possible. We’d say, “These guitars are going to come in on the second chorus, playing these parts, at which time the piano will come in on top.” And we’d h ave to get the sound of each instrument, and then set the individual levels, because everything was going to be locked together on one track. Then we had to do the performance, and everyone had to get their bit right. That’s why we worked out parts.

man during the photo shoot for Guitar Player ’s November, 1987 cover story.

words that mean something. And if you’re on a roll, then it’s best to finish the song in one go—that’s what Johnny said. CHOPS

I tend to just use the guitar to write tunes and make demos. You have to really play and practice if you’re going to be any good on the guitar, and I don’t do that. In fact, I don’t really see myself as a song writer or a guitarist or a singer or a lyricist or even a film producer. All those are me in a way—just like I enjoy gardening. But I’m not really a gardener, just like I’m not really a guitarist. If I plant 500 coconut trees, I’m sort of a gardener, aren’t I? And if I play on records and stuff, then I’m a guitarist. But not in the sense like, say, B.B. King or Eric Clapton, who play constantly, keep their chops up, and are really fluid. I’m not trying to put myself down, but the reality is, I’m okay . I realize that I’ve absorbed quite a lot over the years, and I know quite a lot about guitar, but I’ve never really felt like I was a proper guitar player. In the sense of being a guitarist who could just pop in on anybody’s session and come up with the goods—I’m not that kind of player. I’m just a jungle musician, really.


DISCOVERING SLIDE GUITAR

There was a period in the ’60s where I really got into Indian music. I started playing the sitar and hanging out with Ravi Shankar. After that period I thought, “Well, I’m a pop person, and I’m neglecting the guitar and what I’m supp osed to do.” By tha t time , there were all these people like ten years old playing brilliantly. I just thought, “God, I’m so out of touch. I don’t even know how to get a half-decent sound.” The result of that was exploring what I could do with the slide. THE LAST CONCERT TOUR

In 1991, Eric Clapton lured Harrison out for some concert dates in Japan. It was the ex-Beatle’s final tour. For guitars, Harrison brought a Fender Roy Buchanan Bluesmaster Telecaster, an Eric Clapton Signature Stratocaster, a Fender electric 12-string, a ’60 Gibson Les Paul, and a custom Gibson J-2000 acousti c. He plugge d into a Fender Bassman amp, and used four stompboxes: an Ibanez Tube Screamer, an Ibanez digital delay, a Boss CE-3 chorus, and an MXR Dyna Comp. The set list and guitar selection (all in standard tuning unless otherwise noted) was as follows: “I Want to Tell You” (Telecaster) “Old Brown Shoe” (Telecaster) “Taxman” (Telecaster)

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classic interview “Give Me Love” (Gibson J-2000, capoed at 3rd fret) “If I Needed Someone” (Fender 12-string, capoed at 7th fret) “Something” (Telecaster) “Fish on the Sand” (Telecaster) “Love Comes to Everyone” (Telecaster) “What Is Life?” (Telecaster) “Dark Horse” (J-2000, capoed at 5th fret) “Piggies” (J-2000) “Got My Mind Set on You” (Telecaster) “Cloud Nine” (Strat, tuned to an open Am chord—low to high, E, A, E, A, C, E) “Here Comes the Sun” (J-2000, capoed at 7th fret) “My Sweet Lord” (J-2000) “All Those Years Ago” (Telecaster) “Cheer Down” (Strat) “Devil’s Radio” (Telecaster) “Isn’t It a Pity?” (J-2000, capoed at 5th fret) “While My Guitar Gently Weeps” (Les Paul) “Roll Over Beethoven” (Les Paul)

march 2002

Beached Beatles: Harrison, Lennon, and Starr serenade the surf while filming Help! in 1965.

W H A T I S L I F E ?

Adi Sh an ka ra —an In di an hi st or ic al , groovy-type person—once said, “Life is fragile, like a raindrop on a lotus leaf.” And yo u bet te r bel iev e it ! [From Harrison’s February 2001 Web chat on Yahoo! .] g

CLASSIC INTERVIEW from the March 2002 issue of Guitar Player magazine GEORGE HARRISON AND ERIC CLAPTON PERFORM “MY GUITAR GENTLY WEEPS” IN 1987.


