Canadian guitarist, Mark Fitchett's latest project is a collaboration with jazz flutist/composer Stephanie James.

Smooth Jazz - Jazz Guitar meets Jazz Flute

To check it out click HERE
www.stephaniejames.com

Mark Fitchett also performs with renowned South Bay blues vocalist Donna Butler.

Smokin' Hot Blues Guitar YOUTUBE LINK 1

Smokin' Hot Blues Guitar YOUTUBELINK 2

YouTube Master List   Jazz Blues - Rock Blues - Soul Jazz - Rock & Roll

More guitar than you ever thought you could handle!

CLICK HERE to purchase Mark's Music (So he can keep buying strings!)

Stuff People Say:  (only the good stuff!!!)

Jennifer Fisher - LOS ANGELES TIMES

"Mark Fitchett's heavily synthesized score boldly underlined the few

moods that prevailed nearly two hours, without intermission, using lots of

reiterated spooky percussion, eerie drawn out notes and some fuzzy rock guitar

riffs for evil atmosphere."

(Modern dance music (listen) composed for

Regina Klenjoski's Dance Company (RKDC)

production: "Original Sin " performed

at the James Armstrong Theater in Torrance.)

BAM MAGAZINE

"Fitchett is currently one of LA's most fascinating guitar players."

Read full review

BAM MAGAZINE

"..this man has an honest and emotional relationship with his instrument.

He mixes jazz, hard rock, metal, and rhythm & blues into a soulful conversation of music."

Read full review

Lauren M. Dennis - EASY READER

"A ten-piece orchestra located onstage accompanied the work.

It was an apt position for a composition that guided the piece

with captivating and pulsating but lyrical music. The original

score was by Torrance-based composer Mark Fitchett."

(Modern dance music (listen or see) composed for Regina Klenjoski's Dance Company

(RKDC) production: "Love Lies Waiting" performed

at the John Anson Ford Ampitheater in Los Angeles)

Jim Farber - DAILY BREEZE

"...an evocative original score by Mark Fitchett."

(Modern dance music (listen) composed for

Regina Klenjoski's Dance Company (RKDC)

production: "Original Sin " performed

at the James Armstrong Theater in Torrance.)

MARK'S WIFE (unbiased opion)

"Mark is the best guitarist in the world!"

MARKS MOM

"When did he start playing guitar? "

MARK'S DAD

"Get a real job!"

MARK'S GUITAR STUDENTS

"You jam dude!"

TED GREENE

"The Hurricane !"

The following testimonial is from jazz guitar phenom, Brent Canter who entered

the UCLA jazz program on a scholarship in Fall 2004:

"As a student with Mark Fitchett for over seven years I have grown as a musician

and enhanced my knowledge of theory and technique in a number of styles.

From my early days playing the blues and Green Day to my present jazz studies,

Mark has always challenged me and kept me interested as he introduced new ideas

into my musical vocabulary.

From chicken pickin' to Coltrane substitutions, I have never had a dull lesson

which is why I have continued to see Mark every Sunday for as long as I can remember.

Mark has helped me foster a work ethic and an open mind which helped me in my

school jazz band and in various other performance groups.

Even when I began playing with my own group at the various clubs on Sunset Blvd,

Mark instructed me in how to best run rehearsals and work in the music business.

I would definitely recommend Mark Fitchett to any individual interested in picking

up the guitar and learning something new."

Eric Hagen (www.guitartricks.com)

...then I began taking lessons from Mark Fitchett in Redondo Beach and that's when

it all came together. Not only did I learn what I had been playing for the past two years,

but how to organize it, add to it, and combine it. Man, I'm telling you, once you know

theory, there's no end to what you can do."

South Bay Rockers Magazine

"...my ears were treated to some amazing guitar wizardry courtesy of

Cult Of The Wrong Note...Mark Fitchett on guitar who could quite possible

launch a space shuttle with his playing."

Music Connection Magazine

"This is an instrumental band that writes strong melodic tunes. A perfect band

for Relativity Records."

Realities (90's fanzine)

"In his playing, Fitchett mixes haunting melodies with technical solos and riffs

to form some of the best music I've heard in quite a while."

Random Lengths (Daily Breeze in Torrance)

"Within the last few years Mark Fitchett has established a reputation as one of

California's premier guitar players, compared to the likes of Jeff Beck and

Joe Satriani."

MODERN DANCE

Lester Horton Award Nomination 2008
 The Los Angeles Dance Resource Center (DRC)

has nominated Fitchett's modern dance composition for

Regina Klenjoski Dance Company's (RKDC) Museum Project.

Tennessee Children's Dance Ensemble Commission 2008

Regina Klenjoski Dance Company (RKDC) Modern Dance

Museum Project Commission 2007

Regina Klenjoski Dance Company (RKDC) Modern Dance

Lester Horton Award Nomination 2004

The Los Angeles Dance Resource Center

(DRC) has nominated Fitchett's modern dance composition for

Regina Klenjoski Dance Company's (RKDC) "Christian's Lullaby".

Lester Horton Award Nomination 2003

The Los Angeles Dance Resource Center (DRC)

has nominated Fitchett's modern dance composition for

Regina Klenjoski Dance Company's (RKDC) "Love Lies Waiting."

I got somethin' to say!

Do you?

guitarblog

ARTICLES

Blues History

The Guitar & Blues

Making A Living Playing Guitar

Brief History Of The Guitar

Back to Articles             Back to Home

Making A Living Playing Guitar

When Mark was attending Cal State Long Beach, he was asked by Neal Finn, who was the director of jazz studies at the time, what Mark thought was necessary to teach guitar in an academic situation that would reflect the needs of the real world. Fitchett was an older student who had been working in the music business for many years, so Finn felt that Mark would have a perspective not yet attained by the majority of the younger students regardless of their talent. The following report is based solely on Mark's own personal experience and is a reflection of his "real world" as a Los Angeles based professional musician.

"In my opinion a jazz or classical guitar only program at a college or major university is not going to give a guitarist the skills needed to survive in today’s commercial world. Obviously many students have no aspirations other to get a good teaching gig in a school somewhere but that is not what I am addressing in this writing.

Studying jazz is an excellent way to learn harmony and should be the subject of considerable focus, but it needs to be applied in a practical sense as in how to make money with it. Learning how to play the hot licks may be good for the ego or self-esteem but in the commercial world for the most part no one else really cares.

So unless someone is going to be the "starving artist" and do it their way until the world recognizes their talent, that person needs to be practical in their approach to what they learn. This doesn’t mean I don’t think a guitarist should strive to be the best player they can be and be as impressive as humanly possible (I am a guitarist after all!), but they should realize the difference, or perhaps the compromise between being the artist and the income generating musician.

In a perfect world we become the artist we desire, people buy our music, pay to come hear us play and we end up making a good living. Hopefully, if one perseveres this will happen, and then we get to call the shots. Meanwhile, there are essential skills to be learned that can enhance the guitarist’s ability to make a living in music and not have to work a day job while they are waiting for their big break.

In my case when I do the things I do for a living, I don’t classify myself as being any one style in particular. I’m just a guitar player trying to get a job done. The following is a list of things I do to make a living with music and some of the skills I’ve found necessary to accomplish this.

Teaching Privately

In my experience, there is little income derived from teaching jazz (or classical guitar), at least outside of an educational institution such as a college or university. As an employer I have never found it necessary to hire a jazz or a classical teacher. There simply has not been a market for these styles.

Those that get their degrees in either of these disciplines usually find that they have to teach the latest rock styles to survive as a private instructor, or not have as many students as they would prefer. This doesn’t mean someone shouldn’t get a degree, it’s just that they should be prepared for the reality that it may not help them if they want to teach privately.

