GUITAR
SERVING THE SONG | James Duke
There’s something about the dynamic that I’ve never been the best guitar player in the song is remembering that the song isn’t about
happens between a singer and a guitar player. room (unless there aren’t any other guitar me. Sure, it might be a little about me for 30
Plant and Page, Petty and Campbell, Bono players in the room). I’m not a flashy player. seconds while I play a solo, but that’s not really
and The Edge, Tyler and Perry, Martin and I’m not loud and spotlight seeking. I’m not about me either. My role is to make the band
Buckland… you know what I’m talking about. competitive, even though I don’t want anyone and the song sound amazing. So, I want to nail
to be better or more prepared than me. What that solo for me, but also because it will make
The best frontmen/frontwomen almost always I do well, if I may be so bold, is know how to the song that much better.
have a counterpoint musician to work off of. bond, musically, with a band. I’ve learned how It’s a symbiotic relationship that, under the right to play off of the singer and the rest of the band Another really important aspect of serving a
circumstances, can change the world of music. and, most importantly, how to serve the song. song is being able to go with the flow and roll
We’ve all witnessed it, and we’ve all dreamt of
finding that perfect situation for ourselves.
with the punches on stage. Can you keep your
That’s not saying that I haven’t spent time cool and nail your parts when the tracks go
practicing. You can’t serve the song without down and the band loses click? Can you stay
When I was a young musician I would watch taking the time to learn and grow. I’ve put the calm when you are on stage and something
every live concert film I could get my hands hours in. I’ve stayed up late and woken up goes wrong with your rig and you lose signal?
on. I studied the whole band, but I was really early perfecting parts and experimenting with Being able to keep yourself collected and cool
studying the guitar player. I loved watching sounds. I also took the time to study my favorite on stage when something unexpected, bad or
the dynamic within the band and the ebb and bands, both on their records and in their live amazing, happens helps take the band up to
flow of who was taking the spotlight. The best performances. I drew from those influences the next level. Confidence is contagious and
singers almost always have a counterpoint and developed my own style of playing. pulls the best out of people.
All of those things are great, but they don’t Serving a song isn’t about how many notes
musician to work off of. That, my fellow guitar
players, is where we come in.
mean much if you can’t play and contribute you play or how good your tone is. It’s about
I’ve been lucky enough to have had the chance to the music along with the other musicians the way you communicate, musically, and the
to have that sort of musical chemistry with a on the stage. Sometimes serving the song confidence you give to the other people on
singer/band on more than one occasion. The means you play the same four chords for 30 stage. When the band knows everyone is in it
way in which those opportunities came to me minutes straight (done it). It might mean you together, the music is always better. That’s the
were always different, but there was a common play an instrument you don’t want to play, like point. Now go play guitar.
thread; they liked the way I sounded and played a bouzouki (been there), which requires you to with someone else and wanted that same play parts that you aren’t, at the time, proficient feeling in their music. enough on said instrument to play (me again).
There’s an easy solution. You suck it up and
How did I make that happen? I didn’t. You can’t you practice, and you play that bouzouki like
make that happen, but what you can do is be it’s a 1959 Les Paul, but in a very bouzouki way.
prepared. You have to be ready for the situation
if, and when it comes.
96
One of the things that helps me serve the
April 2020
James Duke
James is a musician, songwriter, and producer from
Jacksonville Beach, Florida. Most known for playing
guitar alongside artists like John Mark McMillan, Matt
Redman, Johnnyswim, and Steven Curtis Chapman,
James also records his own music under the name
All The Bright Lights. He currently lives in Nashville,
Tennessee with his wife and 3 kids..
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