(#1)
"Introduction & Rebel Yell"
by David M. McLean
(return to Steve Stevens lesson index here
return to all free lessons here)
How a Grammy Award winner can be under-rated is beyond me, but Steve is often left out of the typical "greatest guitarist" lists. A brief perusing of his work with Billy Idol, BLS, and others should make it obvious to even casual listeners the immensity of his talent. Every pop/rock fan should know of Steve's work with the incomparable Billy Idol and no shredder should be without a copy of the two Bozzio, Levins, Stevens CDs: "Black Light Syndrome" and "Situation Dangerous". Steve also has a massive body of work with other acts (from Rick Ocasek to the Thompson Twins to Michael Jackson to his Grammy Award winning theme to the smash movie "Top Gun"), recorded and toured with his band The Atomic Playboys, recorded and toured with former Motley Crue frontman Vince Neil, and recorded and toured with Japanese sensation Kyosuke Himuro. Perhaps his most impressive and reaching work, however, is his 2000 solo release, "Flamenco A Go-Go". The album features a fusion of predominantly electronic music stylings with a dazzling array of talented performers (live strings, vocals, percussion, and the like) and, of course, Steve's virtuosic guitar playing. All the guitar work is done on Steve's hybrid nylon-string guitar, and it is infused with a distinct flamenco sensibility.
It should be obvious to all that Steve Stevens' name should be among any comprehensive list of guitar greats, along side names such as Jimi Hendrix and Jeff Beck. In my not-so-humble opinion, Steve - who injects all his work with over-abundant doses of style and technique and creativity and passion - is easily one of the top 10 rock guitar players of all time.
This series of mini-lessons will cover some of Steve's signature stylings - sometimes on a song-by-song basis, other times covering several songs as a way to explore a single musical idea. The lesson below first appeared (in an altered form) in "Insane Guitar" (under the name "Way of the Gods: Volume 1") in my monthly column "Insanity 101", following an interview I did with Steve in early 2002. You can read the article/interview (published July 2002) in it's entirety at the interactive e-zine "TinFoil Music Magazine". A follow-up interview took place with Steve with the release of Billy Idol's "Devil's Playground". Read it, and all the other interviews, by visiting the "Guitar Gods Index".
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Today, I'd like to pull a few trinkets out of the song "Rebel Yell", which provides a veritable lexicon of early techniques employed by Stevens. While the song hardly provides a complete delineation, it does provide us with more than enough ammunition to play with for now!
The first technique is often referred to as "hybrid picking". Proper hybrid picking is the use of both the pick and the fingers in a pattern or passage (common in country and acoustic blues), but the term is also used occasionally to describe a static pattern with one or more fingers while playing a line with the thumb or free fingers (often heard in flamenco and classical music). The below example, similar to the opening (and closing) of "Rebel Yell", can actually be played either way, so try 'em both and see which works better for you.
(To hear, Netscape users may have to hold "shift" to download file.)
Another idea Steve employs to great effect is moving licks and melody fragments across octaves. The lick below is similar to what Steve uses in the 2nd half of the solo section. Technically, it should provide little challenge for the average player, but be sure to play it cleanly and precisely. Don't underestimate this idea (which has been used by everyone from Bach to Miles Davis to Steve)!!! It may be simple, but it provides lots of depth and sonic spice to your soloing.
(To hear, Netscape users may have to hold "shift" to download file.)
The last lesson segment for today isn't a lick or run - it's the creative use of feedback. Jimi Hendrix and Sonic Youth and others had an affect on Steve...and he learned his lessons well, as one can hear from the all-to-brief feedback sections injected into "Rebel Yell".
As ya'll probably know, feedback happens when the output (from your amp) returns as part of the input (your guitar pickups), which creates a long, sustained, and often uncontrollable scream. We can talk all day about the whys, but that's not the point today. The feedback exercise is simply to stand in front of your amp, strike a note (while muting all the other strings), and get close enough to set up a feedback loop. When the guitar feeds, hold the note for a bit. Then move the guitar slightly until the pitch changes. Move in the other direction next and see what you get. Grab your bar and bend he note up and down. Play with it!
That's all for now. When you have a few moments, check out the "Guitar Gods" interview with Steve here.
See ya next time!
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(October - 2002)
David M. McLean is the proprietor of Skinny Devil Music Labs, former guitarist of the avant-garde fusion-metal band Aurora-Sen, guitar instructor, and columnist for TinFoil Music Magazine (where he conducts interviews in the on-going series “Guitar Gods”). His new solo album, “HUNGER”, will be released later this year.