Veteran Nashville session guitarist on the “two things” that are most important in the studio – and neither are the melody or notes
Session guitarist Brent Mason believes there are two core things that players should master in order to make it as a successful session player.
Mason is one of the most recorded guitarists in history, and has played guitar on over 1000 records. Having been discovered by Chet Atkins, who invited him to play on his Stay Tuned album, Mason is certainly the kind of guitarist worth taking advice from.
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Though not the most exciting or glamorous elements of playing guitar, Mason believes that timing and dynamics matter most if you want to become an esteemed session player. He tells Guitarist, “When I first started doing sessions in Nashville, you needed to have a great sense of timing.
“I remember a lot of times, I was working up things and didn’t have a metronome – and we all hate metronomes [laughs]. It’s just clicks that are uninspiring. But now, you can set up in your hotel room and practise, so it’s about timing.”
He adds, “When I first started doing sessions, I found out that I was speeding up a little bit, and guys would go, ‘Hey, you’re on top of the beat, man.’ I always heard that and now I know that it’s about timing and dynamics. Those two things, timing and dynamics, without even bringing up melody or notes, it’s about those things.”
Asked about common pitfalls that session players usually come up against, he replies, “You gotta watch out when you go in there. Studio musicians like to play a song, jam and get loosened up to check and see if everything is clicking. But sometimes you can play too much.
“You’ve really gotta listen to the vocalist and mark down on your chart where the fields go, make sure you’re off the vocal point and make sure you understand what the artist wants.”
To find out more about Mason – including his gear, virtual lessons, and his history as a player – head over to the Brent Mason website.
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Source: www.guitar-bass.net
