S

Texas-Style Backup
B Y

R O G E R

F E R G U S O N

THE POWERFUL GUITAR

accompaniment thats commonly called Texas-style backup will
be forever associated with the late
Eldon Shamblin, who played
rhythm with Bob Wills & The
Texas Playboys.
In the 30s, Wills formed the
original Playboysa dance band
that fused horns, twin fiddles,
amplified instruments, and
drums with traditional country
music. The mix became known
as Western swing; its compelling
sound still draws people to the
dance floor.
This progression will give
you a feel for Western-swing
rhythm guitar. The style is characterized by three primary elements passing chords that link
the main harmonic changes, a
moving bass line, and a boomchuck strum. Here are a few

thoughts on the progression:

As youre working out the
changes, listen to the bass line by
itself. This will help you understand how it drives the progression.
Notice how some of the inversions have a 3 or b7 in the
bass. In isolation, such voicings
often sound ambiguous, but
heard within the progression,
they make perfect sense.
As indicated, play a strong,
staccato chuck on each upbeat.
Try quickly palm-muting each
chord after you play it.
When you encounter an unfamiliar voicing, be sure to practice it in other keys, up and down
the fretboard.
Break out portions of this
progression and plug them into
other settings. For example, bar 4s
G6/D-Edim7-D9/F#-G6 subs nicely
for a I-IV-V-I cadence in G. g

G
G9/B C
C #dim7 G6/D
Edim7 D9/F# G6
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
# 4 j j j j j j b j j j j j j j b b j j n j
n b n
n # #
={

==================================
& 4 { n # #

G9/B

National Flatpicking Guitar

Champion Roger Ferguson has
performed and recorded with
Mark OConnor and Jerry Douglas. Ferguson lays down lonesome bluegrass and stomping
Western-swing licks throughout
the Pacific Northwest.

C dim7

G9/B

1.

B dim7 D7/A

4
2
3

4
2
3

T
A
B

0
0
0

3
2
3

1
0
2

3
3
3

4
2

..

4
1
3

1
2

4
1
3

5
3
5

0
0
0
3

3
2
3

2
0
2

1
2
0

0
0
0

3
2
3

1
0
2

5
3
5

5
4
5

3
2
3

5
5
5

3
5
4

..

G13
. G7/F . C/E . Cm/Eb . G6/D . C# dim7. D7/C .
j j j b j
(n) j j j
j .
#

n
n ..
==================================
&
b # n
=
w
2.

2
1
3

3
1
4

1
1
1

1
3
2

4
3
2

3
1
4

T
A
B

10

8
7
9

8
7
9

5
5
5

4
5
5

5
4
5

5
3
5

3
2
4

5
4
3
0

Up the Down
Escalator
B Y

E T H A N

F I K S

IN HIGH SCHOOL, I HAD

the privilege of taking some
lessons with Pat Bergeson, now a
successful Nashville studio guitarist. He encouraged me to become familiar with harmonized
scales and learn how to play them
up and down the neck, a concept
I didnt fully grasp at the time.
Sometimes a little confusion
goes a long way. Not comprehending Pats intentions, I began to
work out how to ascend through
a harmonized major scale (moving
stepwise from the Imaj7 to the
VIIm7b5) while descending in
pitch. You know, play up and
down the neck.
The chord sequence below lets
you achieve this feat using 7thchord inversions of the harmonized major scaleImaj7, IIm7,
IIIm7, IVmaj7, V7, VIm7, and
VIIm7b5. This workout is in C, thus

the diatonic chords are Cmaj7,

Dm7, Em7, Fmaj7, G7, Am7, and
Bm7b5. Some observations:
The sequence starts on an
open-voiced, root-position Cmaj7,
and ends on the same inversion
one octave lower.
Every chord appears four
timesonce in root position, and
once in each of the three possible
inversions.
In every measure, the four
chords follow this pattern: root position, 3rd inversion, 2nd inversion, 1st inversion.
Each chord has one note in
common with the following chord.
Select any two chords: The common tone will be the first chords
root and the second chords 7.
To play through this sequence, you have to periodically
jump back up the neck when
you run out of room at the bot-

tom of the fretboard.

Because were not using any
open strings, you can transpose
the sequenceor any portion of
it. Try playing this progression in
other keys.
You can adapt this harmonized major-scale sequence to
chords on different sets of strings.
Also, you can harmonize a
different parent scalesay, melodic minorand run the sequence.
In addition to being a potent
exercise for mastering 7th-chord

inversions and learning the notes

on the fretboard, this workout is
a farm for compositional ideas. g

National Guitar Workshop faculty member Ethan Fiks has a guitar-teaching studio in New York
City. His book Guitar Effects [Alfred/Workshop Arts] shows you
how to create dozens of tones and
emulate bagpipes, drums, cats,
and cars. Visit www.ethanfiks.com
for more info.

