Scott Henderson Discussion

[ma36scott]

Hi Scott - This might seem like an odd question, but it's crossed my mind throughout the years and I'd be curious to hear your take on it.

How much of you being a musician hinges on having the guitar as your main instrument? In other words, would you be content playing anything , or is the guitar itself a big part of what makes you love what you do? Some say that an instrument is nothing but a tool, while others are drawn to the sound/feel of a particular instrument and the love of playing it is a driving force behind them being a musician.

So, if in some imaginary world, you were unable to play the guitar but transfer all of your musical abilities to any other instrument, would you be just as happy?


Also, what scale should I play over a min7b5 chord?

Thanks!!
Scott

[Scott Henderson]

From a strictly tools point of view, guitar is the shit and everyone knows it. All other instruments are stupid compared to the guitar, as proven by Jimmy Page on Led Zeppelin II. Having said that, there's a point where musicianship becomes more important than the instrument. For some guitar players, that'll never happen, but for the fortunate ones, it will.

I'm a guitarist/ composer. If I didn't play guitar, I'd still be a composer. I've written a lot of big band music on piano, simply because for that kind of music, it works better. For my trio I write on guitar, but I write bass notes using a keyboard, which seems easier and more productive to me. As a player, your instrument is crucial to finding your voice, but as a composer, the instrument isn't as important.

If I wasn't a guitar player, I'd either be a trombone player or banjo player because they get laid the most.

The micro-lydian embalmed scale.

[ma36scott]

Ha! Perfect! Thanks Scott!