Big Band Tips

[sgcim]

I think a four note voicing can sound okay in big band rhythm guitar.

In fact, I was taught, decades ago, by a big band guitarist whose heyday was 30s and 40s. He taught 4 note voicings he called "muted string chords" which muted the A and high E strings. That was the bread and butter. Freddie's approach may be the greatest, but it wasn't the only one.

Although I know how to play a shell or other 3 note voicing, sometimes on the fly the primitive part of my brain takes over and I revert to the grips I learned back then. If you hit them right, watch your muting (left hand pressure release) and EQ it correctly, it can sound good.

The more movement, generally the better and definitely don't drown out the piano.

You better watch it, James Chirillo will hear you playing a four-note voicing on some Basie tune, and you know where he'll condemn you to...

[rpjazzguitar]

You better watch it, James Chirillo will hear you playing a four-note voicing on some Basie tune, and you know where he'll condemn you to...

I watched his video, which is great. But, I can't recall hearing Freddie play a one note chord. I've tried it and it doesn't sound good to me.

So, he's a one to three note guy. I'm a two to four note guy. We agree on two and three notes.

[hotpepper01]

I am a huge Freddie Green fan. I keep his autograph in my guitar case each time I gig, so I feel his presence each time. There is a ton of information to be found at the Freddie Green website
The Freddie Green Web Site
Some things I learned from Freddie and try to do so in bigband practice :

* time is only time, rythm is something completely different. A bigband guitarist prime role is to play rythm
* playing the wrong note/chord is half so bad as playing the out of rythm/sync
* the band needs to hear me above all, all others not so much
* lock in with the bass, drums and piano
* stay out of eachothers way, especially the pianist.
* keep it simple, less is more.

[JazzPadd]

I agree with everyone here, playing in a big band is a blast. I haven’t done it in decades, but when I did it was incredible. Go for it, and let us know how it turns out!

[rpjazzguitar]

I am a huge Freddie Green fan. I keep his autograph in my guitar case each time I gig, so I feel his presence each time. There is a ton of information to be found at the Freddie Green website
The Freddie Green Web Site
Some things I learned from Freddie and try to do so in bigband practice :

* time is only time, rythm is something completely different. A bigband guitarist prime role is to play rythm
* playing the wrong note/chord is half so bad as playing the out of rythm/sync
* the band needs to hear me above all, all others not so much
* lock in with the bass, drums and piano
* stay out of eachothers way, especially the pianist.
* keep it simple, less is more.

Thanks for the link to the website. There are transcriptions there which make his approach clearer. From what I gather, he played "chords" which included a single fully sounded note - combined with some muted notes. One transcription which shows one note "chords", also mentions that you have to finger some other notes or you don't get Freddie's sound.

So, at times it wasn't a full chord, three notes, or even two notes, but it wasn't quite one note either. Apparently, he was good at pressing down on the D string while only lightly touching the others, getting some tone and some thunk. The thunk notes were from the chord, not random. That gave him a percussive sound that was in tune with the band.

There's a parallel to Wes. His octave sound requires the muted string in between the two notes an octave apart. You can't get his sound by plucking, say, the B and A strings. The thunk is part of it.

[oldane]

Thanks for the link to the website. There are transcriptions there which make his approach clearer. From what I gather, he played "chords" which included a single fully sounded note - combined with some muted notes. One transcription which shows one note "chords", also mentions that you have to finger some other notes or you don't get Freddie's sound.

So, at times it wasn't a full chord, three notes, or even two notes, but it wasn't quite one note either. Apparently, he was good at pressing down on the D string while only lightly touching the others, getting some tone and some thunk. The thunk notes were from the chord, not random. That gave him a percussive sound that was in tune with the band.

I hear Freddie's sound the same way with some notes fully sounding and others muted and thuddy. That would explain why one can see him finger three note chords even when just one note was heard clearly. Many have wondered why he had his action set so high, but maybe the high action actually made it easier to "half fret" those thunk notes. With a lower action, half depressing a string would be quite a hair trigger thing, while the high action would provide more leeway. And he obviously had the finger and hand strength to make the high action work. BTW, some band members have recalled that he was doing finger squeeze work outs with a tennis ball which he carried with him. Whatever, I feel it safe to say that his technique and setup were highly specialized and ideosyncratic.