In the excellent documentary
film The Wrecking Crew
[read more about it in Hot Links, April 2011], session
legend Tommy Tedesco says,
“Producers presented musicians
with a road map, just
chord symbols ... but that's not
music." And he was absolutely
right: Unless you are reading
actual notes on a staff (which I
enjoy about as much as doing
long division), chord charts do
not make a song.
Do you remember the first
time you read a chord chart
for a rock song? When I was
13, I wasted $4 on the sheet
music for Aerosmith's “Walk
This Way." I thought I was
buying the key to the mystery
of that awesome intro riff and
the funky verse vamp. What I
got were the lyrics, a notation
on the staff showing the vocal
melody line, and this:
Playing both alone and
with the record, I flailed away
manically for an entire afternoon,
never even remotely sounding
like Joe Perry. Like most of you,
I eventually sussed-out what he
was doing, surmising it was a bit
more complicated than a cowboy
strum-a-strum-a-strum on an
open C. Chord charts give the
reader alarmingly little information:
a time signature, a key, and
some chords laid out in measures.
In most cases, the chart is a
simplification of the actual part,
and there's always a good chance
that the chords on the paper do
not match the recording.
Most chart-reading situations
fall into two categories:
(1) Cold reading for a live
performance.
(2) Reading for a session.
If you are reading cold at
a live gig sans rehearsal, your
best bet is to listen to the bass,
drums, and vocalist, and find
a simple part that works with
them. It may not be a face-melting
performance, but you
will be a quiet hero for avoiding
any train wrecks. Shine on the
solos, but comp that rhythm
with care!
If you are reading a chart in
a recording session, ultimately,
you're doing more creating than
reading (unless it's a note-for-note
karaoke track). That's what
makes great studio players—their ability to start with a rough
road map and get to a destination
that does not yet exist.
Here are a few tips that have
helped me on chart-reading
gigs. Regrettably, I learned these
lessons the hard way by making
many embarrassing mistakes
(and missed takes).
1. If you don't understand
something, ask. Not sure how
to voice Eb13b9? Off the top
of my head, neither do I. Such
chords are like esoteric vocabulary
words we studied long ago
and seldom use, so they fade in
our memory. Start by counting
out the scale like a fourth
grader—find your notes and
see how they sound in context.
Find a voicing that sounds right
but that also uses a practical
fingering so you can smoothly
change to the next chord. If it
rubs the track, ask the piano
player to spell out the notes of
the chord.
Is what you're playing conflicting
with one of the other
voices? Try substituting a plain
old Eb7 and ask if that works
better. In short, always discuss
any questionable parts before
you lay them down. It's better
to find problems before you
record, rather than when the
engineer pushes the solo button
on your track during playback.
Also, charts often have mistakes—
you can't always trust
the paper. If you are playing
what is written and it sounds
bad, it may be a chart error.
Probably the biggest mistake
novice players make on reading
gigs is that they bluff their way
through. Afraid of revealing
their ignorance, they refrain
from asking questions.
2. Play the first pass
conservatively. Begin with a
simple part—just try to hit the
right chords at the right time
and focus on a groove. If you
listen to the radio, you'll hear
a lot of simple parts played
well, which is deceivingly hard
to do. Focus on timing and
intonation. Simple rhythm patterns
lock with bass and drums
much quicker than complicated
parts. If you start with
something wacky, it will make
it more difficult for everyone.
3. Give your customers
what they want. Ask the
producer, session leader, or
songwriter—whoever is writing
your check—if they have
any flavor in mind. A lot of
arrangements begin with mimicking
another song. You may
hear, “This has a Hendrix-y,
'Wind Cries Mary' vibe,"
“Give this an AC/DC-ish
guitar riff," or “Try a Motown
'chick' backbeat on the second
beat of each measure."
On sessions, I never take
much stock in artistic integrity.
My philosophy is “the
customer is always right."
The best way to keep working
is to do your best to give
a voice to whoever is paying
you. Inevitably, your voice will
come through as well.
4. Once it sounds like a
song, experiment. If everyone
has found their part and pretty
much nailed it, see if you can
improve on what you're playing.
Maybe it's adding a band
push into the chorus, solo,
bridge, or ending. Maybe a
different chord inversion cuts
better or blends better. You
can always go back to the safe
part you have, but a tweak here
or there could add a deeper
dimension. Plus, it's just more
fun for you.
Unlike classically trained
string players who work exclusively
with orchestras, we
guitarists tend to be more comfortable
jamming than reading.
The problem with chord charts
is that they can restrict what
you play even as they don't
give you enough information
to actually play a song. The
trick is to let the paper guide
you, but not control you.
Ultimately, it's up to you—not
the road map—to get the song
to its final destination.
John Bohlinger is
a Nashville-based guitarist
who works primarily
in TV and has recorded
and toured with over 30
major-label artists. His songs
and playing can be heard
in major motion pictures, on major-label
releases, and in literally hundreds of television
drops. Visit him at youtube.com/user/johnbohlinger
