my limitations as a guitar player. When I first [Daniel] A lot of my chord voicings came out
started playing guitar a lot of my interests led of necessity because I was the only electric
me down roads that weren’t just blazing licks. guitar player. It was less about what notes were
My interests were in chord voicings, pedals, in the chord, and more about how I could make
amps, and gear. Finding out how to use a the guitar sound. For example, we would play
delay pedal or an overdrive pedal. A lot of my a lot in G or A, or even E. The band leader was
influences were in the context of music that an acoustic guitar player and we never had a
didn’t necessarily use a lot of fast playing, so keyboard. As the only electric guitarist a lot of
I didn’t really develop a lot of fast impressive my voicings came out of figuring out how I could
guitar acrobatics. get my D string and my G string to keep ringing
so it sounds like there is a rhythm guitar player,
It was more of the simple stuff that I gravitated while I play a two note back and forth melody
towards. Now it doesn’t mean that I didn’t try it! with the chorus on the B string. So, it ends
I tried to learn some of that stuff and I would get up being, like a lot of things in life, something
frustrated trying to get my fingers to play some that you learn because you have to. No one
Eric Johnson lick or something. I definitely ever really sat me down and said, “Hey here’s
went down that road some. But, it was in my how you can sound like a rhythm guitar player
limitations as a guitar player that I really found and a lead guitar player at the same time.” It
my voice. The things that people responded was me needing to learn how to play a melody
to, whether it was a producer, worship leader, that’s part of the song while also making sure
Chris’ band, or whatever. the whole bottom end doesn’t drop out. We
didn’t have any computers, a keyboard player,
I constantly found that it was more about or another guitarist. The only real melody
attitude, melody, a memorable part, or a instrument for a long time, was coming from my
signature thing that you would recognize at world, from electric guitar. It was by necessity
the top of the song. At an early age, I was that I learned a lot of those voicings.
fortunate enough to be in the studio with really
advanced players and producers that were a
[WM] Do you and Chris capo?
lot smarter than me, who just steered me in the
[WM] So let’s dish on doing more with less!
[Daniel] Doing more with less, that is basically
the motto of my life on guitar. I’m always
looking for ways to make the most out of the
least amount of notes. Or the least amount of
gear, or the least amount of skill even (laughs).
To make the most effective guitar part by doing
more with less essentially.
[WM] It seems counter-intuitive, doesn’t it? As
we’re developing skills, running scales, buying
a bigger/better pedal board, and so on. How
as a guitar player do we learn to put on the
brakes?
[Daniel] Playing simply or “pumping the
brakes” so to speak, kind of came out of
right direction. They’d say, “Listen for the holes [Daniel] Oh yeah, we all capo. I feel like
between the vocals, don’t just play on top of among guitar players the capo kind of gets a
the vocal!” bad reputation sometimes. I’ve heard guys
say, “Oh a real guitar player doesn’t need a
I’d say that my limitations and direction from capo because they’ll figure out how to play it
people older and smarter than me kept me without one!” There is something to learning
from over playing, helped me to keep it simple. how to play without it, because sometimes it’s
I think a lot of guitar players find their voice necessary and it’ll open up other things.
by our limitations. Even when you’re trying to
sound like someone else you end up sounding I feel like the capo is more of a guitar part writer.
kind of like yourself. I don’t use the capo as a crutch because I don’t
know how to play in a key. I use it because I
[WM] I want to back up to one of the things want to write a guitar part that feels a certain
you mentioned, chord voicings. That’s one of way, or has a certain ring. A lot of times with
the most powerful vehicles for supporting the melody I’ll play two strings. I like the way that
arrangement and the vocal part. What advice it sits up against a ringing string that I’m not
do you have for people on learning how to use fretting.
chord voices and understanding the theory
behind them, without becoming a total theory In certain keys, it just affords you the ability to
geek? play two strings together that you might not
September 2018
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