He describes his style as “upside down and backwards”, but when Eric Gales picks up his guitar, says David Mead the blues world can’t help but listen to his heavyweight playing style.
We’re rapidly advancing towards showtime, but it’s down to business straight away. Time may be short, but we’re determined to find out exactly what makes the man – whose guitar playing has been compared with that of Jimi Hendrix – tick. We begin filming for the tuition pages that follow this feature, but in between the examples, we ask Eric about the inner workings of his approach to playing.
“Basically one of the core secrets in my approach when I’m using Pentatonics or stuff of that nature is I really never think about it. It just comes out and I guess that might come out of my early years of just woodshedding and accumulating many different styles and genres that I was inspired by. As I grew older they began to become like computer chips, logged in my memory – once they’re there you can go to them at random. I often equate it with the web: when you type in a search or something like that, the information is already there and so it goes right to it.
Denne historien er fra January 2019-utgaven av Guitar Techniques.
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Denne historien er fra January 2019-utgaven av Guitar Techniques.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
PAT METHENY
Nick Mellor offers an insight into the jazz great's 16th-note lines, and his approach to improvising over static Minor and Dominant 7th chords.
MARTIN MILLER
Another fabulous JTC guitarist demonstrates his impressive techniques for us, focusing on an approach called Rythmically Dependent Alternate Picking.
THE KINKS' RAY DAVIES
This month Stuart Ryan takes a virtual trip into to North London to get to grips with the acoustic style of the original Muswell Hillbilly.
STEVE LUKATHER
This month Andy G Jones looks at the fluent soloing style of the LA guitarist who co-founded Toto in 1977 then ruled the 80s session scene.
JEFF HANNEMAN
This month Charlie Griffiths Shows No Mercy as he lays down the gauntlett with five shred licks from Slayer's undisputed master of attitude.
10CC
This month Martin Cooper checks out Eric Stewart and Lol Crème, whose distinctive styles helped give this UK band its unique sound.
T-BONE WALKER
From the heart of Texas to the cool West Coast, join David Gerrish on the journey of this hugely influential electric blues guitar innovator.
FERDINANDO CARULLI Andantino In G (Opus 241)
This month Declan Zapala goes back to basics to explore core classical technique with this emotive miniature by the pioneer of classical guitar playing.
THE CROSSROADS Steely Dan's Mu Chord
This month John Wheatcroft shows us how Donald Fagen and Walter Becker dressed their harmony to the 'nines, as he explores their trademark chord voicings.
GET YOUR MOJO WORKING! 60 Years Of Blues Licks
From the Kings to Jimi and Eric, Blackmore, Stevie Ray, Gary Moore, John Mayer, JoBo and beyond, Jon Bishop introduces six decades of blues guitar innovation.