ROCK

In this video feature, Jason Sidwell’s Splash The Stash features an awesome solo from Top Gun rocker Steve Stevens. Jon Bishop is your guide.

ON VIDEO

This month we have an exclusive masterclass from rock guitar legend Steve Stevens. Steve exploded onto the 1980s rock scene with his exciting blend of melodic soloing and catchy riff work. He has enjoyed a fabulous career (from the Top Gun movie theme to Michael Jackson) and has been writing and recording with Billy Idol for over 30 years.

Jason Sidwell’s tune, Splash The Stash is tailored to allow Steve’s style to shine. The track has a hard, driving hard rock feel with a tempo of 106 bpm and strong chord changes, mostly based in the key of G Major. There are four sections to navigate and these are the verse, bridge, pre-chorus and chorus.

For the opening chorus and verse, Steve composed strong melodic statements. These motifs are played and then answered by improvised licks. This framework provides a structured way to phrase that switches between melodic and fiery spontaneity.

There is just one chord in the verse and chorus, which is G7, so Steve mixes both the G Major Pentatonic (G-A-B-D-E) and G Minor Pentatonic (G-Bb-C-D-F) scales. The main highlight here is the way Steve moves between the Major 3rd (B) and the Minor 3rd (Bb), a staple of blues-rock vocabulary.

The melodic statements are reprised in the repeated sections and Steve adds small variations to keep the listener interested. Notice when he string bends, Steve often targets the 7th degree of the scale (not the root, which is more common in rock and blues) and this adds colourful tension.

“When string bending Steve often targets the 7th degree, and this adds a bit of tension”

For the pre-chorus the chords change to C, Eb and F and Steve uses arpeggio-based ideas to outline the harmony. To keep things rhythmically interesting he uses repeating patterns of five notes and places them into a 16th-note framework. This produces a ‘five over four’ type sound. Very ear-catching!

The bridge shifts to the chords of E5-F5 so Steve uses the E Phrygian Dominant mode (E-F-G#-A-B-C-D) which suits both chords well. As an aside, this is the fifth mode of A Harmonic Minor (A-B-C-D-E-F-G#). Steve shares some interesting insights into his phrasing structures. If there is a period of fast, technique orientated playing he follows it with a slower melodic passage to provide light and shade and also give the listener something to hold onto.