What You Can Learn from the Most Influential Player Ever

[@MarkZabel]

The first 500 people to use my link skl.sh/markzabel09241 will get a 1 month free trial of Skillshare premium!

[@Dogtagnan]

Steve Cropper once said that he often played only the top three strings and left the bass notes to the bass player in the band -- Donald "Duck" Dunn.

[@MrXyzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz]

If you a guitarist with Duck Dunn in the band the your three bass strings are just there for emotional support.

[@captainkangaroo4301]

Sounds like jazz

[@GeorgiaBoy1961]

@@captainkangaroo4301 - You're not wrong. When famed Atlantic Records producer/A&R man Jerry Wexler heard Booker T. and the MGs play together for the first time, he later described them as down home and funky, but with the precision and empathy of a jazz quartet. I'm paraphrasing, but not by much. Unlike NY City pros, who usually wrote out charts, the studio musicians at Stax relied heavily on 'head arrangements' between Booker, Steve, Duck and Al Jackson, Jr. They knew eachother's moves so well that they just fit together like hand in glove. If you listen to Booker T. and the MGs, they did relatively simple instrumental numbers early in their career as solo artists, but by the time the early 1970s rolled around, they were much more advanced - exploring the outer limits of R&B, soul, blues, jazz and gospel in tunes which stretched out way past the confines of the old 1:30-2:00 numbers they'd done earlier.

[@dougsmith8430]

Steve Copper was amazing! It took me years to realize that I need to give space for the bass player and the keyboard player and not step on the singer… Playing the top three strings is perfect for Accompaniment!

[@joekeiser6221]

Really solid lesson for those stuck on bar chords. You'll be amazed how much better you'll sound. Thanks Mark.

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks!

[@mairenared]

Great advice Mark. I'm a firm believer in "less is more". Love that B&G Little Sister. Steady Rollin' Bob Margolin plays one too.

[@MarkZabel]

Rock on!

[@will457]

Thanks!

[@MarkZabel]

You bet ... and thank you too! I appreciate it!

[@CorbCorbin]

I started out taking notes out of a barre chord, or any chord, when I played with even one other person. It gets really tricky, with two vocalists, with extremely different ranges, keys and one or two or three other guitars in a band mix, bass included. Learning The Wind Cries Mary, very early on, helped shape how I approached rhythm playing to this day. The lead did as well, with the rhythm progression changing, then returning to the main progression, while the lead parts all are in the chords being played. Even the blues lick, is in the key of the chord he plays.

[@davidp7833]

A great song to learn partial chord shapes is living in the past by Jethro tull. I love to play that song. Soul man is another good one. Mark, that was good. Thanks guy!

[@MarkZabel]

My pleasure. Yes, those are 2 great ones for partial chords.

[@dougsmith8430]

Mark, this is a great lesson… Straight to the point, but so much we can use right away… Everything lies right under our fingers, if we just break out of the Barr chord trappings! Thank you for this great lesson!

[@MarkZabel]

You're very welcome my friend.

[@markstiggs4471]

Just an addition that I hope you will find helpful, Steve is also a really friendly and incredibly intelligent guy. It was the honor of my life to meet him a few years ago, as a musician for 45 years

[@iknowthetruthaboutit]

Your lessons are clear, concise and relaxed. One of the best instructors here. Thank you Mark ✌️

[@MarkZabel]

Glad you like them! Thanks for the kind comment!

[@Gell1967]

Steve Cropper was a great all round musician, when Lewis Steinberg quit Booker T & The M.G's Steve covered bass duties as well, and Duck Dunn has said Steve taught him a great deal on the bass when he joined the group. Steve also co-wrote many great songs Green Onions, Dock Of The Bay just to name two. Peter Green's first professional guitar engagement was in Peter B's Looners who were formed in the Booker T style, Peter said I basically had to become Steve Cropper. Hendrix visited Stax Studios to meet Steve and asked him to show him certain licks from records Jimi was a huge fan of. I'm glad to see a video highlighting the importance of rhythm guitar, a sadly neglected part of guitar playing. Playing bass also I can say from experience full barre chords really inhibit the space the bass has to move in. Thanks for the video 👍

[@MarkZabel]

My pleasure. Joe (Messina) was my hero for a while after getting to play with him. Those were jazz sessions (and he played harmonica in them!), but playing less was always emphasized. Steve Cropper was clearly cut from the same cloth. Great, and a super all-around musician, I agree. Thanks for the informative post!

[@johnperiard9594]

Great lesson, Mark1

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks!

[@urbanlegendsandtrivia2023]

Johnny Cash said Elvis was one of the best rhythm guitarists he ever heard. As a point of fact, Elvis, Scotty, and Bill did not even have a drummer, but Elvis would actually play the beat with his guitar instead.

