Register   Login
  Browse    Private Lessons    
Wolf Marshall >> British Blues Rock >>
Teacher Wolf Marshall




WolfMarshall: OK everyone. Let's get started. Hope you're in tune.

tim: I love British blues rock, especially Clapton and Page

WolfMarshall: Me too, Tim. Those are the roots of modern rock guitar. Let's check out a lick now.





WolfMarshall: This Jeff Beck-type lick was played with a Tele and the Yardbox fuzz. It's in C and uses the C minor pentatonic scale. It has a rising chromatic line that is syncopated in a way associated with Led Zeppelin.





WolfMarshall: This is the beginning of British Blues Rock--the Yardbirds.

MrSamson: These catz really breath a lot of life into the pentatonic scale...I love it...

WolfMarshall: That's the truth, Mr. Sam, You'll notice a fuzz on that one

Wolf's Yardbox fuzz pedal


WolfMarshall: The sound on that lick was the classic setup: Tele, fuzz and Vox AC-30. The Yardbirds fuzz sound began the search for good distortion. The YARDBOX Made by Prescription Electronics Inc., Portland, Oregon. This is a clone of the original Sola Sound Tone Bender fuzzbox used by Jeff Beck and Jimmy Page during the mid-1960s incarnations of the Yardbirds. The circuit has three germanium transistors for a very authentic sound, and is wired for true bypass when the effect is off. This pedal is actually a little warmer than some of the originals but can be made more brittle with a slight adjusting of the tone control. It is particularly well-suited to boosting a Telecaster-into-Vox AC-30 tone. The four controls are: (clockwise from 12:00) Gain, Treble/Bass (tone), Fuzz, and Volume.

MrSamson: Say Mr. Wolf...what makes these guys good...they just let loose...or what?

WolfMarshall: MrSamson--the blues essence, it's essential to have the vocabulary

Allen: You have to have a strong foundation, and build from that.

WolfMarshall: Learn all the blues classics you can handle





WolfMarshall: That last lick was played in a secondary Blues Box--used a lot by Jeff Beck

Jonn: what do you mean by "secondary"?

WolfMarshall: There are five or six basic shapes used to play all blues-rock

MrSamson: I THINK he means other than off the root on the 6th string....is that right wolf?

WolfMarshall: MrSamson, yes and in order of importance. The secondary is off A string root, hink of A versus E power chord. Apart from those shapes--there are the BB and Albert boxes. Albert King box--like a D shape chord off the 4th string root, he had particular licks that sat in a specific shape, for an example of the Albert box--see the lick for 9-14.

Jonn: is this week's licks Clapton style?

WolfMarshall: Jonn, Clapton, Beck and Page, Clapton, Beck and Page all shared blues roots

ginnym: Wolf, it may sound kinda dumb but, where did the term Slowhand come from ? Since were talking Clapton.

WolfMarshall: Gin, because it took him so long to change strings

Jonn: for real?

ginnym: and he broke a lot of them while playing?

WolfMarshall: Originally, Yes. People would clap while he changed them onstage, Gin, that was during the Yardbirds days. The nickname just stuck, now we have books and albums called Slowhand

ginnym: Were the Yardbirds Pre or Post John Mayall? I get the times confused. there were post, right?

WolfMarshall: Gin, pre-Mayall

Scott: Clapton was pre Mayall

WolfMarshall: The order of Yardbirds guitarists is Clapton-Beck and Page, The Yardbirds became Led Zep, Page inherited the name, The band toured under the name THE NEW YARDBIRDS, Kind of Spinal Tapish. Here comes the next lick





WolfMarshall: This is also in C and uses the Tele-Yardbox tone. Again the C minor pentatonic is the primary scale. The main aspects are the different kinds of bends and vibrato

doug: I use this lick alot now, I have always liked this one

dgguitar: The vibrato must be fast or slow?

WolfMarshall: DG, make it personal choice. This is a stylistic suggestion, make it part of your repertory.



dgguitar: I saw in some lick of day... your vibrato is very fast, but my teacher insist to make do my vibrato very slowly

Tom: what are you playiny tonight Wolf? the Les Paul

WolfMarshall: Tom, Les Paul Standard for Clapton, Tele for Beck



  WolfMarshall: Here comes another lick, y'all





WolfMarshall: This EC-type lick is in the 1st position and uses open strings. It has both minor and major scale tones in the melody, typical of most blues playing. The seventh-chord dyad (B+D notes) is used as a riff in this phrase. Again it's Les Paul and Marshall tone. This phase of British blues-rock was a real experimental period

barry: what blues player inspired that lick?

WolfMarshall: Barry, that was Freddy King-inspired

barry: very cool, I need to listen to more Freddy

ginnym: I usually think of a Strat when thinking EC. Except for that funky SG i saw in a picture of him in/with Cream, I think

WolfMarshall: Gin, Clapton was the first to really use the Les Paul and Marshall combination. Yeah, Jonn. Tele, Gretsch, 335, Les Paul, SG--all before Strat. Don't forget Firebird, Gin

Scott: Sound like a piece from "Hideaway"

WolfMarshall: Scott, it is in that bag, the Marshall combo was like a 50-watt, you blast it with a Variac for Eddie tone or it can be classic Clapton. Well, folks --that's it for tonight. Good bye to you all

<< load notation from left
<< load audio from left
<< load audio from left

There are no ratings yet
Support    About Us    Join the Mailing List    Teachers Wanted
Copyright (c) 2024 Riff Interactive   Terms Of Use  Privacy Statement