lan Holdsworth has been inspiring ‘and astonishing guitarists and lis- teners alike since his debut over a decade ago. The name conjures up an image of an olympian stretch, fingers ‘which seem to defy the physics of the fretboard. Indeed, the superlative “Holdsworthian” has been used to de- scribe a number of techniques and ap- proaches attributed to Allan's visionary stylings. Amid a hectic schedule of tour dates and appearances to promote his new LP, Atavachron, and the SYN- ‘THAXEO synthesizer controller, Allan met with me to discuss many ofhis innovative musical perspectives. Holdsworth is a master of line form permutation. In his style, myriad con- cepts of melodic invention and variation co-exist to color and define his unique improvisational approach. He has a pen- chant for unusual and often angular melody lines with unexpected and un- predictable ranges and resolutions. Early in his background, Allan explored math- ‘ematically ordered tone rows and scales in an effort to achieve truly uncommon material for improvising. Two of these appear here. MUSICAL Ex.1 Double Scale C EB G C_ FE AS CH =sixnote scale APPREC 1ATION Allan explained this con- cept as the combining of two triad components with different roots (ex: C major and FI major) to form a third scale having characteristics of both. By ex- amining the combination of C + Fl (six note scale), one can. 00 that, besides C and F¥, the 1 diminished chord (C1 EGAN) is also created as a sum of both and, thus, could act as abinding, ‘or unilying ingredient. Ex. 2 *Partial Scale F G AB ct ‘Note: Band onited form paral wale. smpie of coven {itean fi wih ste af ete GOBSC) Abia, Bhat a APRIL 1967, GUITAR 89)Allan describes this scale variant as, ‘simply a conventional seven-tone scale ‘oF mode with missing steps, This can be an extremely useful principle when a melody with wider intervals or more tonal color is desired. In this example, the interval of Ct to F (Dé to F) generates, Ex. 3 Where Is One (*Guitar solo: measures 4~ 5) fou Depret am before string ol, hen ree, ‘This example ("Where Is One" from 10U) shows the application of the partial ‘scale in Allan’s music. The passage is derived from the Gt whole tone scale (Gt BC DE MI but omits the E and B tones. The mood of the phrase is eccen- Pot: Band Bh omited from wha tone wale {a major third (diminished 4th) sound, plus the interval of G to At yields an augmented 2nd within the same scale. ‘A rather exotic tone series! This type of line form experimentation led to the development of some of the factors in tric both in its use of the symmetrical pattern of MAI 3—whole tone and the vocal sax-like vibrato bar coloration. The primary tones are given a subtle scooping effect as the pattern moves across the strings. Allan refers to his personal con- Allan's present playing style. He encourages guitarists interested {in expanding their voeabulary and im- provisational options to experiment with similar combinations of scale resoures and chord-on-chord combinations. Part sale derived fom Gfwhole tone series. fe 22 bay ‘Copyright © 1980 | Owe You Music ‘ALRighs Reserved Used by Permission cept of free-form improvisation as “jug- ling.” One dictionary definition reads: “To keep more than one activity in mo- tion at one time.” This could be an apt description of some of Allan’s multi- faceted guitarwork. Ex. 4 Thee Sheets to the Wind (Guitar solo: mestures 17 ~ 18) Fmajs/a Datring skips « ‘Amaj795 This representative excerpt from “Three Sheets to the Wind! (Road Games) fustrates the use of string-akip scale arrangements (another type of partial ‘scale, notice the perfect 4th); superim- position of tonal elements A minor, G 90 GUITAR, APRIL 1887 symmetrical motive movement J Boma 7B5/A —@ superimposed tonal elements P eet Bae 69 minor and F major with chromaticism; and symmetrical intervallic movement based on this pattem: perfect 4th and three chromatic tones in increments of ‘a major third. All within a two-measure phrase. @ motit- ‘a te Kote t rity 4 ans “Path (characteristic wide interval found in Holdsworth’s style) Motif:-perfect 4ths and minor nds She ‘Copyright © 1983 | Owe You Music ‘ALFighis Reserved Used by Permission In the opening measures of the “To- kyo Dreams" guitar solo (Road Games), Allan juggles extremely wide interval lines composed of perfect 4ths and perfect ths placed on one string. The motif i retained through the chord change fromG major 7 10 DF major 9 by moving the patior up a half step. These particular Interval atacks (4the and Sths) have an ‘Ex. $ Tokyo Dreum (Guitar slo: measures 1-2) GOT ye. ‘ambiguity which allows for many uliffer~ tent functional applications and prove to be quite flexible tonally. Allan is farnous for this type of open, spatial sound in his playing due to the frequent use of ‘wide interval melodies. Dimajvctt1) Se ‘This is a distinctive Holdsworth ep- {sode moving from inside to outside and back to inside tonal motion. This stretch- {ng and relaxing of the harmonic fabric is yet another form of the juggling of ‘musical events. It is reminiscent of the Intense sonic barrages heard in jazz saxophonist John Coltrane's “Sheets of Sound" scale layerings. Also in this long continuous line canbe found the aspects ofintervalic contours of perfect sths and ‘unisons, motivc activity lin F) and legato phrasing throughout. Regarding which, ‘Allan recommends several tips for the Ex. 6 Three Sheets to the Wind (Guitar solo: meatures 69) Aer ANGE BE nen, Ema? c AIG By teak Art P Copynght © 1985 | Owe You Mus AL Rohs Reserved Used by Permission development of a smooth legato style: 1) practice with a clean tone; 2) play very deliberately while hammering-on: 3) ty to make the hammered notes louder than picked notes; 4) LIFT OFF instead of pull off, and 5) keep the string ringing between lifted-off notes. 4 Lait Ricks ieee 4 Tron @tetching the tonality" (outside) tension ™,? AN Hoe oP ye i nip My tte yy 2h DA LS perfect ath ‘APRIL 1967, GUITAR 91.