[@GeorgiaBoy1961]

That's a pretty good description of a rhythm guitar player's job ~ to blend in and play like a drummer. Obviously, it varies a great deal by song, artist, and situation, but in a nutshell, that's it.

[@BobL56]

Great video Mark. I’m a “strictly rhythm” player for far longer than I care to tell. Yes, sometimes less is more. I never realized I’ve been doing the things you described without thinking about it but never knew they were actually a technique. Thanks for enlightening me!

[@avielp]

The trusty A arpeggio keeps taking me to "Wake up Alone" by Amy WInehouse

[@grandmacaesar]

Fwiw, Heat of the Moment is by Asia.

[@MarkZabel]

LOL, yes. Fwiw indeed.

[@johnclark1925]

FWIW… Heat of the Moment contains the worst solo known to mankind. 🤮

[@searing7549]

That would be Bob Weir.

[@rikelswit1263]

I'm not so sure. Al McKay, Nile Rogers, Cory Wong and Jimmy Nolan would like a word. Bobby's playing supported Garcia harmonically, and developed a style of his own, but it was Mickey, Bill, and Phil who actually made the band move. The gentlemen I just mentioned can make the band move even if the drummer and bass player drop out. Cory Wong is just astounding.

[@AnthonyTardugno-c4s]

Great job brother. Thank you 😊

[@BradYaeger]

This is pretty much my entire style , but I tend to stick with open chords in first position . My running joke is I know 4 chords and 3 tricks. But it's been enough for me to write over a hundred songs and play countless shows . I found that being able to fill up all the frequencies when playing solo is more important than being able to pull off hot licks all the time . Like Keith says "The stories are in the right hand , man ..." What worked for me was to learn to sing with the guitar , not along with it , but with it . Close your eyes and think the lyrics as you play and by simply using dynamics and a few techniques tell the story with just the guitar .

[@MarkZabel]

Cool. Thanks for sharing that.

[@Steve-yk7iu]

Really good lesson. Thank you. I’ve been working on triads and I see them from a different perspective now.

[@MarkZabel]

Glad it was helpful!

[@myvalium1]

Awesome lesson. Thank you !

[@MarkZabel]

Glad you liked it!

[@StandingStones1776]

A true Pro, I remember him saying its not WHAT YOU PLAY its What you DONT PLAY ! he leaves space

[@MarkZabel]

Is that Cornell Dupree you're talking about? Man, that guy left a TON of space. The king of doing that. The other guys ... Steve, Joe Messina, Robert White and Eddie Willis were great at it too.

[@aceagrauel7267]

Asia. Heat of the moment

[@stephenhenion8304]

Rhythm guitar is essential to any band.

[@allenhonaker4107]

Asia's Heat of the Moment. A very memorable opening riff

[@VanirTraditionalist]

I sometimes hammer on chords as a cheat for fast changes. Thanks Mark, I feel validated! 😂

[@MarkZabel]

Sure thing. It generally adds interest and clears up the sound. Why does it clear it up? At most, you've got 3 notes in the hammer on. (I guess you can hammer on a barre, but that's a relatively rare move.) Any time you can clear things up as a sideman, it's probably a good thing.

[@chillmurray7529]

Thanks as always Mark!

[@MarkZabel]

You bet!

[@aminahmed2220]

What a fantastic video have a great weekend Mark ❤😊 also Steve Cropper is a legendary guitarist

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks! You too!

[@TheProfessorsMusicLessons]

Steve cropper , Cornell Dupree , funk brothers

[@walther9161]

Awesome lesson thank you for posting!!

[@MarkZabel]

My pleasure!

[@MattyBEightyThree]

Great stuff Mark!

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks!

[@Seven-Detta]

Thanks Mark❤💪🏽

[@MarkZabel]

Any time!

[@geoff-l3v]

Great work always

[@MarkZabel]

Thank you!

[@rockabillyrevolution]

Fair play to you getting a professional gig playing bar chords 👍

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks ... but that's not what happened. I got the gig by avoiding playing barre chords. The story is how I learned through "tough love" I wasn't going to make it past the audition if I didn't stop playing barre chords.

[@rockabillyrevolution]

@@MarkZabel ah OK 👍

[@johnm1644]

Cool guitar What make n model ?

[@MarkZabel]

B&G Little Sister.

[@Guto-df3hq]

Parabéns pelo trabalho! Muito bom....vai ajudar muito meu vocabulário. Valeu demais Man 😎

[@MarkZabel]

You're welcome!

[@ColeTaylor-eo6pu]

simple, yet affective

[@lesvogiatzakis3313]

Great stuff Mark. My bar chord wall of sound is evolving… okay, just some double stops 🤣

[@MarkZabel]

Sounds great!

[@justinjex1]

Sweet ! Very good!

