Guitar instrumentals have supplied some of music’s most evocative moments. Jason Sidwell asks top players for their take on this iconic movement. This month: a legendary US session musician and fantastic rock guitarist.
GT: What is it about guitar instrumentals that appeals to you?
MT: I love a good guitar instrumental because the guitar is taking the place of the vocal. I love being able to express myself by trying to phrase like a singer and play soulful nuances like a great singer would do.
GT: What can an instrumental provide a listener that a vocal song can't?
MT: A good melodic instrumental can transport the listener to a place that a vocal can’t always do. Both are great but having lyrics locks the listener in, while having just a guitar melody leaves the imagination open.
GT: Any tendencies with instrumentals that you like to embrace or avoid (rhythms, harmony, playing approach, tones)?
MT: Finding the right tone or sound for your ‘voice’ is very important with instrumentals. A lot of times I might try a bunch of different guitars and amps before I settle on a sound. Other times the sound that I have will inspire me to record other things with that tone, so I won’t need to search for another one.
GT: Is a typical song structure - verse, chorus, middle 8, etc - always relevant when composing an instrumental?
MT: Typical song structure is where I live. I’m a pop-rock guy and everything I do is based on following traditional song form. I have released two solo records that were mostly instrumental but I still wanted to have vocals on a couple of tunes because that’s what I enjoy hearing when I’m listening to a record. Having it allinstrumental is fine, but I think it’s more interesting to have vocal songs also.
GT: How useful is studying a vocalist's approach for playing guitar melodies? MT: I think that it’s very useful to study how singers phrase. The voice is the original instrument. With our playing we are just trying to ‘sing’ with our instrument.
GT: How do you start writing one; is there a typical approach or inspiration?
MT: One way to get an instrumental going is to get a great lead sound up and just play lines. When you get a good opening line see where that leads you. When you have a few lines play some chords underneath what you have. Sometimes creating just a beat will give you ideas for a song.
GT: What do you aim for when your performance is centre stage as it usually is with an instrumental?
MT: When I’m performing an instrumental like Europa in my set, the number one thing that I’m going for is emotion. Playing the melody so it reaches people and hopefully touches them.
GT: Many vocal songs feature a guitar solo that starts low and slow then finishes high and fast. Is this useful for developing pace and dynamics in an instrumental?
MT: Pace and dyna