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r e d l e i F m a h a r G y b o t o h P t r e c n o C / y e l g i u Q c r a M y b s o t o h P r a t i u G / s r a t i u G S R P 4 1 0 2 ©

classic interview march A N D I N THE END... Continued from page 11 I turned 23 on the road, and George gave me a guitar as a gift. He also came to my wedding at the end of the tour. The last time I saw him was at the Grammy Awards in 1989. Everyone wanted to talk with him, of course, and when I finally got my turn, he said, “I think about you, Robben. It’s great to see you.” I thanked him and said goodbye, and that was the last time I ever spoke with him.

B R I A N S E T Z E R The point everyone misses about George is all the great guitar riffs he came up with. In addition to his own tunes, almost every Lennon/McCartney song has a great guitar riff. Obviously, George was the one who had to think those up—and that’s two-thirds of a great song right there. We already miss you, George.

J O E W A L S H If you actually sit down and work out a couple of George’s guitar parts, you’ll become aware of the unique place his head was at, and, dude, his solos were off the wall! He was underrated, but a vast amount of technique was needed to come up with his solos—they just don’t sound like it. That’s what got me. Every time I tried to figure out songs like “And Your Bird Can Sing” or “Baby You Can Drive My Car,” I’d come away scratching my head, thinking, “Where in the world is this guy at?” I couldn’t even tell who he was stealing his licks from!

E L L I O T E A S T O N When the Beatles blasted into “All My Lovin’”—their first song on their debut Ed Sullivan appearance—my life was profoundly changed forever. I was ten years old, and that image of Harrison and his Gretsch guitar left an indelible print on my soul. He pointed the way for me to live, and I’ve never worked on a record where I didn’t at some point ask myself, “What would George have done here?”

A N D Y P A R T R I D G E ( X T C ) Some of my favorite Beatles songs are George Harrison songs. The spirit and desire he had to push the pop song format with his Eastern influence had a big effect on me. As a guitarist, Harrison wasn’t a shootfrom-the-hip player. His parts were always carefully worked out. Improvising wouldn’t have worked in the extremely structured nature of Beatles recordings—those songs are like well-finished pieces of architecture. I’m leaving myself open for a great kicking here, but I think the two most complete songs on Abbey Road are George’s. Also, if Lennon and McCartney had allowed George’s material to be used in the latter part of the Beatles career, I think he would have pulled the band up by its bootstraps. Lennon and McCartney had the keys to the Beatles machine, and they weren’t going to let George drive. I’m sure they were shivering in their boots because he was

really coming up.

2002

speed. I hope he knew how much we all loved and respected him.

CHRIS GOSS (MASTERS OF RE A L I TY ) No other guitarist in rock had such a

N E A L S C H O N The Beatles were the reason I

fragile, almost broken style of playing. He played humbly and sweetly. No showing off—just a won-

started playing guitar. I saw Yellow Submarine as a kid, and George’s song, “It’s All Too Much,” rang in

derful sense of melancholy.

my head for years. I loved his Eastern influences—

JOHN FLANSBURGH (THEY M I G H T B E G I A N T S ) In an era where almost everything seems dated, George’s work is timeless. He held his own as a songwriter, while

how he used drones, where he’d have one note hanging there, and the melody would work around it. He was the first one to turn me on to that sound, and I found it very mystical, powerful, and beautiful.

working beside the best there will ever be. As a lead

He was also an amazing slide player. When it comes to spot-on intonation with slide work, I put George

guitar player, he was always interesting and taste-

Harrison right up there with Jeff Beck. I’m gonna

ful—which is the rarest of combinations.

miss him.

D A V E G R E G O R Y ( E X - X T C ) Harrison’s

L Y L E W O R K M A N We all know George

chord at the beginning of the movie A Hard Day’s Night was the sound of a giant door opening to a

Harrison was a great songwriter, but he was also an intuitive guitarist of incredible diversity and taste.

magical world. Seeing him with his immaculate hair,

From Chet Atkins-style fingerpicking to experimen-

sharp suit with velvet collar, and a brand-new Rickenbacker—that was everything I ever wanted. The

tal, fuzzed-out tones to his recognizable slide work, George expressed a highly unique personality and

sound of that electric 12-string became the perfect

maturity. His solo in “Something” is the most lyrical,

stepping-stone between acoustic and electric guitar,

fully developed, and beautiful solo ever recorded.