In my teaching business, styles that seem to occur most often are current rock, classic rock, country, and blues. There are of course subcategories and other styles as well. I tend to feel lucky when I actually do get a student that wants to study jazz, or something besides rock. (Trust me, I always try to talk students into learning more about jazz.)

Degree or not, what is important is being able to explain and demonstrate solid musical skills using sometimes really bad music. Knowing how to transcribe on the spot and write in the guitar tablature and/or standard notation is a must.

Along with harmonic, melodic and rhythmic studies, I make it a point to pretty much to teach some form of improv regardless of the style. Here is a challenging one, many students do not want to/refuse to read music. This is where clear visual explanations of musical concepts are important. The problem (and also what contributes to the guitar’s popularity) is the ease of the "just show me" method, and the fact that everything is so visual and pattern oriented.

Literally anyone can be shown how to finger a one or two octave scale in a very short time. To transpose this scale they merely shift the exact same pattern to the left or right, thereby enabling them to play all keys in a matter of seconds. The same applies to chords and pretty much anything else on this instrument.

By the time someone has been playing a year, they would need years of reading to read what they can play in this short of a time. Now imagine how many rock and roll students I would have if I said "you have to read everything you play." People come to take lessons for the fun factor, and I would say most students are into it for the recreational aspect.

This is probably why you don’t have that many guitarists coming up through the ranks who are able to function in anything besides basic rock. This has happened with many of my students where they start playing rock at age 12 or 13, and then around the their last year or two of high school, suddenly they get interested in playing for the school jazz band.

So now, even though they’ve been playing for three or four years they have a lot of reading catch up to do and find it very difficult (Don’t want to tell them "Told ya’ so," but I do!). Private instruction has been a big money maker and allowed me to pursue purely artistic (that means no money!) goals , as well as attend university full time. Teaching is an excellent way to be paid to be exposed to other styles that may come in handy in other projects.

Employment Opportunities: Private lessons, night school extension, community centers, university extension.

Solo Guitar Chord Melody Style

(Thank you Ted Greene, you'll be missed!)

In this style a guitarist has to have their chord chops down so they find the right position and inversion on the neck to accommodate the melody. It’s useful to be able to create arrangements on the spot, as well as have a repertoire of standards and pop tunes handy.

Depending on the complexity desired and the guitarist’s skills, they could incorporate walking bass lines, single line fills, chordal fills, unaccompanied solos, chordal solos and reharmonization techniques as well as apply various rhythmic/stylistic interpretations. It actually doesn’t need to be complicated to be effective.

One should be prepared to work outside the jazz idiom in these types of gigs. As an example, I played a gig recently where I was told beforehand that they wanted light jazzy instrumental background guitar for a 35th wedding anniversary.

Well it turns out the party was a backyard barbecue at the son’s house and there were a lot of younger people there. I think I played one standard. The rest were Beatle’s and 60’s pop tunes as well as blues and even some Hendrix (all played instrumentally, at low volume and clean sounding). I even accompanied a couple of "singers." You can’t say no to the host! This is a fantastic way to get paid to practice because people rarely listen at these kinds of background music gigs.

Employment Opportunities: restaurants, lounges, weddings, funerals, birthday parties, anniversaries, bookstores, galleries, real estate open house and private parties.

Guitar/Vocal or Guitar/Solo Instrument

This pretty much requires the same chops as the solo guitar gig except for a greater possibility of accompaniment techniques since the melody is now being handled by someone else. Besides having a greater variety of chord voicings available, various bass lines such as walking, bossa nova, rock and others are now much easier on a consistent basis.

Learning how to do a good rubato, or coming up with an appropriate rhythm pattern is important. These would include arpeggiated patterns, finger style jazz, classical and folk hybrids, Latin and rock styles and even country. Transposing by sight is useful, especially with singers.

Employment Opportunities:

Restaurants, lounges, weddings, funerals, birthday parties, anniversaries, bookstores, galleries, real estate open house and private parties.

Bands, Trios and More

Even in bands with a jazz emphasis there are the possibilities of many other styles being incorporated depending on what era of jazz you are talking about. A historical perspective is important so the guitarist knows when it is appropriate to play in a Freddy Green style as opposed to a Pat Metheney or George Benson style.

A working knowledge of other idioms is necessary if the guitarist wants to be versatile in all forms of jazz. Some of the ones that I’ve dealt with are, funk, gospel, blues, r&b, Latin, including Brazilian and Afro-Cuban, country, fusion, reggae, world music and many styles of rock.

This a general list because each of these disciplines could be broken down into further subcategories. I have found that playing in a band like Studio One at Cal State Long Beach has demanded a lot stylistically. In this situation, the need to come up with the appropriate stylistic parts is apparent, since often there is nothing but chord symbols and perhaps written instructions regarding the style.

Techniques to study would include comping, voicings and soloist skills idiomatic to each style and how they relate to the jazz idiom. This would serve as a double duty in that it is important for the versatile guitarist to be able to perform separately in these other styles as well because it is very likely there will be opportunities to play in something other than a jazz band. A comping class with a rhythm section would be a great requirement for an up and coming guitarist.

Employment Opportunities: (The larger the band means there is less money.)

Venues include restaurants, clubs, weddings, birthday parties, anniversaries, bookstores, galleries, real estate open house and private parties.

There doesn’t tend to be as much opportunity to consistently perform standards style jazz, or any jazz for that matter in most clubs unless they are specifically jazz clubs. Even then there aren’t that many jazz clubs, the work isn’t consistent and the pay isn’t usually that good.

Owners are still paying what they did 30 years ago and usually like to pay a set price regardless of the size of the band. Solo and duo work usually pays a lot more. Weddings are where the big bucks are at. Many well known LA session cats do these when they are off the road.

Session Work: Film, Jingles and Albums

These are areas where a guitarist can do well if they can score the gig. The skills required are not so much technical chops as they are versatility. Film composers are looking for someone who can come up with a part on the spot and in a specific style (or not). Often there is no chart, and sometimes the guitarist has to actually come up with a chord progression and melodic material.

For example, in one of the film projects I’ve done in the last couple of years, I created on the spot, Spanish/Flamenco sounding tracks. Also on this project were wild atonal distorted guitar lines on a techno groove and some physco mandolin lines. In another, I came up with country music for a rodeo documentary.

Other projects I’ve done have been mainly sound effects and textural guitar. Directors tend to like it when you can come up with a unique, special sound just for their picture. This makes the composer look good. I have also been called upon to create in the styles of country, bluegrass, delta and Chicago blues, techno/disco, most rock styles, classical and surf.

I am not necessarily an expert in all of these styles but know enough to capture the vibe. I can’t overstate the importance of being up on the basics of as many genres as possible, in other words, how to fake it convincingly. .

In TV commercials, one is also required to come up with sounds (usually in various rock styles) on the spot. This kind of work is demanding because, even though the music is less than a minute and simple, the composer is usually under a deadline, as well as competing with other composers for the same job.

Working on other artists albums demands a lot of creativity and a knowledge of styles as well as guitar orchestration. Many times when working with a producer he’ll just say "play something," and I will try different things to try and capture what he may be hearing. I become a "guitar smorgasbord" for him, demonstrating the various possibilities such as what combinations of guitar parts "layer" well on a track as well as guitar and amp sounds and effects. This allows him to pick and choose.

My advice is to be as versatile as possible. Most producers or composers would rather "one stop shop" with their musicians, rather than hiring a specialist for each track. The more one player can pull off, the more likely they will be called back again.

