|
 |
KeyboardMag.com >> This Month >> Maturing Motifs
Skip to [ Story Content and jump story attachments ]
 The following files will open in their associated programs.
Click on the Images
Tweak and dirty up reoccurring phrases to build excitement.
Maturing Motifs| September, 2007Check out any of Phish’s epic jams on their ’95 recording, A Live One, to hear one of the things the group did best: At various points, Page and his former band mates sink their teeth into simple, catchy riffs; patiently reiterate, vary, and interweave them; and effortlessly push the groove forward into territory funky and unknown. On his solo album, Page exhibits the same strategy of gradual, improvisational motivic development, especially in his “Back In The Basement” solo. Play through the examples here to dig i nto the motivic development Page uses on measures 15–20 of his solo, transcribed on page 50. Interestingly enough, the phrase he repeats and evolves for these measures falls into a neat call-and-response pattern: The first two beats of each bar create a statement in octaves, while the second two beats (with syncopated pickups) respond, most often in single-note phrases. As you’ll see in the examples, this sort of structure provides a solid foundation on which Page can vary this note or that rhythm to great effect. |
Keyboard Magazine is part of the Music Player Network.