and it consequently influenced a new generation of folk/rock players. Harrison’s influence was more than the electric

FRED GRETSCH (GRETSCH GUIT A R S ) We owe a “thank you” to that nameless

12-string, however. “Love You To” [from Revolver ] was a really innovative track in 1966—Indian instru-

sailor who sold George a ’57 Duo Jet in 1961. Sentimentally, that was his favorite guitar. It was

ments replacing guitars and drums was a totally

the American rockers he heard in the ’50s—players

fresh sound. And that track introduced Eastern

he was trying to emulate—that led him to Gretsch guitars.

scales and harmonies that would engender many of the psychedelic musical stylings of the following

Our modern-era relationship began when my

year.

wife, Dinah, sent George a thank you for posing on

Harrison always came up with parts that were exciting, yet tasteful. For example, the neat volume-

the Cloud Nine album cover with his ’57 Duo Jet. A month later, he called the office and told us about

control stuff on “Yes It Is,” the solos in “Can’t

the Traveling Wilburys. He had us over to meet the

Buy Me Love,” and “Nowhere Man,” the amazing

band, and we discussed the Wilburys model he wanted to create.

double-tracked lines in “And Your Bird Can Sing,” and the languid, perfectly chosen phrases in “Some-

The last time we saw George was at the 1990

thing.” These were all integral pieces of the songs,

British Music Fair. He had come into London for a

contributed by a team player par excellence.

benefit, and he decided to come by and see us. He was with Jeff Lynne and Duane Eddy, but they had

S T E V E L U K A T H E R I started playing the

a hard time getting in! We finally got them in, and

guitar in 1964, after my dad bought me Meet the Beatles. I heard George’s solo on “I Saw Her Stand-

it was a lot of fun walking through the show with George. It was his first music trade show.

ing There,” and my life changed forever. Later, George became a friend, and I have so many great

JOHN HALL (RICKENBACKER)

memories of him. Once, he came by my house with

While George Harrison’s contributions to the music

his son, Dhani, who wanted to meet Slash. George

world have been many and varied, I choose to remember him as playing the pivotal role in establish-

knew Slash was a friend of mine, so I took them over. On another occasion, I jammed at Jeff Lynne’s

ing the standard of the Merseybeat 12-string sound.

house with Bob Dylan on bass, Lynne on keys, Jim

He provided the inspiration for a veritable legion

Keltner on drums, and me and George on guitars. Man, I’ll cherish those memories. I am honored to

during the British Invasion of the ’60s, which eventually spilled over to the U.S. and the rest of the world.

have known George, and I’ll forever treasure him,

He carved out a sound which was uniquely his own,

his music, and his kindness.

and internationalized rock—which had been almost

B R I A N M A Y George Harrison was a fabulous,

exclusively American. And throughout the rest of his life, he f reely offered

fabulous, fabulous guitarist, and a wonderful example of what a rock star should be. I totally revered

his talents to a wide range of artists—usually re-

him as an innovator. He was always fresh, daring,

cording anonymously or without fanfare or compensation. This speaks volumes of his true dedication

magnificently melodic, full of spiritual quality, and

to music as an art form rather than purely as a busi-

totally conscious of the chord structure beneath the solo. And he had the courage to play simple. He

ness. Fortunately, his willingness to share his talent

never took refuge in effects, or tried to impress with


has ensured that his contributions will continue to inspire a generation not yet born. g

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classic interview

“MOST PEOPLE

are too intelligent to take on writing movie scores,” laughs Mark Knopfler, “but I do them because they give me discipline. You have to turn out a score in a certain amount of time, and that’s good for me because I tend to be lazy. Also, my first love—writing songs— happens to be a fairly lonesome occupation, and working on films puts me together with a lot of talented people.”


february 2001

“Inspiration for a song can come from something I read or something you say to me,” says Knopfler. “All I need are two words that reverberate together.”


classic interview february 2001 The Sultan’s Harem GUITARS: ’54 Fender Telecaster, ’54 Fender Stratocaster, ’64 Fender Stratocaster,

early-’80s Schecter Strat copy, ’59 Gibson ES-335, ’58 Gibson Les Paul, ’38 Gibson Advanced Jumbo, early-’50s Gibson Southern Jumbo AMPS: ’50s