If teaching is part of a working guitarist’s gig as it is for me, then these are some places where the music learned for the students can be incorporated. It’s not a bad idea to study bass guitar, as well as have a rudimentary knowledge of banjo, mandolin and other stringed instruments to make one even more employable.

Employment Opportunities:

Independent film composers, jingle composers, artist’s producers. This is a tricky thing to get into because it is very competitive. The trick is to make oneself indispensable because of their stylistic knowledge, general versatility and ability to come up with effective parts fast.

Composing

If a guitarist has the studio equipment and skill, he or she can try their hand at composing. This could be as a commercial songwriter, jingle composer or a film composer. This can be pretty difficult to get into at first, at least where the big money is concerned. However, if that is a direction someone wants to pursue, then there many avenues available to get started.

I have found success working for other composers creating background pop songs and instrumentals in various styles for independent films. Also, dance companies have used my services for their works.

Employment Opportunities:

Far and few between. There is usually a lot of freebies in the beginning to get experience and a resume.

Publishing

There is a market for instructional material. If a guitarist has some good ideas for a book they can either publish it themselves or pitch to a company. Even the big ones are fairly approachable, and there are quite a few smaller outfits around. My first book "Chops Builders" was written for Cherry Lane Music and distributed by Hal Leonard. They actually approached me because I had done some transcribing work for them in the past.

Transcribing

If you like long hours of tedious work listening to music that is sometimes downright awful then have I got a job for you. Transcribing (mainly hard rock) was something I did for a few years for Cherry Lane Music. It was great ear training and there was money to be made. There is still a market for good transcribers.

Reality Check

Regardless of the instrument played maybe there should be a class in the reality of being an artist. Not to discourage a student by any means, but on the other hand it should be let known what is involved in such an endeavor.

If there was a hard honest look at the subject of success maybe it would save certain students years of fruitless labor at something they are not cut out for thus allowing them to focus on something attainable, and even still be a successful musician. Trying to make it as an artist or even as a sideman to an artist is not for those without absolute determination.

There is too much of a "pie in the sky" attitude among inexperienced players. I’ve heard too often things like "As soon as I graduate I just want to get out and play" or "maybe I’ll move to New York and see what‘s up," "My bands gonna make it," etc., etc. What do they think? That someone is going to see or hear them and go "Oh wow, this person is awesome, I’m going to sign them on to my band or give them a huge record deal and pay them lots of money."

Not likely in most cases. How many people coming out of a state university (or not) actually "make it" in this capacity and what is the percentage of that success? I’m suggesting a "no guarantees" course on these realities that prepares the student if they are willing to sacrifice and do what it takes to achieve their goals.

More like a course in how to handle rejection and not let it deter one if they’ve made up their mind on a course of action. As well teaching plan B, and plan C if the first one’s don’t work. Maybe this won’t sell the program but it will certainly save a lot future disappointments.

I firmly believe anything is possible if you put your mind to it, just keep your eyes open."

A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE GUITAR

Starting with the twanging of a string on a bow, predecessors of the guitar went through many transformations. In ancient times there were three types of stringed instruments with countless variations: the harp, the lyre and the lute as they are called today. Of the three, the lute was the closest to the guitar. By the 15th century several instruments were vying for popularity, notable the lute and the six-string vihuella-but by the 16th century these finally gave way to the four-string guitar because of its smaller, lighter construction, and the ease in which it could be tuned.

By the end of the century a fifth string had been added, and by the end of the 18th century a sixth string. The Spanish guitar makers were the most influential, and their instruments were among the most popular in the world.

Throughout its history, the guitar has been looked upon from great disdain to loving adoration. It has represented upper class virtue or lower class vulgarity. The guitar has been the instument of angels or the tool of the devil, and has risen from the gutters of the peaants, the poor and the under priveleged to the courts of Kings and Queens and back down again.

In today's society this contrast coexists with the respected classical guitarist on one hand to the "sex, drugs and rock & roll" attitude of many guitar wielding rock bands on the other. It has become the medium of self expression whether it was Andres Segovia executing beautiful melodies to hushed reverent crowds in concert halls, or Jimi Hendrix smashing his screaming, burning, feedback guitar at rock festivals. As well, it has becomr the most popular instrument in the world rivaled only by the piano.

MARK FITCHETT & THE CULT OF THE WRONG NOTE

Joe Keawe's, Wilmington

Mark Fitchett & the Cult of the Wrong Note (a term taken from a reviewer who panned Stravinsky al-most 100 years ago) call their music "instrumental," but they go far beyond the realm of hard-rock guitar heroes. With touches of blues, country, and even fusion thrown in, these four seasoned musicians from the South Bay can run circles around the current crop of LA whiz kids.

There's plenty of maturity in Fitchett’s songwriting, yet the band keeps a sense of fun running throughout. From the well-crafted execution of the vivacious "Put a Lyd on It," to the gently powerful ballad, "Her," there's no no-hum attitude during their show; this is a quartet that believes variety does spice things up.

On an outdoor stage in the heart of Wilmington (check your Thomas Guide for the coast’s oil refineries), they managed to pull off a set that lasted over 90 minutes, and still kept each instrumental focused and different. Guitarist Mark Fitchett plays intelligent lines, keeping his solos tight, with a definite beginning and an end. His sustained notes evolved into a flurry of speed, but he never tried to play overly fast simply because he has the ability. Toward the end of this set, he snapped a string during a major guitar solo, yet blithely continued the song on five strings without thinking twice. Capable of a beautiful tone, Fitchett is currently one of LA's most fascinating guitar players.

Bassist Rick Hollander, a six-string monster, demonstrated his vast musical vocabulary from a vicious thumb-slapping style to unbelievable, two-handed chord work. Yet, during "Latin," he was able to come back to simple bass lines that followed the percussion. Drummer Chuck Messana played like classic jazz drummers from days past, with wrists inverted, in a fluid motion. He was able to kick the band forward, then hang back and provide a strong foundation. His remarkable sense of time was complemented by his graceful style. And Craig Roth's keyboards were reminiscent of Chick Corea, creating subtle textures and refusing to overpower the songs with mechanical tones. His swirling work added to Fitchett’s cerebral version of the Beatles' "Strawberry Fields Forever."

It is interesting to note that the Wrong Note played through the headliner's equipment for the most part— which is amazing since most bands sound perfectly ordinary when they don't have their own amps and drums. The only casualty was Hollander, who couldn't pull a decent tone out of a standard-issue SVT cabinet. While he was by far one of the most impressive bass players I've ever seen, he also sounded pretty flat and muddy. But this is probably remedied when the Wrong Note plays on its own gear, and I look forward to seeing these guys pull out all the right notes at their next show.

—Moira C. Valencia

MAY 7. 1993/BAM

MARK FITCHETT & CULT OF THE WRONG NOTE

Taking a detour from the mainstream, this group of guys is out to muscle its way into a very small fraternity—namely, the guitar-driven, jazz/rock instrumental scene. If s the turf of fret gods like Joe Satriani and Jeff Beck, who—wouldn't you know it? — are the guys Fitchett is most often compared to. The Beck connection isn't far off the mark, as it is the Blow by Blow album that Fitchett credits as the inspiration for his musical direction. Indeed, inside his organic and pliable licks, one hears the aforementioned influences, as well as those of Johnny Winter, Larry Carlton, Albert Lee, and maybe a little Steve Vai as well.

