Sunday 29th March saw Guitar Getaways hold a Fusion Master class in the Bedford, Balham in South London. A master class featuring one of the top exponents of Jazz Fusion, Scott Henderson.
The Five-hour session was split into two halves with the first being hosted by a band put together from tutors from the Institute of Contemporary Music Performance (ICMP) in London.
Drummer Justin Scott, Bassist Dave Marks and Guitarist (in fact Al Di Meola's guitarist no less!) Gianluca Corona, started the proceedings with an interactive fusion class.
Opening with Wayne Shorters Footprints, the band showed good musical communication and improvisational skill. Gianluca sounding at times like a certain Mr. Henderson himself. A great dynamic performance from Justin and Dave (nice wee tasteful bass solo) too.
They went on to illustrate the use of a minor pentatonics and dorian pentatonics (pentatonic with a major 6th note instead of a minor 7th) by playing them over a G minor groove.
Various members of the audience came up over the next hour to improvise using different ideas and suggestions made by the tutors. It was good to hear that all who partook were excellent players themselves. Including Eugene from Moscow who had flown in especially.
The tutors also illustrated an ideas to help you when playing over two key centers as well as tips for improvising by using one idea and developing it, using wide intervals, playing over at 251 progressions easily by getting rid of the two and just play the 51, playing more rhythmically and being confident about playing "wrong" notes.
The tutors did an excellent job in playing, showing ideas, and fielding questions.
Towards the end of the tutors finale tune (complete with a nice drum solo to add to the dynamic mix), the man himself entered.
As Scott was setting up, lunch was served for the participants (very good it was too!). As we were all tucking into Burgers or Curry, Scott was nice enough to perform some tunes as he was warming up. It was like a very surreal restaurant gig!
Next, a wee beer and onto the main event!
Brain melt time!
The first comment from an enthusiastic, but jet lagged Scott Henderson was that he should have brought a fan to blow his hair about like Steve Vai as he was playing, and with that, began a flood of humorous quips and awesome playing which was worth every penny.
Opening the clinic with his take on All Blues by Miles Davis [using a backing track courtesy of his Mac book Pro], Scott took this classic into new territory harmonically and of course performed, flawlessly. The audience seemed suitably impressed not just with the trademark Henderson 'outside scales', weaving in and out of tonality, but with his chordal phrasing which gained a few "ooh's".
Once Scott had finished and the applause had died down it was into question time.
The first being "so, how do you do that?"
Henderson explained that he thinks of his phrases, as one would use words and sentences within a language.
He also takes a blues out of the normal harmonic domain of pentatonics scales by using the lydian dominant scale and altered diminished scale. He suggested that if you learn all the modes of the major, melodic minor and the diminished scales that there is no chords you wont be able to play over.
He also made it clear that there is nothing wrong with learning lines from other players and although he doesn't learn whole solos note for note on the guitar, he can sing entire solos.
He will also "borrow" the occasional line from his favorite players naming Wayne shorter, Joe Zawinul, and John Coltrane as his most influential musicians to borrow from.
So, what did you take from Coltrane? Was the next question.
"He's a great guy to study to learn all the jazz clichés, which are pretty much all in cased within the tune Giant Steps."
He then went on to explain that the Real Book takes all the work out of learning jazz and then somehow got on to the fact that he keeps a naked Barbie in his room!
Well, you had to be there.
The next question was about his approach to composition.
Scott explained several ideas which included using simple chords but, moving the bass notes at the bottom of the chord around, also singing rhythms into a microphone and recording them to get rhythmic ideas.
He also delivered one of his favorite quotes about composition,
"The hardest part about writing is the application of the ass to the chair!"
He also performed an exercise in which you harmonize one note using chords built from all 12 tones, which was a real eye opener.
Another piece of good information is that Scott figures out his tunes theoretically after they are written. That way he is not influenced by conventional harmony or technique, which enables him to write what sounds good to his own ears without being swayed as to whether it is theoretically correct or not. Once the tune is written then he will go back and work out what he has just done.
He also mentioned that writing is like a job and you need to work at it constantly. You can't sit around waiting for inspiration all the time you have sit down and write every day whether you want to or not. Indeed more often than not Scott explained that when he is not in the mood for writing he is more likely to come up with a Henderson gem. Which prompted another fantastic quote
"If you're happy when you're writing, you're probably writing a piece of shit!"
What do you practice?
Answering that he still works on transcribing licks and solos from other players, he also said he works on tune ideas, including ways to play the piece differently to keep it fresh. He mentioned that this is something that he admired about the late great Joe Zawinul who would play a quote from a tune and then jam about with it live. So even though you might play the same composition night after night it was never the same twice.
Technique wise Scott is working on using big triads. Triads using big intervals, which he deftly demonstrated before explaining that it's good to be a goal orientated practicer. Always try to practice for something and have something to practice. Also practice within the context of a song by learning the melody in more than one place on the fret board and learn inversions of chord progressions to extend your chord vocabulary. 
Indeed, as if on cue Scott made a mention of his "genius" chord book, ‘Jazz Guitar Chord System', which he confessed to using nearly every day for variations on voicings and chordal textures.
Later on Scott made mention of the influence of sax players in his playing, particularly in his legato approach,
"If you don't need to pick don't do it! I decide on where to play stuff by the least of mind of picking I need to do."
