Hi ! In this video I'll show you how to play octaves on the guitar, just like Wes Montgomery used to do
Wes played with the thumb and his style is deeply influenced by melodies played in octaves
this is how it sounds like
let's see how to do that : we'll start by playing two notes separated by an octave
a D, and one octave higher another D
two notes, two frets and two strings appart
you can play them with two different fingers at the right hand, sure
but also by hiting all the strings, it will have a more percussive sound
because we'll hear the other muted strings plucked
and THIS is the most difficult thing to do when playing octaves, and I'll give you advices to manage to do it
how can we do to avoid this sound ?
(the strings were not muted here)
now they are !
as you see I use the middle finger : it has to touch all the strings without pressing them
this high D will ring simply because the finger press the string
and the low D will also ring because as I press it the middle finger doesn't touch it anymore !
if you press too much with the middle finger, the low D will be muted
and that's not what we want
the middle finger must mute the strings but not the one we press
one possibility is to first press the two D, then slightly put the middle finger
what's difficult is to dissociate the different finger pressures
in order to to have a soft mellow sound, we'll play with this part of the thumb :
we'll sweep the strings and we won't use the wrist, only the thumb muscles, just like Wes
by the way, there's a live video recording of 1965 of Wes Montgomery playing in England : great video if you want to see how he used his thumb
so we'll play the strings like this (it's how Wes uses his thumb)
listen carefully when you play : you must not hear unwanted open strings like this
but you also must not mute the strings too strongly, otherwise you'll just hear one D
to check that, play the strings one by one
if you do it well, the D will sound loud : this is the idea when playing octaves !
AND, you may have noticed that the index finger also mutes some strings
the index finger presses the low D and mutes the higher strings
so the 2 high strings (E and B) are muted with 2 fingers
this are the basics of octave playing : I explained it in 3 minutes but it will probably take you weeks to get a good sound
personnaly, when I discovered this technique I though it would be impossible, and it took me many weeks to get a correct sound
and after that, it took me years to get a good sound
so this was for playing one note with the octave technique, but now : melodies !
let's stay on the same string and improvise a simple melody
if you want to do this pretty fast you'll probably miss frets and make the strings buzz, so here is my advice :
just look at one of the two fingers you press !
I always look at the finger that plays the highest note, the ring finger in this case
and I think everything like if I played only with this finger
I don't look between the fingers : only the ring finger, and the rest of the hand follows
if I really go high on the neck, the fingers must slightly get closer as the frets are closer
just look at one finger ! this is my tip
if we change strings : for the lower strings, the octave shape stays the same
but if I go on higher strings, the shapes changes : 3 frets distance for an octave
(the reason is the tuning of the guitar in 4th, except between G and B, a major third)
so the fingering is different
octave here, octave here
for this fingering, we use the pinky and the index finger
so the middle finger and the ring finger (and the index) mute the strings
you can also play the first octave shape I showed you with the pinky ! You choose
now you have the basics of octave playing : not so hard to understand, but pretty hard to do
to practicr this, we can play easy songs without any tempo: let's play autumn leaves in Gm
when you play octaves, don't hesitate to move on the same string because it avoid jumping strings
and it will help you master the intervals on a single string :-)
at the end of the video I'll play autumn leaves (slightly modified), but before that let me give you some advice for advanced players
first, you must listen to Wes Montgomery as he's a master (THE master) of this technique
we can widely use slides, it's easy to do and it sounds great !
we can use them as grace notes :
but also, what I like is to start the slide on the upbeat
you can use the pick, but don't pick the strings too strong, it will sound funk and not jazz
pick the strings softly
you can widely use ghost notes, it sounds great if you're in the tempo
to play ghost notes, you just have to relax the fingers from the fretboard
and a last tip : playing tremolo (well, it's more like two 16th notes and a 8th note)
the thumb does "down up down"
you can hear it very often in Wes solos, like in Besame Mucho
now, autumn leaves, using octaves !
I hope you liked this vid ! Go check the live of Wes in England (1965), listen to Wes albums
there are video lessons on guitare-improvisation.com in which I talk a bit about this technique : So What and Stella By Starlight
For more infomation >> Practicar español: Mate Club de conversación en Buenos Aires - Duration: 6:44. 
For more infomation >> Roteiro de Caça Submarina Cascais #1 - Introdução - Duration: 3:20. 
For more infomation >> 3 Cosas que deberíamos hacer en casa después de que nos rompan el corazón según los náhualt - Duration: 4:35. 
For more infomation >> La primera entrevista de la exministra Alejandra Pérez desde su salida de Cultura - Duration: 18:04. 
For more infomation >> Sánchez mira al banquillo con otra semana negra y más pruebas de sus plagios - Duration: 5:30. 
For more infomation >> Zazie évoque un terrible traumatisme, « On en entendait les coups de feu » - Duration: 1:33. 
For more infomation >> Learn French the natural way - Premier amour d'après Histoires Pressées de Bernard Friot - Duration: 13:16. 
For more infomation >> Renaud, la mort de Johnny Hallyday a aggravé son état - Duration: 1:21. 
For more infomation >> Fama de Jair Bolsonaro se expande mundo a fora e celebridades internacionais o rejeitam - Duration: 2:51. 
Không có nhận xét nào:
Đăng nhận xét