What impressed me most about Fitchett was that, despite a degree in guitar theory, he doesn't simply rehash technique by the numbers the way a lot of other "school boys" do. Although occasionally lapsing into the "how many notes can I fit in here?" syndrome, for the most part, this man has an honest and emotional relationship with his instrument. He mixes jazz, hard rock, metal, and rhythm & blues into a soulful conversation of music.

His skills as a transcriber are sought out, and he has published several books for acts like Tesla and Lita Ford. But it's clear he has a talent for composing as well...and he knows exactly what he hopes to do with it: "I knew going into it that, for instrumental guitar music, there's not a big market... I don't have the illusion of mega-stardom. I have the goal of touring, and maybe opening up for major acts." The six songs on the tape (including a very snazzy cover of the Beatles' "Strawberry Fields Forever") demonstrate his band's ability to help him reach that goal.

Craig Roth, formerly with African reggae stars Alula and the Presidents, plays the keyboards with fluid grace and subtle bravado. Rick Hollander, who's done session work with Natalie Cole, slaps his bass like a madman with what seems like more fingers then he should possess. Lastly but not leastly is drummer Chuck Messana, whose wild resume includes session work with folks from Debbie Reynolds and Barbra Streisand to Frieda Payne and Francis X. His beat is as supple as a cat's backbone and as steady as a clock, giving the band cohesion as well as the freedom to explore.

This is obviously a seasoned group of musicians that knows what works and how to work it. Although it may not be "mainstream," and I admittedly don't listen to this genre often, I don't need to be slapped up the side of my head to recognize a groove when I hear it. The band is a real buzz, and fans of this musical style deserve to hear it.

—Bart Mann

JULY 2. 1993/BAM

THE GEORGIA STRAIGHT • MARCH 21-28, 1996

Vancouver B.C. Canada

Local Knowledge Junkie Scores Place in Hollywood's Guitar Pantheon

BY STEVE NEWTON

Everyone has heard the stories of starry-eyed youths who journey to Tinseltown with visions of glory and not much else, but they might not have heard about the kid from Richmond who hopped a bus for Hollywood with the dream of becoming a professional guitar player. Mark Fitchett did just that one March day in '79, and he actually managed to beat the odds by finding success in La La Land. As well as leading his own instrumental recording act, Cult of the Wrong Note, Fitchett is also one of the Los Angeles area's most sought-after guitar teachers. In his spare time he writes instructional guitar books, his latest being Chops Builder, to be published by Cherry Lane Music (New York) this month. And his main ambition is to have a symphony he's composed performed by a full orchestra. Pretty lofty stuff for a guy who started out with just a guitar, a bus ticket, and 150 bucks.

Fitchett got hooked on music while he was a Richmond elementary-school student. Like most kids, he started out on the recorder, but it didn't take long for him to become part of the school local band and add a much more demanding instrument to his repertoire. "I loved Herb Albert and the Tijuana Brass," recalls Fitchett, on the line from his Redondo Beach, California, home and studio. "So when they came around with the band instruments and said, 'Whaddya wanna play?' I said 'Trumpet.' I was always in the music class playing very poor trumpet, and then when 1 was 12 or so I started taking guitar lessons because my best friend did." He signed up, then went home and told his mom, "Guess what you got me for my birthday?"

Fitchett took his first guitar lessons at a place called Jack Bourne's Academy of Music, a refurbished Richmond garage that specialized in accordion lessons. He picked up some chords, a bit of reading, and a few Creedence Clearwater Revival licks from "a guy named Ralph," but after six months or so he called it quits. Then he took the "street learning" route, picking up Hendrix and Led Zeppelin licks from his buddies.

At 17 Fitchett joined his first band, Overproof, which played at the old Surf Cabaret and put on private-hall parties. "It led to frustration," says Fitchett. "I wanted to do some original material, but they were just not receptive, and [the original-music scene] just seemed really dead around Richmond or Vancouver. So when I was 20 or so I hopped on a Greyhound to Portland, and then hitchhiked the rest of the way to beautiful downtown Hollywood."

Fitchett eventually found some landscaping work and an apartment, and met enough musicians to start his own group, the Fitch Band, which played a lot of Hollywood showcase gigs. Fitchett handled the guitar and vocals in that band, but after a couple of years made the move to the kind of music that would become his forte.

"Ever since I was about 17 I wanted to be an instrumental guy like Jeff Beck," he says. "He put out an album in the '70s called Blow by Blow, and I was just totally influenced by that. I went, 'God, if I could ever be good enough to do that, that'd be just the thing."

Fitchett worked toward that goal by studying guitar, composition, and arranging at Southern California's Grove School of Music, then in '89 formed Mark Fitchett & Cult of the Wrong Note with bassist Rick Hollander, keyboardist Craig Roth, and drummer Chuck Messana.

The band—which took its name from an unflattering 1913 Paris Times review of Igor Stravinsky's The Rite of Spring—has caught on with the guitar-god crowd enamored of the likes of Joe Satriani, Carlos Santana, Steve Morse, Steve Vai, and the aforementioned Beck. (Fitchett's CD is not Currently available in Vancouver record stores, but local fret freaks can order it by calling [310] 540-6767.)

When not heading his world-class quartet—which is currently working on its sophomore release—Fitchett can usually be found either giving lessons or taking them, though not from a guy named Ralph anymore. Fitchett studies (studied) with the likes of the Hellecaster's Will Ray nowadays, as well as Jamie Glaser (sideman to Chick Corea and Jean-Luc Ponty) and jazz "chord maestro" Ted Greene.

"I'm a junkie for knowledge," he says. "I'm a guitar player professionally, and then for a hobby I study guitar."

EASY READER

Mark Fitchett, guitarist and bandleader for the metal-oriented jazz-rock quartet Cult of the Wrong Note, stood center-stage at the Red Onion in Redondo Beach and began to finger the rainbow-colored Roscoe hanging at his waist. Keyboard player Craig Roth kicked off the familiar, sing-song intro to the Beatles' "Strawberry Fields," and then Fitchett launched the song into space, making his guitar bawl out the melody with a fevered psychedelia that sent me half way to flashback city.

Fitchett's guitar was alive throughout the set of mostly original tunes, spitting out staccato licks, bending notes, at times recalling the style of Joe Satriani. He showed off a disciplined technique developed through years of formal training, and displayed the abundant energy that he has used to become a prolific composer, a sought-after transcriber for musicians like Tesla and Lita Ford, and a performer who has earned radio airplay from big L.A. stations.

Fitchett's stage presence was playful, boyish, and animated by a low-level nervous energy — in other words, it's exactly the same as his offstage presence. During an interview in the eight-track studio of a Hermosa Beach apartment the 35-year-old Fitchett sat in a swivel chair and fiddled compulsively with an unplugged guitar. His answers tended to come in short, shy bursts, but he talked more easily when the subject was other musicians.

Like Joe Satriani, whom he admires. Or Jeff Beck, whose album "Blow by Blow" inspired Fitchett to focus on writing and performing instrumental guitar tunes. Satriani and Beck are among a handful of guitarists who can make a very good living at instrumental music that's a touch outside — one might say a touch above — much of mainstream rock, and Fitchett's goal with the Cult of the Wrong Note is to work his way into that small club.

"I knew going into it that for instrumental guitar music, there is not a big market," he said. "You can name maybe six guys that are big commercial successes with a guitar-oriented rock sound." 

I don't have the illusion of mega-stardom, I have the goal of touring, maybe opening up for major acts."

His tight, muscular band has produced a polished, powerful demo that shows off lots of musicianship and passion, and the boys have been preparing to contact record labels big and small in search of a deal. "We do have a game plan," said the energetic Fitchett, whose bookshelves are crammed with titles like "Power Talk" volumes 1-12, and motivational audio cassettes by Anthony Robbins, the guy on TV with the great big teeth. "Yeah, 1 got sucked into Tony Robbins," Fitchett said. "It’s pretty good. It’s great, if you apply it. Me and the bass player are into him a lot."

