FOLK ICON BOB DYLAN went electric in 1965. Jimi Hendrix’s incendiary version of “The Star-Spangled Banner” electrified Woodstock in 1969, and Kurt Cobain’s suicide would be rock’s biggest story of 1994. While 1973 may not have a singularly defining music-related event like these, the year heralded the release of a staggering number of classic albums. It’s almost impossible to fathom, but Pink Floyd’s Dark Side of the Moon, Led Zeppelin’s Houses of the Holy, the Who’s Quadrophenia, and Stevie Wonder’s Innervisions were all issued that year, not to mention debuts from now-legendary rock bands Queen, Aerosmith and Lynyrd Skynyrd. Over the course of 2023, we’ve dedicated entire lessons to celebrating the guitar wizardry found within Dark Side, Houses and Skynyrd’s debut, Pronounced ‘Lĕh-’nérd ‘Skin-’nérd. What better way to close out the year than by paying homage to even more of 1973’s greatest guitar moments? So go ahead and grab your axe, because this is going to be fun.
Steely Dan’s celebrated discography features some of the greatest session guitar players ever to grace a recording studio. , released in July 1973, is no exception, as “Skunk” Baxter, Denny Diaz and Rick Derringer (who we’ll hear more from later). In “My Old School,” Baxter takes quite a few tasty solos, the second of which features a host of sneaky pick, or , harmonics. brings this moment to mind. Like learning barre chords, being able to execute this type of harmonic is a rite of passage for rock guitarists of all stripes. As you pick a downstroke, allow the side of your thumb to lightly graze the string. If the thumb happens to touch the string at one of the various nodes, the locations of which vary depending on where the note is fretted with the left hand, a harmonic will sound. The sweet spots are typically found in the area over the pickups. You’ll want to hunt and peck with the pick along the length of the string in this general area to find the harmonics. Using your guitar’s bridge pickup and a high-gain tone will help bring them out.
