Blues Headlines with Richard Barrett
Richard Barrett is on a mission to make you a better blues player – with full audio examples and backing tracks
IN THIS MONTH’S BLUES HEADLINES,
I’ve taken a Zeppelin-style blues-rock riff and played a solo, which tips the hat somewhat to Jimmy Page circa LedZeppelinI and II, but also leans towards the techniques and tones of modern blues-rock players, such as Joe Bonamassa, Gary Moore and maybe Johnny Winter in terms of intensity. Yes, this is a bit of a workout at times, but completely justified in the spirit of cramming as many ideas as possible into a solo for the purpose of demonstration!
A backing track such as this demands a confident (if not flamboyant) approach, so I’ve boosted the gain and dug in fairly hard with the pick. The faster runs are the result of getting carried away rather than an over-rehearsed slick technique, though don’t read that as ‘easy to play’. You may well recognise this approach from the Jimmy Page school of thought – it’s still amazing how he manages to create a sense of excitement that defies accurate transcription or analysis, but I’ve tried to put my own spin on it here.
The object of this feature is really to demonstrate some possibilities and to give you the tools to make them part of your own bag of tricks. Though I’ve showcased these ideas with a high-gain tone, you’ll find many of them translate in all kinds of musical situations – just check out Barney Kessel for some energised fast-picked phrases if you don’t believe me. Though the transcribed examples are selected highlights, rather than a full transcription of the solo (there are too many notes to fit all of it in here!), I would encourage you to fill in the gaps by ear and with your own imagination; this is probably the best learning experience of all. Hope you enjoy and see you next time.