Jeff Beck style - 04-30-02

Lesson Subject: Jeff Beck Style

What you learn: Part IV

Storm: Storm Stenvold

Storm: Hi everyone. Heading down the home stretch of the Jeff Beck Guitar Style series tonight. Go ahead and load up the looping jam track. Tonight's licks take place over this repeating lick.

Storm: A similar sound to today's techno/industrial music. This is in the style of Jeff's last couple of CD's. It could be looked at as outlining a Bm7 chord, in notes. If you want a chord to strum try this.

Bm7

Storm: Of course, the tried and true Minor Pentatonic is a fundamental scale for our soloing.

Storm: We'll try and give a few twist and turns on this basic idea, ala Jeff. First, a few double stops out of the scale.

Storm: This lick uses 'fourth intervals'. Very angular sounding and a Beck favorite. Beck plays finger style. The video is of the right hand to get the staccato sound of the lick.

Kent: Without a pick?

Storm: Just thumb and fingers. I played a lot of tonight's examples with a pick and aggressive muting in the left hand. Last week's examples were all fingerstyle. Sometimes pick and fingers together. Beck says he will sometimes return to the pick if his fingers are particularly chewed up while on tour. But prefers fingerstyle for speed and TONE.

Kent: Does he not use his fingernails?

Storm: A bit of the nail. And some honkin' calluses. This riff is using the bar to give the impression of a slide guitar.

Storm: This lick uses the bar again. Jeff's 'double dips'. To get a familiar Beck sound hit and note and depress the bar quickly two times. In the example I then pull-off to another note of the pentatonic scale.

Storm: This next lick is another typical Beck tweak bending to a theoretically 'wrong note'. The major 7th degree over a minor 7 chord. But when you know all the right notes sometimes a 'wrong' note is a nice curve to throw the listener. Try resolving these outside notes with a typical blues lick.

Storm: This is another Beckism. A sixteenth note lick with a repeating pedal tone. Changing the first note of each four.

Storm: Here is another Beck phrase. Again sixteenth notes this time alternating with a bend every other beat. Adding in the right hand on the neck in the next lick.

Storm: Bending the 9th fret up a whole step then, while bent, tapping the 14th fret. Pull back off to the left hand and release the bend a half step to add a 'melodic bend'. These repeating 'vamps' or progressions give the soloist a lot of room to go outside. Room Beck usually exploits to the fullest.

Kent: That one is tough!

Storm: The last lick is a repeating left hand figure ascending on the 2nd string. Some outside notes but it all matters where you end. Beck to me sometimes sounds like a freight train running almost out of control but always holding to the track. Speaking of getting outside, sometimes Jeff will go Middle or Far East sounding. Here is a favorite scale to get that flavor.

Storm: And our last riff, using notes from that scale. The video for the previous lick with all the left hand legato. This stays again all on the 2nd string. A combination of hammer, pulls and slides in the left hand. Only the first note is picked.

Storm: I dip the vibrato bar on each slide for even more 'Eastern' effect. The 'V' denotes a whammy bar dip.

Storm: Z'alright. Any last questions? I have to get running tonight.

Steve-o: Thank you. I really enjoyed the lesson.

Ralph: Once again, great lesson

Storm: Have fun and walk on the wild side on this one. Have a great week.

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