Guitar Odyssey

By Michael Rays

When amateur guitarist Michael Rays decided to learn one of his favorite guitar solos--from Deep Purple's "Highway Star"--he had no idea how long it would take. Months? Years?

The answer ended up being two years. Michael would practice--usually 20-45 minutes on a given day--and then immediately slide over to his computer and write about what had just happened: what he had practiced, how things were going, how he was feeling and anything else that came to mind.

The result is Guitar Odyssey--a psychological travelogue of a guitarist as he pursues something his natural talents don't easily allow. It's also a book about rock and roll, the learning process, pursuing goals and the hypnotic power songs can hold over an individual. For anyone familiar with the challenges of learning a difficult piece of music, Guitar Odyssey is a reminder of the thrill of the chase, and that good things come with patience, persistence and a positive attitude.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Michael Rays
• Release date: Apr 14, 2014
• ISBN: 9781311993670

Michael Rays

Michael Rays grew up in Colorado Springs, Colorado. He graduated from Northwestern University and served nine years in the Navy, flying the SH-60B Seahawk helicopter. Michael lives in Billings, Montana with his wife and daughter.

Book preview

Riffs on Guitar Odyssey

…you quickly get into the spirit of the project and it becomes great fun to read.

- darkerthanblue.wordpress.com (Deep Purple blog)

Rays creates a chronicle of growth that will immerse and inspire fellow guitar players who have their own 'impossible' playing goals and aspirations…

- D. Donovan, Senior eBook Reviewer, Midwest Book Review

…a surprisingly entertaining read.

- Last Best News

…Michael Rays has crafted a literate, interesting, funny and, oddly, moving account of his six-string journey…

- Missoula Independent

You learn, as Rays did in real time, that the journey towards achieving something, even if it seems simple at first blush, can be trying, surprising, and fulfilling with ample happy accidents in between.

- Guitarkadia.com

Guitar Odyssey

a journal of musical growth

by michael rays

Published by Michael Rays at Smashwords

Copyright 2014 Michael Rays

Guitar Odyssey is the journal of amateur guitarist Michael Rays as he seeks to up his game by learning the guitar solo on Deep Purple’s Highway Star, made famous by Ritchie Blackmore. Michael dives right in, blissfully unaware the project will take him two years. Guitar Odyssey is a journey of hope, frustration, excitement, despair, gear issues, rock musings, wild accusations and half-baked psychoanalysis. If you’ve ever played guitar, you will understand!

Table of Contents

Months 1-6

Months 7-12

Months 13-18

Months 19-24

About the Author

Months 1-6

Back to Table of Contents

Highway Star by Deep Purple, from their 1972 album Machine Head

Guitar solo by Ritchie Blackmore

1 minute 20 seconds long

57 measures @ ~168 beats per minute

I will call:

Bars 1-8 the intro section (occurs at 3:45 – 3:56 in the song)

9-16 the bluesy section (3:56 – 4:08)

17-32 the string bending section (4:08 – 4:30)

33-52 the speed section (4:30 – 4:58)

53-57 the closing section (4:58 – 5:05)

I am going to learn the guitar solo from Deep Purple’s Highway Star, even if it kills me. I have played guitar since 1989. It’s the end of 2011, and I’m tired of not having anything in my bag of tricks with a serious wow factor. That is going to change. Just as mountain climbers go up Everest because it is there, so will I learn every note of Ritchie Blackmore’s masterpiece—because it is there, and because it is awesome.

I don’t know how long my journey will take. Six months? A year? Five years? Yikes, hopefully not that long. But it matters not. I will nail this solo if it takes me a thousand years!

I’ve already been at it for about a month. I found a sweet video on YouTube of a guy playing the solo at half speed. Thank you, Danny Gill! I learned very quickly that to master this solo, I will need to become proficient in two areas where I am basically a novice: string bending and speed picking. The first half of the solo is rife with instances of string bending. The second half is almost purely speed picking—mercifully, only on the first string. The more I think about this challenge, the more I like it: I’ll learn two new skills while I learn one of my favorite solos.