Am7/G Bm7 b 5/F Cmaj7/E Dm7

Em7/D Fmaj7/C G7/B
Am7 Bm7 b 5/A Cmaj7/G Dm7/F

44

=
==================================
&

Cmaj7 Dm7/C Em7/B Fmaj7/A G7

4
2
3
1

T
A
B

4
1
3
2

17
16
17
15

4
1
3
2

15
14
15
15

3
1
4
2

15
12
14
14

4
1
3
1

13
10
14
12

4
1
3
2

12
10
12
10

4
1
3
2

10
9
10
10

3
1
4
2

10
7
9
8

2
1
3
1

8
5
9
7

4
1
3
2

6
5
7
5

4
1
3
2

4
1
3
2

5
4
5
5

5
2
3
3

4
1
3
2

2
1
3
1

15
12
15
14

13
12
14
12

4
1
3
2

4
1
3
2

12
9
10
10

12
10
12
12

10
7
10
8

==================================
&

Em7

2
1
3
1

T
A
B

Fmaj7/E

2
1
4
3

8
7
9
7

G7/D

4
1
3
2

4
1
3
2

6
5
7
7

Am7/C

6
4
5
5

Bm7 5

2
1
4
3

4
2
3
1

5
2
5
3

Cmaj7/B Dm7/A

3
2
3
2

4
1
3
2

13
12
14
14

Em7/G

4
1
3
2

13
10
12
12

Fmaj7

4
2
3
1

12
9
12
10

G7/F

3
1
4
2

10
9
10
8

Am7/E

4
1
3
2

8
7
9
8

Bm7 5/D

3
1
4
2

8
5
7
7

Cmaj7

4
2
3
1

6
4
7
5

5
4
5
3

BACK TRACK

The Bead Game

Ex. 1

B Y

A N D Y

E L L I S

THROW AWAY THAT CHORD

G7

Gm7

G7 5

G7 5

1 X2 4 3 X

2 X3 3 3 X

2 X3 4 1 X

1 X2 3 4 X

III

III

III

dictionarytheres a better way to build

lated shapes provided by typical dictio-

Gm7 5

G7sus4

G9

1 X1 4 1 X

2 X3 1 4 X

III

bbb

RX 7 3 5X

to master a dozen or so chord formulas

III

R X 74 5 X
(11)

III
RX 73 5X

RX 72 5 X
(9)

III

G6

RX 73 6 X
(13)

G6/9

2 X1 3 1 X
III

RX6 2 5 X
(9)

bb

bb

RX6 3 5X
( 7)

and learn how to apply them to a basic

Ex. 2

major-7th chord matrix. (The major 7s

III

Fmaj7

X1 3 2 4 X

al starting point for creating other chord

flavors.) Heres the process:

Ex. 3

Cmaj7

basic root, 3, 5, 7 formula offers an ide-

Gdim7

2 X1 1 3 X
III

RX6 3 5 X

RX 73 5X

1 X2 4 3 X
III

G13
1 X2 3 4 X

b #

b b

RX 7 3 5 X

2 X3 4 1 X
III

and in terms of decoding the fretboard

III

bb

RX 73 5 X

tempt to memorize the hundreds of unrenaries, it makes more sensemusically

RX7 3 5 X

your chord vocabulary. Rather than at-

Gmaj7
1 X3 4 2 X

XX1 3 3 3
III

Find a major-7th fingering that lies

well on the fretboard. Lets use Ex. 1s

XR 5 7 3 X

XXR 5 7 3

Gmaj7 for illustration.

Identify the function of each note in
the selected major-7th form. In this in-

hear the relationship between Gmaj7,

and 3. Simply follow the formulas shown

stance, thats root, 7, 3, 5 (low to high),

G7, and Gm7. Three voicings from one

in Ex. 1, move the beads accordingly,

as shown below the fretboard grid.

basic formnot bad.

and prestotwo more sets of 144

Now picture the fretboard as an

Why stop here? Ex. 1s nine other

chords. (If a formula yields an un-

abacusyou know, the ancient calculat-

voicings (G7b5, G7#5, G13, Gm7b5,

playable fingering, just ignore it. Other

ing device consisting of beads suspended

G7sus4, G9, G6, G6/9, and Gdim7) are

voicing options are always available.)

on wires. The difference here is that your

likewise related to each other and to that

It takes years to master fretboard har-

beads (chord tones) run up and down six

first Gmaj7. As you familiarize yourself

mony. Playing the bead game will speed

vertical wires (guitar strings).

with these shapes and sounds, take the

the journey.

Once you know the formula for a

time to track the moving beads and com-

dominant-7th chord (1, 3, 5, b7), morphing

pare their positions with the major-7th

Gmaj7 into G7 is simply a matter of sliding

starting point.

the 7 back one fret to make it a b7. Com-

Because these 12 voicings use no

All of usno matter how long weve

played or how skilled we arehave
gaps in our knowledge. Back Track is an

open strings, theyre moveable. Congrat-

ongoing Sessions series designed to fill

ulations! In chord-dictionary terms,

these holes. Got a topic youd like to see

mula for a minor-7th chord (1, b3, 5,

youve learned 144 chords (12 voicings x

us address? Send your question to Back

b7), you can transform G7 into Gm7 by

12 keys).