Fender Twin, ’59 Fender Bassman

GIZMOS: Ernie Ball volume pedal, AKG C12 tube condenser mic

(“For consistency,” says Knopfler, “I use a C12 t o record all my vocals.”) n Dire Straits’ former leader is no newcomer to film scoring. Guitarists who celebrate Knopfler chiefly for his pingy Strat lines on “Sultans of Swing” or the throaty Les Paul riffs on “Money for Nothing” may be surprised to learn of his extensive soundtrack credits. Beginning in 1983 with the poignant score for Local Hero, Knopfler’s soundtracks include Cal (’84), The Princess Bride (’87), and Last Exit to Brooklyn (’89). In fact, Knopfler has been so busy scoring films that his latest record, the richly textured Sailing to Philadelphia [Warner Bros.], has taken years to finish. “I did four movie scores while worki ng on this album, ” he reveal s. “First came Wag the Dog , then Metrol and , and then I did an animated Christmas film for Comic Relief with Guy Fletcher [Knopfler’s keyboardist and collaborator since Dire Straits’ epic Brothers in Arms ]. That took a hell of a long time. Most recently, we did the new Robert Duvall film, A Shot at Glory .” Regardless of the medium—pop-rock record or film soundtrack—Knopfler’s melodic yet-melancholy guitar plays the lead role. To learn about his latest projects, we met with Knopfler at the Four Seasons in Beverly Hills, California. Over a bottle of Evian in the hotel lounge, the quiet Scotsman discussed his new record, described the joys of tracking with a band, detailed his current gear, and offered insights into his unique fingerstyle technique. •

•

•

•

When did you start work on Sailing to Philadelphia? Right after my last solo album, Golden Heart , which came out in 1996. I’d go into t he studio and try a song or two, and then get involved with another movie. As they said about me in high school: “He’s easily distracted.” It’s goofy—I go off on these tangents. Nashville twang master Richard Bennett and pedal-steel wizard Paul Franklin—who both played on Golden Heart—are again featured on this album. What does each picker bring to the party?

Paul Franklin can make a pedal steel sound like anything—French horns, sitar, you name it. He’s very inve ntiv e—alw ays searching and experimenting. People make the mistake of thinking he just makes country records. Richard is skilled at finding parts for songs. He’ll go into his booth and come up with something magical. He has a big box of tricks—a pile of instruments he can draw on. For example, he’ll pull out a tiple [a miniature 10-string South American guitar] or a bouzouki [a long-necked, mandolin-like instrument from Greece] to add color to a track. This record is full of amp tremolo. Is that you or Richard? We both used tremolo, but that’s Richard doing all that lovely stuff on “Wanderlust” with his fant astic Gretsch 6120. I hear two acoustics on “Who’s Your Baby Now?” Are you b oth strumming r hythm? Yeah. I’m playing my ’38 Gibson Advanced Jumbo, and he’s playing his wonderful old Gibson J-45. Sailing to Philadelphia is packed with intertwining guitar parts. Do you work them out in advance, or create them spontaneously in the studio? It’s a little bit of both, but we definitely create parts on the spot. Everybody is arranging—not just me. If you’re an experienced musician, you develop an ear for texture. You’re not just th inking abo ut not es, you’re thinking about the shape and color and weight of your part, and you’re responding to what everybody else is doing. One of the joys of working with great players is that they’re alive to this exchange. They won’t sit there and say, “Well, I’ve got my part. You guys do what you like. ” How much do you steer someone’s part? I might ask them to try something, but I don’t strut around telling these guys what


