Theory Godmother

Answers to your musical and theoretical issues.

Postyourplayingposersandtechnicalteasersto:TheoryGodmother, GuitarTechniques,QuayHouse,TheAmbury,Bath,BA11UAoremail info@davidmead.net.EverywishisyourGodmother’scommand!

SPEEDKING DearTheoryGodmother

I’mnewtotheguitarandhaveactively beenlearningforaboutayearnow. IntheAugustissue,Idecidedtotake acrackatPhilHilborne’sOne-Minute Lick:PowerfulPentatonicsandcame awaywondering.AtaveryslowBPM Icanplaythisrelativelyeasily,butas soonasItrytobumpitupIbeginto losefocus,andmyfingersdon’tcooperate. toincreasethetempoandbyhow much,tomaximisemylearningofa particularpiece?Thankyou!

Pedro Therulewithadvancingmetronome speedsis‘slowly,slowlywinstherace’. Youfindaspeedwhereyoucanplay alickorriffperfectlywithnomistakes, andthenyoutakeitupasinglenotch atatime.Whenyoufindthespeedat whichitbeginstofallapartagain,you remainthereandpractiseituntilyou canplayitcorrectly–andsoon,until it’suptospeed.However,ifyou’renew totheguitarthislickcallsforsomefairly advancedtechnique(seeEx1).Iasked Philtocomment,andhesaidthis:“That lickisalittleunusual;althoughit’sbased onaPentatonicscale,theideawas touseintervalsandlegatoviaslides, hammer-onsandpull-offstomakea less-than-typicalclichédlick.Ithinkin thiscase,someintervalexerciseswould help–aswouldworkingatbeing accuratewiththeaforementioned techniquesandposition-shifts,too. Also,Iputfretting-handfingeringon thislickanditisimportanttofollowit, particularlyinregardtogettingitup tospeed.”Wisewordsfromthemaster himself–hopethishelps!

FINGERINGQUANDARY DearTheoryGodmother

Asguitarists,whenwelearnscales intheirindividualboxshapes,they comewiththeirownsetoffingerings forthatparticularshape.However, whenweimprovise,arewesupposed toadherestrictlytothosefingerings? ThereasonIaskisbecauseIhave recentlybeenteachingguitarto someteenagers,whichhasmademe closelyexaminehowIdothings;and

Ex1

Ex2 AmPentatonicBoxShape1,5thfret–correctfingering

Ex3 hasmademewonderifthewayI’m teachingthemiswrong.Manylicks aresometimeseasiertoplaywith fingersthataren’tinaccordancewith thewaywelearnscaleshapes–and sometimes,crossingbetweenshapes orbendingnotesisalsoeasierwith the‘wrong’fingers.Arethefingerings welearnforscaleshapes(andindeed arpeggios)purelytolearnwherethe notesareandbuildourtechnique? Oristhereamethodbehindthe madness,andshouldwestickto thosefingeringswhenimprovising?

Ria Rockandbluesguitarisnotknown foritsorthodoxy.ButifIthinkbackto thedayswhenIwaslearningclassical technique,Irememberplayingscales andarpeggios,strictlyadheringto therecommendedexam-syllabus fingerings.Butwhenitcametimeto learnanewpiece,myteacherandI wouldoftenspendtheentirelesson workingoutthemechanicsofplaying it.Thatis,wewouldadjustandmodify fingeringsuntilthepiecewasaseasyto playaswejudgedpossible.Thesame,I believe,istruewithrocktechnique.We learnthePentatonicboxshapeswith fingeringsliketheoneshowninEx2, inordertoproperlycoordinatehands, picksandfingers.Then,whenwebegin totackletranscriptions,weadaptin ordertomakethelick,rifforwhatever aseasyforthefingerstonavigateas possible(seeEx3morphintoEx4).

Inordertopreparestudentsfor varyingthefingeringstheyhave learnedatthescale-playingstage,I wouldbeginbyshowingthemvery simplePentatoniclicksthatrequire substitutingthethirdfingerforthe morescale-orientatedfourth.Aslong astheyrealisethatthethingsthey’ve learnedintheclassroomhavetobe adjustedfortherealworld,thenthe processwillslowlybecomeautomatic. Spendacoupleoflessonsshowing Soweallknowwhatwe’retalking about,akinesiologistisamedical professionalwhospecialisesinthe mechanicsofbodymovement.Iwould alsosaythatI’mnotinanywayqualified tooffermedicaladvice–itwouldbe recklesstodoso,infact.Havingsaid that,theadviceIgivepeopletostayout oftroublewithconditionslikeRSIisto keepthewristsasstraightaspossible andthearmsasrelaxedasyoucan. AmistakeIseeoften,isguitarstraps wornsolowthattheresultingplaying positioninvolvesthewristsbeingbent atright-anglesandthebackarched.I knowatleasttwoprofessionalguitarists whosufferbackproblemsasaresultof the‘lowslung’syndrome.Itmightlook cool,butit’snotgoodforyou!Ihave beentoldthatAlexanderTechnique canbeofhelpwitheliminatingtension; ayogateachercanofferadvice,too. You’vetakenthefirstimportantstep inaskingforadvice,butIwould encourageyoutocontinueseekinga medicallyqualifiedanswer,ifyouwant tomakesureyou’replayingsafely.