Spencer Davis Group - On the green light (Performance & Analyse)

Music Lesson: Exploring "On the Green Light" by Spencer Davies Group

Introduction

So, I thought we'd start with a Spencer Davies Group song called "On the Green Light." This is Steve Wynwood at his finest when he was a very bright young 18-year-old lad from Birmingham, absolutely killing it on the organ.

Melody and Improvisation

This piece mainly features a single-note melody with some improvisation. A lot of people coming from a background of piano keys struggle with the idea that you don't always need to be doing something with your left hand.

Left Hand Technique

• The left hand can:
  • Change settings
  • Aid in your playing rather than always being active

For this lesson, we will mainly use the left hand for a sparing amount of percussive comping, while the focus will be on the right hand melody. A lot of it consists of blues scale stuff.

Structure of the Piece

This is a 16-bar minor blues. I'll play up until the end of the middle eight where we will do some comping. The middle eight is sort of the guitar solo, and during this, we will focus more on chordal comping.

Improvisation Demonstration

I'll play something like this:

• So, that's the kind of improvisation Wynwood is doing, mainly using minor pentatonic scales.
• The notes are very simple, but his phrasing and tone are very cool.

Tone and Techniques

Many of you might know the basic tone prevalent in jazz and R&B. The settings for those initial four drawbars are:

• Drawbar 3
• Some degree of drawbar 4 (the 4-foot drawbar)

Wynwood uses a sound that isn't often employed as a lead tone, which I find quite interesting. There's no vibrato on it, which allows the Leslie effect to come through really well.

Here's an example lick:

(Play Lick)

You can really get a sense of that movement. It has more depth than when the riders are active.

Comping Techniques

Mid Comping

During the mid-comping section, I'm adding in some stuff that isn't actually on the record, but it's a great opportunity to practice some of those techniques.

Chord Progression

The crux of the piece contains:

• A minor
• D minor
• E7, sharp nine

We start off fast, joining the guitar solo.

Manual Settings

On the bottom manual, we've got:

• Only this drum (number eight), with the eighth-foot setting pulled out most of the way.
• I'm using fast speed settings, and I might add some vibrato as well to enhance the sound:
  • This gives it a little more bite
  • A little more top end
  • A bit more compression

Chord Details

The chords are very straightforward:

• A minor
• D minor
• Falling down from E flat (which is a semitone drop)

These details are often puzzling when you hear them on a record. When you hear McGriff or Booker T. doing things like these, you think, "What is that?" It's not just a note; it's like an effect.

If you took the first course, we covered some of this, and you might have a better understanding.

Technique and Expression

I'm going to take my ring off because you often end up smacking the keys with it. Instead, use an open palm technique, which you might be able to see from the overhead view.

Expression Pedal Use

• I'm really pressing down on the expression pedal to create more compression as I reach the D.
• In the main verse, there's a variation where a flip of the Leslie occurs before that lick.

Altered Notes

You can add a flat 6 or flat 13 (the C note) for variation.

Conclusion

So, that's basically the piece! I want to show you on the Nord how we can get close to the sounds, especially the percussive part in the guitar solo.