to play. A wise director wouldn’t tell a great actor, “Now put your elbow on the window sill and look out.” It’s the same thing with great players. What do you enjoy most about making records? One of the most pleasurable bits of the whole thing is when I’ve played a song to the band on acoustic guitar and we’re running it down those first few times. Everyone is feeling their way into it—they’re listening to the same air and are very focused on what is happening in the room. The song is sliding off my notebook and going out into the world. It’s tra nsforming into something tha t will eventually, to some extent, become other peoples’ property. The next thing you know, people are telling you what that song means to them or what they were doing when they first heard it. Did you do overdub your solos or play them with the band? I tried to capture band performances throughout the album. On “Sailing to Philadelphia” and “The Last Laugh,” for example, the lead guitar was played when we cut the basic tracks. The overdubs were the acoustic guitar and those glorious vocals by James Taylor and Van Morrison. How do you know when a solo is right? Do you find it ha rd to let i t go? That can drive you nuts. I used to agonize over it, but somehow I stopped worrying. Now, when I hear the playback, I think, “Yeah, I could get a few notes in a better position, but it’s okay.” And you know what? It actually sounds better. I’ve learned to live with spontaneity and like it. On Sailing to Philadelphia, your guitar has much of the snap and ping of the early Dire Straits records. Even when you’re soloing, it’s not with the viscous, sustainy distortion you used on later Dire Strait s albums such

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classic interview february 2001

as Brothers in Arms and On Every Street. What has changed about your gear since those records? The lead tones on those albums came from either a wound-up Marshall or a stretched-out Soldano. This time I used old amps—a ’50s Fender Twin and a ’59 Bassman. What about your guitars? I played a blond ’59 Gibson ES-335 on several tracks. On “Baloney Again,” for example, it’s the 335 through the Bassman. What a great combination. That guitar is amazing, and it has one of those lovely, fat necks.

I also bought a white ’64 Strat from Rudy Pensa [of Rudy’s Music Stop in New York City]. That went straight onto “Sailing to Philadelphia” and “The Last Laugh.” It has an amazing sound. On “What It Is,” I played my red, Strat-style Schecter. That guitar goes all the way back to Local Hero. It has a smallish neck, which I don’t like now because I’ve been playing bigger necks so much, but I like its special tone. My ’58 Les Paul ends up on quite a few things, too. I love that guitar. What makes you choose a particular guitar for a track? It’s about personality. You could choose an instrument that makes a part easier to play, but that’s not the way. On “Prairie Wedding,” for instance, I’m playing a lovely ’54 Telecaster, strung up heavy. It doesn’t let me bend up to notes easily—trying to push those big old strings is like trying to bend steel rods—but the attempt is more interesting than the achievement. That guitar sounds like a bone. Like a bone? Yeah, that ’s how I’d descri be it. I used that Tele for A Shot at Glory , as well as my ’54


Strat— which was a present from [Nashville guitarist and producer] Paul Kennerley—and an early-’50s Gibson Southern Jumbo. You’ll often start a note with a very vocal, ooh-wah attack. Are you manipulating your Strat’s volume pot with your pinky? No, I use an Ernie Ball volume pedal. The volume pedal is one of the best tools I’ve ever come across. You can use it in a general way to move lines in and out of the music, or you can use it to bow into notes. I like the pedal approach because you don’t have to compromise your picking-hand position. Have you always done your volume swells with a pedal? Right on the first Dire Straits album— when I was do ing foghorn noises in “Down to the Waterline” and at the beginning of “Lions”— everything was done with a pedal. Sometimes your notes have a sputtering attack. How do you do that? Well, I fingerpick everything. To get that percussive sound, I set up a rhythm between my thumb and fingers. Inside that rhythm, I pick certain notes and leave others out. The notes I don’t play become bumps and scrapes.

february 2001

classic interview

How else does using fin gers tyl e tec hni que shap e your playing? Wit h thu mb and fingers, you can get into these interesting questions of where to place notes rhythmically. If you’re playing eighths or sixteenths, it’s unlikely they’ll al l be in perfect time. Sometimes I’ll push the notes that I play with my thumb—I’ll accent ahead of the kick drum attacks. Pushing and pulling gives the music attitude. Over the years, I’ve learned how far out I can go. Most songs on Sailing to Philadelphia contain subtle dynamics, yet they don’t sound fragile. How do you maintain impact while playing quietly? You create size through emotional depth. One gentle piano note can be as big as a house. When you slam things, t hey can Combination punch: sometimes sound smaller. Knopfler with In a song like “Prairie Wedhis ’59 ES-335 ding,” we tried to create and ’59 Bassman. pictures without resorting to a heavy backbeat. A so ng ha s mor e roo m t o grow when you’re not taking up all the space with a huge whack . the car, instead of having a steak in a white Back in Brothers in Arms time, I was fed restaurant. It was rough touring the deep up with the big snare sound. I tried recording South back then! songs with the drummer doing soft, crossDo you sit down and write an album the stick parts in an attempt to create power way you compose a soundtrack? without going for the bash. Funny enough, Oh, no. Songs evolve at their own pace. the big hits from that album were the snare You can’t rush things. For instance, I wro te drum songs—“Money for Nothing” and “Walk “Speedway at Nazareth” ten years ago and of Life.” first recorded it in ’93. I didn’t fall in love with Has working on films changed your apthat track, so I reworked the music a little, proach to songwriting? and, this time, I managed to get a recordI can’t really say, because I don’t know the ing that was okay. Here’s another example: mechanism that says “song” to me. A song I wrote the lyrics for “Rudiger”—a song can happen at any time. To take an example on Golden Heart —when John Lennon was from this record, I wrote “Baloney Again” murdered. But the music finally decided to after reading the liner notes to a Fairfield come along 15 years later. A song can stay in Four album. [The Fairfield Four were a lead your mental scr ap ya rd unt il yo u find all i ts ing gospel vocal group in the ’40s and early missing pieces. ’50s.] One of the singers was saying how How do you remember the unfinished he often had to eat a baloney sandwich in pieces?

