THE CROSSROADS Pt2 From Charlie Christian to Chuck Berry

This month’s lesson explores the idea of playing the same note on two different strings, exploiting the contrasting tones and allowing us to create great rhythmic interest with just a single note. The origins of this device in jazz can be traced back to saxophonists such as the legendary Lester Young (Lester Leaps In) and they refer to this technique as ‘false fingerings’, jumping between a note at the exact same pitch, albeit with a subtly different timbre. Guitarists were quick to notice this simple but ear -catching device and, by accident rather than design, a piece of classic saxophone vocabulary went on to define one of the mainstay sounds of swing,