ON MUSIC-DEVELOPING A UNIQUE TECHNIQUE

FOR THE VAST MAJORITY OF MUSICIANS THE TECHNIQUE THEY USE TO PLAY THIER INSTRUMENTS IS USUALLY MORE THAN LESS;BY THE BOOK..ONE
REASON FOR THIS IS BECAUSE WHEN YOU ARE PART OF A 4 OR 5 PIECE ROCK BAND
OR AN ORCHESTRA THE OVERALL SOUND OF THE MUSIC TAKES PRESTIGE OVER ANY UNIQUE ABILITIES ANY ONE MUSICIAN MIGHT HAVE.BUT WHEN YOU GET INTO SMALLER MUSICAL UNITS,THE THREE PIECE JAZZ OR ROCK BAND,SOLO ARTIST
SINGER-SONGWRITERS,,OR A WORLD CLASS CONCERT PIANIST IT'S OF TREMENDOUS
HELP,IF NOT ESSENTIAL,TO HAVE A CALLING CARD,A UNIQUE TECHNIQUE.
OF ALL THE GREAT MUSICIANS OF THE 20TH CENTURY AND UP TO TODAY
THE TWO GREATIST,JOHN COLTRANE AND JIMI HENDRIX BOTH HAD EXTREMLY
UNIQUE TECHNIQUES.COLTRANE WAS THE FIRST WESTERN MUSICIAN THAT I
KNOW OF TO USE EASTERN MODAL SCALES.HE ALSO DEVELOPED A TECHNIQUE
OF STACKING NOTES,SOME WHICH NORMALLY WOULDN'T HAVE BEEN CONSIDERED CORRECT FOR THE CHORD,BUT THRU INTENSE STUDY AND PRACTICE
COLTRANE FOUND NOTES THAT OTHERS HAD MISSED.USING THESE NEW NOTES
COLTRANE OFTEN SOUNDED LIKE TWO SAXAPHONISTS PLAYING AT ONCE.BUT IT
ONLY WORKED BECAUSE COLTRANE HAD SUCH GREAT PLAYING ABILITY,HIS TONE
WAS UNIQUE AND VERY MOVING AND HE WAS ALSO A GREAT COMPOSER.
TRANE OPENED UP A WHOLE NEW WAY OF MUSICAL EXPRESSION AND THE
BIG SOUND AND THE COMMANDING STAGE PRESENCE OF TRANE STILL
HOLDS UP IN THE ALL THE GREAT RECORDINGS HE MADE AND IN
A PRETTY SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF FILM FOOTAGE OF HIS MASTERFUL PERFORMANCES THAT I WOULD HIGHTLY RECOMEND TO ANY MUSICIAN OR MUSIC
FAN.TRANES SPIRIT LIVES ON.
WHILE COLTRANE ACHIEVED ALL OF THIS INOVATION ON SAXAPHONE AROUND
THE YEARS BEFORE AND AFTER 1960,JIMI HENDRIX IN 1967 FOUND ALOT OF WAYS
OF ACHIEVING ALOT THE SAME MUSICAL STYLINGS ON ELECTRIC GUITAR.
HE DEFINATLY STACKED NOTES IN THE SAME RAPID FIRE WAY THAT COLTRANE
HAD AND HE OFTEN USED MODAL SCALES,HOWEVER,MIXED WITH ROCK RIFFS
,FEEDBACK,SUSTAIN,DISTORTION AND HENDRIX'S MASTERFUL USE OF THE TREMELO BAR ON HIS FENDER STRATOCASTER IT WAS OFTEN HARD TO FIND THE EXACT SPOT WHERE JIMI HAD SWICTHED FROM MODAL SCALE BACK TO BLUES
SCALE;WHICH HE ALSO HAD HIS OWN UNIQUE AND MIND-BOOGLING WAY OF PLAYING.IN SHORT,ALLMOST EVERYTHING IN HENDRIX'S TECHNIQUE WAS UNIQUE
TO HENDRIX.ANOTHER TECHNIQUE JIMI USED WAS USING HIS THUMB TO PLAY BASS NOTE'S WHILE STILL WAILING AWAY LIGHTING FAST LEAD RIFFS WITH HIS FINGERS!
THIS REALLY MADE JIMI STAND OUT-ALLOWING HIM TO PLAY COMBINATIONS OF
NOTES THAT NO OTHER GUITAR PLAYER COULD PLAY-EVEN TO THIS DAY.

P. HOLLY 4/22/2007