I keep the lyrics in a notebook and the melodies in my head. Even if I forget things, I don’t sweat it. I’ll wake up in the morning thinking about something, and by the time I’ve shaved, I’ve usually forgotten it. That’s fine— sometimes I could do without the hassle of being a songwriter. Is it difficult switching from songwriting to film scoring? They are very different disciplines, but, for me, they connect. Toward the end of a film project, I always find myself getting hungry for songs. On a soundtrack, you’re working mostly instrumentally, so I look forward to wrestling with lyrics again. How does writing for film affect your guitar playing? To find the right parts, I’ll sometimes have to go down a few roads I wouldn’t normally go—which can’t hurt.


classic interview february

Take us through the film scoring process. What’s the first step? You see t he script, and if you agree to do the score, you ask for as final a cut as possible. I learned that from Local Hero—where I recorded the music far too early. When the director started cutting the film down to its final form, he also had to cut into the music, and I didn’t like the music edits. How do you decide which scenes should have music? You sit wit h the dire ctor at a spo tti ng session, where you both watch the film and he indicates where he hears music—from

which poin t to which poin t in a part icula r scene. You assemble each musical section into a cue list, and then you go away and start attacking those cues. After that, we ju st go fr om on e cr is is to an ot he r un ti l the movie is finished. [Laughs.] But even before the spotting session, I’ll have some ideas sketched out. Before I write music for someone to fall downstairs to, I’m thinking of themes. I try to circle a theme from a distance, and then close in on it over a period of time Do you begin these themes on guitar? Yeah. I thi nk about t he script while playing guitar. How do you log your ideas? I hum or whistle themes into a cassette recorder—that’s all I need to remind myself of an idea. What happens next? I get together with Guy, he sets up his keyboard and Pro Tools system, and I grab the sofa at the back of the room where I can put my feet up. I’ll play a theme, show him the changes, and let him feel his way into it Eventually, the music starts to take shape.

2001

Creating themes is always more fun than turning them into a finished score. So even the sketching stage is a highly collaborative process. Yes. One of the nice thi ngs about film work is that nobody cares who does what. The only question is: “Does it work?” Scoring is a craft— an honest day’s work. You go in and try to do what’s best for the film, and then you go home. But we do get into some pretty interesting trips along the way. What do you enjoy most about film work? I like pointing people’s attention to something through music. It can feel good if the director says, “There’s a section here that has never really worked right on camera. Can you help it a bit?” Also, to get back in a very elliptical way to your earlier question, scoring helps my songwriting. How so? Through film, I’ve been exposed to all sorts of moods and textures, and I’ve learned to work with a wider array of colors. Film scoring keeps my musical muscles hard, so when it comes time to make a record, I’m g fighting fit.

CLASSIC INTERVIEW from the February 2001 issue of Guitar Player magazine

MARK KNOPFLER PERFORMS “SAILING TO PHILADELPHIA” IN 2001.


Many styles One voice Robben Ford is the master of many musical styles. But when it comes to his speakers, there’s only ever been one choice.

