How to play like Phil Lesh?

[RCCollins]

+1 to everybody saying that Scarlet->Fire, Help/Slip/Franks and China->Rider should be priority.

I would also add Estimated->Eyes and Playin->Uncle John's as well as Alabama->Greatest (!), Like a Stranger and of course Dark Star. If you can't play the real slow stuff, like that and, say, Wharf Rat or Black Peter, you're not gonna grok Phil.

Am I enough of a dead dork or what?

Phil is one of the true originals for sure. He's definitely worth getting over an allergy to the Dead to appreciate if you are so afflicted.

 

[Andrew Jones]

There was a transcription of the studio version of Scarlet Begonias in a resent BP mag. Get That.


I can't and wouldn't want to play like Phil BUT......


He has Some "parts" that will be the easiest to grab, Music never stopped and such.


What you need to do is hear how he controls tension and release. He is very bold with this. Meaning his length of or choice of when to create tension is often pushing "good taste". He Often falls flat on his face and just as often it's freaking brilliant.


To practice this get a static cord going and play with the scale deliberately find stuff that sounds off and find the note next to it and work into that.Think about how long and how much out is pleasant or under you control. You need to understand "tendancy Tones".Meaning the way the scales noncord tones want to resolve.


You need to study scales and basic harmony enough to know what he's/the band playing out of. IE when it's a 2 cord vamp it's often one scale.

Studying counter point will help you alot! He has little moments in songs where he grabs onto a part and plays counterpoint to it.


Rhythmically I hear him skipping one allot more than average player. "And of one" "2" and sometimes"and of 2" are a common thing.Meaning that will be the first note of the measure he plays. I hear allot of 1/8 note based stuff. If it's 1/16 note based stuff all the same applies it's just 16th instead.




Try practicing all off beats to the point that they feel VERY natural then feel that they are tension and they release into the onbeats.







I love Phil!!!!!!!!!!!!



Aj

 

[edmidlifecrisis]

I too have been intrigued by his style, especially after reading his book. It was big fun. I saw the Dead a bunch of times in the early seventies but didn't really get it, I was more of an Airplane/Quicksilver/Steve Miller/Santana type for San Francisco style music. Now I sort of appreciate them more. I guess I wasn't stoned enough then to appreciate it and now I have a more musical appreciation of his playing (wouldn't touch illegal substances if my life depended on it and haven't for many decades...)

I am seeing the Dark Star Orchestra this weekend with my b-i-l, a fanatic deadhead. It should be interesting, especially the bass player....

 

[warwick.hoy]

DIVE BOMB!!!

One of my favorite things that Phil Lesh does is start on the root in a higher octave and work his way melodically down to the lower octave root.

I don't even play in a jamband and I make it my mission to do that in a lot of my band's songs.

Having a five or six string helps, even if you don't play below E.

+1 to Eyes of the World. There is a vid that showed up on On Demand of Phil and Friends with Joan Osbourn (sp?) on Vox.....Jaw Droppingly executed. I love China Cat>I Know You Ryder but have only heard one version that was well executed. Unfortunately I can't remember the Date.

Help>Slip>Franklins Tower is pretty BA as well. The opener of Dicks Picks 17 is off the hook.

 

[tranceFusion]

Am I the only one having trouble taking Phil seriously after seeing him perform in his new bass? It looks like he is just along for the ride on that thing

 

[frankie5string]

I don't like this smoke lots or 'shroom lots ... Is anyone absolutely positive he was hallucinating up on stage during shows? Or was this just a back-room thing?

In most cases, when I've heard musicians play out of their gourd, it sounded scattered and unfocused. There was far too much focus in the Dead band during playing to assume they were ALL actually PLAYING on drugs...

 

[RCCollins]

I don't like this smoke lots or 'shroom lots ... Is anyone absolutely positive he was hallucinating up on stage during shows? Or was this just a back-room thing?

In most cases, when I've heard musicians play out of their gourd, it sounded scattered and unfocused. There was far too much focus in the Dead band during playing to assume they were ALL actually PLAYING on drugs...

