John llllslaughlin

York Eventhough theyre not primarily derived from Indian music, both recordings have related features worth noting. Our primary focuswill beMcLaughlins improvising an in odd time signature with relativelycomplex tonalities. Ex. 1 profiles introto Follow the fromthe /EQversion. Fist, lets with the 1118 deal time signature non-traditional (a Indianmeterthat wasbroughtinto vogueby RaviShankar). To concentrate your playinginstead your on of countingin anodd timesignature, need you to find arelaxed to feelit. Instead countway of ing beatsonethroughelevenat tempoand eventually passing forlackof air,try countout ing the first eight beatsasquarter-notes at halftempo, thenthefinalthreeaseighthand notesat regular tempo,like this:1,2,3,4, l2-3.Oryoumightcountallthe eighth-notes like this:1 and2 and3 and4 andl-2-3. Nowlets at thechord look vampin thefirst measure. These voicingsarereminiscent of those Bvans Bill introduced theMilesDavis on standard Whatandthose Herbie So of Hancock on MaidenVoyage. wayto get a One handleon themis to think of the Bmll and C//ml1 assubstitutes the I chord (EJin for the Mixolydian mode.Both chordscontain notesfrom the parentscaleand from variousextensions anE7chord: Bml I islike of The an E7witha sus4 a 9,andthe C#mll has and the 6th and9th scale degrees thebass in and anE triad on top. Other chordsubs helpexpandthe tonality of Followandkeepthingsfresh.In measures and4, the Gsus4 D change 3 to implies thekeyof G,andthechords as work tritoneand relativemajorsubs C#m andBm respecfor tively. TheD to A change measure makes in 4 sense a quick as moveto theIV chord E, in with the V of the IV (0) asa lead-in. Ex.2 shows two-octavefingeringfor E a Mixolydian. Keepin mindthat Johnwasnot overlyconcerned theoretical with issues, he as madeclearin anAug.78Guitar Playerintervim Itsnotreally essential youknowthe that names the variousmodes scales of and you play.Whatisimportantisthat you heartheir 42
HOW TO PLAY GUITAR / J A 2 2

Ex. 1
kca. Elm. gtr. 184

Bml l/E

C#ml l/E

Bml i/E

C#ml l/E

Bml l/E

Gsus4

Bml l/E

T A n
Ex. 2

1 2 ? ?

2 1 n n

9 ? 9 n n

? 2 -9

2 ? n n

q 1 9 n

,-

E Mixolydian ~-,

Ex. 3

Em1 1

Dmll

Ex.4

El 1 or Bml l/E

Ex. 5 Harmonized E Mixolydian Amaj7add4 Bml 1 C#mll Dmaj7#11 El1 F#mll G#dim7add4 Amaj7add4

I . .

Ex. 6
Gtr. 1

Bml l/E

C#ml

l/E

Bml i/E

C#ml

l/E

Bml l/E

DED

DED

Emil All

relationship the chords. to Nowlets compare SoWhat voicings the of Ex. 3 to the Followchords Ex. 4. You in cananalyze chordas the bothEli andBml Iit all depends what you hearasthe root. on Ex. 5 listsallof the chords themodein this in typeof substitute voicing.Noticethat the two fromFollowareamong least the dissonant. Johns melodyandrhythm work in measures of the 12-bar l-4 headisthe subjectof Ex.6. As in the intro, he substitutes rhythm chords the3rdand4thbars, timebulldin this ingtension climbing fretboard by the through inversions Dand@iads.These nicely of lead to thesubstitution Em1 1lAfor theIVchord of at measure 5. Farrellplayedthemelodyontenorsaxon his]lQalbum, but wellexplore Johns octave approachon acoustic guitar from the MGB recording.Notice how he effectively uses of fournotes themeandvariationphrasing. in In thesolo department, covers first Ex.7 the four-and-a-half bars of Johns break. Joe As Farrell finishes, McLaughlincomesin at measure3 of the 12-barform. Focus hereon his rhythmicandharmonic choices, theconand stantdown/upcontourof hislines. Hisfirstmotif,based E9andEm7chord on tones, runsat arelaxed pacethroughthefirst rapidlyarpeggiates Aland Bmiin measures 4 and5. Hisquickbendandrelease meain sure4 is typical of the Indian-styleembellishments see upcoming well in examples.
with Shakti

