ockabilly music is an exciting, purely

American art form that emerged in

the ‘SOS and swept away teens with

its high-octane rhythms. Guitarists such as

Scatty Moore (with Elvis Presley) and Cliff

Gallup (with Gene Vincent), along with Carl

Perkins, created a style as popular today as it

was 30 and even 40 years ago. The original

rockabilly guitarists played semi-hollow

Gretsches and Guilds, but our lesson works

on any ax that suits you.

An important part of the rockabilly sound

is slapback echo-an electronically generated

single repeat that immediately follows the orig-

inal note. Slapback was first produced in the

recording studio using tape echo, but you can

duplicate it with an inexpensive digital or ana-

log delay unit. Adjusting for the tempo of the

BY STEVE TBBVATO

ROCK / HOW TO PLAY GUITAR 2!

song, set your delay to produce a single repeat of about 100 milliseconds. Make sure the second note is about the same volume as the first. For an example of this technique listen to Elvis’ “Mystery ‘Bain“ from the famous Sun sessions. To avoid getting confused, learn the music thoroughly before experimenting with slapback. Playing the notes staccato will bring out the echo clearly. It sounds great on both rhythm and lead guitar parts.

“Hot Roddin’ Boogie” is a 12-bar blues shuffle in E It’s presented in two sections. Rx, 1 is the rhythm and Ex 2 is a guitar solo filled with essen- tial rockabilly ideas; Ex. 2 is designed to be played over EX 1. To hear how the solo sounds in context, record Ex. 1 or having a friend play it, then play Ex. 2 against it. This is important because although the licks aren’t difficult, their rhythmic placement is essential to achieving a classic rock- abilly sound.

Ex. 1 is a typical single-note rhythm-guitar riff-a boogie-woogie bass line with a pedal tone on the upper tonic note. Carl Perkins popular- ized this lick in such songs as “Blue Suede Shoes, ” “Matchbox,” and “Honey Don’t.” Mute the strings slightly with the heel of your picking hand and use strict alternate picking, beginning with a downstroke. Watch for the slight variation in measures 4,8, and 12, where the @comes around. Measures 9 and 10 are tricky because of the wider skips to the pedal tone on the third string. For the second ending I’ve included a classic rock- abilly tag that uses an E6/9 chord.

Our Ex 2 solo begins with a third-string Bb to Bhslide followed by a double-stop on the open first and second strings. This lick repeats five times and moves across two measures. Wait a half-beat before beginning the phrase, as indicated by the eighth-note rest at the start of measure 1.

Measures 3 and 4 contain two half-step slides up to an E triad. Rhythmic placement is crucial in this simple lick that’s heard all over rocka- billy recordings. Measures 5 and 6, also in the open position, contain another simple phrase with a killer ’50s sound. Measures 7-9, in twelfth posi- tion, contain more half-step double-stop slides. Measures lo-12 move back down to the open position for a series of double-stops and a classic rockabilly guitar finale.

Use a clean, twangy tone with lots of reverb. Practice each section slowly until you feel comfortable before working up to the suggested tempo. When you can nail the whole tune at J = 144, pull on your white bucks, slick back your hair, and get ready to knock ‘em dead! n

Ex. 1 (Rhythm)

Shuffle

J=144

1 E7

A7 E7 B7 5

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. 26 HOW TO PLAY GUITAR / ROCK

I

HOT RODDIN'BOOGIE WmiS..& %=X3

Il. 112.

E7 E7 E6/9

Ex. 2 (Solo)

Shuffle

;j=144

E7

A7 E7 B7

Musicians Institute educator Steve Tkovato has written 15 instruction books for Warner Bros. and has produced an instructional video, Country Rock Soloing, for REH Publications. Steve has performed with Albert Lee, Robben Ford, Albert Collins, and Scott Henderson, and he’s also a lecturer in the studio jazz guitar department at the University of Southern California.

I ROCK / HOW TO PLAY GUITAR 27