Sometimes, sure! Though by the mid-70s he was mostly into drinking fine wines...

 

[slinginsix]

Phil did not "trip" onstage after the "acid tests" in the 60's. His biggest challenge was alcohol. If you read his book, drinking affected his playing most severly in the early 80s. I don't believe he was a huge pot smoker and is abstinate from all substances now. I hate this unqualified belief that the Dead were constantly skrewed up. There were occations (woodstock) but they generally speaking were right on musically.

 

[frankie5string]

Phil did not "trip" onstage after the "acid tests" in the 60's. His biggest challenge was alcohol. If you read his book, drinking affected his playing most severly in the early 80s. I don't believe he was a huge pot smoker and is abstinate from all substances now. I hate this unqualified belief that the Dead were constantly skrewed up. There were occations (woodstock) but they generally speaking were right on musically.

That's what I figured. When I was in a Dead cover band early in my bass playing / jamming life the only reason why I left was because what the band considered a "tea break" was really them all sitting around a round table passing around a little orange-glass vile of powder and doing lines... Then they'd all get back on stage and it would be ridiculous... I couldn't handle the lack of sensibility in that band - which was a shame because the music did require concentration...

 

[BluesWalker]

I don't like this smoke lots or 'shroom lots ... Is anyone absolutely positive he was hallucinating up on stage during shows? Or was this just a back-room thing?

In most cases, when I've heard musicians play out of their gourd, it sounded scattered and unfocused. There was far too much focus in the Dead band during playing to assume they were ALL actually PLAYING on drugs...

Before I go on my rant, beware I once considered myself a DeadHead (from 1971 - 2000). I have a lot of bootleg concert tapes, official releases and other memorbilia. I still go out to see them in their new bands when they travel through my geographic area, but I won't travel for extended distances anymore to see a show or a string of shows.

If you have heard them enough, you will find plenty of examples of them being scattered, unfocused and lost. It goes with their improvisational approach to the jams, especialy during the early days when they were also doing a lot of drugs. Weir, Garcia and Lesh all have an unique approach to their instrument. There were times at a lot of shows, when they were going in their own direction, they were not cohesive. I have heard them improvising on a one-chord vamp where Garcia and Lesh were playing different scales and Weir's chords did not fit the scales. Add to that the drummers and their improvising (especially Mickey Hart, Kruetzman is more of a pocket drummer), there are numerous times when no one, the musicians on stage or the audience, have any idea where the 1 was and how to get back to it. But all of this is part of the magic of a Dead Show: when they were off it could be really bad, but when they were on it was too good. The Phil and Friends line up has somewhat stabilized and from the concert recordings I have heard, they have become pretty cohesive. I look forward to hear how the remaining GD members sound together in the upcoming Dead reunion tour.

In regards to Phil's playing, I always thought he was so unique that I would not want to play like him but would want to learn a few good things that I could apply to my playing. I think the posters have already hit on these: he generally avoids the one unless it is a pocket song like Bertha, Shakedown Street, Touch of Gray, Truckin', etc. He likes to emphasive off-beat notes and non-root and (sometimes, not sure if that is always on purpose) non-chord notes. I believe he plays more from a scale perspective than a chord perspective. He has a bright sound, puts on new round wound strings before every show, has recently favored graphite necks and active electronics, plays with a pick and does not use a lot of effects. That new bass, a Ritter, if bizarre in appearance, but I have not had a chance to hear him play it so I do not know what it offers in regards to his sound.

 

[stealyourface]

the studio album "Blues for Allah" has some quintessential examples of Phil's playing. Help on the Way/Slipknot-> Franklin's Tower is a perfect example.

 

[Musicphan]

+2 to everybody saying that Scarlet->Fire, Help/Slip/Franks and China->Rider should be priority.


Here is a link to a VERY solid show... nice lineup of friends as well!!

http://www.archive.org/details/2004-12-18.paf.dsbd.philleshnet.flac

 

[kesslari]

I'd add a few things (and I do think that experience of the shared band hallucinogen experimentation had a lot to do with the development of Phil's style). But other than that:

1. Have an extremely strong understanding of harmony, melody, and theory (e.g., his trumpet background). Also have excellent pitch recognition.

