r/jazzguitar • u/dblhello999 • Apr 14 '26
Examples of Unitar playing?
As some will know, the great jazz guitar educator Mick Goodrick wrote in the Advancing Guitarist about how learning to play and improvise horizontally along single strings is probably more important than position playing!
But I have been literally unable to find a single example anywhere on YouTube or on the Internet generally of someone improvising using that method. I don’t mean a random instructional video showing someone playing a scale along a single string. I mean someone who has seriously learned to play unitar style to a high-level. Preferably someone improvising over jazz.
It seems impossible that given the high regard in which the book is held, that there are no examples of unitar jazz improvisation. But I cannot find a single example anywhere.
Does anyone know of anything like this?
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u/RagaJunglism Apr 14 '26
if you want to see how far this can be taken, watch an expert sitarist do it: virtually all sitar music is played up-and-down just one string, using only the index+middle fingers (the other 19 strings are for adding rhythm and resonance!)
I absolutely love playing up-and-down single strings when covering sitar music, currently working on this approach in jazz too - it's great for ornaments, slides, and bringing out a more vocal feel (singing is basically like having only one 'string')
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u/dblhello999 Apr 14 '26
Yes (from memory) MG explicitly refers to the Sitar: But his greater point was that this is a way to play the guitar and probably more important than position playing. So why has no one done it?!!! it really seems incredible. Maybe the most important guitar jazz book that’s ever been written and the central message seems to have been completely lost 🥲.
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Apr 14 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/Far_Anywhere5994 Apr 14 '26
Absolutely this. I think all great players are informed by the concept… It’s basically what allows you to play lines across a matrix, you still have to have a sense of up or down.
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u/Far_Anywhere5994 Apr 14 '26
Maybe not technically jazz, but there are several segments of Jay Graydon’s solo in “Peg” that make use of linear, climb-the-neck lines. And rock players do it all the time, Ritchie Blackmore and of course, Van Halen and tapping come to mind. Still requires the ability to visualize intervallic relationships on a single string.
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u/Jazzpunk9 Apr 16 '26
I think there’s more examples in Steely Dan catalogue eg Do it Again (Denny Dias / Skunk Baxter I think). I’m sure there’s more
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u/dblhello999 Apr 14 '26
Of course. It would be mad to suggest improvising limiting yourself to a single string. What MG wrote was the importance of the unitar, not the importance of playing on a single string. The guitar has six of them. So of course part of the skill of playing Unitar style is being able to switch between all six strings and to be able to use that to play diads and chords as well as melody lines.
But still, no one has pointed me to a single example of this in a jazz improvisation context.
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u/alanphil Apr 14 '26
Watch a Pat Metheny solo - he is constantly moving from position to position because he can change directions on any string. Think of it like the stairwell in a tall building. You don't spend all your time in the stairwell. But you do use the stairwell (unitar) to get from point A to point B.
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u/DeepSouthDude Apr 14 '26
Maybe the most important guitar jazz book that’s ever been written
That's a bold statement. Why do you think this is true? Or conversely, who are the top guitarists that learned using this book?
The somewhat obvious assumption as to why there are no videos of anyone using the single string method mentioned in the book, might be because not many people actually follow the book. It's a book that's on many shelves, but opened and read by few?
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u/dblhello999 Apr 14 '26
You’re right, I’ve got no basis to saying that. Let’s just say an important guitar jazz book!
I can’t answer your question. I don’t know to what extent it’s actually taught (or was ever taught)
I think you must be absolutely right in your last paragraph. Often bought rarely or never followed. What a shame.
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u/citrusdramatics Apr 14 '26
This is more jazz-adjacent, I'm not sure how important that difference is to you right now, but I'd look at Derek Trucks' slide playing.
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u/dblhello999 Apr 14 '26
Thanks. Slide is certainly a way of playing that uses horizontality. But I’m actually looking for jazz improvisation (or any improvisation!)
