Comments on the Wikipedia article: Difference between revisions
From Allan Holdsworth Information Center
No edit summary |
No edit summary |
||
| Line 19: | Line 19: | ||
'''Holdsworth was known for his esoteric and idiosyncratic usage of advanced music theory concepts, especially with respect to melody and harmony. His music incorporates a vast array of complex chord progressions, often using unusual chord shapes in an abstract way based on his understanding of "chord scales", and intricate improvised solos, frequently across shifting tonal centres. He used myriad scale forms often derived from those such as the Lydian, diminished, harmonic major, augmented, whole tone, chromatic and altered scales, among others, often resulting in an unpredictable and dissonant "outside" sound. His unique legato soloing technique stemmed from his original desire to play the saxophone. Unable to afford one, he strove to use the guitar to create similarly smooth lines of notes. He also became associated with playing an early form of guitar synthesizer called the SynthAxe, a company he endorsed in the 1980s.''' | '''Holdsworth was known for his esoteric and idiosyncratic usage of advanced music theory concepts, especially with respect to melody and harmony. His music incorporates a vast array of complex chord progressions, often using unusual chord shapes in an abstract way based on his understanding of "chord scales", and intricate improvised solos, frequently across shifting tonal centres. He used myriad scale forms often derived from those such as the Lydian, diminished, harmonic major, augmented, whole tone, chromatic and altered scales, among others, often resulting in an unpredictable and dissonant "outside" sound. His unique legato soloing technique stemmed from his original desire to play the saxophone. Unable to afford one, he strove to use the guitar to create similarly smooth lines of notes. He also became associated with playing an early form of guitar synthesizer called the SynthAxe, a company he endorsed in the 1980s.''' | ||
This paragraph really is a mess. For an encyclopedic entry, it would perhaps be best to separate between what could be inferred from Allan's own description of his playing in contrast with external descriptions of it. From Allan's own perspective, he did not describe his music in traditional terms. Instead, he worked out his own system. A primary influence seems to have been Slonimsky's Thesaurus. Bill Bruford said "He worked like a dog on Nicolas Slonimsky's Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns." (Guitar Player 2008). Allan himself said: | This paragraph really is a mess. For an encyclopedic entry, it would perhaps be best to separate between what could be inferred from Allan's own description of his playing in contrast with external descriptions of it. From Allan's own perspective, he did not describe his music in traditional terms. Instead, he worked out his own system. He did recognize basic terms such as major and minor chords and scales, but beyond that, he hever used standard terms. Neither did he ever learn reading music beyond a very basic level. A primary influence seems to have been Slonimsky's Thesaurus. Bill Bruford said "He worked like a dog on Nicolas Slonimsky's Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns." (Guitar Player 2008). Allan himself said: | ||
"Nicolas Slonimsky's 'Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns', for example. It was harder for me to go to that than it might have been for some other guys, but at least it was written enharmonically - not written in any key - and all the accidentals are added. " (Guitarist 1987) | "Nicolas Slonimsky's 'Thesaurus of Scales and Melodic Patterns', for example. It was harder for me to go to that than it might have been for some other guys, but at least it was written enharmonically - not written in any key - and all the accidentals are added. " (Guitarist 1987) | ||
| Line 25: | Line 25: | ||
Allan describes in several interviews as well as on his instructional video that he went through the construction of scales, in particular analyzing them in terms of their interval structure. He then worked out which scales he liked the most. But he never referred to them by their common name. And he never referred to them in terms of modes either. For example, he would never use the term "Lydian". On numerous occasions, he would point out that all the modes were just permutations of a regular major scale, and he would consider them as such. For example he told Guitar Player in 1993: | Allan describes in several interviews as well as on his instructional video that he went through the construction of scales, in particular analyzing them in terms of their interval structure. He then worked out which scales he liked the most. But he never referred to them by their common name. And he never referred to them in terms of modes either. For example, he would never use the term "Lydian". On numerous occasions, he would point out that all the modes were just permutations of a regular major scale, and he would consider them as such. For example he told Guitar Player in 1993: | ||
