Marc Ribot Solo - Aqui Como Alla

Alright, this week was spring break from teaching, so I had some extra time to get another transcription down...

Marc Ribot is another name that only tends to be known within certain circles.  You can learn more about him at his site: www.marcribot.com.  I first saw his name on some of my Medeski, Martin & Wood albums, particularly The Dropper and End of the World Party (Just in Case).  His playing on the later really caught my ears.  You can hear him really digging into the strings, putting every ounce of energy and emotion into each note.  Probably the most well-known album he has appeared on is the recent Raising Sand.  This beautifully produced album by T Bone Burnett features a couple rockin' solos by Ribot, but also shows how well he blends within a solid group of musicians.  Of course, Robert Plant and Alison Krauss just make it sound so easy as well.  And yet, Ribot regularly teams up with John Zorn.  So he never limits himself to one style or genre, which is what I admire.

Ok, if you're reading this because you're interested in a transcribed solo by Ribot, I have a cool one for ya.  Check out his album with his self-described "punk-Latin" group, Marc Ribot y Los Cubanos Postizos.  The album is full of tunes by the late Cuban composer, Arsenio Rodriquez.  This solo comes from the second track, "Aqui Como Alla."

You can view the solo transcription here: Marc Ribot Solo - Aqui Como Alla (PDF) 

The tune itself is a simple melody (reminds me of Tequila) with a nice bridge.  Once the solo begins, Ribot doesn't stay within the key of E for too long.  There are some harmonically fun parts and great rhythmic sequences, but he always resolves by returning to some tasty blues lines.  It's a longer transcription written in standard notation and TAB, so I'm just posting it as a .pdf file.  If you have any troubles viewing it, please let me know.  I really encourage you to listen to the recording to get a feel for his specific phrasing, dynamics and occasional palm-muting.  I tried to write the TAB in areas of the neck where I think he plays, and also seems to make the most sense given the melodic lines.

Marc Ribot is a great player to check out.  I hope you enjoy taking a little look and listen into his playing.  Thanks for reading.

Obsession

"For me, I think the only danger is being too much in love with guitar playing.  The music is the most important thing, and the guitar is only the instrument."  ~ Jerry Garcia

First off, I really do mean to post more regularly.  Before I knew it, 3 weeks flew by since the last time I put something up!  I swear, the old cliche about time flying is so true.

Anyway, while walking the dog tonight my mind went to this Garcia quote.  The first time I read it was in a wonderful book called Zen Guitar by Philip Toshio Sudo.  I'm not sure why it popped into my head, but I think there's a lot of truth in it.  Personally, I prefer to listen to creative, catchy music with substance.  Yeah, that is pretty subjective.  But so is art and many other things.  I strive to experience music that transcends the individual talents of the musicians playing it.  If there happens to be guitar in there, great!  But there doesn't have to be.

It can be obvious when a player is more focused on the instrument, rather than the music.  And this definitely isn't limited to guitarists.  Drummers, bassists, saxophonists, singers, etc.  Every group has it's obsessed members.  Probably the main reason I can't take a lot of mainstream country or pop or Americal Idol is because most of it is focused on how good the singer is.  And believe me, I love a great singer.  But I don't want show-choir tunes to be sung to me.  Certain players I can't take because every single second of music is about them filling it up with notes. 

For us 6-stringers the most common culprits tend to be jazzers and shredders.  That makes sense, given it takes a lot of technical ability to play those styles.  You almost have to be obsessed (or possessed?) to practice sweeping 8 hours a day, or arpeggiating rhythm changes all day long.  But unfortunately, when you hear many of those players out at a show, they are lost in their own world.  Their ears and eyes are closed off to everything going on around them.  Sure, on an individual level, they may be crazy talented, but then you realize what they're playing doesn't fit, or is so trite that it gets tiring real quick.

There can be a fine line between using your super-good abilities to add to the musical experience or distract from it.  Of course, it can be different from one person to the next.  There are people who just want to hear a great guitarist.  People who just crave to see drummers working that double foot pedal faster than anyone else.  I guess it's in our nature to be drawn to the aesthetics of something, rather than the substance.  Same can be said about sports.  Kids who want to become basketballs players, what do they worship?  The slam dunks.  Maybe a game-winning 3-pointer.  They could care less about learning how to play within an offensive system or spending hours at the free-throw line.

So learn to recognize a ball-hog, especially if that person is you.  No one wants to listen or play with someone who can't play within the "system" of the band.