When I first got into studying the
jazz tradition, as a guitarist I was
immediately drawn to Charlie Christian,
John Scofield, Wes Montgomery, and Bill
Frisell. As I expanded my listening scope,
I’d go back further into history to the early
jazz of Louis Armstrong and Jelly Roll
Morton, who employed the remarkable
and under-appreciated guitarists Bernard
Addison and Lawrence Lucie.
This inevitably led to the Delta blues of
Robert Johnson and Son House, and the
great ragtime guitarists Blind Blake and Rev.
Gary Davis, who played in the “Piedmont”
style. The more I listened, the more I saw
a connection between those men and the
stride piano tradition of Willie “The Lion”
Smith, Fats Waller, and James P. Johnson.
Using Piedmont-style guitar as a jumping
off point, I tried to stretch that sound
and style into something that more closely
approximated the techniques of a stride
pianist. In the course of doing so, obviously,
it becomes something in and of itself. But
that’s part of what makes music so much
fun. Trying to do things that are unconventional
ultimately leads to something new
and different. That doesn’t always mean it
sounds good, but it’s important to try, right?
I enjoy using this style when accompanying
a singer or horn player in a duo setting. It’s
a nice change of pace from the usual roles of
walking bass lines and comping à la Joe Pass,
or playing a chord on every beat to mimic
Freddie Green’s big-band rhythm sound.
As with any new style, it’s vitally important
to listen to the music you’re trying
to emulate. The original concept of stride
piano was to emulate the bands of New
Orleans in the early 20th century. Stride pianists
covered the tuba and banjo parts with
the left hand while playing melodies with
the right hand. Combining all of this on a
standard 6-string guitar is a bit tricky, but I
learned a lot from listening to Tuck Andress
and Charlie Hunter. It’s what you imply in
your playing that makes what you actually
do play stand out so much. The basic idea is
to establish the root or 5th of each chord on
the lowest two strings, while hitting other
chord tones on the upper strings.
While it may be possible to play some of
these exercises using a pick or hybrid pickand-
fingers technique, I prefer using a pure
fingerstyle method in order to better imitate
the sound of stride piano. One of the main
benefits is that you can hit the strings in different
places to get distinctive timbres out
of the bass notes and chords. For instance, if
you hit the bass notes closer to the fretboard,
they will be boomier and more resonant. If
you pluck the chords closer to the bridge,
they will be sharper and punchier. I learned
how to do this by trying to cop Duke
Ellington and Thelonious Monk’s use of the
pedal positions on the piano. They could get
a wide array of colors out of the piano, and I
wanted to find a way to incorporate that into
my guitar playing. Check out Duke’s
Piano
Reflections and Monk’s
Solo Monk for the best
examples of this concept.
To begin, let’s look at some standard rhythm
changes in the key of Bb as shown in
Fig. 1.
When learning any new technique, it’s essential
to play along with a metronome clicking
on beats 2 and 4, but be sure to start slowly.
Developing this technique requires your brain
to do some serious multitasking, and you
always have to be thinking a few beats ahead
to know where you are going. Working slowly
allows the muscles in your hand (and skull)
to learn what they need to do properly so that
later on, when you bump up that tempo, they
are well accustomed to all the moves.
Download Example Audio...
In
Fig. 2, things get a little trickier by adding
the 3rd tone of the chord on beats 1 and
3. By raising the 3rd up an octave, you create
the interval of a tenth, which pianists have
been abusing for years in all styles of music.
The previous two examples require some
big leaps across the fretboard, so let’s look at
a way to do less leaping and more stretching.
Fig. 3 is a real finger- and mind-bender,
but sounds pretty impressive when you get
it down. Using some chromatically descending
standard chord changes, we can really
get a lot going on at once. This one is in the
key of Eb. I’m purposely avoiding traditional
“guitar” keys, so that you can work without
the benefit of open strings. But you can
apply these techniques to other key signatures
and give your hands more freedom by
playing in the keys of E, A, or D.
Download Example Audio...
Download Example Audio...
Taking those changes as a guideline, we
can get a little bit fancier in between the
basic bass/chord pattern. Check out
Fig. 4.
By jumping between full chord shapes, we
can add some fills to flesh out the sound a
bit. In measures 3, 5, and 7, make sure to
keep the high note ringing as long as possible.
This adds to the illusion of having
two parts occurring simultaneously.
Download Example Audio...
One of the most exciting things in stride
happens when the pianist inserts a swinging,
propulsive solo break into the bass/chord
pattern. So let’s look at the Bb blues changes
in
Fig. 5 and put all these things together.
There is a lot to absorb in this example, so
let’s look at a few areas to watch out for. Try
to play all the quarter-notes throughout the
example as staccato as possible. Remember,
the sound of stride piano has a real swinging,
old-time feel. Keep everything relaxed
and locked in with the metronome.
Download Example Audio...
In the 6th measure, we use some diminished
7th chords as a series of passing chords
in order to head back to the I chord in
measure 7. Since the shape of these chords
is identical, they are pretty easy to move up
and down the neck. In measure 11, we are
combining some augmented triads to create
a rolling lick that leads into the chromatically
descending chords in the turnaround.
Finding new ways to approach playing
your instrument is always a good thing.
Breaking out of the well-worn guitar clichés
can inject some fresh perspectives into your
playing. It will also give you musical depth.
Whether you are performing solo or as an
accompanist, playing stride guitar will set
you apart and turn some heads at the gig
once you get it down. I encourage you to
listen to all the players I mentioned above
and find a way to get more of their sounds
into the music you already know. Every
instrument has a rich history and tradition,
but they are all open to be folded into what
we do as guitar players. The more you know,
the better you sound!
Doug Wamble
Since moving to New York City, Doug Wamble
has performed and recorded with Wynton
Marsalis, Cassandra Wilson, Branford Marsalis,
Bill Frisell, and Charlie Hunter. He has composed
and performed original works for the Lincoln
Center Jazz Orchestra and Chamber Music
America, and created film soundtracks for
acclaimed documentarian Ken Burns. His new
album is due later this year. For more information,
visit
dougwamble.com.