STROLL ON!

How to play the slideinfused “Soul Stroll”

GREETINGS! FOR THIS month’s column, I’d like to demonstrate the first section of the rhythm and slide guitar parts to the main section of my song “Soul Stroll,” which is included on my latest Koch-Marshall Trio album, From the Up’Nah.

This track started as a little slide jam, and I first devised a soul-inspired chord progression at the top of the tune. FIGURE 1 depicts the opening progression, which consists of four chords played across two bars, two beats on each chord. This section of the tune is in the key of B, and the repeating

Abm7b5 progression is Bmaj7 - Gmaj7 - - E13. I perform this part fingerstyle, and in bar 1, I begin on the Bmaj7, with a low B root-note “anticipation” in the pickup bar, followed by

C# a quick hammer-on from on the B string’s

D#

2nd fret to (4th fret), quickly alluding to Bmaj9, which resolves to Bmaj7, followed

F# by sounding a high note on the 1st string. I’m taking a chord-melody approach here, embellishing the chord with subtle singlenote melodic phrases.

I similarly approach the Gmaj7 chord, using the last two beats of the bar to perform

F# a quick finger slide from F to on the 1st string, followed immediately by a pull-off from F to the open E note. Again, these little embellishments serve to add both harmonic breadth and rhythmic syncopation to the performance of the two chords. The remaining

Abm7b5 two chords, and E13, are presented in a syncopated rhythm that accentuates the eighth- and 16th-note upbeats.

FIGURE 2 shows the repeating slide melody I play over the progression: The melody is essentially based on the B minor pentatonic

F#, scale (B, D, E, A), and I begin with a “kick-off” 16th-note anticipation leading into the downbeat of the first bar. Notice that the lion’s share of the melody here is played on the 4th string, as I will strike the string once at the start of the phrase and then articulate all of the remaining notes via ascending and descending slides.

After presenting the initial phrase in bar 1, I end it on the lower strings in bar 2 then restate it, with subtle variations, in bar 3, where I end the phrase by instead moving up to the B string. In this manner, I’m offering variations on a melodic line that, to my ears, makes it sound balanced as it resolves to both lower and higher conclusions.

FIGURE 3 shows the chord-melody approach I use for the Bmaj7 and Gmaj7 chords in the rhythm part, as well as the articulation

Abm7b5 of the and E13. FIGURE 4 offers a detailed look at the initial slide melody. Be sure to strive to “nail” each note of the melody with accurate intonation. FIGURE 5 illustrates the simple way in which I end the phrase the second time around.

Utilizing a little “kick off’ from a lower string is something many slide players, myself included, like to do often. FIGURE 6 demonstrates how I might “bounce” off the 5th string in order to accentuate notes on the 4th string. FIGURE 7 offers a slight variation in how I would be inclined to wrap up those initial melodic figures.

Greg Koch is a large human who coaxes guitars into submission in a way that has left an indelible print on the psyches of many Earth dwellers. Visit GregKoch.com to check out his recordings, instructional materials, signature musical devices and colorful hats.