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks!

[@GodsStoryteller]

You are awesome! My eyes popped at a different way to play my A Barre chord. But I have a question (as I'm a bit confused): How do I fit this into a time signature, if I were to have just 4 strums/ beats in a bar, seeing that picking the INDIVIDUAL notes in the Barre chord, would require I strum 6 times or more? I'm lost. Help me grab your teaching in a FUNCTIONAL way. God bless you. I subscribed.

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks! IMHO you're overthinking it. There are many, many ways to play rhythm. Instead of thinking about math, think about which beat you want to accent. Let's keep it simple. Suppose you want to accent beat 1 of a measure on a chord change. Then play that chord, or a chord fragment as discussed in the video, on that beat. All other things you do need to fit before that - however you want them to. If you want to fit 6 "things" into the space between the previous chord and the chord you hit on beat 1. The point is that you can choose - evenly play all 6 notes (that would be triplet quarter notes), play 4 quarter notes and 2 half notes, play 2 half notes then 4 quarter notes, etc. The best ways to become better at the "rhythm side of rhythm" are IMHO. 1. Ditch strumming patterns. 2. Put on a mix of songs you love and dance. 3. Drum your fingers on a table - pretend you're a drummer. 4. Block every string of your guitar and just play rhythm in time. If you can dance or drum your fingers to the beat, then you can play rhythms you want - whether you strum, play arpeggios, hammer-ons, or whatever. Hope that helps.

[@GodsStoryteller]

@MarkZabel haha. "Ditch drumming patterns ..." got me. I've always had a desire not to be tied to rigid patterns, as most of my songs, riffs, etc come from pure inspiration. Over time, I've been looking out to find out if anyone recognise them as MULTI RHYTHMS in one piece. At last, I got to hear of polyrhythms on KZbin and began a fresh chase for some people's take on using a mix of rhythms ( a mix of quarter notes, eight and sixteenth notes. I've found some pretty good teachers, on KZbin, on such. Makes a lot more sense to me, as I fit the thought into the way the flow (inspiration) came my way. I'd be back to watch this and rearrange my understanding. I KNOW deep down, that it will be useful to my way of playing, as I find this video, blending with the creative side of me. I appreciate your guides in the reply. God bless you.

[@jarhead3038]

great advice.

[@jakarnowski]

Asiia: Heat of the Moment!

[@vonzoomtunes9847]

Asia…great album cover art

[@MarkZabel]

Yep. 40 years later ... that's my takeaway too!

[@opalrhudy2526]

"Bar" chords are for just that. Bars. In an orchestrated effort we gotta play the WHOLE CHORD. All the Tyme. No exceptions

[@Matteo-qn8yu]

Beautifull guitar. What the name?

[@MarkZabel]

It's a B&G Little Sister

[@Matteo-qn8yu]

Thank you!

[@peterbland7227]

And don’t forget the bass player is playing the root. Thus you can often just play triads.

[@mackvismusic8622]

Jeff Beck, blow by blow!

[@fredaltensee363]

Excellent.

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks!

[@brianmclaughlin4419]

The Jimi Hendrix/Pink Panther combo is just goofy !!

[@MarkZabel]

Pink Panther? Did you mean to comment on a different video?

[@Rich-ng3yy]

I don't see barre chords as being stuck. Using strings selectively or full barre chords are nit different levels they're different effects.

[@chrisburzenski2317]

Nice B&G

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks!

[@Jjj53214]

Why did you omit power chords? Too much bass?

[@MarkZabel]

It's a good question. There are a couple of power chords I cover here. (You may not see them as power chords, but they are - only roots and 5ths.) In the context of the video, a reasonable short answer is "too much bass" ... that works well enough.

[@Jjj53214]

@ What do you think about roots and fifths combined with a surrounding open string?

[@thomassawicki2065]

That guitar is nice , but it looks like a minature size . I think you would get the tone, and have room to move, if you played a Les Paul Standard .

[@MarkZabel]

Okay.

[@richarddavis3239]

The best rythym guitar player ever was Malcolm Young of AC/DC. It’s not even up for discussion.

[@MarkZabel]

He was excellent in his genre for sure.

[@PatNetherlander]

Ohhh but yes it is: James Hetfield outranks him by easily.

[@gordyhydro5774]

None of them came near Rick Parfitt from the mighty Status Quo!!

[@56davidwright]

One way to leave more space is to leave

[@MarkZabel]

Later.

[@savaii4menow]

thats how I play most song. lol

[@Riskmangler]

I detect an Asian influence in this video.

[@MarkZabel]

LOL! Good one!

[@jerryclark8636]

Noice!

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks!

[@opalrhudy2526]

Bar chords are BORING. Yeah there I said it. Play the Whole Chords, wholly All the Tyme. Come on yall