Ex. 7
Bml l/E Em1 l/A

L/7

c
,A

c
7 ,c

.c
7 4 c

Johns formalinvolvement with Indianmusic wasenriched hisstudyof the vina, ancesby tor of the sitar. vlnas The expressive potential, whicharises from itshighfrets(with no fretboardbelow), impressed McLaughlin supeas rior to that of the guitar. Thisdisparity eventually himto accept led an offer from Gibson build a custom13to string acousticconcert guitar designed by Abe Wechter. sixstrings onascalloped With set fretboard approached feelof thevina, that the
J A 2 2 / HOW TO PLAY GUITAR 43

John McLaughlin
Bml i/E

and seven more strings set diagonally across the soundhole, McLaughlin was able to develop a new technique: I wanted to be able to play chords without stopping my single-line soloing. What was important to me was to extract the chord that was the most expressive of the emotion that I felt was embodied inside the scale or the mode of the raga we were playing. (Guitar Player, Aug. 78.) ?tyo 13-strings were built, the standard-body prototype in 1975, and a cutaway in 1976. Concurrent with the arrival of the first model ln 1975, McLaughlin formed the acoustic Indo-jazz fusion group, Shakti. The name means creative intelligence, b,eauty, and power. McLaughlin was joined by fellow virtuosos L. Shankar (violin), Zaklr Hussain (tablas, percussion), and T.H. Vinayakram (Ghatam, percussion). The group recorded three ground-breaking albums between 1975 and 1977. The piece well look at here is India from their third album, A Handful ofBeau@ its out of print, but youll find the song on Best ofShakti (Moment). Arranged like a raga, India follows an ABCB pattern. Ex. 8 covers the opening phrase of the A section, or alap, traditionally a slow and serene solo exposition without meter. John begins with bend-release figures that resemble the expressive phrasing of the sitar, at the same time strumming the seven accompaniment strings, which are tuned to an Emadd2/4. Indian sitar players typically pull their strings down to bend, and this is Johns approach as well l?y that technique here and in the following related examples whenever practical. Eminor is the primary tonality of India, and Ex.9 shows a two-octave fingering of the scale at the second fret. As in Ex.2, nlav a single octave first to absorb the fundamental sound. To get the essence of these musical elements, you have to take them beyond where you found them. One way to get there is to run an idea through an entire scale or mode. Ex. 10 heads in that direction with a melodic sequence exercise derived from the lead figure in Ex.8. Ex. 11 takes us a step further with an
I ,

Follow Your Heart by John Mclaughlin 0 1974Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp. All rights reserved, used by permission. Warner Bros. Publications U.S. Inc., Miami FL33014 Ex. 8

J=ca. 40,

freely

Em

* Chord arpeggio from upstroke ACROSS 7 string harp section of 13.string guttar.

Ex.9 I
E Minor -,

All 3
Scale

--,5-

z2 b3 4 5

.
-e l -

b3

.
4 5 16 b7 1

degrees:

b6

b7

T A cI?l<-dd
Ex. 10 Em

?cl<l

? -

< d

1 _

< d

>

I Ex.11
Freely

I I

Em

1 A

BR 6 R BR n r\n\7.. 4 1% 1: /s n ? -

9 (4\1 \-I-

1 <\2 *:-I-

-a

(93

21,:

--;-

,n

44

HOW TO PLAY GUITAR / J A 2 2

Ex. 12 Em
*

I . .

Ex. 13

J=ccl.144

Cadd9 #4

BmGadd4

let ring throughout

A7sus4add6

A7add6

abbreviated version of the final phrase of the alup, a more developed look at Johns Indianstyle phrasing. Notice how almost every note is connected by an embellishment-this is one of the main stylistic differences between Indian and Western melodic styles. Ex. 12 is a melodic sequence exercise derived from beat three of Ex.11. Similar in approach to FX. 10, this time its fingered up the neck. Next up is the B section, or dadru, where a moderate 614 tempo is introduced as the theme and arpeggiated chords are played by violin and guitar, respectively. This alternates with soulful, rapid-fire unison lines by guitar and violin, a pattern that is developed many times in this section. One pass of the chords is notated in Ex. 13. Beginning with cadd9/#4, John starts things off with a smooth substitution for the previous alap tonal center of Em7add2l4. As usual, it works due to the common tones between the two chords: E, G, D, and F#. Such arranging is an example of the East/West fusion within Shaktis music, a key element introduced by John to the traditionally non-chordal Indian style. One Truth After Shakti disbanded in 1977, McLaughlin formed the primarily electric-oriented One IYuth Band with L. Shankar and others. The opening track from their 1978 Electric Dreams (Columbia/Legacy) features an acoustic duet with Shankar, Guardian Angels. Departing from the raga form, it consists of an Indoblues style theme over a set of modallypivoting chord changes. Like Ex13, its based on shifting time signatures, and arpeggiated inversions allow for melodic voice-leading between chords. For the rhythm part, John plays a 12string acoustic. Ex. 14 covers the Brst 12 bars of the melody and chords. Instead of emphasizing the Indian melodic style alone, it blends it with basic Western blues figures to create a hybrid. Originally recorded with violin and six-string acoustic cutaway in unison, the theme is
J A 2 2 / HOW TO