When he's not playing with the Cult of the Wrong Note, Fitchett is motivated to teach guitar, to play with the Campbell Bros, contemporary jazz band (he's introduced as "a brother of a lighter shade") and to write like mad. "1 like to compose orchestral music," he said. "I've got to get a symphony done for the L.A. Philharmonic. They don't know it yet."

The British Columbia native started playing guitar when he was 14. Ten years ago he formed the Fitch Band, whose pop-rock songs captured occasional play on KLOS, KMET and KROQ. He studied with jazz guitarist Ted Greene, and graduated with honors from the prestigious Grove School of Music in Studio City in 1989

While at the Grove School, Fitchett learned to transcribe music, and he has written internationally published music books including "Tesla: Mechanical Resonance," "The Great Radio Controversy" and "Lita Ford: Lita."

And during a break from the serious music student thing, Fitchett has gotten some air play on Dr. Demento's venerable radio show with his "Led Zeppelin Reunion Tour: Vegas '99," a satirical medley of Led Zepplin hits played lounge lizard style. "I like to keep busy," Fitchett said. "I don't like TV, the only time I read a book is in the bathroom."

Besides motivational materials, Fitchett’s bookshelves are stuffed with symphonic scores and books on music theory and history. In a world awash with the sounds of rock bands that play and sing one note, Fitchett believes that the key to songwriting is, well, songwriting. You know, melody. And he hopes he can take his kind of music all the way, or rather part of the way, to the top. "There's a niche for it, it’s just limited."

Robb Fulcher

"Wrong Note, Right Track," The Easy Reader, Volume XXIV, Number 39, May 11, 1995 by Bondo Wyszpolski

"I try to be goal-oriented, " says Mark Fitchett. "I try to write things down, try to really motivate myself. It's hardly ever that I'm just sitting down." This is how the South Bay guitarist and songwriter has come to be in four different bands, all of them active and working simultaneously. There is, first off, Cult of the Wrong Note, an all-instrumental jazz-rock band that showcases the group's original music, most of it Fitchett's.

The line-up also includes Rick Hollander on bass, Chuck Messana on drums, and Craig Roth on keyboards. Second, there's the Mark Fitchett Trio, or Quartet, or sometimes just Mark Fitchett and Friends, the semi-official house band at Hava Java's. This incarnation (Fitchett, Roth, Messana, and currently Gabe Kreiswirth) plays old jazz standards on most Saturday evenings.

Group three would be The Campbell Brothers, an instrumental sextet featuring saxmen Garland and Alex Campbell, with David Campbell on drums, Daryl Bomar on bass, Rick Grajeda on keyboards, and you know who on guitar. "They describe themselves as urban contemporary," Fitchett says. "It's kind of 70s-style funk-jazz; Grover Washington.

The band has played around the South Bay. We've done everything: malls, art show openings, weddings. The band works quite a bit. "The latest effort," he continues, "is called Blues Without A Net--and that's members of Cult of the Wrong Note" (Fitchett, Hollander, Messana--with Rick Grajeda of The Campbell Brothers). "We know a lot of musicians, so it's easy to mix and match." This line-up is "the house band for Sunday afternoons at Moose McGillycuddy's in Redondo Beach. That's an open-mic forum for musicians to come sit in... And we serve as the back-up band." This has been happening at Moose McGillycuddy's for only the last two months or so, and Fitchett claims the momentum has been building.

The group comes on and plays a few blues tunes, then anyone can walk up and join them on stage. Fitchett also assures me that other musicians aren't afraid to participate. "If they falter a little bit, everybody's very supportive; because there're a lot of amateurs in the crowd. Everybody, no matter how good or bad they do, gets a good round of applause. It's a real supportive audience. It's not like a competition." Not to shortchange his skills as a guitarist and songwriter, but Fitchett's two most valuable assets may be his abundant enthusiasm and his sensitivity toward other musicians, not least among these being aspiring musicians. In addition to frequently playing live, Fitchett also teaches a beginning and intermediate blues-rock guitar night school class at Redondo Union High School, which he's been doing for a few years now.

On other evenings, he gives private lessons at his home. Previously, he's taught a guitar class for the Torrance Recreation Department. In fact, many of his current and former students are among those who show up on Sunday afternoons at Moose McGillycuddy's. Perhaps Fitchett's high school classmates and instructors wouldn't recognize him if they encountered him today.

"I did real terrible in school," he says. "I was the type [about whom] the teacher would write on the report card: 'Mark could do very well in school if he would pay attention.' Or, 'Mark has a lot of potential, but his mind seems to wander.' "Then, when I was 28 or 29, I'm now 37, I signed myself up to a guitar music school, on my own free will. And I did real well."

This was the well-known Grove School of Music. "Anyway, I was kind of amazed at myself. It was full-time, and as I was going through it, I [thought], 'I never had this attitude when I was in high school or at home.' But we all know it's because when you want to do something... Right?"

In short, he'd found his direction, and it was like a banner in the wind with notes, bars and staves. One might get the impression that Fitchett has been a fixture of the South Bay since the day he was born, but actually his roots are so far north, they're in another country: Canada. In 1979 he was living in Vancouver and he wanted to form a band and play originals, but it seems he didn't have much luck in recruiting the interest of his fellow musicians.

And so one day, with a bag, a guitar, and $150, Fitchett hitchhiked to Los Angeles." He then found a ratty hotel in Hollywood. A week later, as he was getting set to return, he came upon some temporary employment, and--as they say--one thing led to another. "Circumstance after circumstance fell into my lap where I could afford to stay. Like I said, I had only 150 bucks."

Fitchett met up with other musicians and began playing. He joined a group, "the singer of this band had a connection down in Hermosa Beach," and so Fitchett and a few others moved into a bootleg apartment near the downtown area. This was the latter part of 1979. In those days, he admits, he even slept in the park a few times.

"Hey, I did the whole street thing. And I didn't do that when I was at home; I came from a fairly middle-class family. It was a great experience, and if someone said to me, 'Would you do it again?'

I'd say, 'Absolutely, without a shadow of a doubt.'

Everything I did then, it was great. It was wonderful." On the other hand, Fitchett claims that he wasn't foolish. He kept a fairly clear head, he says, unlike those people who might see living on the street or in fleabag hotels as a chance to get high and party. "The party did not figure into the equation at all," Fitchett says. "So that, I think, is part of the reason I survived."

From Hermosa, he moved to Carson, and even lived in Inglewood for a time. Recently, he moved from Hermosa to Redondo Beach. Looking back, Fitchett credits Bob Wagstaff of Pier Music for helping to support his musical endeavors in those early days. Even now, Fitchett gets "a lot of referrals" from Pier Music for would-be guitarists who want to take lessons. On this matter, that of encouraging up-and-coming musicians, Fitchett addresses their parents: Support your kids. "That's how we nurture our artists," he says. "I'm sure a large percentage of all the guitar students in the world are never going to be artists, but you need to have that (encouragement) for those who are." He says you can probably ask just about any successful rock musician and they'll say, 'Oh yeah, I remember when we used to jam in Joe's garage.'

When asked which local artists he admires, Fitchett names several but begins with Carson's The Regulators, a group that had a not-very-well promoted disk last year on Polydor Records. Fitchett also names such South Bay luminaries as Barry Levinson (of The Automatics), T.J. Parker and Mark Shark, who not only has a Rykodisc contract with Indian poet John Trudell, but performs with The Zydeco Party Band. Referring to the latter, Fitchett says, "I had them play at my wedding."

