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What kind of harmony did Johnny Smith use for melodic scales, open or close?
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08-04-2013 10:00 PM
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He is known for playing closed harmony voicings on Moonlight in Vermont, but he played every kind of chord on his records.
The man knew his instrument.
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And always with a pick!
Sp
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He is also know for his legato chordal style. And general tasty note choice.
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Johnny Smith was blessed not only with a wonderful ear, harmonic sense, speed and tastefully legato chord sequences, but had extremely long fingers which allowed him a freedom, many of us cannot use. "Moonlight In Vermont" begins with a " C6," but not the shape most of us would choose. On the 2nd, 3rd and 4th strings, he fingers a conventional "C" , i.e., 8th fret note of "G"; 9th fret note of "E" and 10th fret note of "C", but places the 6th ("A") at the fifth fret of the first string ! This results in a definite "jazz" sound, but few can stretch in that manner. I move it over using the 2nd, 3rd,4th and 5th strings and it's still a bear ! To be comfortable, I omit the low "C". Later, in the tune, he uses another difficult stretch on "B flat." May I suggest checking out Youtube for additional JS material, especially, "The Boy Next Door", an old song Sinatra did in the early '50's as "The Girl Next Door." Johhny was a jaw-dropper to say the least. A few examples of his speed can be found on, "Jaguar" and
"Cavu". Enjoy friends.
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He very often played chords with voicings that a piano player would use. These are difficult to finger on the guitar but sound fantastic.
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I'm curious about a couple of things.
1. Since he used a pick exclusively (as far as I know), why the 1 3/4" nut? He probably didn't do it for the bridge string spread. Were his fingers fat? Was it the cross fingerings or stretches he used?
2. I read that his sixth string was flatwound and the others weren't. If so, why have I never heard a single squeak from his recordings?
3. What strings did he use anyway?
4. I've listened to earlier recordings done with a P90 and they sound about the same as those with his neck mounted humbucker. His solo recordings from the 70's sound acoustic. What's up with that?
5. What were the characteristics of his pick?
Thanks for any info.
I'd love to have his perfect technique and tone.
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I know this is cheating, but for close voicings consider setting up a guitar in a "Nashville" style tuning: EADBGE, but where the EAD are an octave higher than usual (imagine using strings from a 12 string set for this). The C6 chord in Moonlight In Vermont mentioned earlier:
Originally Posted by AlainJazz
xx.10.9.8.5
is now the standard grip
xx5555
And you can pull off chords like x2223x (A-B-D-E) that even Johnny couldn't reach.
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Nashville style? Very interesting.
How practical is that in general? You'd lose all of your bottom. (I suppose I could lose a couple pounds!)
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You wouldn't want it to be your only guitar, but for comping with a bass player (and wanting to stay out of his way), it's a cool option. Originally Posted by Marty Grass
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1. The 1 3/4 helped play chords in the lower register. He had huge hands Originally Posted by Marty Grass
2. This true about the strings. I remember selling Gibson Johnny Smith sets with a flatwound 6th string. I have the Roost box set and there are several instances of string noise on songs that he recorded.
3. Never read anything about this, but see #2 above.
4. He almost always recorded direct to the board without an amp.
5. I have photos of him using the small teardrop shaped Gibson picks with the star on them.
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Your transfer to strings 2-5 is on the money, gtrplrfla. JS explained in a '70s interview for Guitar magazine (UK) that he kept the melody on the same string to create a legato effect. He was influenced in this regard by the way Hammond organ players move smoothly between chords using a pivot finger. The tune was recorded in C major rather than the usual key of Eb to more easily accommodate the common string group in an optimum range for the guitar.
Here's the intro with the correct notes and positions:
Last edited by PMB; 08-22-2013 at 08:25 PM.
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He was very into classical guitar, and played some of the repertoire on his archtop with a pick. Originally Posted by Marty Grass
About the string noise, classical guitarists work on techniques which minimize the noise. If they practice certain passages enough the string squeaks can be reduced or eliminated, though it is not easy.
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Johnny Smith was exceptional. He had an overall musicality, technique and sense of harmony that was closer to a pianist in many ways than a guitarist even though he played a linear style. Here's a sketch of his beautiful arrangement of Shenandoah:
http://tinyurl.com/kdru653
Last edited by AndyV; 08-25-2013 at 07:03 AM.
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Flat,
the CD you refer to was issued on "Verve" no 314 537 752-2 in their "Elite Editions" range in 1997.
Polygram released it here in the UK.
I bought mine in "Fopps" cut price media store in Cambridge.Apart from E bay and Amazon you may have to rely on good luck and regular trawls through the 2nd hand CD bins.
Best wishes,
Harry
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Get the Frederick Noad series of books, Solo Guitar. But it's not something you pick up in an hour like pinch harmonics. Originally Posted by Marty Grass
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Here's a video that may help reduce squeaks.
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Even better video.
I think this guy uses the same approach. No squeaks.
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Learning Johnny's "Maid with the Flaxen Hair."
The first Em7 chord is well beyond my physical capabilities.
And this passage poses some challenges
It's forcing me to explore voicings thet sound similar.
Johnny Smith was the man
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Stay at it ! That's a piece to learn and play for a lifetime !
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So if you have small or even average hands, can you just work at it till the tendons yield?
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The key to playing the Em7 chords is to use the open E and/or B strings, and finger the other notes way up on the lower strings.
JS does this on that passage; you can hear the open strings ringing out.
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So the transcription is inaccurate? Originally Posted by sgcim
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just looking at the tab notation .. it seems wrong ... the harmonics may be notated wrong .. also the fret numbers do not align with the actual notation-bar 67 to 71 Originally Posted by DRS
as far as wide stretching chords.. practice two fingers at a time-pink ring/ring middle/middle index-then increase it to three fingers..and adjust the neck angle accordingly.. ted greene quote "...nature has a way to reshape your hands.." there are chords that Ben Monder/Eric Johnson/julian Lage and others play and they make it look easy..right..after years of practice..I now play some of those chords but it took quite abit of work and time to feel comfortable..now the hidden secret is that a whole bunch of new voicings are now available to your chord building and harmonic/melodic pallet
I have observed through personal playing and teaching others..if we think we cant form a chord because it seems beyond our ability..we may just pass it by..not realizing it is a key to many other harmonic gems just one or two frets away...Last edited by wolflen; 06-20-2018 at 11:41 PM.
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DRS, Johnny Smith chord are tough to play—let alone quickly. Stick with it and it does become easier (not necessarily ever easy).
Guitar selection may also make or break a particular chord. Thin neck, shorter scales length, location of neck joint, string gauge + finger strength + action, etc. may become factors.
His chords really sound beautiful as you already know. So it should be worth it. But I’m still working on it.
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