Forum - Banjo Ben Clark

Hear me out…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mXAkznRIK0&pp=ygUxaSdsbCBmbHkgYXdheSBibHVlZ3Jhc3MgaW5zdHJ1bWVudGFsIGNyYWlnIGR1bmNhbg%3D%3D

Ok, so I was listening to this, and I have a question. The first time the guitar plays, he does a really cool lick at the end of the verse over where the lyrics “I’ll fly away” would be. Does he start the lick by grabbing the harmony note first, then, as he continues through the lick, incorporate the melody notes? If this is not what he did, would that be a valid technique?

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My guess would be that’s not what he was intending to do. The melody notes over that line of the song would be 3, 2, 1 (B, A, G or since it’s technically in the key of A: C#, B, A). He does start the lick by sliding into what could be called a harmony note (G) in this circumstance, but the phrasing of the lick doesn’t follow the phrasing of the melody very closely at all, and doesn’t really incorporate the melody notes strongly until the ending of the lick (sliding down to A and ending on G). I don’t think he was aiming to incorporate the melody or harmonize the melody in this lick; I think he just slid up to a higher chord tone and then played through a lot of notes to get back down.

However, to answer your second question, yes, that could lead you to making up some really cool stuff!

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Ok, thank you!

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Another, unrelated question: Could a certain guitar itself not be good for rhythm, specifically the strum part? For example, when I play my guitar, a Paul Reed Smith SE 20E, I’m constantly thinking that my strumming sounds choppy, or broken. However, I was playing a Martin this weekend, and my strums sounded good. I’ve put up a video before, and I was told that it looked like I was doing it right, yet my strums still sound choppy on my guitar. Could it be the guitar itself, or is it most likely the operator? :laughing:

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I think there’s truth to both sides of that. I do think most of our playing issues are caused by us, yes, but a nice instrument can enhance your experience to the point of really making you play better—not only because of its own tonal qualities but also because of its playability, responsiveness and even psychological effects. Sometimes I pull out my first guitar (a Little Martin LX1) for kicks. It’s a tiny guitar with extremely dead strings, and bad sound/setup, and yes, my playing ability takes a massive beating.

Going back to your initial question though, you’re totally right: some guitars’ strong suits are strumming, others fingerpicking, others flatpicking, others gypsy jazz or classical playing, etc. Your PRS is a parlor guitar, which is more suited to fingerstyle than big boomy rhythm, for instance.

This video outlines it really well:

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Great, this is exactly what I needed to know! I’m saving for a Martin D-28, which will become my main guitar whenever I end up getting it. I bought the PRS when I had just started playing guitar, so I didn’t know exactly what I was looking for. Now, I do! :+1:t2:

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@cboling, here ye go… my attempt for the start. :slight_smile:
Keep the index finger on the 5th fret on the high e- string for the most part as reinforcement.

----6-7h-7p--------------6-7h-7p----6-7h-\8----6-\7–6-\7-----5----
--------------8-----8---------------------------------------------8–
-----------------7---------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------
---------------------------------------------------------------------
Song sounds great btw…

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Thanks, @JohnM!

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:+1:

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