AboutRoss Expertise Over 15 years of guitar playing, teaching, building, and modifying; have worked as a touring musician, studio session guitarist, engineer, guitar tech, and guitar teacher. Registered member of ASCAP. Registered member of Freelancers Union. I have a working knowledge of music theory and styles, and a taste for all types of music and instruments. If you have a favorite guitar player or style, chances are I share it! If you have a question I can't answer, I'll rely on experienced and knowledgeable people I know to get the correct information for you, and I hope I can help inspire your playing style and tone. Promo photography by Sebastian Castillo at Castillo Photography, San Diego, CA.
Experience I hope that by answering questions thoroughly and giving insightful answers, I can have a positive impact on someone's playing style and tone - help them get their perfect sound.
Expert: Ross Date: 7/2/2008 Subject: Rockabilly Guitar
Question Hey Ross,
I've been playing guitar for 7 years and I recently began to delve into the genre of Rockabilly (Reverend Horton Heat, Danny Gatton, Brian Setzer, etc.). I'd call myself a proficient improvisational blues and rock guitarist, but I just cannot get the hang of Rockabilly guitar playing. I know there's more to it than just blues and pentatonic scales. Your input would be greatly appreciated.
Answer Hi, Taylor! Kudos to you, first of all, for branching out and expanding your musical horizons. If I were given the situation of only having ONE piece of advice I could pass along that I felt was more important above all others - absorbing numerous musical styles would be it. I'm so often frustrated by readers, students, friends, and questioners who simply CAN NOT seem to break out of the "box" they put themselves in. I can think of few more depressing things than living life in a self-imposed prison where you only get to view the human experience from one perspective. Very, very sad. Obviously, you're on the path to success and enlightenment just by accepting a panoramic view of life and expression. As an analogy, imagine having to convey every thought you'd ever have by only being able to use 5 or 10 words. The likelihood is that not only would you be misunderstood, but also be chalked up as a mentally challenged person! Music is no different - and players from EVERY genre are guilty as sin. Metalheads that REFUSE to listen to jazz (even though some of the most incendiary metal lines ever recorded were really lightning-fast jazz passages in a hardcore context), grungers who think they'll die if they learn the name of a scale, and chicken-pickers who would vomit if they heard even a hint of overdrive. Some say, "live a little." I say screw that - live a LOT! Okay, enough of my sermon...
Now, another great thing about your question is that you've obviously chosen to listen to guitarists who are masters of their craft; not one player you're studying isn't at a super-advanced level of play. So, let's break down what they do.
One of the really unique things about our chosen instrument is that it can do so many different things so equally well! It can be percussive, melodic, lead, rhythm, accompaniment, ambient - or all at once. When I think of Rockabilly, what comes to mind is how the guitar morphs into a sort of light percussion-type instrument: not as present as a true drum/cymbal, but not as fluid as vocals or sax.
Whereas in a straight-up rock context, the guitar functions as either rhythm or melody (or alternatively, both); in jazz it tends to be a compliment to the rhythm section when comping with piano or trumpets - in rockabilly, I think of the guitars as being a sort of "melodically-accurate percussion." Listen to Brian Setzer's jabs with a swing beat - hear that? It's not as abrasive as a drum, or as present as a cymbal. Nor is it as up-front as vocals or sax. It seems to be a sort of soft, melodic, percussion similar to the pitch-correct percussion instruments often heard in what is commonly referred to as "world beat" music.
Are you at all familiar with folk singer/songwriter/icon Ani DiFranco? If not, RUN out and get everything by Righteous Babe Records you can find! (I find the guitar work on the "Little Plastic Castle" album to be particularly great. The lyrics to "Swan Dive" still give me chills.) Now, compare Ani's very percussive, alternate-tuning, guitar work to Brain Setzer's electric swing. Hear a parallel? In each case, the guitar is supporting a melodic idea, but it's really punctuating the ebb and flow of the song. It's not true percussion - in fact, sometimes the drums keep the beat even when the guitar goes "off" - but it's not an overpowering element, either.
I suppose the overall point I'd like you to take away from this is to think less in terms of melody and direction and more in terms of movement and pulse. When playing over a standard blues, you might go to your comfort zone by targeting in on pentatonic licks and "blue" notes. I'll be willing to bet that you end up, at some point, playing cascading lines that outline the melody and lead the listener to go "up" or "down." Rockabilly will really require a different mindset - it's more of a "feel" issue than a mathematical, stylistic approach.
In short, I think you're doing EXACTLY what will benefit you: absorb the obvious but unspoken "swing" of the rockabilly pioneers/masters, and stop THINKING so much about the technique of it! Rockabilly is, in large part, rebellion! Think tattoos, un-filtered Lucky Strikes in the T-shirt sleeve, leather, motorbikes, and hair gel. Think skipping sophomore class to go see the waitress at the drive-in who's seven years older and will buy the beer from tips in exchange for having the bad-boy as a trophy toy (I'm going to pretend I have no idea what that's like). Think vintage Telecasters with worn frets, peeling paint and smoking pickups, Twin Reverbs with horrible-looking cabinet covers that sound like Heaven, and maybe even that deep red Gibson "Dot" you practically stole from the garage sale where the owner thought HE ripped YOU off for $75.
In summary, my take on understanding rockabilly goes something like this:
- If you must wear a tie to the office due to company policy, make sure it has flames/skulls/naked girls' silhouettes emblazoned on it.
- At a "black tie" event, you wear a sharply-tweaked, black, bow tie...with riding boots and a jeans jacket that has the album art to Electric Ladyland airbrushed on it.
- You go to church just for the opportunity to capitalize on the free wine. You confess numerous times, just because the story is so doggone FUN to tell!!!
I think once you're in this mindset, your playing will transform. You don't "look for" rockabilly. You ARE rockabilly!