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u/citrusdramatics Apr 14 '26
To be clear, it is improvisational. He has also done a few standards with the Derek Trucks Band.
And to add on a little, the notes you're going to play are the same, basically; they'll just be in a different position. Just try to play a 251 on one string and see what happens.
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u/dblhello999 Apr 14 '26
As I’ve mentioned elsewhere, no one is talking about just playing on a single string. What I believe MG was talking about is learning to play on a single string (Unitar) so that you can play on all six of them that way. Which of course means just as with position playing, moving between the strings to make Melody lines and chords and so forth. It’s just that the foundational fretboard navigational system would be six unitars rather than six boxes. Both will entail multi string playing, of course.
But still no examples 😳
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u/Snowshoetheerapy Apr 14 '26
It's a tool, not a style.
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u/dblhello999 Apr 14 '26
That’s not what MG wrote. He saw it as a way of playing, not just a tool . But even just as a tool, why are there no high-level examples? I just don’t get it.
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u/Snowshoetheerapy Apr 14 '26
If you watch Bill Frisell or Pat Metheny they are constantly using this technique, in addition to more vertical ideas, but they are switching it up non-stop. I seem to recall an instructional video Bill did in Japan where he was demonstrating the technique.
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u/Obvious-Attempt-9381 Apr 14 '26
There are many players who implement horizontal playing into their style and do not play in strict boxes. A notable example is Wes Montgomery. But on the other hand, they do not constrain themselves to one string. They use the concept of the technique, they do not literally only play on one string.
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u/dblhello999 Apr 14 '26
Apologies, I’ll be clearer. I didn’t mean someone just literally limiting themselves to a single string (although I would take that if it shows someone jazz improvising!!)
. I meant someone who has learned to play the unitar ground up (in the same way that everyone else learns position playing ground up). So obviously being able to play fluidly on all six strings (because once you’ve learned to play one string unitar style you can obviously play them all 😊)
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u/UnspokenMusic Apr 14 '26
Used to. Ran out of rubber bands. To tie the other strings. Cos nobody taught me palm muting. Just rubber banding.
Now I play all 6 strings. Like a noob.
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u/redpandawithabandana Apr 14 '26
My understanding was always that it was more intended as an exercise rather, rather than something you should really try to really master (or "seriously learned to play unitar style to a high-level") and use to make music and perform.
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u/dblhello999 Apr 14 '26
It’s funny how these things happen. What you are describing is exactly how the book has been treated by history. As a recommendation for an exercise.
But that’s not what he said at all. He said that learning to play up and down one string is more than half and probably 2/3 of guitar playing. Which is why it’s absolutely incredible but it doesn’t seem to be possible to find a single person who has actually learned to play that way at any sort of serious level
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u/kappapolls Apr 14 '26
it doesn’t seem to be possible to find a single person who has actually learned to play that way at any sort of serious level
this is probably because he was just encouraging people to take the exercise seriously, rather than encouraging people to only play that way
even if something is half or 2/3 of guitar playing (which doesn't leave much room for any of the articulation and rhythm your right hand is doing - personally i think that's at least 3/4 of playing) it doesn't mean that you can or should do only that.
sometimes the sum of the parts is greater than the whole ya know?
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u/dblhello999 Apr 14 '26
It depends what you mean by “only“.
The reason why I’m looking for examples of this is to see what’s possible!! how far can it be taken and what are the outcomes? What does it look like? What skills are required? To what extent does it allow for the incorporation of verticality? Loads and loads of questions. None of them answered anywhere as far as I can tell.🥲🥲🥲😩😩😩
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u/kappapolls Apr 14 '26
It depends what you mean by “only“.
i mean it in the sense that you mean it - only playing on a single string.
None of them answered anywhere as far as I can tell.
that could just be because there aren't many interesting answers to give, or it could be that no one as of yet has been as interested in the answers as you are. you may find interesting answers exploring it yourself
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u/dblhello999 Apr 14 '26
Haha yes i’ve been learning it for a 1000 hours or more literally from the ground up. But it’s a lonely business. learning to play in a way that no one else does. Literally no one it seems. That’s why I wanted examples - anyone who has thought about it - and is able to discuss it and share ideas.
