Introduction
The "Riff Playbooks" column is designed to make you a better player. By gleaning some insight into the technique, composition, and execution of these fine riffs by fine SH artists, you are bound to make headway in your own playing. We cordially invite you to steal a page from our books in order to expand your own diabolical playbook of musical wizardry (not literally though, the books are expensive to create).
Posted — September 19, 2019
Well, this one’s been a long time coming. You’d think that being from the same city (Toronto) and working on a multitude of projects together (see Intervals' vast SH catalogue), that we would have had a million chances to sit down with Aaron and film some of his fantastic playing. Well, we have had a million chances, and we've squandered every one. Until now. This past July, on the day of our first ever Sheet Happens Masterclass guitar clinic, we had a nice sit down with Aaron at the new Sheet Happens HQ and had him run us through some of our favourite riffs from his latest effort, “The Way Forward”, specifically from the song “Impulsively Responsible”. This one has a lot to give, it's packed with signature Intervals riffs that span a variety of techniques and melodic ideas. If you want to get a solid grasp on how Aaron does his thing, this is a great place to start. First up we have the intro/main chord progression to the song. In the book we are looking at page 20, bars 1-16.
Now here's the section slowed down:
One down, one to go. Next up we have the bridge section of the song, an intricate and high energy passage that utilizes some very tactful hybrid picking. In the book, we are looking at pages 30-31, bars 135 - 144:
And here's the section slowed down.
There it is folks, Aaron Marshall with a couple of gems that will surely get the gears turning (and the hands burning). After we’d finished punishing Aaron with performance requests, he graciously filled us in on all things Intervals:
Need more Intervals? Check out "The Way Forward - The Complete Guitar Transcription", as well as the rest of the Intervals catalogue here (Including the recently released "The Way Forward" Jam Tracks). If you'd like to hear more Intervals, check out the Intervals discography at your preferred streaming service below!
