Mel Bay Presents Advanced Modern Rock Guitar Improvisation

129 Pages·1999·6.07 MB·English

by  Jon Finn

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Mel Bay Presents

Mel Bay Presents

Advanced Modern Rock
Guitar Improvisation

By Jon Finn

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COVER CREDIT: COURTESY OF IBANEZ GUITARS

Visit us on the Web at ip: fivnvw.meitay.com — E-mail us at emaitGmethay.com
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CHAPTER |: i

INTRODUCTION—How to use this book
introduction

| started playing guitar at age sh} learned how to play by ear, and by people showing me things. Iwas
‘aughefora few years (from age 7 to age9) ky an enthusiastic and patient oman named Mrs. Haywood
She taught me songs ou af a book written by Pete Seeger: Instead of insisting thac| learned the nozes.
she would lexve the book apen and shaw me what | needed to know. Acsucha tender age. my areencion
span was short, Frequently, 1 would stop playing and clk about rocket ships. or basehal, ar modal
airplanes. or whacoreritwas happened tobe chinkingabout. Every ime Idd thatsne would isten intently
‘wlth a big smile on her face, She wauld simply enjoy wich me whatever was enjoying w¢tht moment
fevenifIthad nothing ta do with guicr. Funny tng wa, we were back playing withie minutes. We would
‘singsongs play guitar, learna few new hingsalong the way. We laughed a loctoo. Without al eftsraling
like a cheshire eat. My 3:15 Tuesday afternoan lesson was sornething | looked forward tn,

‘One day she called and told me not to come anymore because she felt [had outgrown her abilities as
areacher. More chan 30years later, [am realizing thatthe mostimpartant things I've ever learned about
Imusic came from her. Music is fun

Later on, I came in contact with a music ceacher named Paul Monaghan: Mr. Monaghan displayed an
cebvious love for music. Hie talenc was undemable. He could make a room full of knave more chan
{you" weeragers laugh ac the siliest jokes, or hang their heads in shame i their performance wasr’t 10
fo his standards. He was particularly hard on me, If hita wrong note. could fee his eyes burn ales
in my chesc. | would go ta him with a question abour something after school, an | would fird myself
tdiscussing the same topicin hiskitchen many hours later, with nis musician sons contributing ideas here
and there. | asked hin one day why icwns that one day he'd yell at me, znd anocher I be athis house
telling Jokes wich his fail. cold him [was confused because! thought we were friends. He got wide-
‘eyed with me again, “Lac me be clear Mr. Finn. lam not your friend. | am your ceacher. | ara nice £0
{you because like you, lam hard an you because youhsve more alent chan the others. Wher lexpect
‘that mut from yous | gat it. Lam convinced you will someday do sometaingimportant wich your talent
[ believe in you. But don't mistake that for friendship.” | hope | haven't lt. him down,

(Mark French and Bill Leavct ware the two teachers | sponc the most time studying with a5 + student
at Berklee College of Music, Their teaching styles were wildly cfferant, Mark hed a funny way of siteing
there and deing almost nothing while Ididallchework, Lofton wondered why leven needed him, Fwoule
goin thls room and play, ha wauld speak nwa sentences thet would keep meworkingfor another week.
He would sometimes ask questiors char would force me ¢o “teach” him what I was working on.
Somehow he always managed to get me to a place wherc | knew evactly wnat 1ewas | needed te do.
Te took me long tine lo understand his anderscated, but very deep and wise weys

Bil Leavitt was a diferent animal alzagether, He was beisterous, enthusiastic and epiniorated, During
my firsc lesson, he chided ime for spending thausands of dolars on an amp “that deliberately screwed
upthe sound fe guitar” (hawaetalkingaboutamp cistorvion). When l explained thin what aisrarrion
‘wasall abour, he acknowledged that we came from ercirely diferent eras and thatitwas unreasonable
for me to expect him co appreciate the tings Vike simply because | Uke chem. He accepted ine on iy
coe terms, But expected me ta do che same. Lessons with him were lke diving headfirst in co te sun
bis brllance was almost ton much to handle Bill was the ene who fully aught ne that che more you
learn, the more yeu realize how much further you have to go. Bill Leavitt spent his last days in the
hospital scribbling music or notepad for another baokhe was working on, This after a ceacing and
parforming career that spanned more than fifty years.