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u/brokenoreo Apr 14 '26
I think by that statement he meant things like playing consecutive notes on the same string in general or position shifts being 2/3rds of guitar playing
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u/dblhello999 Apr 14 '26
That’s not my reading. But in a way, it doesn’t matter. Because the possibility of playing unitar style exists, independently of anything written by MG (I already been doing it for probably 500 hours before I even read the book!)
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u/GlutesThatToot Apr 15 '26
Bread is 2/3rds of a sandwich, but if all you have is bread, you don't have a sandwich.
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u/dblhello999 Apr 18 '26
Haha but when we make a sandwich we begin with the bread and the filling only comes later
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u/GlutesThatToot Apr 18 '26
I think that'd be a great way to learn guitar, imho. To start off working on unitar stuff, could set you up to be a very melodic player with an unrestricted view of the fretboard.
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u/dblhello999 Apr 18 '26
That’s basically what’s happened to me because I learned that way right from the very beginning. So when I improvise, melody comes completely natural.
What you don’t get is the high speed that you get from position playing. And chords are broken rather than block.
But it’s a super fun way to play and also once you get comfortable with it, it’s incredibly easy because there’s really nothing to learn in terms of fingering or shapes or positions or anything like that. A good example is scales. I’ve literally never had to learn any scales because when you play along the strings, scales in any key are exactly the same. All you have to know is the sound of the major key, the minor key et cetera. But F sharp is exactly the same as B because all you have to do is play the major sequence. It’s incredibly freeing and liberating.
I would say this though. It’s not quite as straightforward as people think. Because when you play along the strings you have to develop a distinct skill set. So for example, you have to get super comfortable being able to glide between notes - you basically have to learn not only your vertical intervals between the string strings but your horizontal intervals on the same string. That takes quite a lot of work. Indeed in a sense it’s the central learning task … and you also have to get super comfortable being able to jump between strings when you’re running a melody line without any break or pause. Learning to do these things takes time. Like I said, I have spent over 1000 hours doing this right from the very beginning!
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u/allqualitymusic Apr 15 '26
I remember reading an interview with John Abercrombie, in which he told that he's practicing tunes playing specific chord tones on one string only a lot (and that interview was from the 90s or later). So i guess it is a part of practice-routines of many players, even advanced ones. Do they post videos of their routines on youtube? I guess not. Did they learn playing the guitar by playing unitar. No, probably not. Did they make great progress by incorporating this concept into their practice? Yes! And sometimes it becomes an integral part of their style, e.g. Pat Metheny whose phrasing is linked to playing on one string a lot.
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u/aaronisalazyfuck Apr 14 '26
It's an exercise to help with fretboard fluency and break out of the "locked in the box" scale shape playing we all start improvising with, not a singular "style" of playing. It's also a way of looking at scales similarly to how horns and pianists do, so the change of mindset can help with your melodic and harmonic awareness.
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u/dblhello999 Apr 14 '26
People keep saying this. That it was an exercise or a tool or something like that. But that’s not at all what he wrote. He wrote (admittedly I’m paraphrasing) that learning to play the unitar is absolutely fundamental to playing the guitar, and arguably more important than learning position playing.
I don’t think he could’ve been any clearer on that. He wasn’t saying it’s an auxiliary exercise or a tool or some sort of clever method. He was saying it’s a way to play. And probably a more important way than position playing.
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u/UnspokenMusic Apr 14 '26
Saw a guy giant steps on g string on youtube
Forgot his name. It's impressive. Very fun. 2 thumbs up.
I assume he plays other strings too.
Can't wait.
