Why I Suck... Series 2, Progress Report 1 - Neil Zaza!

Ohhhh, I've been looking forward to this.

So, right, January. In a pandemic. Things SUCK. So I've chosen to treat myself by spending the month transcribing one of my absolute guitar heroes, a master of melody and perfectly placed shred technique – and it would seem, the guitar worlds' best kept secret! Yes – this month, it's Neil Zaza!

Now, I first became aware of him around 2007, through stumbling across various YouTube covers of his hit “I'm Alright” - I thought it had a really cool riff, eventually got around to learning and transcribing the whole thing in about 2015, and thought no more of it until a couple of years ago. Cleaning day, I thought I'd stick some music on to pass the time, didn't fancy anything in my library, so on a whim I typed “Neil Zaza” into YouTube...

I think the best part of an hour had passed before I actually remembered I was supposed to be cleaning. Soaring melodies, blistering technique – not to mention his insane shred cover of A-ha's “Take On Me” (which I have co-opted to be something of a trademark for the streaming bedroom gigs that have helped keep me sane these past ten months) – I was completely hooked.

And yet- I've been playing guitar and consuming guitar magazines, both UK and US since 1994, and never ONCE have I heard of this guy, despite him being absolutely on the level of a Vai, a Satriani, an Eric Johnson. So it's high time I did something to redress the balance.

Right, a quick bio and the we'll dip into some of the licks and patterns that characterise his playing. All the examples I'll be showing are from his breakthrough 1996 album Sing, so we'll only be looking at his history up until then (partly because that gives me another excuse to revisit him). Born 1964 in Akron, Ohio, the young Neil was entranced by music from a young age and picked a guitar aged 10, largely inspired by Eddie Van Halen and Neal Schon (amongst others). He would go on to cement his technique studying classical guitar at the University of Akron under Stephen Aron, and in 1987 formed the rock band “Zaza”, who manged a hit with the rock ballad “Maybe Tomorrow”:

This represented the peak of the bands' success, however, and they split up after recording 1991's “Party With The Big Boys” - and from there Neil began his solo career. 1992 saw the release of his first album, “Two Hands, One Heart”, followed by “Thrills And Chills” a year later. By now, momentum was beginning to pick up with his career, and he was invited to perform with Hartford Symphony Orchestra, performing the tracks “1492” and a guitar interpretation of “West Side Story”, and in 1996 was a featured performer at the Montreal Guitar Festival. The big breakthrough came the following year with 1997's “Sing”, which contained covers of “Silent Night” and Van Morrisons “Crazy Love”, as well as the live version of the “Thrills and Chills” track “Melodia”... but it was track number three, “I'm Alright” which was to prove the absolute monster hit, it's ultra-catchy riff even inspiring dance remixes and ring tones and becoming one of those “must learn” riffs for aspiring guitarists. Have a listen and see why:

And....

And.......

Look how young I look! X-D

In fact, Dave The Rock Band version 2.0 performed this live a couple of times to audiences of civilians who had no idea about Neil Zaza or indeed, any form of instrumental music, but still remarked that we'd started the set off with something really catchy, and that we should record it....

Anyway, from that point, the Zaza rollercoaster has continued to lasting success, and as my slightly obsessive Instagram stalking of him confirms, he's still going strong, busy in the studio composing and recording new music – but that's where we'll leave the history lesson for now, because (as with Hendrix, Clapton, SRV and others that I've covered in the blog) I intend to come back and revisit this brilliant inspiring player, and I want an excuse to spend another month burying myself in his exquisite melodies and techniques!

So, let's take a look at some of the signature 'Za moves and techniques:

In this first example, we'll look at Neil's use of open voice arpeggios. These are all over his playing (and Eric Johnson is a fan too), and with good reason – great fun to play, sound cool and manage to get away from the slightly predictable sound of a regular arpeggio. Now in a normal close voice arpeggio, the notes are always a third apart – either in the order R 3 5, 3 5 R, or 5 R 3. For an open voicing, we upend this order, playing R 5 3, 3 R 5, or 5 3 R. Because of this re-ordering, the last note of the arpeggio ends up being an octave higher than it would normally be, and the bigger interval leaps sound much cooler and more ear-catching. Check out the tab below:

Here I've tabbed out an E major chord – first using root and 5^th with the 3^rd boosted an octave up, then 3^rd in the bass followed by the root with the 5^th up an octave, and then finally 5^th in the bass, then 3^rd and root up an octave. The next pattern does the same for minor chords. I've tabbed out these examples using the A, D and B strings as they seem to be the fingerings Neil himself prefers, but you should look at them on all string groups to find what suits you best.

The next two licks are lifted from “I'm Alright”, showing Neil's approach to pedal tone licks – both of these patterns are rooted on the note of E, with intervals from the major scale played against them (note the tap and slide in the second lick – tapping for melody, not speed!). I recommend using hybrid picking for the first lick, picking the G string with the plectrum and using the middle fingers for the B and E strings.

Now, of course, while Neil's genius for melody is really what sets him apart, when he wants to put the pedal to the metal he can shred with the best of them. These last two patterns are ones that I've seen cropping up a few times in differing tracks. Both are in E, a favoured key of his, but try them in every key.

This is a major scale sequenced in groups of 4, and you should try this both descending (as tabbed) and ascending by reversing the pattern. I also recommend trying them with both picked and legato techniques

This last is a sextuplet (six notes to a beat) idea using a variation on the three note per string major scale fingering which Neil seems to favour, but note the five note group just before the bar – this is unlikely to be a conscious variation, just a by product of Neil gunning it and trying to hit the G# (3^rd) on the downbeat. Take the same approach and the timing will come to you.

I do urge you to go check this guy out, to me he's right up there in the pantheon of instrumental guitar greats and I really cannot understand why he isn't better known is a mystery to me, but I can guarantee you're going to enjoy his stuff – it's impossible not to!

Stay safe and sane out there, and see you next month.