Some people come in to your Ife and make a difference,
How to Use this Book

Ifyou take a chai=and curn ie upside down, is stl a chair. But vow Ic looks diferens, f you turn it
sideways, it’ sila char. Even if youve never experienced a sideways chair before, idencfying. che

biocr presents ttle problem, Chairs came i imany shapes and sizes. Buc we can stl identify their
chair-ness.” Consider this troubling paradox: Mast chairs have backs, four legs anda seat, Most dogs
have backs, four lags and a seat. Sore chairs have fur. You e2n sit on some dogs. But we as humans
rarely struggle wth the difference berween chairs and dogs.

Why is this se?

‘Humans are naturally curious beings. We want to urderstand things fram every angle we can find. We
doit so naturally and urcorsciously that we don’t think abaur it, fe just happens. Even Ifwelve never
Actually sen a chair upside down, welve “turned them over in aur heads a milion times. Thac’s wnat
this book is meant ta de: co take some fariiariéeas and twin them aver until your underseanding of
it deepens a thousandfold,

Ifyou're flipping through this book and thinking ko yourse¥ thac you already know all the information
prosenced here, then youare exactly the person this book is written far. yeu don'c know any ofthis
Stuf, 's written for you too. In hoth eases, prepare to work through this book ina cyclical manner.
Read all the chapters. Play and learn all the examples. Reviow an earlier chapter after you've though:
aboura acer one. Review a later chapter afer you've thought about an earier chapter. Rend the book
now, then read i¢ again can years from now, Every time you do, the material will mean something
different. Don'tbe discouraged if your don’t feel the ull impact zhe frst or even second time you work
‘ith this book.

How de you know ityou've felt the full impact! The same way you know ifyou've been cracked upside
the head with a baseball bar, Youll just know.
6
CHAPTER 2:

THE WARP REFRACTION PRINCIPLE-
The guitar's “Laws of Physics”
The Warp Refraction Principle - The Guitar’s “Laws of Physics”

I'm going make way too much our of whats relly avery shnple ices: The face that tne guar is cuned
in dths except for the 3rd and 2nd serings (Which are tuned a majo 3rd apart). Pye caughe chis lesson
‘thousands of times, Wheat | scarccalng about ithe reactionsare pretty consistent Fis, iy students
‘nll giggle ac all che sly terminology used. Newt, theyll act impatienc after a while because they feel
lee 'm teaching something they already knew and Pm: spending coo much time oni, Finally, they chink
for a moment and become wide-eyed at the pusiliies that emerge from the perspective.

‘When | came across theseideas and emaraced them, was as ifz cloud of confusion had ban ifced
My ability t play improved ina manner chac was dramatlc. The mostiranic part wm tha while | begar
improving aca much faster rate, began to sderstand how lite | realy knew, and how much further
| needed to go,

Before we continue, you may be asking yourself these questions:

"Am | good enough te take this on?”
A: leis never a question of good enough. Yes. Yuu are

“WILL ever feel tke | am good enough?”

‘A; No. The better you get, the more you become aware of your shartcarungs:
Eventually, you learn to become comfortabla with the Idea. Yau see yourself on a
journey and enjoy dhe rid.

'm afraid of being coo influenced! by somvone elses ideas”
No oneis ever totaly original. Nething exists in a vacuums, Whether conscious or
Lnconscious, we areall nfuenced by our surroundirgs. Te deny that fact isto close

your eyes co realicy

zo

“Wor'e this understanding ruin iy creativity”
No. If youhave ereative abilities, you don't lose them by inereasing your knawladge
base. [cis true chac thinking a cercin way can black che creative flow. The creative
process has a cerzain magical element that is unexplainable. Knowing more coasn't
remove the magi, If anything, understanding more helps you appreciace the magic
‘ona deeper level

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