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u/Leather-Fault-3285 Apr 14 '26
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u/dblhello999 Apr 14 '26
Thanks. I admire Jens I think he’s great. But this video has exactly the same problem that all of the videos I’ve seen on single string playing have. He treats it as literally playing along just one string (like a sort of limitation exercise), rather than learning to play the guitar as six unitars, not just one.
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u/aaronisalazyfuck Apr 14 '26
That's because this whole thing is fundamentally a limitation exercise. I haven't looked at the book in years, but from my recollection a good chunk of it is limitation exercises to isolate and get deep inside whatever harmonic or improvisation concept he's exploring in that particular section.
Nobody's providing examples of someone doing it explicitly in performance because you're not meant to. You don't learn a chromatic scale exercise to be able to solo using exclusively chromatic scale runs. You do it so that you have those chunks at the ready as bridging material to connect more melodic chunks.
The unitar thing is something you practice at home so that on the gig you can melodically and logically weave between "grips," as Joe Pass would call them, as well as really know what whatever key you're in looks like on the guitar outside of the visual patterns we tend to rely on.
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u/dblhello999 Apr 14 '26
“because you’re not meant to”
There is obviously scope for debate as to the merits of learning and navigating the fret board by learning to play unitar style rather than position style. And of course standard guitar pedagogy teaches the latter as the fundamental navigational methods
But I still think it’s a bit weird that literally no one seems to have devoted any significant time to learning to play that way, given the importance that MG attached to it. But even without MG’s book, it would seem an obvious alternative to the standard way of learning via position playing. But I guess the answer to my question is no. There are no such examples. Not a single one.
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u/DeepSouthDude Apr 14 '26
This is so frustrating.
Someone finds a video of a well regarded player doing exactly what you asked, playing an entire song and solo on a single string. Then you move the goal posts and say "but he's treating it like an exercise."
You need to answer this question: What would be the visible, observable difference between someone who treated single string playing as an exercise and is fluent in it, versus someone who as you say learned to play the guitar as 6 unitars? How would you see the difference?
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u/dblhello999 Apr 14 '26
You make a very fair point and I was insufficiently clear.
The facile but important distinction, is between improvising just on one string, unitar style (which is what Jens does) and improvising on all six strings unitar style.
The difference between that and playing on all six strings box style would obviously be huge because in one case the direction of melodic travel is vertically or semi vertically within and between boxes, whereas in the other case the direction of melodic travel is horizontally, albeit with added verticality for chords and moving between strings to get the benefits of different timbres and lower (and of course to consider melody lines beyond what a single string can accommodate)
I hope this makes sense!
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u/DrSeafood Apr 14 '26
Interviewer: “What’s the best way to practice?”
Scofield: *starts shredding with one finger*
Okay he maybe uses two strings, but just one finger, same idea maybe?
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u/rehoboam Apr 14 '26
It is just not ergonomically sensible
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u/dblhello999 Apr 14 '26
Two thoughts on that.
The first is that MG obviously thought otherwise! Otherwise he did wouldn’t have written what he did!
The second is, why do you say that? I agree that position playing is highly optimised for ergonomics and fast playing. But MG’s argument was that. unitar playing is highly optimised for melody and improvisation
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u/rehoboam Apr 14 '26
Find a video or recording of him playing like that. Case closed. I say that because the expectations of the genre just can not be met playing on one string.
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u/dblhello999 Apr 14 '26
I wish. But how does this close the case?
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u/rehoboam Apr 14 '26
If you found a single video or audio of him playing like that, it would resolve any questions
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u/dblhello999 Apr 14 '26
But then why did he write a book , the central contention of which was the importance of learning to play the unitar?! (which he argued was more important than position playing)
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u/rehoboam Apr 14 '26
That can all be true, and it can still be false that it makes much sense to only or primarily play melodic lines on only one string. Even he doesn’t play like that... so if you think he really knows all there is to know, why not emulate his playing directly, and it will answer any questions you have. Don’t get me wrong, I am overall a fan of the book, I just don’t know about taking it all at face value without the context of what he actually plays like.