Although Fitchett asserts that he'd focus heavily on any one of the bands he's in if it suddenly took off and became successful, Cult of the Wrong Note is clearly his favorite. "What kind of music is it? It's rock with a jazz edge, or jazz with a rock edge. It's too much jazz for a rock listener, and too much rock for a jazz listener. So, we're screwing ourselves, basically." Squirming under the spectre of being pigeonholed--in which a band is not only pegged, but nailed--Fitchett tells me the pre-fabricated blurb he recently put on the internet:

Fans of Jeff Beck, Carlos Santana, Joe Satriani, and Steve Morse from the Dixie Dregs, would probably like to check out this band. Cult of the Wrong Note also has a CD, on the Fitchett's own Screwloose Records, and the public relations department seems to be comprised of Fitchett, his wife Geri, and bassist Rick Hollander. Not too surprisingly, Fitchett remarks that, "I would rather be playing my guitar and writing and creating." A second Cult of the Wrong Note CD is currently underway, and we could be seeing it by the end of the year. While Fitchett is looking forward to its release, he also claimed to be very pleased with the band's maiden effort. In the meantime, he's trying to line up foreign distribution for it. Are any other the other groups he's working with considering the release of an album?

"The Campbell Brothers are also putting out a CD," Fitchett replies. "We recorded all of the material. It's in the can, as they say." And although no one's even talking about the studio at this point, Fitchett sees a potential hot future for the Rick Hollander-initiated Blues Without A Net, especially if they start performing with a young female singer who's a former guitar student, and who has, apparently, a knock-out voice. "I've put myself in a position now," Fitchett says, "where I'm making it not by playing but by doing a lot of teaching. So, I'm not stuck having to go out and play Top 40 or music I don't like just to pay the rent. I'm in a position where I can set my own hours, and whenever I want to do a gig, it's because it's fun." While this allows some flexibility, time remains at a premium.

Another project in the works is a symphony--Fitchett's been studying with Manhattan Beach film composer Terry Plumeri--but with four bands and countless students that come first, this is one career move that may have to wait. "If it was the perfect time in my life," Fitchett says, "I'd be playing guitar all day and doing a lot of practice, because I'm a real addict about that, and I really want to strive to be better than I am.

"I love so many different styles. As well as being the jazz guy, etcetera, I like the rock stuff, the blues stuff, all the different stuff. So, if I had the time, I'd be doing that, plus doing a lot of writing. "I'm involved in too many things," he says, but with the possibility of agreeing to write instructional material, and maybe even one day opening up a guitar studio, it's hard to imagine Mark Fitchett doing less. His name is one we're likely to see for a long time, and in a lot of places.

Blues Without A Net: Sundays, 3 to 9 p.m. at Moose McGillycuddy's, 179 N. Harbor Drive, Redondo Beach. Call (310) 372-9944. Mark Fitchett & Friends: Most Saturday nights at Hava Java, 1133-F Artesia Blvd., Manhattan Beach. Call (310) 798-8526. The Cult of the Wrong Note CD is available at Tower Records, Torrance, California. It's also available by calling (310) 540-6767. ER

Back to Articles             Back to Home

Back to Articles             Back to Home

Blues-An Indigenous American Music

Blues is a relatively new musical form unique to the United States, and more specifically to the African American. Born on the plantation fields of the South, the seeds of what became first known as the country blues were not directly from Africa, but from the children of the slaves in the latter part of the 19th century. It is has been thought to have come to fruition in the early 1900's.

Both spirituals and field hollers are thought to be direct precursors to the blues. Forced to adopt Christianity, the slaves created spirituals-songs of redemption emancipation and hope in their worship, thus giving voice to an enslaved race's pain.

A West African tradition, field hollers (consisting of call and response), helped keep the slave laborer's minds off their incredibly backbreaking labor and was also a means of communication. Although many influences can be traced up to the final amalgamation of what became "the blues"(as we more or less know it today), it is still, however, a musical entity unto itself.

Until composers such as Hart Wand, Baby Seals and W.C. Handy published their blues songs in 1912, musically the blues were a continuously varied, mixed up form. There was so much personal expression that every singer and every local had styles distinctly their own.

One thing that was becoming standard however was the "three cornered blues" based on "Joe Turner." This folk song, thought by some to be the prototype of all blues, was known and sung all over the South in the late 1800's-sometimes with different names and words, but 12 bars long and with the typical 3-line scheme now associated with the blues:

1st line-makes statement "Dey tell me Joe Turners's come and gone,"

= 4 bars
2nd line-(repeat of 1st line) "Dey tell me Joe Turners's come and gone," = 4 bars
3rd line-conclusion "Got my man and gone."

= 4 bars

"Three cornered blues" were being sung all the South before one was ever published. The blues were a mold as it were, into which a singer could pour into his or her own personal expression -perhaps framing their words to an existing tune, creating a new variation of a standard melody, or, even coming up with a new tune.

However, it was often the words not the tunes that survived. If the audience accepted the lyrics, they became part of a vast collection of common property verses to be drawn upon, embellished and otherwise used by anyone who wanted to.

Besides the call and response element found in the lyric structure of a typical blues song, there is also the guitarist's tradition of call and response between the vocals and the guitar where he answers each vocal phrase with a guitar fill.

While the vocal inflections (devices such as sliding, falsetto, whining growling, moaning shouting) can be traced back to the traditions found in African vocalizations, the three chord sequence utilizing I, IV, and V with dominant 7th chords as it is generally used in blues was not usual in the traditional European sense and is not found in any previous forms of music:

2 bars of (I) -vocal statement
2 bars of (I) -guitar answer
2 bars of (IV) -vocal statement (repeat of 1st vocal)
2 bars of (I) -guitar answer
2 bars of (V) -vocal statement (contrasting/concluding)
2 bars of (I) -guitar answer

It should be noted that there are and were many variations within in this form; sometimes the order of chords; or, the amount of bars on certain songs would vary. There are also very common 16+ bar blues; this is the "tell-a-story-on-the-I-chord-for-a-while" and then as a chorus the song is finished from what would normally have been the IV chord (5th measure).

There is also the eight bar blues and the one chord blues. All of these (and more) engage in the call and response elements as well as all of the previously mentioned "bluesisms."

It should be also noted that although it is easy to analyze, catagorize and put labels and such on things, that the development of a codified form was an ongoing process. For a solo performer to add or subtract measures at whim as their personal expression dictates was not a big deal-there's ample evidence on record of blues that generally sounds 12 barish but, on closer investigation is very asymmetrical.

One can find things such as random 2/4 measures here and there, or maybe 13 bars one time around and then 10 ½ the next-never the same twice! Performers attempting this with a band, unless the band is quick on their feet, usually end up sounding like a huge mess (There are plenty of recorded examples of this.).

The persons who first codified the forms of the blues, were the big city musicians and composers who needed to have it written down so an ensemble could play it together. This city blues became known as the classic blues and was much more elaborate. There were sophisticated arrangements and the use of jazzier harmony and most of the performances were centered around a female vocalist.

W.C. Handy was one of the first persons to publish a blues song. His "Memphis Blues" in 1912 was so popular that soon everyone jumped on the bandwagon. Suddenly, everyone who wanted a hit song was coming out with "this" blues and "that" blues. These blues songs brought the country blues to the masses and there became a huge demand for these kinds of songs among the black audience.

