Instrumental inquisition!
Instrumentals have supplied some of music’s most evocative moments. We asked some top guitarists for their take on this iconic movement. This month: Aussie master of the acoustic and Chet Atkins ‘Certified Guitar Player’, the astounding Tommy Emmanuel.
GT: What is it about guitar instrumentals that appeals to you?
TE: I love the challenge of trying to write instrumentals that can tell a story without words, that can paint a picture for the listener and that are interesting enough you want to hear it over and over. I always think the title is so important because it gives the listener a picture of what the writer is trying to say. So I choose my titles carefully - Determination, The Journey, Hellos And Goodbyes, etc.
GT: What can an instrumental provide that a vocal song can’t?
TE: An instrumental can allow the listener to make up his own idea about what the writer is saying. A good example is my song, Old Photographs. If you listen to that title, then listen to the song you visualise whatever old photographs you want. When I wrote it I was thinking about my grandmother and the days where I was really little and I used to look at all the old photographs in her cookie tins. She would tell me about my grandfather and my great grandfather and who all the different characters were in the photos. They were my old photographs, but when I play it for audience each person can listen and think about whatever photographs are in their family and in their life.
GT: Any tendencies that you aim to embrace or avoid ?
TE: My first thing I want to avoid is playing stuff that only musicians could understand. I want to write in a way that a normal person can hear it and totally get into it, and that’s a challenge. I try never to let my abilities and my hands dictate what I write. I write from my head and my heart. I try to take the listener on a journey and into a story.
GT: Is a typical song structure always relevant for instrumentals?
TE: Absolutely it is! I use it all the time. There are only some songs were I will start with the main theme, so you could actually call that the chorus. My song, Endless Road starts with the chorus and then it goes into different areas like a bridge and a different section and then it
comes back to the chorus at the end. Then you have songs like Lewis And Clark where the song opens by quoting the chorus and then it sets up the verse and then the story starts. I’m using the same tools as a writer that’s trying to write a hit song for a singer. I think in song structure.
GT: How useful is studying a vocalist’s approach?
TE: This is a great question and I applaud whoever asked me this because that’s exactly the approach I use. I try to think like a singer. If I’m learning a song that is a vocal, I’ll listen to the singer over and over. I study how they sing it and try to emulate that style. When I play a melody I always try to think like a singer. And I make sure I still learn the words so I know what the story’s about and I know what I’m playing about. Learning the lyrics will help you remember the melody.
GT: How do you start writing one?
TE: It’s different almost for every song. Sometime I just get an idea. I’ll get a little chord sequence going that I like and I’ll take it from there. Other times I hear a melody in my head and I go with it. When I wrote Lewis And Clark I couldn’t get the chorus. The verse came quickly but each time I got to the chorus it was difficult and I didn’t want to make it complicated; it had to be simple. Then a phrase came into my head and with that phrase I got the melody for the chorus. The inspiration for that song came from reading the story of their adventures. Lewis and Clark were explorers who helped discover the American West for the white man, but the Native Americans were already there and it was their land so the white men came and took a lot of their land. I was thinking from the Native American people’s point of view and the words, “If you bring your love with you, we’ll welcome you” came into my head and with that phrase came the melody. That’s pure inspiration.
GT: What do you aim for when your performance is centre stage?
TE: My aim is to play the song with as much feeling as I possibly can. I send it out to you and try to hose the hell out of you with it and take your mind away from everything so you can’t think of anything but what’s coming at you right now. That’s what performances are all about. That is what I aim for, to play things as best as I can in this very moment.
GT: Many vocal songs feature a guitar solo that starts low and slow then finishes high and fast. Is this useful for instrumental writing?
TE: A guitar solo is designed to build a song to a crescendo and that’s why solos are structured that way. I don’t think that way when I’m writing songs. As I mentioned, I think like I’m writing the song for the singer. Developing pace and dynamics is important, but it’s not everything. Telling a good story is a very important part. Writing a melody that you want to hear again and again is what you’re aiming for. A song like It’s Never Too Late, I wrote it and played it over and over and I couldn’t wait to play it again because I love how it makes me feel and how the music unfolds. I’m telling a story, allowing it to breathe and take me on a journey. I try not to be analytical in my songwriting.
GT: What type of guitar tone do you prefer for instrumentals?
TE: It depends what the song needs. There’s a reason I don’t play the same guitar for certain songs. For example, when I play a song like El Vaquero it sounds really good on my Maton guitar, but much more powerful and authentic on my Larrivée. It has a different tone. A little deeper, and a little richer so that guitar really suits that song. But then when I play a song like It’s Never Too Late it sounds perfect on my Maton because it isn’t too big. It has a mid-range that speaks in a really nice way and I can play it gently and get close to the mic and that’s how I got that sound.
GT: Any favourite keys or tempos?
TE: I’ve written songs in a lot of different keys and a lot of different tempos. But I like A and I like using a capo on the second fret. It takes the guitar to a slightly high pitch, which makes the melody sound that much sweeter. For instance, when I wrote Angelina, I wrote it in drop D in the key of D and I played it for almost a year in that key. One day I had the capo on the second fret and had the guitar in drop D, which makes me now in the key of E. I went into Angelina and suddenly realised that this is where it belongs. So from that day on I played Angelina in E.
GT: Do you find minor or major keys easier to write in?
TE: Minors are much more moody and seem to be deeper. Majors are more outgoing, so to speak.
GT: What about key modulations?
TE: If a song needs a key change you’ll soon know. I think modulating is a really important thing. Taking the song to another key is a great tool to have, especially as an arranger and a producer because it gives you a lift, it takes you to another place.
GT: Do you view the backing band differently than on a vocal song?
TE: No, if I have a backing and I’m playing over it I’m the lead singer. Even though I’m instrumental, I still think like the lead singer.
I TRY NEVER TO LET MY ABILITIES AND MY HANDS DICTATE WHAT I WRITE. I WRITE FROM MY HEAD AND MY HEART
GT: What are your views on harmonising melodies?
TE: I love harmonising melodies. It’s a great sound and I always try to view that vocally as well. If you listen to The Beatles and The Everly Brothers, you’ll hear harmonising on a beautiful level and that’s the stuff I try to learn from, so my melodies and harmonies are interesting and not just the 3rd or the 5th; it’s something interesting.
GT: What guitar instrumentals are iconic or have inspired you?
TE: Guitar Boogie – Arthur Smith; Cause We Ended As Lovers – Jeff Beck; Always With Me, Always With You – Joe Satriani; Classic Gas – Mason Williams.
For more news on Tommy’s tours, CDs, T-shirts, picks and more go to tommyemmanuel.com