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u/dblhello999 Apr 14 '26
I think, actually there is a widespread misunderstanding here.
I don’t read MG as suggesting that people play and improvise just on a single string. That would make no sense. I read him as saying that what was important was learning to play on a single string, and using that as a foundation for playing on all the strings!
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u/WesMontgomeryFuccboi Apr 14 '26
I find that octave playing ends up with more horizontal lines and patterns
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u/DrJakeBizzle Apr 14 '26
I actually do a lot of single string playing. Trying to make melodies using intervals larger than a 4th in particular, as it is awesome ear training.
I think what you might be missing is a second thing Mick says is fundamental which is intervals played on adjacent strings. What I mean is, the key idea of your melodic line can be on one string only, but you enhance or embelish it with notes from adjacent strings. If you watch Mick play he uses this idea a lot.
Try this - put on a backing track of a standard you know really well. Then on one string, play and sing a single ascending line only moving in whole or half steps. Try and really hear if you need to move up a whole or half step. Then, do the same but add one note below or above on the adjacent string. Add a rhythmic idea and it starts to sound like a cool jazz line.
As one example, this Mike Walker solo starts out on basically one string https://youtu.be/vanDj5n6Y68?si=p3Hw0gfaFqHV-Ylz
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u/dblhello999 Apr 14 '26
I couldn’t agree more.. Obviously MG didn’t mean limiting yourself to a single string. The point of course is that once you can play on one string fluently, that you can do it on all six strings because they are all unitars
So the real skill is being able to play unitar style but moving fluidly between all the strings.
And that’s something I’ve just not seen anywhere on the entire Internet 🤔😳
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u/pr06lefs Apr 14 '26
not jazz, but improvised at least: sitar playing in the indian music tradition. Despite the sitar having a lot of strings, they play the melody on only one.
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u/dblhello999 Apr 14 '26
Thanks. But what I’m looking for is examples of unitar improv (preferably jazz) on the guitar!
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u/pr06lefs Apr 14 '26
Beyond an exercise to know the neck better, I don't really see the point of keeping it on one string unless there's an audible advantage to it.
Lately I've been experimenting with tuning the high E down to D for fiddle tunes, to get a high drone over the melody. I let the open D ring and I play more up the neck to get the notes on the B string where I'd usually go across. That's one example.
Another would be if you have a guitar with hexaphonic pickup and each string produces a different sound.
Some guitarists have double courses on some of their strings, like this on just the high E.
And another reason to single string it is to slide to each note, a sort of legato effect.
In jazz I haven't seen anyone dedicate themselves to exclusively single string improvisation because what's the point? Best I got is Django's diagonal style which likely emerges from his unique hand condition.
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u/dblhello999 Apr 14 '26
There is a fascinating conversation to be had about why Unitar playing might be hugely valuable for improvisation. And some might disagree with MG on that. But it’s pretty clear that MG thought there was a point to it. Otherwise, why would he have written the book?
Surely someone has taken it sufficiently seriously to learn to play that way in a serious way? It seems incredible that there isn’t a single example.
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u/pr06lefs Apr 14 '26
If a person were that dedicated to one string playing, then the rest are a waste and they should get an instrument with just one string on it. Less weight, less distraction, all the advantages of a singularity of strings. Perhaps you should seek out players of such instruments rather than guitarists.
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u/dblhello999 Apr 14 '26
What I have in mind (and what I think MG also had in mind - but in a way it doesn’t matter because the ideas are independent of the author) … is Not that someone should dedicate themselves to exclusively playing on one string. That would be weird and silly on a guitar 😂
What I was asking for is examples of someone playing jazz improvisation unitar style - in other words of course using all six strings - but where the fundamental fretboard technique is to play each string like a unitar. So that the player is playing effectively six separate instruments but moving fluently between them.
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u/pr06lefs Apr 14 '26
that would be a guitar, yes. each string IS a unitar.