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May 2014 · Volume 48, Number 5

Here’s what’s in the May 2014 issue of Guitar Player on Newsstands Now! ,

RIFFS Brian May plays acoustic with Kerry Ellis, we check in with the Rock ‘n’ Roll Fantasy Camp, Joe Perry goes legendary, the first annual Ronnie Montrose Award gets presented, we remember the great Paco de Lucia, and more!

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Fretboard Recipes:Major Scales Pt. 4 TRANSPOSING THE FIVE MAJOR SCALE F INGERING PATTERNS

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and play ascending or descending scale degrees through the next octave(s). For instance, to organize the fingerboard into the key of F , begin by locating the lowest-positioned Fnotes on the neck (sixth and first strings at the 1st fret). Determine which scale pattern or chord shape uses those root locations (Pattern 4) and align it with the proper fret (first position) so the root positions overlap the F s. This shifts the CAGED template to ECGAD, and automatically aligns patterns 4, 5, 1, 2, and 3 to correctly display the entire fingerboard in the key of F . Use thisprocessandthechartin Fig.1 t otranspose any of the five major scale or chord fingering patterns into any key. Explore each pattern with intervallic cycles and sequences,rhythmicandmelodicmotifs, andpermutations.

FOR KEYS OTHER THAN C , THE ENTIRE

CAGED templatemustbemoved,ortransposed.Transposingthefingerboardtoany key is simply amatter ofslidingtheentire scale/chord template to other fret positions. This provides avisualdisplay ofthe correctnotes in any major key. Somepatterns,especiallythosethatspanfivefrets, will require fingering adjustments when played in open or first position. Thefivefingeringpatterns always o c nnect in the same ascending order: Pattern 1, followed by Patterns 2, 3, 4, and 5, or CAGED. Theentire CAGEDtemplate repeats oneoctavehigher abovethe12th fret.Movingthetemplatetowardsthenut causespatternsthatvanishbehindthenut to reappear one octave higher, below the 12thfret. To play any major scale,moveany fingeringpatternupordownthefingerboard until its roots align with the desired key. This automatically aligns thefivepatterns and transposes the entire fingerboard to that key. Start on any root of any pattern

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Taylor814ce Grand Auditorium Cutaway ES2 TESTED BY ART THOMPSON LAST YEAR BO B TAYLO R AN D AN DY

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Powers directed their attention to designing

were also optimized for the new bracing,and

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To get there,they modified the internal structure to improve tonal response by calibrating

to transfer sound.Other typesofmodern syntheticgluesareus edelsewhere.

GrandAuditoriumandGrandConcertmodelsin a custom gaugesetthatusesmedium gauges

thetopand backbracingfor each body shap e to influencehowthe topandbackmove both

Finishthicknessisimportanttosoundaswell, andTaylor managedtoreducethethicknessof

forthetopstringsandlighterlow E and A strings to optimizestringtension for improvedplaying

itsglossfinish by morethan 40percent—from

feelwhilemaking thehighssound richer.

independently and in relation to each other.

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september 2000

lessons

PLAY

L I T T L E S O L O

T

he Blues Breakers: John Mayall with Eric Clapton is a blues-guitar benchmark, not only because of Clapton’s stellar performances, but because he was able to commit such rich, saturated power-tube tones to tape in 1966—sounds that recording engineers of the day were striving to avoid . Cranking his Les Paul through a 50-watt Marshall combo (miked from a distance), Clapton effectively changed the course of guitar history, launching a battle-ofthe-tones that still rages today. The rhythmic ambiguities in several of E.C.’s slow-blues solos are typical of the genre, but this looseness makes them difficult to notate precisely. Not so with “Little Girl”—every note is right in the pocket. Clapton’s clean execution, fresh ideas, and the guitar’s up-front placement in the mix make “Little Girl” one of his most accessible and noteworthy pre-Cream solos. Mayall’s clever 24-bar song form is prefaced with an eight-bar intro (Ex. 1). Clapton outlines the V chord with lowregister single notes in bars 1 and 2, and the IV chord with diads and bent double-stops in bars 3 and 4. The song’s signature two-bar, call-andresponse riff first appears in

IT

RIGHT!

G I R L

T R A N S C R I P T I O N

Clapton in ’66 with Les Paul and Marshall 2x12: “I was probably playing full volume to get that sound.”

