Scott Henderson Discussion

[TopDog]

Hi Scott,

First let me tell you after the breakdown towards the end of Church of the Exotic Dance where the band comes back in with that heavy swing groove slays me. Its great!.... also your solo at the end of Vibe Station is killing!

I've said it in an earlier post but please let me reiterate, the writing, arranging and recording on Vibe Station is superb. Then there's the playing!

Questions.....

How low is the action on your Suhr? Do you set it up yourself and do you measure it, or do it by feel? And, how much relief do you have on the neck?

With regards to your playing/practicing -----

I have to assume you've put in serious practice/study time to get the the level you're at. Could you give a glimpse of what your path of study was and the effort it took? What were your biggest hurdles and how did you overcome them?

Any recommendations on ways to practice different rhythms, or sources for rhythm exercises?

Lastly, any suggestions for what to transcribe?

Thanks Scott.........and thanks for offering this vehicle for communicating with us.

[Scott Henderson]

Thanks TopDog!

The action on my guitars is 1/16" of an inch from the bottom of the string to the highest fret. That's how they set it up at the factory. The relief on the neck is measured by pushing down the E string at the 1st fret, and with your right thumb, push down the same string at the highest fret. With the 1st finger of your right hand, stretch up and push down the string at around the 9th fret - at the 5th fret you should see the string move just a slight bit. If it doesn't move, the neck is too straight and the truss rod needs to be loosened. If it moves too much, tighten the truss rod.

Adding to your rhythmic vocabulary comes from memorizing good solos. When you can remember a solo, those rhythms will eventually come out in your playing. I have hundreds of solos memorized - I can't play all of them but I can sing along with them and copy the rhythms.

I don't think it matters much what to transcribe - if it's something you like and don't know, transcribe it. It doesn't have to be long phrases - short ones are better, not longer than 8 notes. I can listen to just about any professional sax solo and find something I like and have never played - from modern players like Chris Potter to Charlie Parker.