YVETTE YOUNG

Covet’s guitar virtuoso brings melody and emotion to progressive shred.

AS THE INSTRUMENTAL guitar maverick in Covet, Yvette Young takes a polyphonic, pianistic approach to her instrument. She employs alternate tunings, fingerpicking, two-handed tapping and plenty of effects to put an ethereal and ambient spin on progressive playing.

How did you approach your guitar work on Covet’s new record, Technicolor?

I occupy this zone in the progressive “shred” guitar world, but I feel like a phony there because I’ve been chasing melodies my whole life. So for this record, I wanted to focus on conveying emotions and telling stories with melodies. It’s definitely a more “wet” record, meaning that I’m using more effects on it. I’m toeing the line between being in this weird post-rock/shoegaze world and having one foot in the prog world, because of the odd-time meter stuff and the intricacy of the playing.

You’ve talked about taking a pianistic approach to the guitar, and indeed, you often play with two hands on the fretboard, much like you would lay your fingers on the keys of a piano.

I grew up playing piano and violin, so a lot of the way I think about melody is still polyphonic. On piano, you know, you’re splitting up a melody between two hands. Your left hand is often implying root notes, and your right hand has what would be considered more of a lead guitar role, playing more of the main melody. I think about it the same way on guitar. And I tap because it feels like how I would do runs on a piano.

Another big component of your style is your use of alternate tunings and open strings. How does that help you express yourself on the instrument?

What I really enjoy about alternate tunings is, yes, they make certain shapes more accessible. But I also feel like I’m never writing with shapes or theory in mind, because you can’t really memorize chord shapes when you’re constantly changing your tunings around. So I sing all of my parts first with my voice and then I find them in the alternate tunings. I call it “chasing melodies.” There’s no way to get comfortable, and I like that.

Has this approach — two hands on the fretboard, alternate tunings, ringing open strings — influenced your guitar tone?

Yes. Overdrive doesn’t sound good if you’re playing in this way. You can’t get a lot of detail. And so most of the guitar stuff on the new record is clean. Although I think on the next record there’s going to be a lot of fuzz and gain, with more space between the notes.

Who are some of your guitar heroes?

I didn’t really listen to a lot of guitar music when I was younger. And I would say that I still don’t listen to guitarcentric music. I’ve always admired great songwriters, and some of those songwriters happened to be great guitarists as well. Mike Kinsella, who plays with American Football and a lot of other projects, has some very intricate, detailed, beautiful guitar. And I listen to a lot of folk, like Cat Stevens and Sufjan Stevens. But I’ve always been more interested in songwriting rather than shredding.

“I CALL IT ‘CHASING MELODIES.’ THERE’S

NO WAY TO GET COMFORTABLE, AND

I LIKE THAT”

What does progressive music mean to you?

It’s about experimenting and not following a traditional formula. A lot of people think progressive rock is a band like Dream Theater writing these huge, epic shred sagas. And that is quite progressive. But then I think of a band like Mew, who take traditional pop structures and put some really weird experimental noises in them, and do crazy key changes and play in odd meters. That’s progressive, too. Anyone that pushes songwriting boundaries can be considered progressive.