T R A N S C R I B E D

B Y

J E S S E

G R E S S

PHOTO: COURTESY OF DECCA RECORDS


lessons

september 2000

LITTLE GIRL

Words and Music by John Ma yall

bars 5 and 6. (On his first album, The Progressive Blues Experiment , Johnny Winter used a similar riff to anchor Howlin’ Wolf’s “Forty Four.”) As this figure recurs throughout the song, Clapton occasionally stretches beat three’s sixteenth-note/dotted-eighthnote rhythm into twin eighth-notes. Played entirely in third position, the intro concludes with a two-bar, I-chord turnaround common to Delta blues. Ex. 2’s verse fragment outlines the IV chord with descriptive single-note lines that zero in on C7 ’s chord tones (C , E , G , Bb). To assemble the song’s entire 24-bar verse, begin with Ex. 2, and connect it to bars 5-8 of Ex. 1. Repeat these eight bars,

opening motif (bars 1-4), use your 2nd finger to back up your 3rd finger for the dead-on, step-and-a-half, held-andpicked bends. Next, Clapton initiates a series of four held-and-picked bends that share the same basic rhythmic motif. Bars 5-7 feature half-step releases on the and of beat three, followed by staccato, pre-bent whole-steps on beat four. Bar 8’s bend gradually widens to one-anda-half steps. When Clapton lands in the eleventh position for bars 9-12, his IV-chord moves aren’t strictly G minor pentatonic or G major pentatonic, as revealed by the repeated use of the tonic (G ) pulled off to

then follow with Ex. 1 in its entirety, and there’s your verse. (The G at the end of Ex. 2 can be tied to the G that begins bar 5, or bar 5’s downbeat can be replaced with a quarter-note rest. E.C. uses both options, varying the figure throughout the song.) Clapton’s 24-bar solo (Ex. 3) adheres to the verse form, though the progression is embellished in bars 5-8 with a few additional chord changes—I, IIm7, IIIm7, and Isus4/b VII—courtesy of Mayall’s tasty organ comping. E.C. plays into the downbeat with a slide to an eighth-position, G major/ minor pentatonic pattern—a box favored by B.B. King. In Clapton’s twice-repeated

Ex. 1 Intro



(D) N.C.

= ca. 166

(C)



             4                  4           1

(

( )

)

 (





T A B

3 5



5

5

5



3

5

3

5

(3)

3 5

B

4 3 5

(5) 18

3 3

G

5 5

C/G

5 5

pre B R

B

(6) 5 (6) 5 3

(4)

R

(6) 5 (6) 5

)

5

3

G

                                                              5

 

0:11

(

)

pre B R

T A B

3

5

(6) 5

3

3

5

5

3 4 3

5

3

5

3 3 4

5 5 3 4 3 5

3

5

3

5

5

Ex. 2 Verse

 = ca. 166

C7

 4   4                            0:11





  

T A B

3

3

3

(



3

5

7

5

7

5

0:17



)

(

B1/4



8

8

5

B1/4

7

5

8

8

© 1967 Unichappell Music, Inc. (BMI). International copyright secured. All rights reserved.


B

8

  )

) (



B1/4

(8)

 

    

B

(9) 8 (9)

5

7

5

5

lessons

september 2000 PLAY

IT

RIGHT!

LITTLE GIRL

                                                   D7 9

C9

17

( )

( )

( )

B

T A B

5 7

6

7

R

8 (10) 8

B1/4

6

B1/4

8

6

(6)

B

7 5

3

3

5

6

grad. B

B1/4

(8)

6

3

5

3 3

3

5

3

5

5

3

(5)

G7

                                               21

1:55

( )

(

3

5

(5)

)

grad. B

B

T A B

(

)

3

5

3 3

3


5

3

(4)

5

3

5

3

(3) 4 3

5 5

5

3

5

3

5

3

5

The electric guitar. Remixed. TriplePlay® the wireless guitar controller that lets you turn your electric guitar into any instrument that you want − and compose, perform and record like never before. Includes a comprehensive software suite from PreSonus, Native Instruments, Notion Music, and IK Multimedia. ,

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Derek Song performs “Solar Flare” with the Fishman TriplePlay

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sessions


truefre


transcriptions


Used by Permission of ALFRED MUSIC PUBLISHING CO., INC.

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Vault Vol.4 No5 May 2014

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