raas 14-16 Get your picking chop wp with his tasty work outs of Lee Hagin meet your sat tutor: lee hodgson ‘Le Hodgson is guitarist Landon s prestigious Gute Insets are Module Leserfinetrctr for Advanced Ineraenta Tega, to. Lee har writen agar tater pecs for Rochacool Ud Lee has jammed ith bert es, sew Donahue ad Steve ea cael ioe It's chicken pickin’ time again — with something akin to the ia bluesier side of Danny Gatton. his month we're looking at Incidentally, i's the Fender Telecaster that’s chicken picking in combination synonymous with the style/players under with a few pinched harmonics. discussion = those ‘whistles, as Danny Gatton Chicken picking, socalled used to call them, can sound so sweet and , hecause it does indeed produce ethereal on that basic yet possibly most versatile sounds rather like our elucking of instruments, farmyard friends, was, as far as [know style originated by players such as Don Rich performance notes (quitarist/ Vocalist in Bick Ovens The solo begins with a Jenry Donahue-style Buck Bi discovered it on hearin 3) hack in the 608.1 first prebend (have the second and third strings of Arlen Roth's early ady bent, by a semitone’s worth in this solo alburns, called Guitarist, The style has we, before y ou make a sound). Incidentally become synonymous with players as diverse as cchnique is also a passable bluff for Jomes Burton, Jerry Donahue, Adrian Legg performing pseudo-slide lic Michael Lee Firkins and, of course, the great Cooder: By the way, it’ important to examine the Dany Gatton. You might even say Jeff Beck and suggested fretting fingerings (small numbers by Mark Knopfler both play quite ‘lucky’ at times, the note-heads in the music) because there are too. The pinched harmonic aspect (see ahead for things here that appear awkward until you technical description) is perhaps best associated _ discover the knack of which Fingering, in the style of Ry with Billy Gibbons and Roy Buchannan, done efficiently, However, there are no universallycorrect feitig finger choices - you should always experiment to find out what's natural for ‘you (as long as it works up to speed) and the lick in bar 2is a case in point. The Jerry Donahue approach is maintained throughout bar 3, although you might say 1s reminiscent of Nasties Brent Mason. Look ahead to bar 8 10 see a similar but extended idea, The start of bar 4 was something I played off the cuff. Incidentally, such gliding or sweeping is hot normlly part of the chicken picking styl, but Twas consciously setting up a blues lick so 1 suppose I felt that way inclined as | prepared for it As regards the idiosyncratic ‘éug-e-de-ba’ rhythm (at beat 2 of bar 4) that's so often heard when playing this style, what you should realise is that country pickers typicaly ‘pop (pull away) the higher-sounsing string with their Mesh (Bren ‘Mason uses his index finger). Many guitarist, including myself, actually use the middle finger to pluck the upper note, although James Burton is ‘unique, I believe, in wearing a metal fingerpick on that dig Pinched harmonies feature only occasionally in this particular performance but less is more, a8, they say... Although they may be consciously brought to bear, pitched harmonics ate often happy accidents. Here's how to create them: dig in with the very tip ofthe plectrum while lecing the Side of your thumb catch the sing just before the string is activated, creating a node. IF you want to add a chunky, funky feel then you may also wish tw incorporate a thud, clucky sound ~ which is somewhat synonymous with the style in general bby emphasising te percussive element This is achieved by using palm muting (lean the edge of ‘your palm gently on the strings near or even on the string saddles). Okay, les get back t0 the specific parts on offer. In bar 5 there's a complete flake! The chord fragment I was holding down just happened to assist in creating that particular harmonic. Next, observe how I have targeted a “good” note cay: the Fs note ~ which conveniently sounds like is fom the € blues scale in my mind, I realised