"There are things I work out away from the guitar, like various scales. I’m not concerned with modes, rather the permutation of intervals that differentiate one scale from another. I never think of a scale as having a set bottom or top. To me, it goes from the lowest available note to the highest on the instrument itself. | "There are things I work out away from the guitar, like various scales. I’m not concerned with modes, rather the permutation of intervals that differentiate one scale from another. I never think of a scale as having a set bottom or top. To me, it goes from the lowest available note to the highest on the instrument itself." | ||
His harmony was an extension of his studies of scales. As he told Guitar Extra in 1992: | |||
''Q: Was this done at the same time as learning about conventional major and minor scales? | |||
'' | |||
''Allan: No, obviously this came after that, but what I knew was inadequate, and I couldn't play over certain chords, because I didn't know what scales to use. I knew if I did this, I'd have them, and then I could use my ears to guide me as to how I wanted to use them, based on what I felt musically. I cataloged them all, and I set aside all of the ones that had more than three semi-tones in a row, because they would be impractical. I finished up with this huge ream of stuff that I needed to learn. That stuff still applies now, I still only remember a small amount of it, but I learn more and more each time. Basically, I did the same thing with chords, I'd build chords from the scales, which is how I think of chords.'' | |||
''Q: Were these specific things that you were thinking, "I can't play over that," or was it that you just wanted to expand your knowledge and find new chords?'' | |||
''Allan: It was more like I wanted to find chords and voicings of chords, then I'd work on those separately from trying to figure out how to play over them. That's why, when I see a chord symbol, I sometimes don't even play a chord that might even constitute that one, I might just play some other chord that's built on the scale, because that's how I think of it. When the chords change, it's the movement, you can hear the scales change from one to the other. When I see the neck, when the chords change, it's like you can imagine a neck with LED's on it, and they're all lit up. When it gets to the next chord, all the dots change. The what I have to do is try to make a melody out of it, or make some sense out of it, or combine that with other things I want to do, like superimposing things on top of other things or whatever. Then you can play on things and add extra chords, playing something that suggests another chord between that chord.'' | |||
Summing up, he arrived at his chords by testing out combinations of notes from the scales he worked on. | |||
Furthermore, it is true that his primary influence was the saxophone. However, the statement that the SynthAxe was an "early form of guitar synthesizer" is wrong. The SynthAxe was NOT a guitar synthesizer. Instead it was a guitar-like MIDI controller that did not output any sound at all beyond MIDI data. | |||
'''Holdsworth has been cited as an influence by a host of rock, metal and jazz guitarists such as Eddie Van Halen,[2] Joe Satriani,[3] Greg Howe,[4] Shawn Lane,[5] Richie Kotzen,[6] John Petrucci,[7] Alex Lifeson,[8] Kurt Rosenwinkel,[9] Yngwie Malmsteen,[10] Michael Romeo,[11] Ty Tabor,[12] Fredrik Thordendal,[13] Daniel Mongrain,[14] John Frusciante,[15] and Tom Morello.[16] Frank Zappa once lauded him as "one of the most interesting guys on guitar on the planet",[17] while Robben Ford has said: "I think Allan Holdsworth is the John Coltrane of the guitar. I don't think anyone can do as much with the guitar as Allan Holdsworth can."[18]''' | '''Holdsworth has been cited as an influence by a host of rock, metal and jazz guitarists such as Eddie Van Halen,[2] Joe Satriani,[3] Greg Howe,[4] Shawn Lane,[5] Richie Kotzen,[6] John Petrucci,[7] Alex Lifeson,[8] Kurt Rosenwinkel,[9] Yngwie Malmsteen,[10] Michael Romeo,[11] Ty Tabor,[12] Fredrik Thordendal,[13] Daniel Mongrain,[14] John Frusciante,[15] and Tom Morello.[16] Frank Zappa once lauded him as "one of the most interesting guys on guitar on the planet",[17] while Robben Ford has said: "I think Allan Holdsworth is the John Coltrane of the guitar. I don't think anyone can do as much with the guitar as Allan Holdsworth can."[18]''' | ||
This section is factually correct, but sadly, it also displays a problem: All the people listed are guitar players. | |||
'''Early life | '''Early life | ||