In 1920 Okeh records recorded a young black singer named Mamie Smith and her records sold by the thousands thus ushering in the era of "race records," records catering to the "colored audience." Smith, and others like her were singing a more sophisticated kind of "city blues" that was more harmonically advanced with arrangements and performed with jazz musicians.

Soon it was discovered that there was even more of a market for the rural country blues in the rural areas, but also, in the cities; this partly due to the fact of a large migration of blacks to the cities in the North. This music was typically performed by men who sang and accompanied themselves on the guitar.

The music tended toward more of the city style, following the now more or less standardized I, IV, V patterns, while the rhythms and the style of singing were of the fields and work gangs. Soon the big record labels were jumping into the foray, trying to capitalize on this untapped goldmine of blues music. Some of the artists that came out of this era were: Blind Lemon Jefferson, Robert Johnson, Charlie Paxton, Tampa Red and Lonnie Johnson.

Companies such Victor sent out "field recorders," into the South to try and discover the next blues talent. They would set up their makeshift recording studios anywhere they could (hotel rooms, barns, skating rinks etc.) and record anyone with a guitar who claimed to be a singer.

The artists would be paid a small one-time fee, and, if the record sold would usually receive little compensation, if any. Victor's race label, Bluebird records, was incredibly successful at marketing the country blues. By the 1930's, the company had commercialized its music to such a degree that most of the intensity, personality and expression of the individual artist was gone.

Party songs, which were suggestive, sexual, double entendre-laced compositions were the most popular, while the pains and cries of the slave in the fields was something that was swept behind the door, at least in the majority of commercial blues. Also, Bluebird started using the same backup musicians for all their singers, thus creating a uniform, homogenized sound that became the stereotypical "Bluebird sound."

By the 1940's, the entire blues record business had emulated the "Bluebird beat. It should be noted that blues still permeated popular music, and white composers such as Irving Berlin, George Gershwin and Jerome Kern had been utilizing the blues tonalities in many of their compositions all along. As well, blues was (and is) still one of the most recorded musical forms in the jazz idiom.

After WWII, in the late 40's through the 50's, many African-American veterans became resentful of the blues, and the social conditions which caused them in the first place. Many felt that to associate with this older style of music would be taking a giant step backward for their race. The younger generation especially, lashed out at their elders for listening to music that reminded them of slavery, especially considering that the social conditions for blacks in the South at that time were still abysmal.

After the war most of the popular artists of the 1920's-40's record's were selling poorly while a new breed of blues musician emerged. Their music, represented by the likes of John Lee Hooker, Muddy Waters and Bo Diddley was loud, raw and aggressive, with the electric guitar becoming the primary instrument.

This influenced the early rock style, with Elvis Presley being at the forefront of the coming musical revolution. His early material was almost based entirely on the blues structure and style of singing, and his first records was purchased mainly by the black audience. Soon he was selling millions of records and influencing the blues-derivative trend in mainstream music for years to come. (It should be noted that the "first" rock & roll song, "Rock Around The Clock" recorded by Bill Haley and The Comets a couple of years prior to Elvis's "That's All Right Mama" was a in 12-bar blues structure.)

In away this "blues" music (much to the horror of certain bigoted Americans) narrowed the gap between black and white audiences as a whole generation of white teenage America embraced this "new" music with an expected fervor that sent the older generation running for cover. Suddenly black "crossover"artists such as Little Richard, Chuck Berry, Fats Domino, and Bo Diddley were becoming popular; mother's were in fear for their daughters and sons as their teenagers gyrated and twisted to this new "primitive jungle music" as one reviewer put it.

By contrast, by the 1960's the next generation of African-Americans seemed to have even less interest whatsoever in a music that associated them in any way to the culture that the blues arose from. It was also considered their "parents" music and therefore unhip (sounds familiar). By then most of the blues artists had pretty much faded into obscurity save for a few big names, BB king being a prime example.

The African-American audience turned to its own brand of mainstream; r&b, soul and funk music, which was becoming as equally popular with a mass white audience. But, the blues influence was still felt strongly in all quarters-as an example, black entertainer "The Godfather of Soul"James Brown (who is a huge influence on both white and black artists) had many hit songs based on the 12-bar blues structure.

A positive result of the great social upheaval in the 60's, was the desegregation of music, and many feel that the blues has (both directly and indirectly) been largely responsible for this. Regardless, it was the first time that white and black music held equal ground on the "top hits" charts. In the early 60's blues enjoyed a rebirth of sorts when young white rock musicians notably guitarists Michael Bloomfield from USA and Eric Clapton from England became popular with their blues guitar styles; but it was mainly among a white audience.

Besides Clapton and Bloomfield, many other artists started covering old standard blues songs as well as writing their own in this style. A prime example is that most of Robert Johnson's songs have been covered by rock and blues musicians alike. Ironically, although these songs have garnered millions of dollars, Johnson himself only made a few hundred dollars on his 28 or so recordings and died penniless.

Huge mainstream artists like the Beatle's, The Rolling Stones, ZZ Top, Led Zepplin and Jimi Hendrix (to name a very few) found a wealth of material that could be developed from the blues idiom. Hendrix, a black guitarist from Seattle was originally a blues guitarist, but expanded upon it to such a degree, that his influence is felt to this day in all styles of rock and blues guitar.

Still his popularity then and now was mainly among the white male audience as it is with most of the established black blues artists. BB King was once quoted as saying that now most of his audience is white. But still, the blues influence continues; even today, although in the last ten years most of the younger guitar bands seem to have been avoiding any reference to it (parents liked it therefore = unhip), at least knowingly.

However, some older established artists still play the blues. Eric Clapton's album "From The Cradle," a collection of blues standards, won a Grammy in 1994. The Black Crowes, a band heavily influenced by the Rolling Stones is current and extremely popular playing their blues-derived music.

A significant difference between the white and black style of blues was the emphasis on instrumental prowess. Compared to the white artists the vocals were always first and foremost. It may surprise some to know, that blues guitar great, BB King was always thought of (among earlier black audiences and even himself) as a blues singer who happened to play guitar.

This hearkens back to the original tradition of the blues singer telling a story, whether it be of pain, love, joy-whatever, but saying something that reaches inside your soul and pulls on it such a way to make you laugh, cry and hurt with them. And you say "Yeah, I know where you're coming from-been there before!," and somehow, hearing about it makes you feel better.

Blues is, as strange as it may seem, a happy uplifting music. A complete antithesis to what the name implies, blues tells of human experience; commonalities we all share. Even though the actual experiences are totally different (Most of us thank God, will probably never know what it's like to be a black slave forced to work long, hard, backbreaking hours in a cotton fields.), the idea is still the same.

Blues is a catharsis, blues makes you feel better talking about it, blues is everyday life-"we all get them at one time or another-even that little baby in that crib over there-he's got the blues," sang Albert King.

As a primarily instrumental blues player, I feel like I'm communicating some of the emotions I experience, through my instrument. I understand a little of the history and culture from where this music comes, although I certainly haven't been steeped in it (being a middle-classed white kid from Vancouver BC in Canada eh!) as much as someone who say was black and growing up in the South in the earlier part of the 20th century.

This does not however, negate my experience, emotions etc., and, when it comes to understanding and performing this music, I know I am tapping into this underlying current; a universal river of human thought and emotion that runs through us all. I think that's the reason the blues is thought of as a universal language, and anyone of us that chooses to let it speak to us understands and feels for a fleeting instant that no matter what the problem is everything somehow will work out.

"Gwine to de river, take a rockin' chair,
Gwine to de river, take a rockin' chair,
If de blues o'ertake me, gwine rock 'way from dere."