Am7add6

Am7add /$3

India by Lakshminarayana Shankar and John Mclaughlin 0 1977 Warner-Tamerlane Publishing Corp., Basque Music Inc., and Ganesh Music. Au rights o/b/o Basque Music, Inc. administered by Warner-Tame&me Publishing Corp. All rights reserved, used by permission. Warner Bros. Publications U.S. Inc., Miami FL 33014

PLAY GUITAR

IS

John Mclaugnlin
Ex. 14 h = 2~ Cmaj7IE D6 NC# C

arranged here for guitar only Its the phrasing that matters most. Fist of all, its melodic and flowing, regardless of the continual time signature changes. Secondly, notice how it starts with a short question in bars l-4. Then, on the last beat of the fourth measure, it follows with an answer that might normally have ended on beat two of measure 8. Instead it continues, trailing off through bar 12 like the tail of a comet.
The Wish ensemble

Our fInal examples are taken horn Johns great 1995 concept album, The Promise (Verve). Withthisrecording Johnseta newstandard for himself,not only gatheringmusicians together playinvarious to styles throughfrom out his career,but writing and arranging musicto highlightand inspiresome the of worldsbestplayers. Here welltakea lookatJohns to India nod in hiscomposition, TheWish.Thefollowing examples notatedin C#major corare to respond the C# to tuning of the sitar. Whileit iscustomary publish music C,using to this in the actualkeywill helpin playingalong with the recording. Returning theraga to form,Ex. 15 gets us goingwith a lookat the first pass the secof ondmovement theme TheWish. (ior) of The themeisrepeated the sitarin unison by with Johns electricguitarandfollowed eachtime by a ill1in 6/4. This18-beat cycle(or r&a) of three measures 414and oneof 614runs of throughoutthe piece. Ex. 16 shows the C#Lydian-mode fingering isused Rx.15. geta feelfor the that in To tonalityimplied thetheme, the C#nzzj7 by try andC#muj9 chords illustratedin Ex. 17. Finally,Ex. 18 demos Johns phrase solo at 654,ajazz-style phrase played a backover groundthat combines percussionist Trilok Gurtus Indoljazz swing groove with a traditionalIndianrhvthrnicfeelfromZaklrHussain. Try practicing studiesof any three- or four-notefigures like,and(withthisand you all the examplesabove) practice with a metronome, starting a comfortable at tempo.
46
HOW TO PLAY GUITAR / JAZZ

*Violin arranged for guitar.

%&SttitPQ ilM)UStiC gUitW.

Bm6

csus#4

Bm

Am

WG#

F#ll

1 A

I I I?

A A

II I I9

I I I

n ?

1 #

Guardian Angel by John Mclaughlin 0 1979 Warner-Tamerlane Music, Inc. All rights administered by Warner-Tamerlane reserved, used by permission. Warner Bros. Publications

Publishing Corp. & Basque Publishing Corp. All rights U.S. Inc., Miami FL 33014

Ex.15 J=
ca. loo

C#maj7

Thats for the Indianlegof our itinerary, it but theadventure mayhaveanotherstop.At the time of thiswriting, thereareplansfor a British/European tour this fall featuringan ensemble John,ZakirHussain, northof and IndianflautistHariparasad Chaurasia. W

Ex.16

,-

C# Lydian ,

degrees:

#4

#4

#4

Ex.17

C#maj7

C#majQ

Ithat
4n!ar

jplu

their

Ex.18

The Wish by John Mclaugblin used by permission. Warner

0 1995 Basque Music, Inc. All rights reserved, Bros. Publications U.S. Inc., Miami FL 33014