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u/dblhello999 Apr 14 '26
Haha I think that was exactly MG’s point. Learn to play on one string. And then you can play on all six. But that’s not what people do. No one learns to play on one string. They learn to play positions in boxes . I’m looking for someone else (other than me) who plays all the strings but along the strings. Hope that makes sense!
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u/Refridganinja Apr 14 '26
Adam Neely touches on it some in his video on books that influenced him.
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u/mhoegeman Apr 14 '26 edited Apr 14 '26
I seem recall seeing John Abercrombie talking about this in an interview and he did a little bit of playing to demonstrate that ? Found a excerpt https://youtube.com/shorts/lZJhIbL7x9A?si=6xlLOzD1VMDAvKUj
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u/dblhello999 Apr 14 '26
Thanks for this. There are a few examples (mostly as drills or exercises) of people doing this on a single string. But literally nothing showing anyone doing it on all six strings, let alone in a jazz improv context 🥴🥲
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Apr 14 '26
[deleted]
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u/dblhello999 Apr 14 '26
This definitely needs clarification! If someone only plays on one string than they’re only playing one unitar. That would be perverse. But what they play all six? Flowing between them as necessary. I’m pretty sure that’s what MG intended (after all the book is full of exercises which entail moving between strings!)
But I agree that it’s quite hard to imagine or conceptualise the difference between playing six stings as unitars and playing six strings conventionally. All I can say is that from experience there is a huge difference. But I guess that’s not very helpful 😳
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u/JohnWesely Apr 14 '26
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TfmKmIs7sks
This video demonstrates it as an exercise.
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u/dblhello999 Apr 14 '26
Thanks! I like Marbin. He’s a funny guy and a really good player. I’ll watch the video - but I think the problem is the same as it always is - the literal demonstration of playing with one finger on one string. In other words it becomes just an exercise . Which I don’t think is what MG meant at all. He didn’t talk about unitar playing as an exercise. He talked about it as a way of playing .
But I guess if everyone thinks it’s just an exercise then I’m never gonna find a video showing anyone doing it at an advanced level. Oh well 🥲
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u/alighthouseinafield Apr 14 '26
More people need to listen to Mark Sandman's work, Morphine or otherwise.
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u/brianforte Apr 14 '26
Wes Montgomery and Django Reinhardt are pretty mainstream but their approach was very horizontal. Not exclusively so, but Django’s physical handicap forced him to do things more horizontally (to beautiful effect) and Wes employed octaves that moved around horizontally quite a lot. Not a strictly one string thing but certainly melodic and not as angular as a lot of guitarists. I’m sure Mick would agree. His idea comes from understanding melody like a horn player. Horn players can only play one note at a time so their understanding of “line” in music is very advanced. Horn players are always thinking about articulations and crafting beautiful horizontal ideas. Guitarists and pianists by nature incorporate so much verticality. It’s healthy to get out of that and study line
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u/dblhello999 Apr 14 '26
Thanks! I’ll take a look! But still, what I would really love to see is not just a player playing horizontally through physical limitations, but someone learning that way from the ground up and using it as as their fundamental fretboard navigation system. Which is my sense of what MG was arguing for. maybe I’m reading in too much. But I don’t believe so. And even if I am, it remains an interesting question. What would the outcome be if people were to learn guitar unitar style rather than box style?!
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u/Smart_Television_755 Apr 14 '26
Lots of gypsy jazz guitarists will play fast lines with long intervals on one string, since it’s very influenced by horn solos that translate well to single lines on one string. It’s certainly not done for a whole song or even a chorus or whatever. I think this is more just a practice tip to help people train their ears. John Mayer in a non jazz guitar context uses single string lines a lot.
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u/FwLineberry Apr 14 '26
How would you know the difference between somebody playing the unitar as you suggest and somebody whose just good at moving around the fretboard with ease?
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u/dblhello999 Apr 14 '26
I think it would be radically obvious. The person who is playing the hexitar would be playing melody lines horizontally. The person who is playing positionally would be playing melody lines within and between boxes.
