Troy, you tell my life’s story – no joke!
Anyway, this is about Jeff Buckley and “Grace” (title track). I definitely studied that album on a lot of levels.
“Grace” Live at BBC
So the arpeggiated beginning…I was always playing it with a sweep motion (D-D-D-D DGBE strings), which would get up to speed pretty easily but with coordination issues. I couldn’t really nail a click with it. Finding the BBC video just a month or two ago was a real eye-opener, since he is alternate picking.
Still, I was alternate picking even after seeing that, so I’m figuring “economy of motion” (notice “of MOTION” and not “economy picking”). And I was trying to keep the movements minimized. As we know, restricting motion (and follow through) can paradoxically slow you down, but there’s a sweet spot in there somewhere…
But then. I see the Steve Morse arpeggio picking on the channel and I’m thinking a couple of things: 1) That looks a lot like “Grace,” and 2: When Jeff was at MI, he was a guitar major into fusion rock. I think the Dregs/Steve Morse Band might even be mentioned in the bio (Dream Brother) as one of the artists he studied.
So, after seeing the Steve Morse analysis, I go back to the BBC footage, and it’s Jeff doing a wide, graceful (no pun intended) arc. And of course, it’s got that classic waterfall rhythm, right in the pocket and fully controlled, almost casual, looking like a strum or something.
“Tumeni Notes” live NY 1992. That would be same city, same year when “Grace” was written. Jeez…Who knows, maybe it’s just a case of parallel evolution.