Scott Henderson Discussion

[Petar]

Scott, i remember somewhere you said you never paid attention to Pink Floyd and kinda wasn't really familiar with their work.
I am a late bloomer to them as well but once i gave it a chance, i loved it.

One of my personal favorites.
Keep in mind that this is in 1973.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cVBCE3gaNxc
_________________
If it's true that our species is alone in the universe, then I'd have to say the universe aimed rather low and settled for very little.

- George Carlin

[Scott Henderson]

No offense Petar, but one man's wonderful music is another man's fingernails on a chalkboard. I couldn't listen to this. Major triads on a piano in a rock context is something I avoid at all costs.

[Petar]

[junkyard]

Howdy, y'all. First post after lurking here for awhile, Petar's new appreciation for Pink Floyd reminded me of something, so I'm butting in.


One band I never thought I would *really* enjoy until hearing SH's opinion of Blackmore on GuitarWank is Deep Purple.

I think hearing a million fledgling guitarists (including myself) playing Smoke on the Water (incorrectly) when I was a kid biased me against Blackmore. In my mind he was forever only going to be the King of the Dumb Riff. So after hearing Scott go on about RB's tone, I had to go give them a critical listen. I even hear Smoke on the Water with a new appreciation. My new favorite band. Thanks, Scott.

Of course, I always dug Rainbow with Dio, because, duhhh: Dio. Go figure..I'm an idiot. Anyway, go listen to Blackmore, y'all.

[Petar]

[Gonza]

I agree with you Scott on the avoiding major triads in rock but there are a few notable exceptions to that, I mean haven't we all listed to The Beatles and loved it? regardless of it's silly happy major songs that are still awesome to this day for some reason. Hell even Rage Against the Machine and Pantera made some rock riffs with a major 3rd in there. It is a weird sounding thing for rock indeed, but used properly it can give an identity to your music that will pretty much define you in the context of rock since it's not that common.

Now, getting into Pink floyd is hard, and sometimes boring, at least that's what happened to me when I heard it, but once I got to know their music more... MAN! you would not believe the trips I had with the dark side of the moon!

But I think Petar chose a song that might not be as interesting for you Scott as a 'first' listen, maybe you can start here:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3-oJt_5JvV4

And maybe you don't have time or don't give a shit about Pink floyd, that's of course perfectly fine, it's a matter of tastes and emotions and it never synchronizes the same way with ALL types of music or bands, nor even people. But yeah... Hope I don't come across like some kind of hard core square mind fan even though I used to be like that back then in my Metallica phase hahaha!

[junkyard]

Just my humble, worthless opinion, Gonza, but I think Scott might be referring to the voicings in that intro, you know, root-3rd-5th, or even any inversions that happen in the same octave, like you learned when you were 7, not the major tonality or the major 3rd interval itself. Plus the lack of a seventh or any upper extensions. Like a taco with no hot sauce.

Sometimes your ears get to a place where that stuff just sounds intolerably corny. That’s what happened to me with the major 6th in the Dorian mode, which I used to use ALL the time playing rock and blues. Now I’d rather hear a straight minor pentatonic, or a natural minor or harmonic minor sound. Or melodic minor! (that scale is weird with all these tritones in funny spots and a partial whole tone sound, lydian and altered sounds.) Once you’ve steeped yourself in all that spice, it’s tough to enjoy plain white rice. But it’s not that I don’t dig major 6ths or 13ths, it’s all context. And it’s all subjective, like Scott said: fingernails and chalkboards. Beauty is in the eye, etc.

Anyway, I dig Pink Floyd sometimes just to hear Gilmour.

[Gonza]

First of all your opinion's not worthless man... it is actually pretty smart.

I get what you are saying, I might have misinterpreted what Scott was referring about.

And it is true, since I'm listening to Scott or Tribal Tech, Holdsworth, Coltrane, Weather report or John McLaughlin I can't really enjoy old classic rock as much as I did when I discovered it as a kid, I now need more/different harmonic context but it is as you say, Gilmour's playing does not get old or boring for some reason, and same happens with a bunch of others players and bands.

But I gotta be honest, I really love Pink floyd and I feel that people are missing something by not listening to it, probably the same feeling Scott or Bruce get when someone says they never heard Charlie Parker, not that it makes a difference, but I kinda does you know what I mean?

I feel I said too much now...

[Petar]

[jbear]

Dogs! I love Dogs. Real dogs, hot dogs, and songs about dogs...especially...Floyd's Dogs. The chords, the solos, the lyrics...that tune...I just dig it.

[Kevin Thomas]

Junyard and Peta, I totally subscribe to the plain rice/spice metaphor. I also used to get high with music that I know like, but only like. I need "more" know to get high, musically speaking.
And sometimes I just don't want to hear that complex music, and I lsten to something "easier", and I enjoy it, that's all.

And though Scott doesn't want to spend time on Pink Floyd, he just feels like we do. Didn't he say that BB King rules, despite his limited vocabulary?

[Scott Henderson]

I was just kidding about the major chords - of course the Beatles and many great writers use them. I just thought on that tune they were used in a particularly hideous way. Yeah, Sheep is more my style but they'll never be one of my favorite bands - I like Gilmour's tone though.

I've never let my knowledge of complex harmony get in the way of being able to enjoy simple music. I'm just kinda bored with the current rock scene and have been for a long time. I listen to Led Zeppelin, Deep Purple, Jeff Beck, Jimi Hendrix - I guess Van Halen was the newest band to come out that I really liked. I never got into the metal thing much, and when I hear bands like U2 it makes me wanna throw up. I'm confused as to how music like that gets popular. Oh well, to each his own.

[junkyard]

Yeah, Petar, I never meant to imply that we all can’t enjoy simpler music because our tastes also run to the complex, although I see my prior post reads like that. It was just conjecture about what Scott said about major triads, but he was joking anyway, so wtf do I know, lol. Like I said, humble, worthless opinion. But I dig Elvin *and* the genius in the simplicity and power of what Bonham did. I know that’s cheating because Bonham wasn’t actually simple, it just sounds that way until you start trying to figure out what he’s doing. But maybe that’s the crux of this whole conversation.

I still don’t dig the major 6 interval in the Dorian mode, though.

The Edge from U2 doesn’t even know what zinc carbon batteries are, I’ll bet.
(that is a joke)

Scott, there are some new cool bands coming out, my son turns me on to them occasionally. I listen for awhile and appreciate some of it, but there are no Led Zeppelins in there. Unfortunately, I think that deal is over. God, I sound like an old guy! “Back in my day...we didn’t have no fancy-schmancy mp3 files...” But kids are getting into vinyl, and discovering how awesome bands like Zeppelin and The Beatles were. My 14 year old has a turntable and is slowly gathering every Zeppelin album, plus The Beatles, and then he listens to Kendrick Lamar

[tribalfusion]

[Thanasis]

I love the Floyd as my earliest memories of music was of them and Zeppelin. When I was five I used to prefer them to Zeppelin cause Zeppelin scared me and I couldn't sleep at night haha.

Here is a funny part off the Pompeii movie that everyone is being cocky and kind at the same time

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=b5lS6ItGWsY