There was then a surprising demonstration of just how slow Scotts picking actually is, but I don't think that anyone in the audience would hold that against him.
To answer the question, how do you visualize the fret board?
Scott said, "You can look at the fret board like a five position monkey or as six pianos."
Guess which approach he uses?
Scott explained that he visualizes the whole neck as one and practices solos and melodies on one string which he demonstrated by playing over the tune Blue in Green, using only the top string, starting on the open E and playing the next note of the relevant scale only when the chords change.
So for example over the first chord B-flat Major 7 he played the note E, over A7 alt he played the note F, over D- 11 he played G etc.
"You can't go wrong with playing a chord tone. Do this exercise on all six strings, for two hours every day, and it will change your life!"
One of the other demonstrations he gave over Blue in Green saw him playing "badly", using no ‘sentences' and playing just the correct notes and one phrase for each chord before playing 'properly' and developing ideas with motifs lasting over eight or nine chords in the sequence.
This prompted him to mention something that a lot of us are guilty of, playing through motifs and phrase ideas too quickly without letting them settle.
Scott said, "You tend to think much quicker and your listener. He or she wants to hear your idea followed through."
On being quizzed about his guitar choice, Scott replied that John (Suhr) had built him a guitar that he loved, and has now chosen to stick with Suhr. It has some of the features of a vintage strat, but with a flatter neck making it easier to play and the noiseless V. 60 pickup system, which has a funkier, edge to them.
There was also a very interesting insight as to how he gets a good tone out all of an amp. Scott explained that getting a tone is more artistic than scientific, a bad tone just hurts your ears, and so what he likes is a sound that enables him to do what he wants on his guitar.
He did let us into a wee secret he learned from Jeff Beck, he rolls the tone all the way down on the treble pickup which gives you a fatter sound and compensates by using the treble on amp. This also helps to balance the neck and bridge pickups both in volume and tone. Also he uses his midrange between five and to keep the EQ balanced.
Then a certain Scottish guitarist asked the question to which the shortest answer of the day was given.
"Do you still play MIDI guitar?"
"No!"
After a brief excursion to explain the thoughts behind ‘Dog Party', which was more or less a reaction to the huge technical nightmare of recording a Tribal Tech album (50 keyboard tracks controlled by one Mac, stripe Sempte to the desk, with time code flying everywhere), we go to the big question....
"How do you keep it up?" (Insert double entendres joke here!!!)
Surprisingly Scott admitted to having an off night's, extrapolating that if you have 10 gigs then 2 will suck, 2 will be great, and 6 will be just okay.
He also passed on a great Jedi mind trick, in how to use your ego on stage. You can be humble offstage, but when you're on stage, performing, think of yourself as the best player in the room, you are a god!
This helps to rid you of performance anxiety and nerves. You play worse when you're nervous.
He also mentioned that the more fun you have the better a more creative you're playing and interaction will be.
Scott recommended the book ‘Effortless Mastery' by Kenny Werner (ISBN-156224003X) as a good source of inspiration for overcoming the mind games one has to endure during a performance, without the use for external supplies!
The master class was concluded with a performance of Fee Fi Fo Fum, a very complex Wayne shorter Tune. It was a tune that I didn't recognize straight away, but as a testament to Scotts phrasing, harmony, and use of chord tones I eventually began to recognize the chord progression and fully appreciate what he was playing over the top.
All the tricks were there, outside playing, slight sending tremolo technique, lots of Jeff Beck style up pulls with the tremolo, double stops and all the things that make Scott Henderson the great Scott Henderson.
As I mentioned before Scott's entire master class session felt comfortable welcoming, very humorous and inspirational. The audience was more than appreciative, and a friendlier, more talented bunch of guitarists you could never meet.
In the current economic climate, the main argument for not attending a master-class by a true master could be financial, but for the information given in both halves of the day you would have to have taken at least 9 private lessons (at least). This would cost you at least £180 at £20 an hour.
I think that the day represented value for money on the musical information alone. Even if you think you know all of the theory and techniques that might be shown, it is essential as an artist and musician that you hear someone else's view on the subject. This helps you look at something you already think you know in a slightly different light.
Top class tutors (all top players and well worth checking out), cutting edge musical ideas, one of the great masters of the guitar spilling the secrets of his secret Barbie collection, mind altering and musical approaches to your playing, bucket loads of inspiration, some great quotes, friendly informal atmosphere, great advice and you get fed!
What more could you possibly want?
A huge thanks to Paul Dhiman from Guitar Getaways, Pete Withard from the ICMP, the band also from the ICMP, the Bedford venue for looking after us, to all the participants and of course to the master himself Scott Henderson.
Don't miss Pat Martino who is performing the next masterclass on Wednesday the 8th of April.
For more information on the guitar getaways master-classes visit;
www.guitargetaways.com
Other Links;
www.scotthenderson.net
www.icmp.uk.com
www.myspace.com/gianlucacorona
www.davemarks.com
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The offending plank spanker proceeds to melt everyones ears with a show-stopping classical based theme, altered, outside and plain wrong licks. Someone in the audience is so shocked and stunned he drops his pint!
4. Uriah Heep – Wake the Sleeper
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Now pay attention 007! Gb is how many frets above C? [ tick, tick, tick ]... Too late!
