Jeff Beck style - 04-23-02

Lesson Subject: Jeff Beck Style

What you learn: Part III

Storm: Storm Stenvold

Storm: Hey everyone. More Jeff Beck Style on our plate tonight. Well look at Jeff's finger-picking style in this lesson and explore his use of whammy bar. Beck uses a combination of left hand bends and vibrato bar moves to give a faux-slide sound. Pretty cool. The backing track is in C minor. Cm7-Bb6/9-F9 chord progression.

Backing Chords

Storm: Here is picture of the left hand. All of tonight examples are performed without a pick. To sound these chords you could use either a sweep of the thumb or the thumb on the bass notes and finger per string for the remaining notes. I even grabbed the high string with the pinky finger of the right hand for the Cm7. The opening 'melody' uses two note pairs or 'double-stops'.

Storm: 'Third intervals' along the B and G strings are repeated in a descending pattern. Four times each a little different as Beck might treat a repeating phrase. The first time just plain. I'm using my thumb and index finger for picking the 3rd and 2nd string respectively. The second repeat sliding into each phrase, the first two pairs with ascending slides the last with a descending slide. The fingering for the second half is up to your interpretation. I attack the last slide with the left hand 3rd finger. The same notes in the next example with more types of articulations.

Storm: The first bar uses a double-stop bend to reach the first notes, releasing. Then moving down a half-step to bend-release-slide. The second uses bar dips when hitting the notes, releasing upward for the 'slide' sound.

Storm: Another nice choice is the C Dorian Mode, same notes as Bb Major.

Storm: The next lick moves us down to first position.

Storm: This one is repeat with Beck-isms. Snapping the string against the fretboard by grabbing between the index finger and thumb.

String 'snapping'

Storm: Lots us grace note slides, pull-offs. Also a gnarly whole step bend at the first fret. A lot of string tension on that one.

Storm: Here is a typical whole step bend from the blues scale made less typical by adding the vibrato with the whammy bar.

Storm: The next phrase shows another way Jeff might develop a phrase. A repeating lick that on the first two times uses finger vibrato. The next two the vibrato bar. And a typical blues phrase made less typical by the whammy bar dive at the end.

Storm: The next phrase is another 'slide' sounding phrase. The use of the bar drops the note a half-step then returns slowly to pitch. This would work nicely down 3 frets for a C major chord.

Storm: I'll leave you with another vibrato double-stop lick as well.

GeorgePrice: Any wisdom for those of us whose guitars go out of tune when used this way? Or should we take that up with our luthier?

Storm: Beck uses a roller nut and very heavy strings. I must go. Thanks for coming guys and have fun.

GeorgePrice: thank YOU

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