The actual solo (from the studio version on Machine Head) clocks in at 168 beats per minute (bpm). I feel like 168 bpm is light speed, and I am a theoretical physicist. That speed can only be approached, never reached and NEVER exceeded. If I do ever play it for an audience at full speed, I will look out when I am done and see that they have aged 50 years. (Obviously, I must change my thinking. We are not talking about light speed. Blackmore did it, and lots of others have done it, too. I just need to put in the hours and I will join the club.)

I am armed with my J. Steele electric guitar. Hollow body, twenty-three frets, symmetrical dual cutaways, two f-holes, two pickups (no idea what kind), four knobs, one three-way switch, floating bridge. My amp is an old Peavey Bandit 65.

On with the journey!

12/18/11

Decent progress tonight on speed drills and playing through the speed section. I had a few patches of clean picking up to 126 bpm. Progress!

12/19/11

Switched to a much thinner pick tonight. Massively helpful. The emperor will be most pleased.

12/23/11

It’s all pretty iffy, but things really start to fall apart at about 132 bpm. I’m starting to wonder, though, if the toughest thing about this solo is actually the string bending. Going up a full step using just your pinky is no cakewalk.

12/24/11

Speed work went well today. I had some clean moments even up in the 140s, and the 150s and 160s don’t scare me as much because I’m remembering that they are simply up-tempo.

Here’s what’s shaping up to be a killer, though: jumping RIGHT IN to the speed section without working up to it at all. When I do speed drills, I have the luxury of easing into the section: I’ll play a few quarter notes, then eighth notes, then sixteenth notes using only the first note of the solo; then, when that all feels good, I hit the actual second half of the solo. But in the real solo, there is no such luxury: it’s finish the first half, and BAM! Time for the second half, and you’d better hit your stride right off the bat. It’s like asking a sprinter to start the 100m dash at full speed.

Another note of awe/fear: last night I watched the Dream Theater cover of Highway Star on YouTube. John Petrucci absolutely kills the solo, AND I got out my metronome to check out their tempo—it’s about 208! Insanity! I’m not overly scared, though; 168 remains my goal here on planet Earth.

12/25/11

Merry Christmas! Apparently Highway Star was written almost instantly. A journalist on the tour bus asked the band how they went about writing songs, whereupon Ritchie started playing a repeated chord, and Ian Gillan started making up lyrics, and presto, the band played the song that night! Definitely a great little chapter in rock history. Something tells me Jethro Tull’s Thick as a Brick probably took a bit longer.

12/26/11

I practiced 25 minutes this morning, mostly speed drills, mostly blah. Came back this evening after a couple pints of Angry Hank’s Anger Management, and did pretty decent into the 140s! I’m feeling a bit more comfortable with the speed half into the 150s, but it’s still basically a mess. First half (string bending) is still weak (and neglected), and I haven’t even begun to try the five measures after the speed half (the closing section). Still, progressing.

12/27/11

I’ve been practicing the speed half all the way through, starting at 80 bpm (slightly less than half speed) and progressing click by click up the metronome until the wheels fall off, typically around 140. Tonight saw a happy outcome, though: I was able to pick with consistent rhythm between 110 and 120 bpm. For some reason that zone has always been troublesome for me: I either want to slow down or speed up. Until tonight it’s been my rhythmic dead zone.

Another speed section issue that must be addressed: I keep missing the high A with my pinky. It’s the note that starts the descending runs. I only have a fraction of a second to move my hand up and nail it, and I keep playing A-flat, or occasionally A-sharp. Rarely do I hit the A.

Also, I wish I had a nickel for every time I accidentally hit the 2nd string. It seems on some run-throughs that the B string is constantly ringing. Annoying, big time.

I had to stop one run-through due to a nice little bit of dead skin sticking up on my left pinky. That particular callus is snake-like in the way it grows, sheds, then grows again.

12/28/11

Middling progress tonight. One thing I’ve started doing (since yesterday) is starting each practice session with the metronome