Anonymous

Back to Articles             Back to Home

THE GUITAR'S ROLE IN THE BLUES

Originally, the banjo was the primary blues instrument and the guitar did not enjoy wide spread popularity till around the turn of the century. There are several reasons that may have led to the guitar's rise in popularity as the primary accompaniment instrument for blues singers. One is the ease in which one could learn to play the three chords necessary for the twelve bar blues in about five keys.

Also, it is possible to emulate some of the "vocalisms" inherent in blues singing, such as slurring between the pitches to produce among others the main "blue note" between the flatted 3rd and major 3rd. This is easy to accomplish by sliding between the pitches on a single string, or actually bending a string to get the "in between notes"

Other examples are slurring between the 4th and flatted 5th, between the flattened 5th and natural 5th, between the 2nd and flattened 3rd/major 3rd, between the 6th and flattened 7th and between the flatted 7th and tonic. It should be noted that these pitch "bends" are often less than a half step, and are often in the realm of "1/4" or even "1/8" steps and anything in between.

This is something that is felt by the performer and tends to add a lot of emotion to guitarist's and vocalist's performance. As electric guitars came more into prominence in the later years, guitarists were able to bend their strings to much higher pitches than the usual ½ step (or less) places found in earlier blues.

In this current day, it not unusual to hear in addition to the small slurs, whole step, minor 3rd and even major 3rd bends. However, bottleneck or slide guitar as it became known allowed a guitarist almost unlimited slurring range since the glass never made contact with the actual frets but merely slid across the tops of the strings.

Compared to a banjo, other advantages of the guitar include a greater range (especially on the low end which gives chords a much fuller sound), and the capability of a considerable amount of expression and dynamic range. (Try to play a banjo softly!). As well, guitars have considerably more sustain. Banjos are not really known for their singing quality, they go "plunk!" and tend to have an edgy percussive sound.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Charters, Samuel B. The Country Blues.
New York: Plenum Publishing Corp., 1959.

Grossman, Stephan. Delta Blues.
New York: Embassy Music Corp, 1969.

Apel, Willi. Harvard Dictionary of Music.
Cambridge: Harvard University Press, 1970.

Tanner, Lee. Hidebrand, Lee. Images of the Blues.
New York: Michael Friedman Publishing Group Inc, 1998.

Handy, W.C. A Treasury of the Blues.
New York: Charles Boni Publishing, 1926.

Home                                    More About Mark Fitchett                            Awards Etc.

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

Private Guitar & Music Instructor, FITCHETT GUITAR SCHOOL, Redondo Beach, CA
1989 to Present

Private Guitar & Music Instructor, LONG BEACH SCHOOL OF MUSIC, Long Beach, CA
Teach all styles, as well as theory, music composition and arranging.

Private Guitar & Music Instructor, PENINSULA SCHOOL OF MUSIC, Rancho Palos Verdes, CA

Guitar Instructor, South High School, Torrance, CA

Volunteer Instructor for Hollygrove in Los Angeles

Volunteeer Instructor for Everyone Gets Music

Guitar Instructor, SOUTH BAY & TORRANCE ADULT SCHOOLS, Redondo-Torrance, CA
1989 to Present
Teach beginning and intermediate classes in rock and blues electric guitar.

Guitar Instructor, NATIONAL GUITAR SUMMER WORKSHOP, Redlands, CA
1995 to 1998
Teach courses in blues, rock, jazz, music theory and technique.

Guitar Instructor, UCLA EXTENSION, Westwood, CA
1994 to 1997
Teach intermediate to advanced courses in blues/rock improvisation and contemporary

guitar styles, with emphasis on practical music theory application.

Guitar Clinician, GUITAR CENTER, Lawndale, CA
1994 to 1999
Lecture on various aspects of guitar technique and performance.

BOOKS & PUBLICATIONS

Transcriber, CHERRY LANE MUSIC COMPANY, INC., Port Chester, New York
1987 to 1997
Author of many internationally published guitar transcription folios. Many of these transcriptions have

appeared in the popular magazine "Guitar For The Practicing Musician."

Author, CHERRY LANE MUSIC COMPANY, INC., Port Chester, New York
1995 to 1997
Author of book/CD or cassette instructional package "Chopsbuilders,"
designed to give guitarists a fresh perspective on some different ways
of playing exercises, scales and licks.

Author, GUITAR SCHOOL PUBLICATIONS
2004-Present
Author of "Reading Music" Level 1, an introduction to reading music
on the guitar.

RELATED EXPERIENCE

Guitarist for Cal State Long Beach Studio One Jazz Band

2000-2003

Modern Dance Composer, REGINA KLENJOSKI DANCE COMPANY RKDC, Torrance,CA
2001 to Present

Modern Dance Composer, ROBERT GILLIAM (Los Angeles choreographer)

1998 to 2000

Modern Dance Composer, LULA WASHINGTON (Los Angeles choreographer)
1998

Guitarist/Composer for "CULT of the WRONG NOTE," Southern California
1991 to 1996

Guitarist for "THE CAMPBELL BROTHERS," Los Angeles
1990 to 2000

Session Guitarist, See jeffjonesmusic.com for some current examples.
1985 to Present

Owner & Audio Engineer, OPEN DOOR SOUND, Hermosa Beach, CA
1981 to 1994

Musician/Performer, Southern California, Los Angeles, Redondo Beach, South Bay, Palos Verdes

Long Beach, San Diego, Orange County, Vancouver, Richmond BC, Canada
1979 to Present

EDUCATION - Institutions

CAL STATE LONG BEACH, Long Beach, CA
2000 to 2003
Degree in Composition

SANTA MONICA COMMUNITY COLLEGE, Santa Monica, CA

1999 to 2000

Modern Dance & Philosophy Studies

EL CAMINO COMMUNITY COLLEGE, Torrance, CA
1997 to 1999, Graduated with honors
Theater, Music & Modern Dance

GROVE SCHOOL of MUSIC, Studio City, CA
1987 to 1990, Graduated with honors
Advanced Guitar Theory & Technique, Composition & Arranging

with Dick Grove, Film Composition with David Angel

EDUCATION - Private Instruction

TERRY PLUMERI, Composer/Conductor/Recording Artist, Manhattan Beach, CA
1995 to 2001
Film Composition and Jazz Studies

RON ESCHETTE, Jazz Guitarist/Recording Artist/Author, Long Beach, CA
1996 to Present
Advanced Jazz Guitar Studies with emphasis on improvisation and phrasing.

Chordal studies

DAVID ANGEL, Composer/Musician, Los Angeles, Silverlake CA
1989 to 1994
20th Century Composition Techniques for Film Scoring and Symphonic Works

JAMIE GLASER, Fusion Guitarist/Recording Artist/Session Musician, Studio City, CA
1989 to 1994
Studio Guitar and Contemporary Performance Techniques

rhythm & soloing technique

TED GREENE, Jazz Guitarist/Author/Recording Artist, Encino, CA
1986 to 2005 Ted Greene Tribute Page
Chordal Jazz and Harmony Studies

I've had lessons on and off with Ted since the early eighties until fairly recently.

Each lesson was an amazing mind-expanding experience and I could never

thank him enough for his patience, encouragement and inspiration. He always

showed genuine interest in my musical endeavors and always complimented

me on the things I was playing and working on (regardless of how basic and

so below his level they were). It was always about others, never about himself.

He was a great musician and teacher, one of a kind. Thanks for everything

Ted, music won't be the same with out you.

ANNETTE WARREN SMITH, Recording Artist, Voice Over, Palos Verdes, CA

2007 to Present

Voice

More About Mark Fitchett

Awards Etc.