Scott Henderson Discussion

[dizzy]

Hey Scott

I have some composition questions:

When you compose do you think of guitar trio as you are writing or do you write melody and chords in the abstract and then apply them to a trio?

Do you ever write tunes for your trio and then realize the tune doesn't work for trio and so you have to save the tune for some other project? Or can you make almost everything you write work in a trio context?

Do you ever write solo guitar pieces? In some of your tunes there are sections where you play by yourself and I like these parts.

Thanks Scott

[Scott Henderson]

I'm arranging for guitar trio as I write, because my intent is to perform the song live. The voicings influence the writing, and vice versa. It's definitely the most challenging writing I've ever done. That doesn't mean I won't add more parts when I make an album, because I love layering and arranging. But I still need to be able to perform the basic tune live.

I haven't had to ditch a trio tune yet, but I am guilty of writing stuff that's extremely difficult for me to play. I have no idea why I torture myself like that. I guess I just write what comes to mind and hope I'll find a way to muddle through it.

I haven't written whole solo guitar pieces, only intros or sections of songs. I don't have the desire to be a solo guitarist - there are too many amazing guitarists who do that a million times better than I ever could. Check out Philip DeGruy, Ted Greene or Charlie Hunter and you'll see why I don't venture into that area!