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Chapter 13: Blues Rock: The Infusion of Ol’ Rock ’n’ Roll
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blues progression, but with minor chords. On top, “Greenie,” as he was popularly
known, soloed by using the six-note blues scale (in A: A, C, D, E%, E, G —
for more on the blues scale, see Chapter 8).
In 1966, Peter Green left Mayall’s band and formed the legendary Fleetwood
Mac, which later transformed into a pop supergroup without him. But originally,
Fleetwood Mac was known as one of the best British blues bands of
its day.
Jeff Beck, blues-rock’s mad scientist
When Eric Clapton left the Yardbirds in early 1965, his spot went to a relative
newcomer named Jeff Beck. Beck was a constant innovator and experimenter,
and he added the fuzz box — an effect that gave his guitar a raspy, sustaining
tone, and further pioneered the use of electronic feedback.
To create controlled feedback, follow Beck’s lead:
1. Apply a high amount of distortion to your guitar and amp setup.
To create this distortion, turn up the gain knob on a fuzz/overdrive box
or on the lead channel of your amp.
2. Turn up your amplifier to a loud but safe level.
3. Aim your guitar at the amp, with your guitar’s pickups facing the
speaker, and aggressively bend a note between the 5th and 12th frets
and hold it, applying a little finger vibrato (bending and vibrato are
covered Chapter 10.)
You should hear a second, ghostly note emanating from the amp — this
is feedback. With practice, you can control this feedback and use it to
enhance your blues-rock solos.
These tools and techniques led to the revolutionary work on the Yardbirds’
single “Heart Full of Soul.” Subsequent hits, such as “I’m Not Talking,” “Over
Under Sideways Down,” “Jeff’s Boogie” (that quotes from Les Paul) and
“Shapes of Things” all cemented Beck’s genius as one of the first authentic
blues-rock guitarists.
If you’re a fan of Jimi Hendrix and Eddie Van Halen, you can control the feedback
the way they did by using the whammy bar on your guitar (if you have
one). The bar creates thrilling “divebomb” effects. Dampen the strings you
don’t want to sound, and the feedback actually causes open strings to
vibrate, which then creates more howling tones, creating an endless cycle of
runaway sound in what’s known as a feedback loop.
TEAM LinG