Branford Marsalis Technique/Phrasing

[Chris Loeffler]

I'm looking to step outside of the guitar oriented approach to playing and am focusing (like a lot of players) on sax. For some reason, Branford Marsalis has always spoken to me as a tasteful player, especially on his early stuff with Sting. Can anyone here give me any insight into his phrasing patterns, dominant scale choices, or general melodic philosophy? Big and vague question, I know.

[Deek]

Yes that is a very vague question... But i'll see what i can do.

 

Sax players in general are very good to listen to in terms of phrasing. This is the way i like to think about it. A sax player does not tongue every note that he plays. So a guitar player should not pick every note that he plays. Using this legato type of playing will bring out smoother lines that relate well to the sax. With guitar it's just a matter of finding positions that you can finger easily.

 

As for Branford..... well .....he's a mother{censored}er of a player. I can't really say more than that. The thing to do is listen to him alot. Find recordings and even specific solos and phrases that you like. Just the fact that you are listening to guys like branford is a step in the right direction. Try to find some of his current work that he does with "Tain". It's some pretty killer stuff.

[Chris Loeffler]

I'll check that out. I guess what I was asking in a somewhat more focused way is if there is anything that is trademark Branford that I'm missing as a listener. You know... Coltrane is the pentatonic guy, Santana is a Dorian mode freak... that sort of thing. So much of what I dig about him is his way of creating a sort of counter melody to the lead line, and that's something that can't be taught. Good tip on the touch thing though... I'm already fairly dynamic with my pick playing... do you mean using my fingers in conjunction with picking to change the tone?