Why I Suck... Series 3, Episode 1 - Larry Carlton!

I must admit, after all the confidence expressed in the last post, I came to this with a degree of trepidation – it's a long way from the stinging pentatonics ofAlbert King to the fusion stylings of the legendary Mr. 335! So, I drew a deep breath, mentally prepared myself for a lot of frustration and made ready to slow YouTube down to 0.25 play speed...

First, a little potted history. Born March 2 1948 in Torrance California, the young Larry first began guitar lessons at the tender age of 6. During his teenage years at junior high school he was first exposed to jazz – stating, during an interview with Rick Beato, that it was the sound of a 6^th chord that caught his ear. From then on, he would delve into Barney Kessel, Joe Pass, BB King, and a particular fondness for John Coltrane which continues to this day, particularly his 1962 album “Ballads”.

His career began in 1968, recording his first album “With A Little Help From My Friends” which would lead on to a steady career as a session musician with artists like Joni Mitchell and Steely Dan amongst many, many, many others – seriously, his discography here is just incredible, and his solo on the Steely Dan track Kid Charlemagne is the stuff of guitar legend. During the mid-70s, he joined jazz-rock group The Crusaders, performing on no less than 13 albums! From 1978 he began to embark on a solo career, and has followed that path ever since along with various sessions and collaborations (including one with fellow studio legend Lee Ritenour). He's still active, recording touring and performing to this day – even getting shot in 2012 (which just seems like a wanton act of vandalism to me – like putting a brick through the window of St Paul's cathedral) doesn't seem to have slowed him down!

With such a discography, it was difficult to know where to start, so I typed “Larry Carlton” into YouTube and let fate decide.. so the examples here are taken from “Minute By Minute”, his famous instrumental “Room 335” (which, full disclosure, I did learn from an old Guitar Techniques issue.. but had entirely forgotten since!) and his legendary “Kid Charlemagne” solo. It should be noted that a month is nowhere near enough to do justice to the effortless melodic sensibilities of such a monster player, but I definitely think I've learned a few things which I'll try and pass on here.

This first example comes from “Only Yesterday” and is based around G minor pentatonic – yes, as it turns out even the legends still use the same basic tools as you and I! Notice the wide interval skips in the first few notes, and notice as well the use of both E (6^th) and Eb (b6) to spice things up. The wider stretches come from Larry blending positions 1 and 2 of the G minor pentatonic – two simple scales, multiplied by each other, creating something exotic. Notice the bend of Ab – b2, very dissonant – into b3, standard minor pentatonic fare, before resolving to the root G on the 20^th fret B string.

Moving onto the second example taken from his iconic “Kid Charlemagne” solo based around a C7 vamp, and beginning with a 4^th position C major pentatonic run up before dicing into something that sounds altogether more outside and atonal – but actually it's nothing of the sort, being based around an Eb arpeggio in 3rds and 4ths, the only real “out there” note being the Ab (b6).. what sells it is resolving to the Bb, the b7 and hanging on the G note, which is the 3^rd of the Eb but the 5^th of the C7.

The third example is taken from “Minute By Minute” which is based primarily around C major pentatonic, and this line stays largely faithful to it, moving across positions 4 and 5, but notice the artful hammer on from the Eb on the 13^th fret D – hammering from b3 into major 3^rd.

Finally we come to a lick that is not a direct transcription but more of a portmanteau of several patterns used in the classic “Room 335”. This is largely in D, but uses the familiar patterns of the 1^st position F# blues scale....

… wait, what?

OK – D major (R 2 3 4 5 6 7) : D E F# G A B C#

F# blues (R b3 4 b5 5 b7) F# A B C C# E

So as you can see, the only non diatonic note is the C, acting as a b7 against the D root. In fact if we rearrange the pattern:

E F# A B C C# - 2, 3, 5, 6, b7, 7

So, here is Larry Carlton taking one of the most basic lead patterns we all know and superimposing it to get a far more jazzy and sophisticated sound. Check the lick – you can even see the Magic 3 Notes in there, amongst the flowing, looping 16ths that characterise the climax of Room 335, finishing with a shift in positions and ending up on the A, the 5^th of the key, often used in blues as a “leading” tone.

As I mentioned before, this has been a scratch on the surface of a true master of the guitar, and should be regarded as a springboard for your own explorations rather than a comprehensive guide, so I urge you – to YouTube with you!

Enjoy, see you over on YouTube for the demo video (remember to Like, Share & Subscribe)... and brace yourself, because next month we tackle Dream Theatre's shred/prog master John Petrucci!