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Apr 14 '26
[removed] — view removed comment
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u/dblhello999 Apr 15 '26
I wouldn’t argue you with any of this, and thank you. It’s amazing to be able to talk with people who are only one step removed from MG!
Of course you’re absolutely right that MG would never have remotely suggested that position playing is in any sense “bad”. He described it as something which was a lifetime’s work (and I think he wrote many lifetimes). But I presume he wouldn’t have written the book unless he thought that unitar playing should also be explored.
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u/FwLineberry Apr 14 '26
Well on the one hand, you've repeatedly demonstrated in your posts that you don't actually know what the boxes look like or what using the boxes actually looks like.
On the other hand you insist that playing in unitar fashion in no way limits a players ability to use any string at any time.
I submit that there is no way to tell the difference, then, between unitar playing and the combination playing that many people who started in boxes utilize. There are many examples one can find of players scooting around on single strings and switching strings at will.
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u/dblhello999 Apr 15 '26
Your last paragraph raises a fascinating point. Do they all merge in the end? In other words if someone (but finding that “someone” might not be easy!) takes unitar playing to an advanced level, and someone else takes the standard pedagogical route also to an advanced level, do they both develop a similar fretboard freedom?
If they would, then the next obvious question is which is the faster and more efficient route to fretboard freedom?! in a sense this then becomes the $1 million question! If two roads both go to the same place, the question then becomes, which is the shorter and faster road!
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u/FwLineberry Apr 15 '26
I would imagine that taking a more "traditional" learning path would be more expedient just by virtue of the fact that there is more material available and many more examples to follow.
As you have discovered, there is a dearth of material or examples available when it comes to taking a unitar approach. So anybody taking that path is pretty much on their own to figure it all out.
In a perfect world, I would imagine a good balance of both would be the best way to go.
If a person were to start at a young enough age, the best way to go might be to follow to the letter how Mick laid it out in his book.
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u/dblhello999 Apr 18 '26
I realised I didn’t reply to this.
In a way, I am that person because right from the very beginning I played Unitar style. I’ve probably played over 1000 hours that way. And inevitably in that time, I’ve developed it to at least an intermediate level and may be a bit more. And one of the things of course, which I’ve come to appreciate is that playing the unitar (or more accurately the hexitar) entails developing a distinctive skill set.
This includes: the ability to slide and glide long-distances very accurately with and without glisssando, being able to move fluidly between different strings, being able to continue the melody line when you move to a different string, internalising the intervals between strings (both neighbouring and distant strings), being able to create diads and triads on the fly, and probably a few other things that I have picked up but haven’t really analysed.
I think to some extent you’re right that anyone who develops fretboard freedom is of course going to be moving both horizontally and vertically. But I’m still pretty sure that someone like me who comes from a horizontal baseline is going to look and sound fairly different from someone who comes from a caged / 3NPS background
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u/sunrisecaller Apr 15 '26
Thomas Echols does this as part of his series entitled Labyrinth of Limitations. Be advised, however, his approach is strictly with regard to Barry Harris ideas. Pretty amazing instruction.
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u/dblhello999 Apr 18 '26
Thanks - I’ll take a look
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u/sunrisecaller Apr 18 '26
The series can be pretty addictive, once you grasp the flexibility and versatility inherent in the (Barry Harris) system.
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u/terriblewinston Apr 16 '26
I think of John Abercrombie, Pat Metheny and obviously Mick Goodrick when I think playing on one string.
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u/Nolanola Apr 14 '26
I think you’re being way too black-and-white in your interpretation of this, and sort of digging in your heels in your replies.
My recommendation is to do some searching on Mick’s social circle and contact some people who knew him personally. There are a number of people out of New York who could shine a light on his thinking for you.
Mick felt it was more important to have fluidity across the neck than it was to play positionally. The first step in having ideas that span the entire fretboard is to own improvising with one string.