2. Play in an environment where experimentation is not only accepted but encouraged. You won't develop Phil's style playing note for note covers - even of Dead songs.

3. Play for extended periods of time - the Dead would jam for hours and hours. Combine that extended playing time with the passion for experimentation plus very deep musical understanding and fundamental musical talent and you have a nice recipe for developing a very unorthodox-but-cool playing style.

 

[IdealWay]

I must say that the only times I've come close to playing "like Phil" was when I was... expanded. It's so elusive and free, yet rooted in the harmonies and rhythms of the other instruments at the same time. I've noticed his use of space (rests) is key, as well as a bouncing feel that is perpetuated by plucking muted notes with accents on the off-beat. Man! I gotta go listen to him RIGHT NOW! seriously

 

[Disraeli Gears]

I've found that my style is quite similar to Lesh's. I think what caused it was that when I first began playing I listened to and jammed along with the Grateful Dead, Jefferson Airplane, and Cream almost exclusively.

 

[Stacknobuser]

I'd add a few things (and I do think that experience of the shared band hallucinogen experimentation had a lot to do with the development of Phil's style). But other than that:

1. Have an extremely strong understanding of harmony, melody, and theory (e.g., his trumpet background). Also have excellent pitch recognition.

2. Play in an environment where experimentation is not only accepted but encouraged. You won't develop Phil's style playing note for note covers - even of Dead songs.

3. Play for extended periods of time - the Dead would jam for hours and hours. Combine that extended playing time with the passion for experimentation plus very deep musical understanding and fundamental musical talent and you have a nice recipe for developing a very unorthodox-but-cool playing style.

Have played in many Dead cover bands, and there is a thread of truth that runs through everything that has been said.

I would respectfully submit two additional thoughts.

First, learn how to play chess (or at least study the thoery of strategic thought). It teaches you to view thiings from a longer, broader perspective. Many times you will find that Phil's lines evolve over 16 bars or more and generally end up at the same place as the direction that the rest of the band is heading. Moving like a school of fish. (no PH pun intended).

That is why Jerry said that if you speed up the music you get what Phil is doing. You hear the entire phrases develop and morph.

Second, learn to listen. Grow big ears and listen to the other players in the band for cues and phrases that you can build upon or feed back to them in a slightly modified version. The vibe and chemistry in a band who are all listening to and interacting with each other non verbally is one of the greatest joys in life and a long standing hallmark of the Dead.

Just my $.02.

 

[Lobster11]

... I believe he plays more from a scale perspective than a chord perspective.....

This is interesting, because I was just talking (electronically) with someone the other day who suggested just the opposite. I'll try to get him to chime in here. I'd love to see some more discussion about this: This is just the kind of issue -- along with others that have come up above -- that led me to start this thread.

 

[kesslari]

Second, learn to listen. Grow big ears and listen to the other players in the band for cues and phrases that you can build upon or feed back to them in a slightly modified version. The vibe and chemistry in a band who are all listening to and interacting with each other non verbally is one of the greatest joys in life and a long standing hallmark of the Dead.

Huge, important point. Good addition.

 

[RobJ]

I've always admired and enjoyed Lesh's playing and learned a few things about him in this thread; to be honest I really don't know much about him. It's interesting to me that one of my favorites with a unique style, John Entwistle, also began as a trumpet and French horn player before taking up the bass.

 

[Bassman8416]

I have always loved Phil's approach to the bass. Very Unique!!!! Here a couple pieces that have interesting bass lines ...Estimated Prophet, That's it for The Other One, China Doll, Unbroken Chain(studio), Crazy Fingers, Cumberland Blues(Europe 72), Weather Report Suite (Part II) - Let It Grow, Playin' in the Band, Lazy Lightnin' into Supplication....the list goes on and on. Phil studied 20th century composition with composer Luciano Berio. He definitely has a more Baroque, Classical counter point type approach, yet he can rock and swing as well.