Steve Morse Part 2- "The Technician"
Introduction
Hi and welcome to the second part of my little "Steve Morse- Trilogy". After I told you a bit about his biography and discography in the first issue, it is time to let the music do the talking. In this part we will look at some of Steveīs amazing guitar licks, with a focus on virtuoso-stuff, speed-licks...
I would like to mention that in Steveīs music is only one aspect, and is not used to cover a lack of compositional quality, but it meant to support the songs and melodies: Consider it one facet of a multi-faceted musician.
Why am I showing you these licks ?
Well, first of all they are very interesting ( once weīll get to the arpeggio-licks you will see what I mean ), and maybe youīll be inspired to come up with some new stuff on your own.
Also, I gotta admit that practising some of Steveīs licks and riffs helped me tremendously to develop my alternate picking-technique. I certainly did the good old "metronome and chromatic scales"-routine back then, but to add a more musical and interesting side to my practising, I transcribed and practised many of Steveīs licks, and even to this day I use them when I do my practising routine.
General things about Steveīs technique
Steve has a flawless alternate-picking technique, he actually picks every note even at very high speeds, and he is preferring strict alternate picking as opposed to variations such as economy- or sweep-picking. Of course he has a great legato-technique too, but it isnīt featured in his style as much as the picking-stuff. He does use hammer onīs and pull offīs to add little trills and slurs to his lines. And the solo in "The Oz" ( from the Steve Morse-band album "Coast To Coast" ) perfectly proves that his legato technique easily comparable to that of players like Steve Vai and Joe Satriani.
When working on strict alternate-picked licks, make sure you pay attention to:
- the accuracy and precision... no staccato-parts, each note is picked only once unless otherwise indicated
- your timing. Work with a metronome, start out slowly and gradually increase the speed. Always remember that even your coolest picking lick isnīt worth anything if your timing is off !
- your practising setup: itīs recommendable to practise with a dry sound, no effects such as delay etc. You really wanna hear what exactly comes out of the guitar. Steve often practises on an electric guitar that is not plugged in so hears nothing else but what exactly he is doing with his fingers...
The music
OK, letīs jump right in. Here is the first lick I picked for this article.
Click this LINK to hear a MIDI-version of the lick
This is the intro to "User Friendly" ( "Coast To Coast" by the Steve Morse Band ). If you look at it youīll notice that it looks very much like a cool sweep-picking lick. But Steve played this with strict alternate picking, and believe me, it wonīt sound right if you play it any other way. The arps are pretty nice, check out the changing melody note on top.
In "99 ways to pick" I described the way Steve and I hold the pick, and I (just my opinion) think that it is easier to play licks like these (arpeggios with one note per string) when you have a firm grip on your pick... Steve holds the pick with three fingers and anchors the pinkie. He mentioned to me that this makes it a bit harder to play fast stuff on just one string, but it helps a lot when playing stuff like the intro above. But as I mentioned in "99 Ways...", itīs best if you figure out whatīs best for you! Check out the structure of the lick, it actually is less complicated than it looks.
On to lick No.2:
Click this LINK to hear a MIDI-version of the lick
Itīs the main melody of "Calcutta" (from the Dixie Dregs-Album "Full Circle")
This one shows off another facet of Steve. He often adds melodies that sound celtic or, like in this case, a bit oriental. This actually is a pedaltone-lick, that tone being the E at the 12th fret of the high E-string. Whatīs difficult about this lick is the that there are some really quick embellishements (the hammer onīs / pull offīs) and the fact that if you wanna play it exactly the way Steve did, you have to play it with your thumb and index finger (the latter is picking the pedal tone).
This is quite similar to something Eric Johnson played in the intro of "Cliffs Of Dover". Youīll have to play attention to the position-shifting of your left hand when playing this one. Take your time and try to keep it economical.
Here is the third one, the main melody of "Stressfest" (from the SMB-album "Stressfest")
Click this LINK to hear a MIDI-version of the lick
There is not much to explain here, just make sure you pay attention to your timing. Bring it up to speed gradually.
Here is another one of Steveīs celtic-influenced licks, the intro of "Rally Cry" ( from the SMB-album "Structural Damage" )
Click this LINK to hear a MIDI-version of the lick
This one reminds me a bit of Paul Gilbertīs intro to "Green-Tinted Sixties Mind". Here, Steve is using both the fretted E (B-String, 5th fret) and the open E-String and thereby creates a really interesting sound.
Tumeni Notes
Here is some really mean stuff, a real chop-builder...
Click this LINK to hear a MIDI-version of the lick
This is the aformentioned legato-passage from "The Oz" ( from "Coast To Coast" ). This is a really fast lick, and Steve managed to execute it very precisely and accurately.
Get used to the picking- and legato-motion first, then start to learn the whole thing slowly so you get used to the position-shifts. Finally, work it up to speed.
And here is the next part from that solo:
Click this LINK to hear a MIDI-version of the lick
This is a quite typical Morse-licks, and itīs played at light-speed. Try to understand the concept first: Steve uses chromatic lines (he repeats them, and also changes the position) and keeps changing the top note. The chromatic notes add some "dirt", a bit of blues-feel to the lick. Steve often uses passages like this to create some tension and to create a climax at the end of a solo (also check out "Cut To The Chase" from the SMB-album "Southern Steel"). This lick really helped me to take my picking technique up a few notches, and it might help you too... make up your own variations based on this, and see what itīll do for you...
One of Steveīs most legendary songs is his neoclassic-"parody" "Tumeni Notes". It features some of his meanest arpeggio-licks, all executed in strict alternate picking. Hereīs the intro:
Click this LINK to hear a MIDI-version of the lick
Did ya see the bpm-indication? Thatīs right, weīre talking about 8th note-triplets at a speed of 208 bpm (!!!), played all over the fretboard with strict alternate picking. It surely will take a bunch of time to get this up to speed (in case youīd like to learn it), but also check out the arps and voicings Steve used... experiment with that approach and see what you can come up with !
And here is one more of Steveīs most legendary licks. This is the B-Part of "Tumeni Notes":
Click this LINK to hear a MIDI-version of the lick
Great sweep-picking-lick, isnīt it ? Itīs not. Steve played this with all alternate picking... at 208 bpm. With a clean sound. Impressive, huh?
Well, this to me is an awesome chop-builder, and even though it takes a long time to learn it, itīs worth the effort. It definitely did help me to improve several aspects of my picking-technique (due to the one-note-per-string-arps that are played with alternate picking)
Of course you COULD play this with sweep-picking, but again: it will not sound the same. And Steve even pulls this one off live, so it IS possible (although I didnt believe it at first *grin*)
If you wanna check out more Morse-licks, take a look at the third part of my "Morse-Trilogy", where Iīll talk about his compositions and rather chord-oriented licks and arrangements.
Also, I transcribed and explained the killer-run from "Pompous Circumstances" in my "Step By Step"-article.
Most important: check out Steveīs albums, youīll almost for sure find something you like... the wacky fusion / country / prog rock-mix of the Dregs, the rather rock-inspired Steve Morse-Band, Steveīs work with Deep Purple and Kansas... thereīs a lot to discover for you if youīre not familiar with his work yet.
See ya next time...