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January 2010
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As performers, we all have musical influences, whether we are conscious of them or not. Inevitably, the things we hear most often, either through cultural and environmental factors, or simply because we like them, are the things we are drawn to imitate. Repeated exposure will inexorably lodge certain types of phrasing or a rhythmic sense into our musical vocabulary, emerging years later as something of our own, long after the original influence has been forgotten. On other occasions, the source of an individual’s musical ‘programming’ may be immediately obvious. In my own case, years of immersion in my father’s extensive jazz record collection from very early childhood onwards makes it no particular surprise that I now slip readily into bebop-style phrasing when soloing. In fact, I have to consciously try not to whenever I’m working in a musical context that demands something different! I do regard it as a significant asset, however, that some of my major musical influences come primarily from instruments other than the ones that I actually play most of the time. The style and phrasing of the sax and trumpet lead lines of bebop adds something to my melody guitar playing that a guitar-based influence probably would not. Similarly, the harmonisations that I am drawn to most instinctively are invariably the tight clusters, the flat-5s/flat-9s and altered bass notes of the piano chording of all the ‘60s ‘cool jazz’ I heard whilst growing up, rather than the simple triads and root and fifth repetitions more native to the guitar. It goes without saying that we all have to study our own instrumental or vocal technique, at least to the point of having sufficient facility to be able to express ourselves as performers, but beyond that point I believe there is much more, in terms of broader musicality, to be learned from instruments and genres other than those that we normally work with. Guitarists who really only listen analytically to the guitar playing in a track — and there are plenty of them — are missing out on a world of worthwhile expressive influences in the vocal phrasing. And the converse is also true: vocalists can benefit greatly from studying instrumental lines and phrasing too. This is particularly true of rock/pop singers who don’t also play an instrument, who, left to their own devices, will rarely venture a melody interval beyond a major third. So, if you don’t do this already, maybe try consciously making an effort to regularly listen to something way out of your normal listening genres and see what you can take from it. And don’t just stop at listening; try reading about someone who you think might have nothing in common with the musical world you inhabit. You never know what you might be able to take from it. In fact, you could start with the great operatic tenor José Carreras, in this very issue of Performing Musician! Dave Lockwood — Editor 0  Published in PM July 2009  | In this article:
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