Track, c/o Guitar Player, 411 Borel

pare the two grids and see for yourself.

Want a Gm7 ? Armed with the for-

sliding the 3 to a b3.

The bead game lets you see and

Now apply our abacus principle to

the major-7th voicings in Examples 2

Ave., #100, San Mateo, CA 94402, or

e-mail it to guitplyr@mfi.com.

N
S

Ska Building Blocks

B Y D AV I D B U R K

IF YOU WANT TO BE RUDE,

play everything on the upbeat.
The basic building block of past
and present ska is the accented
Ex. 1). The tenand of each beat (E
dency is to strum this apparently
simple rhythm (often called the
clip) with upstrokes. But you
get a fuller sound if you down-

Ex. 1

stroke the upbeats because, with

downstrokes, you hit the bigger
strings first.
Modern skameisters often play
clip rhythms on the treble strings
(G, B, and E ). However, the 60s Jamaican originatorsskas rude
boysfavored fuller voicings as
shown in Ex. 2, a I-VIm-IIm-V pro-

gression in G. In bar 3, notice how

the Am changes inversions.
For a truly rude flavor, add
dominant-7th chords and sliding
chromatic movement from either
above or below the target harmoEx. 3). As illustrated here, ocny (E
casionally its effective to play on
the downbeat.
Often called a stuckey, a
typical ska single-note riff features sixteenth-notes, played
Ex. 4).
clean and very staccato (E
Note the characteristic chromatic movement, as well as the
arpeggiated chords.
These examples sound great
with wah and work well at tempos from 150 to 190 bpm.
g

# 4
J
J
J
J
=
===============
& 4
1
1
2

3
3
4

T
A
B

3
3
4

3
3
4

3
3
4

David Burk is a Minneapolisbased guitarist, producer, writer,

and teacher. For info on Do You
Know What Time It Is, an album
by Burks world-beat group, Labor
Party, contact Nabi Musicworks,
Box 8621, Minneapolis, MN
55408; (612) 823-6204.

# 4 J J J J J J J J
J
J
J
J
J
J
J
J
=================================
& 4
=

Ex. 2

Em

7
8
7
9

T
A
B

Ex. 3

Am

1
2
4
3

1
2
1
3

7
8
7
9

7
8
7
9

7
8
7
9

1
1
1

7
8
9
9

7
8
9
9

7
8
9
9

7
8
9
9

1
1
2

1
4
2
3

5
5
5

Em

5
5
5

8
10
9
10

8
10
9
10

10
10
11

Am

10
10
11

10
10
11

10
10
11

D7

.
# 4 # # b n bb # #
J
J
J
J
J J J # J #
=================================
& 4 # J
=
1
2
1
3

6
7
6
8

T
A
B

Ex. 4

7
8
7
9

7
8
7
9

7
8
7
9

1
1
1

1
2
4
3

10
8
7
9

7
8
7
9

X
X
X
X

X
X
X
X

7
8
9
9

7
8
9
9

7
8
9
9

Em

7
8
9
9

4
1
3

6
6
6
8

5
5
5
7

5
5
5
7

5
5
5
7

5
5
5
7

6
4
6

Am

7
5
7

6
4
6

7
5
7

6
4
6

5
7 7
5
7

D7

#4

J J # J n j
=================================
& 4 # #
=
3

Palm mute - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

T
A
B

5 5 5 5 5

4
7 6

7 6 7

7 7 7 7 7

L i c k

o f

t h e

M o n t h
O P E N

U P

THIS MONTHS LICK IS ALL ABOUT ADDING

To avoid stepwise movement, I play many fourths and

air to a phrase by skipping strings and playing wide inter-

fifths. For the #11 sound, I draw on elements of the Bm

vals. Hazard, Kentuckys Marin Bucevic, who gave us this

pentatonic scale that feature F#. Start at a moderate

four-bar passage, elaborates: It works over Cmaj7#11.

tempo, and gradually work up to around q = 144.

Cmaj7 11

4


#
# # =
==================================
&4

4
3
2
1

3
T
A
B

4
2

Send us your candidate for Lick of the Month (preferably notated and on cassette), along with a brief explanation of why its cool and how to play it. If we select
your offering, youll get a funky custom T-shirt thats
available only to Lick of the Month club members. Mail

3
4

3
2

your entry to Lick of the Month, Guitar Player, 411 Borel

Ave. #100, San Mateo, CA 94402. Include your name, address, and phone number. Materials wont be returned,
and please dont call the office to check the status of your
submission. Youll get your shirt if your lick is chosen.

5
4
4
3

S
S
I
O
N
S