INSTRUMENTAL inquisition!
Guitar instrumentals have supplied some of music’s most evocative moments. We asked some top guitarists for their take on this iconic movement. Today we meet an Australian virtuoso beloved of Steve Vai, the guitarist known as Plini.
GT: What is it about guitar instrumentals that appeals to you?
Plini: When I was about 12 years old, I well and truly fell in love with the electric guitar. I don’t listen to instrumental guitar music for any one thing in particular, but all my favourite songs have one or many of the following: amazing tone, amazing technique, amazing composition, or amazing (non-guitar) instrumentalists. In addition to getting to hear the guitar explored to its fullest extent, it seems that, without vocals, there is more room for each member of a band to shine, so instrumental music often contains some of the best recorded performances of the world’s great session musicians.
GT: What can an instrumental provide a listener that a vocal song can’t?
Plini: It can be more versatile in how it’s listened to, whether as background music, study music, sleep music or as a break from typical modes of thought (spoken or written language). Without a clear, written message attached to it, it could also function as great inspiration for other art forms – poetry, painting, animation, film, etc.
GT: Any tendencies that you aim to embrace or avoid (rhythms, harmony, approach, tones)?
Plini: Embrace: Simplicity, repetition. Avoid: Excessive guitar playing, keeping unnecessary sections (usually for the sake of wanting to use a cool, but irrelevant, idea).
GT: Is a typical song structure always relevant for an instrumental?
Plini: Not always, but I think it can be helpful in keeping things palatable. When I write, I try to make each song an exploration of one or two ideas at most, rather than a montage of many ideas – the same way most lyrics centre around one theme or story.
GT: How useful is studying a vocalist’s approach for guitar melodies?
Plini: Incredibly useful – melodies that we can sing are naturally more memorable and relatable. Trying to play the guitar in parallel to your own breath is also a really fun exercise – a great byproduct of this is that it becomes a lot more difficult to shred endlessly!
GT: How do you start writing one; is there a typical approach?
Plini: Usually it involves trying to put the most simple possible melody over the top of an interesting or complex arrangement. Then, once the new melody exists, I like to test out different variations of it – perhaps via a new set of chords or rhythms to sit under it.
GT: What do you aim for when your performance is centre stage?
Plini: That if the listener focuses away from the lead line, they’ll still be presented with captivating performances by the rest of the band, or by the composition.
MOST OF THE MUSIC I LOVE IS EQUALLY FOR THE PERFORMANCE OF THE BACKING BAND AS FOR THE LEAD INSTRUMENT
GT: Many vocal songs feature a guitar solo that starts low and slow then finishes high and fast. Is this approach useful for developing pace and dynamics in an instrumental?
Plini: Definitely, although it’s not necessarily a formula to live by. Sometimes it’s nice to start off with a bang and then calm down. However it’s written, I think contrast is always key. A fast solo might complement a slow song, or a slow solo in a slow song might complement a generally fast album.
GT: What type of guitar tone do you prefer for your own instrumentals?
Plini: At the moment, I’m favouring lower-gain leads with a nice smattering of reverb and delay. As for rhythms, I’m starting to experiment with more traditional and raw rock tones (Strat-like crunch) rather than a typical high-gain metal rhythm. But again, contrast is key.
GT: Any favourite keys or tempos?
Plini: Keys - usually things related to the open strings of the guitar. I play in drop C# tuning so C#, G# and their relative minors are pretty common. As for tempos, not deliberately, but I seem to write around 130bpm a lot.
GT: Do you find minor or major keys preferable to write in?
Plini: Minor, because I tend to think in terms of the Blues scale. Perhaps also from growing up listening to metal, where the ‘home’ key is usually minor, and often the lowest open string.
GT: Do you have any favourite modes?
Plini: Lydian and Dorian for sure, but really digging the fourth mode of Harmonic Major, the b3-# b7) Lydian Minor (R-2- 4-5-6- at the moment. Generally, I write first and think later - the mode I happen to be in is only really helpful in arranging other parts and harmonies more quickly.
GT: What about modulations into new keys?
Plini: If ‘80s pop music has taught us anything, it’s that key changes are always a good idea.
GT: Do you view the backing band differently than you would on a vocal song?
Plini: In some ways yes, in others not. Most of the music I love is equally for the performance of the backing band as for the lead instrument (whether guitar or vocals); however, I feel like the backing band for instrumental music needs to work even harder to keep a song interesting because there are no lyrics to captivate the listener and propel the song’s journey.
GT: What are your views on harmonising melodies on guitar?
Plini: It’s a great device for layering, and one of my favourite things lately is trying to incorporate more unconventional harmonies than the typical 3rd - 4ths and 7ths are fun.
GT: What three guitar instrumentals would you consider iconic or inspiring?
Plini: 1) Tender Surrender by Steve Vai, because it was one of the first guitar instrumentals I ever tried to learn, and it has amazing examples of delicate clean playing, great chords, huge melodies and crazy fast passages. 2) Tempting Time by Animals As Leaders, because it was one of the first guitar instrumentals I ever heard that was incredibly interesting and detailed, but
heavy and riff-based, rather than melody-based. 3) Waves by Guthrie Govan, because it was one of the first things I had heard in years, after falling a little out of love with ‘guitar music’, with such a refreshing combination of catchy songwriting, quirky phrasing and obnoxiously good technique.