Music Lesson: "Catch"

Introduction to Techniques

Let's take a look at Catch. This one opens with a little bit of the old two-hand slap and tickle.

Hammer-On and Pull-Off

• I'm doing the hammer with my INM fingers of the right hand.
• Follow this with a pull-off and then a hammer-on with fingers two and three of the left hand.
• After this, another pull-off and then a hammer again on the seventh fret.

The whole pattern goes like this:

• I hit the back chord using the back of my index fingernail.
• Alternating between the two, you'll notice I slide in twice.

Pickless Pick Technique

This kind of technique is what I think of as the pickless pick. Imagine you're holding a pick, but there is no pick. Instead:

• The back of the first fingernail serves for the downstrokes.
• The back of the thumb serves for the upstrokes.

You'll get a little bit of the flesh involved on the back of the thumb, but you kind of get used to it after a while.

Chord Explanation

Looking at this chord for a second:

• A bass note
• C sharp
• F (augmented fifth)
• G (seventh)
• C (sharp nine)

Essentially, it is an A7 sharp nine augmented, which is a very cool kind of jazzy chord and not a particularly complicated fingering. It's the same chord, same basic shape we use here.

Verse Techniques

So, moving on into the verse, I have a very staccato approach:

• I'm hitting the bass note, then using my third finger to make a staccato melody note.
• There's a slide picking out the melody followed by another slide.

I'm also incorporating the percussive effect, pretty much like a snare drum would do:

• That's a nice chord. I'll keep that same shape, F13.

Harmonic Characteristics

This seems to be characteristic of my harmonic style. I often use thickened lines to articulate a melody without a conventional series of harmonies. Instead, I maintain a consistent fourth, fifth, octave pattern.

The whole thing repeats, including a little lick in the middle, using octaves, a straightforward jazz lick.

Transitioning Sections

Now into the next section, I slide up:

• I think this is cool in DADGAD; if you play this shape, you've got a G7.
• The open G string paired with the same note on the fifth string creates a nice slight dissonance as you slide in.

Exploring Chords

• Bass line: a little walk-up.
• Here's an E7 chord, with a tenth between the bass note and the melody.

Here's the tenth and another lick:

• A slide, a slide, and then back to the head. Try and add a little vibrato there.

Continuity and Improvisation

Repeat. I think the trick with this stuff is to take all these individual moves and create continuity with the groove:

• Each one is articulated a little differently.
• There's a mix of slides, hammers, and pulls, but the overall groove maintains a swing feel.

After that, it goes back to the intro figure. Now, we walk up to that same basic chord: the seven sharp nine.

Beginning the Solo

I've walked it up to an F sharp, starting the solo in a cycle of fifths pattern:

• B7 to E7 (actually an E9).
• Here's an A and now to a D.

I never play exactly the same way twice. I look at this as a bit of an improvised solo.

Chord Shapes

• Here's your basic B7 in DADGAD.
• Here's your E9.

The second time it occurs:

• I hit the A over an A pedal.
• A flat, A, B flat, B, C, going up to the D.

B Section and Call and Response

Going around that whole sequence again, we return to the B section, which has a call-and-response feel.

Observe this:

• The F sharp and the C create a tritone, leading to the D7.

This will go around again and then comes back into the melody. The last time changes a bit, featuring a coda that I love.

Conclusion

In the final iteration, there's a B bass note and the open strings on top:

• Another walk-up then vamps with little licks over it.
• The last time serves as my signal that it's going to end.

I keep walking up the fingerboard and hit the following chord, but wait, I hit this chord, which resembles an augmented 11th. It's a D, F sharp, C, E, and G sharp.

So, we get a nice kind of jazzy ending.

Virtual whammy bar, and that's Catch!