May 02 2010
10 Things You Gotta Do to Play Like: Rory Gallagher
- 11. Live in Bizzaro World, ‘cuz you’ll never, ever truly play like the G-man!
In the April 2008 issue of Guitar Player magazine, Rory was featured in their “10 Things You Gotta Do to Play Like” column. They forgot one: you can’t really play like the G-man he was one of a kind. You can only hope to approach his mastery of the strat! Written by Jesse Gress, the article does an excellent job of dissecting the mechanics of what Rory did, however the tone and feeling he laid into his licks is something not so easily put to pen and ink. One thing I found particularly interesting was something included in his number 10 “thing” — Add Some Amazing Phrasings. In that section, Gress makes a passing reference to the note not taken. The author tells the student to, “Be sure to observe the numerous rests during and between the licks — these spaces play a huge role in Gallagher’s phrasing.” I couldn’t agree more. Too many “speed” guitarists try to cram as many notes as possible in a lick. Sometimes it’s the lack of a note, or the silence between the notes, that can make all the difference. You can read the article online at guitarplayer.com or you can download a scan of the article (including pictures!) that I’ve uploaded to the server HERE.
