ANDY TIMMONS Video Masterclass

We welcome back US rock virtuoso Andy Timmons to our monthly video slot. We invited Andy to share key aspects of his style by soloing over Big Man Walking, specially written for him by Jason Sidwell.

- Jon Bishop

ABILITY RATING

Key Various Tempo 98 bpm (swing feel) Info https://bit.ly/3nFudpm

Advanced

Will improve your… Navigation for unique chord changes Rhythmic phrasing Picking, legato and harmonic techniques

This month we are delighted to welcome back Andy Timmons for another video lesson and discussion, after his highly popular 2018 performance on Jason’s track Jubilant, back in GT278.

Big Man Walking is a vibrantly arranged rock piece in a ‘swung 16th’ feel, with an unusual chord change (E-Bb) and modulations through several keys (see the chart on page 27). All of this adds up to a sophisticated piece that Andy’s musicianship was more than up for. After his stunning performance, he goes into detail about his playing approach and choices, which provides great insight into how he addresses a new piece. After listening to it several times, he created several composed motifs which provided the basis of his solo. He also covers how he dealt with the chorus chords and explains how they are not all from one key, thus making things a little tricky. Through a process of jamming over the chorus chord progression Andy settled on a melody that he liked. This pre-composed route is a good strategy when trying navigate non-diatonic passages. Andy then takes his motif up an octave, a classic way to extend interest for an idea. The turnaround lick outlines the B7 chord and takes us into the verse.