GUITAR
Performance Clinic
with Jerry Belsak, Philip High, & David McLeanPhilip High Philip - an award-winning musician and artist - is an amazing contemporary fingerstyle player specializing in a sort of meditative "New Age" style that demonstrates both exquisite guitar technique and an advanced, sophisticated use of electronic effects that is at times both harsh and sublime.
In Phil's own words:
"Andre Segovia described the guitar as a small orchestra. When I play I try to think of myself as a composer first. The guitar just happens to be my favorite instrument and the one I am most familiar with. My goal is to create a satisfying emotional experience for the listener and myself. With that in mind, understanding some of the fundamentals of music is more important than technique per se. Lots of fast notes can be exciting but that is only one tool in a composers kit. Technique will come with practice and focus but if you're not making music, it gets old.
"Being primarily a 'self-taught' musician I'm sure there is much theory I have yet to learn. But I have learned that scales are one of those theoretical fundamentals that, once established, opens many other doors. They are the raw material for melody and the key to understanding harmony as well. Most guitar students begin by leaning chords based on visual patterns and note names. That's good for a quick start, but if you understand the scale intervals that make up a chord you can build your own harmony anywhere on the neck without having to to memorize every possible pattern or think about the note names. Learning the locations of octaves, thirds, fifths, and sevenths across and up and down the neck will give you a basic grid from which to find your way as both a melodic 'lead' and a harmonic 'rhythm' player.
"One of the most fundamental of fundamentals is the sound itself. Variously described as timbre, tone, color, etc., an amazing sound can turn even slow predictable notes into something beautiful. Every pop, click, buzz, or overtone can be part of your 'orchestration' if you have them under control, and can clue your audience in to your intentions. This is an area I am very interested in and so I spend a lot of time experimenting with both acoustic and electronic possibilities. Extreme effects settings can yield surprising results but even subtle adjustments can add a unique flavor to your mix. It's basically a trial and error process but the bottom line is LISTEN. Pay attention to every sound and how it relates to the 'effect' you're having on your audience. Learning to integrate new sounds into your playing is an art in itself."
Phil makes remarkable use of delay effects, and effortlessly plays against repeating delay loops as well as single-repeat linear lines where he harmonizes with himself (listen to Robert Fripp and Brian May for other examples of this). To try the latter, set a delay pedal to repeat 1 or 2 times at a comfortable tempo, then play a simple scale in time.
In the example below, the "up" stems are the original notes, while the "down" stems are the effect-produced second voice (the first voice repeated with the delay), which provides the harmony. (Ignore the second voice tab, however, as it differs from the original line due to a quirk in the tab/notation program.) Also note the octave jump (done with a simple octave-divider pedal or a harmonizer effect) beginning in the 5th bar. This should open more than a few doors for you!
For more information about Phil, visit his web-site at http://www.highpertrybe.com
Lesson written by David M. McLean, 05-2003.