this would becom the }7 of the next chord, F). Thinking ahe: powerful creative tool for an improvising musician: i's a means to achieve heightened creativity, Bar 6 features sixths, whieh are never far nay in many country pickers minds and fingers and they are especially suitable for chicken picking. Note the staccato (short and detached) sound hereabouts ~ which appears to widen the dynamics Bar 9 introduces a particular rhythm: a pair of ‘straight’ sixteenth plus an eighth that may be vocalised. Think “book-a-da (-uh) and so on. Remember, though, to experiment with all manner ‘of rhytlims and rhytme displacement (possibly puting the upper nate vatiously on or off the ‘beat see what tckles your fancy! novel Approach isto say a word or phrase and mimic ‘hythmically on your guitar (Steve Vat is the supreme master of this) tatural harmonic that was a Tee's es#€D gear sete ridge kup fan Zandt Vtg Ps on my ‘suet Se Stat [1-58 Pata sings vs ord nto my MesfBooge Mil Sues ap cas A mde = PEL, sich ss 95 os nao pul et Vol Boss Mid Te Pres Mt 7 3 6 Ip 5 Te ric £0 was et Vsbped Dt th he open oy ‘2howe Ta he ap was DT va a Parmer AVG re fe Atmaceow rere Bip Suh) Was ao om 2 ‘Leicon HPAI wie congisio Fro 2 Pears DOS mented ngeaut a Bt | touched upon it a moment or so age Fd just like to remind you that while chicken picking i's good to occasionally introduce dead or heavily rmuted/damped notes, without which it would all sound rather tame. So, all thase percussive clicks shown as Xs on the TAB are not mistakes — they're correet and quite crucial! The succession of licks scen and heard around boars 10 and 11 are very much in the style of James Burton, Maximum twang while using your bridge pick-up is the order of the day. Avoid ear- splitting treble though ~ legend has it that in small clubs, Roy Buchannan used to face is ire spitting amp's speakers towards the wall! Anyway, that percussive element I keep on about is quite prevalent in the form of the guttural, stuttering sounds which abound hereabouts. Bar 12's G1 chord could be seen as being a slash chord (F/G), but in this ease F'd ask you to consider it as sounding rather ‘C-ish so 10 speak (play G11-C back and forth in order to appreciate what I'm getting a). Once viewedheard this way, them it seems acceptable to have a C blues lick thereabouts. Also, observe how I instinctively changed string thrice in succession (on beats 2,3 and 4) in onder to reproduce what is essentially the same lick aver and over again. IT you enjoy creating different timbres on the guitar, choosing particular strings and/or locations on the fretboard is the way to go. ‘The undoubtedly country lek in bar 16 is presented her sophisticated context (F#m755), which isa chord synonym of DSIF# and D9 is not un-country is it? Whatever, the move requites nifty shifing of your freting hhandjfingers: i's @ flowing thing, which is exemplified in Albert Lee's playing. Bac 18 is areal challenge in Jerry Reed style (ery was a big influence on Breat Mason, incidentally). Still, here [ was actually thinking of ‘the inimitable Danny Gatton as I tried to, e, Bar 19° fury is just the sort of thing Danny used fo do when he wanted fo imitate a speedy organ style-lck, and you'l need good hybrid picking technique if you want to stand a chance of nailing it! Warning: is extremely difficult 0 do this ‘cold’, as they say, so practise this demanding technique only after warming up! Finally, there's some crazy stuff towards the end, which is yet another example of me just goin fori and to hell with the problems of transcribing it wt em july 2001 Jargon buster rode orce point of res = no ting ‘ofthe string may possibly rate ance lacked: Oe end est what is nom Smal 2, 3 harmon final its varius forms sch ax nates, tific for touched, paced, tapped and sloped. REMEMBER toms LB meen crane on age 86 the sessioneers: Kesar Pee aosen tus ner eos fave ssn ‘guitartechniques | 517’ J chicken picking danny gatton style 52 | guiltar techaieques | july 2001 = ———! Leting| ite a a) 22 Ngo c0 pare) ea 3g +t oe | :welialiterimesiocem