Why I Suck... Series 3, Episode 8 - Shawn Lane!

 OK, confession... Shawn Lane was a big guy and I had planned to make a few tongue-in-cheek jokes about “a giant of the instrument” “crushed by the weight of his own talent” - but then I read his story and chanced upon a tragic story of ill health and talent gone far, far too soon. Which goes to show if you're going to make a fat joke, do your research, because there's every chance you're going to end up regretting it.

Born March 21, 1963, Lane would just make it to 40 before passing away September 26 2003. But despite his tragically short life, his musical accomplishments were off the scale. I thoroughly recommend out his album “Powers Of Ten” for the incredible breadth and depth of his musicality, and his technical command of the guitar was simply jaw-dropping.. liquid legato runs incorporating all manner of wide intervals and outside notes that he would somehow resolve and make sense of, played with a speed, accuracy and dexterity which makes Yngwie sound like... well, me.

Then you discover that he also was a blinding pianist. And that Powers Of Ten was recorded with Lane playing drums on the keyboard, inventing technique as he went along to create the sounds he heard in his mind. You can't even be jealous, really – it would be like a bacteria being jealous of Brian Cox.

Sadly, there was a dark side to this prodigious talent. Lane struggled with psoriasis, which as he moved into adolescence, morphed into psoriasitic arthritis, causing pain and inflammation in his joints – including whilst playing guitar. Hydrocortisone was used to treat these ailments, but this came with it's own problems – weight gain which developed into Cushing's Syndrome, a horrible condition where his metabolism essentially rebelled against him causing massive weight gain, loss of the body's ability to regulate itself, diabetes, sleep disorders and more besides. It sounds utterly miserable, and it was really the maladies associated with this that would end his life aged 40. A massive, tragic loss of a truly otherworldy talent – and it should be noted, he recorded “Powers Of Ten” follow up “The Tri-Tone Fascination” whilst in the grip of this condition. Check out his MIT live performances – it's clear he was already struggling, but his playing is simply phenomenal.

It's worth noting here that for most of his adult life, Lane was working as a freelance self employed musician, moving from gig to gig – crucially, this meant no health insurance. Which in the US, means you're pretty much on your own. Arguably, had he had access to an NHS or equivalent, he wouldn't have been left to self-medicate, might have had alternative treatments recommended.. and he might still be here today.. worth bearing in mind the next time you're grumbling about being called in for a check up.

Anyway, with that rather sad and all too short potted history, out of the way, let's take a look at some of the man's breathtaking guitar playing. All the licks below are taken from various versions of the classic track “Get You Back” - and the fact that you can learn so much from just one song is testament to the man's genius. So, deep breath, limber up with a few stretches and let's dive in!

This first example is based around an E major arpeggio (the V chord, as “Get You Back” is at least largely in the key of A) – the deft use of slides keeps things slippery and the wider intervals are particularly melodic and ear catching. Notice the perfect 5^th interval between the A and E notes at the very end of the lick – more typical of a classical violin piece.. and as it happens, in his REH tuition video, Shawn mentions spending time transcribing violin and flute classical pieces for guitar. So guess how I'll be spending my evenings from now on.

One thing that marked Lane out even during the hyper technical shred eras of the late 80s and early 90s was his absolutely monstrous speed and accuracy and in this second example you can see some of the legato groupings that helped him with this. I've slowed them down for mortal fingers but take note of the different rhythmic groups – in this instances, fives. Counting fives across a beat is quite difficult, so I use the word “opportunity” as it has five syllables in it. Match each note to a syllable and before too long this will start to feel natural.

The third example shows Lane in absolute Beast Mode, to the point where even at 0.25 speed I'm basically transcribing a blur! Here he's injecting a dose of chromaticism into his legato – more for dynamic effect than melodic, I think, a feeling of “shifting gear”. Again, some odd note grouping here – notice the group of 7, for which I use the phrase “what-an-opportunity” to be able to “feel” seven notes to the beat.

At this point, it would be tempting to dismiss Shawn Lane as all flash and no soul.

It's not true, but it's tempting.

However, he was just as (sickeningly) adept with a melodic phrase as he was with a jaw-dropping technical one, and in this last example we can see a signature melodic legato pattern – combining A major scale tones with an E6 arpeggio, and note the three against four rhythmic effect (known as a “hemiola”)

As always, we've really just scratched the surface here, but hopefully these are some concepts that will make their way into your own playing. Go check out YouTube to see the man's incredible talent – I really don't have enough superlatives to apply here!

Next month, dust off the Telecaster and the compressor, we're going down Nashville way for the lunatic genius of Brent Mason!