Robben Ford Up Close & Personal

GM Arts

GM Arts

Fractal Fanatic
I had the rare opportunity to attend a clinic the other night with one of my all-time guitar heroes, Robben Ford. The first CD I ever bought was "Robben Ford & The Blue Line" back in 1992. I’ve always admired his strong melodic style and interesting chordal approaches. For me, he has the art of keeping his music fresh without straying too far into unstructured/meaningless territory.

He had plenty of interesting things to say about keeping a clear focus on music-making, feeling the rhythm, committing emotionally and various other philosophical insights. Plenty of live examples of different playing approaches: soloing, backing, chordal approaches, and a short set with a bass player & drummer. He also shared some interesting on-the-road experiences with various famous musos.

One thing that surprised me at first was that he was adamant that there is only one scale for every chord. When I think how many different scales I use against a 7th chord, I wasn’t sure what I was missing. He went on to give an example of how he uses a half-tone/whole-tone diminished scale over a 13-9 chord, so when he’s using different scales, he’s hearing appropriate chords underneath them as well.

Anyway, if you get a chance to attend, I can thoroughly recommend it – a great night for all.
 
Well that's disappointing to hear. I found him friendly, relaxed & helpful, with good humour and absolute commitment to his craft.

He was actually very specific about removing clutter that gets in the way of that goal, for example by not competing with musos or styles that you'll never be able to do; also not playing to impress. So by his own words, he'll never impress shredders if that's what they're expecting. :lol:

Maybe you caught him on a bad night or I caught him on a good night. Who knows? :)
 
true...maybe its because i was young at the time idk...i remember asking him what pickups he was using and he went off on a long rant about how it didnt matter what pickups he used...anyway doesnt really matter to me at this point. Sorry for hijacking the thread.
 
no problem at all - it's interesting to hear.

He does feel strongly on it being all about the music and not about gear, flashy stage antics or competing. For the clinic he brought his own guitar (an Epiphone semi acoustic) and plugged in direct into a local amp. No effects, just talent :lol:
 
slimebag21 said:
true...maybe its because i was young at the time idk...i remember asking him what pickups he was using and he went off on a long rant about how it didnt matter what pickups he used...anyway doesnt really matter to me at this point. Sorry for hijacking the thread.
Click to expand...

That is quite funny but really it does not matter what pickups he is using in the overall equation :)
 
Melbourne clinic was good too - pretty much as descibed above except no backing band at any stage. I think some people were expecting a concert and left disappointed. Some excessive photography attempts from a few people too (anyone who has ever seen Robben play knows how well this goes down).

Good clinic though - interesting to get the mix of guitar oriented info, general musical/performance related information and experiences too. He was fairly down to earth too.

Also the possibility of touring with Schofield next year for Byron Bay, so that's good news. (Although I was hoping for a Renegade Creation tour as I'd probably rather see Ford+Landau).

I didn't think much of the related AIMS expo, but that's probably just me (spent too much time over the years confined to a 2m x 3m exhibition booth so have developed a natural aversion to exhibitions of any sort).

Chris
 
Hi Chris,

agreed, AIMS was a bit of a washout. Not that much quality gear there.

NO decent amp manufacturers in my book.

FEW decent guitars.

Steve.
 
SteveTurner said:
Hi Chris,
agreed, AIMS was a bit of a washout. Not that much quality gear there.
NO decent amp manufacturers in my book.
FEW decent guitars.
Steve.
Click to expand...

AIMS was kInda hit & miss.
Maybe better next year?

I personally found Robben, er, um, odd..... And from the looks he gave me I think the feeling was mutual!

Over,
Bob.
 
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