Eight Miles High beginning guitar solo...

[prjacobs]

Hi all,
Being new here, I have no idea if this has been posted on the forum... But I wrote out this for my son a while ago and thought I'd pass it on. Not many people play this. It's such a great solo, but not that easy to figure out. Roger, (then Jim ), speeds up a bit on the last 2 beats of what I call measure 11, but pulls it back together in measure 12.
Anyway.... Here it is: In the last measure, the F to E trill can be played an octave lower on the G string, giving you that higher octave sound. It's all written in the lower octave .

[Folkie]

Tough solo! I've never been able to get it right!

[jimk]

I don't know if there is a way to "get it right" whatever that means. I play it. But after the opening India riff I just go off on my own.

Thanks for posting this.
JimK

[prjacobs]

My pleasure Jim. It's just such a cool solo!
There are a few positions that can make this solo a bit easier. (Of course everyone's hands work a little differently)....
I play measures 5 and 6 on the G string.
The first point when the solo moves fast is in measure 7 - the 16th notes.... A,F#,D, B.... You can play the A,F# and D all on the D string, hammering off from the A,(7th fret) to the F#, (4th fret), than the open D string.... Then grab the B on the 2nd fret of the A string...
In measure 10, you can hammer on the B and C# (frets 2 and 4) after playing the A on the open string. In fact, in measure 10 you can hammer on the D,E, F# and G,A,B, playing the exact pattern on the D and G strings. Makes it a lot easier for me.
In general, the open strings can be used for most of the rest of the solo.

[Folkie]

JimK,

I have no desire to learn the EMH solo note for note, if that's what you were suggesting. But, honestly, I've never had the requisite technique to even approach the song. If you feel comfortable embellishing the solo, more power to you. It just goes to show that McGuinn has prodigious chops, despite what a few snobs out there have said.

Robert

[admin]

Thanks for the transcription Paul. The sheet music will certainly help nail down this great solo. Your efforts are appreciated.

[jimk]

JimK,

I have no desire to learn the EMH solo note for note, if that's what you were suggesting. But, honestly, I've never had the requisite technique to even approach the song. If you feel comfortable embellishing the solo, more power to you. It just goes to show that McGuinn has prodigious chops, despite what a few snobs out there have said.

Robert

And I don't have the patience! I mean I'll steal as much as I can absorb from other guitar players, particularly McGuinn. But after that....well, it seems like I just can't keep from making it up, if you know what I mean.
JimK

[kvalois]

Hi:

Am I missing something? I am not talented enough to see music notes and figure out which string, which fret I need to pick!!! Is there a more conventional guitar tab for 8 Miles Hi gh???

[Folkie]

Absolutely! Check out Roger's DVD "The 12-String Guitar of Roger McGuinn." The DVD includes an instruction book with the solo notated in tablature. The whole package is something like $30 and worth every penny, IMHO!

[idealassets]

I have seen a few versions of this song that are nowhere near as technically profiient as Roger Mcguinn's, yet they still manage to sound nice. Here is Leo Kottke playing it in a very lackluster fashion when comapred to RM, yet it still seems to sound somewhat OK. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QVTdeiPr1Fs

Craig

[prjacobs]

Here's Roger playing it... (To the track). He's playing almost all of it in the 4th position.

http://youtu.be/8bMjUU972So

[prjacobs]

JimK,

I have no desire to learn the EMH solo note for note, if that's what you were suggesting. But, honestly, I've never had the requisite technique to even approach the song. If you feel comfortable embellishing the solo, more power to you. It just goes to show that McGuinn has prodigious chops, despite what a few snobs out there have said.

Robert

And I don't have the patience! I mean I'll steal as much as I can absorb from other guitar players, particularly McGuinn. But after that....well, it seems like I just can't keep from making it up, if you know what I mean.
JimK

This solo, as many great solos do, goes beyond chops. Roger's first four notes are such a departure! And the next few measures expand on his totally original concept. Beyond that, it's all gravy. On the one hand, I can understand guitarists not wanting to copy this solo note for note, but the other hand, taking time to really learn what he's done will possibly give you some new tools to use. We can all make up our own version of this, but we have to listen to ourselves objectively and decide if we're really doing it justice or just playing another version of what WE do.

[jimk]

Well said, Paul. I think I was trying to say pretty much the same thing. Only you said it better.
JimK

[Folkie]

I love the solo, but I wouldn't call it totally original in conception. McGuinn has been very open about the influence of John Coltrane's "sheets of sound" on the EMH solo. Before he plays the introduction on acoustic at his shows, he always mentions Andres Segovia as well as Coltrane. As I said in a previous thread, McGuinn takes the intro to Albeniz's "Asturias" (transcribed for guitar by Segovia) as a springboard for his acoustic version of EMH. It's amazing how eclectic Roger's interests still are, even these days when he's returning to his folk music roots.

[prjacobs]

I love the solo, but I wouldn't call it totally original in conception. McGuinn has been very open about the influence of John Coltrane's "sheets of sound" on the EMH solo. Before he plays the introduction on acoustic at his shows, he always mentions Andres Segovia as well as Coltrane. As I said in a previous thread, McGuinn takes the intro to Albeniz's "Asturias" (transcribed for guitar by Segovia) as a springboard for his acoustic version of EMH. It's amazing how eclectic Roger's interests still are, even these days when he's returning to his folk music roots.

Thanks Robert. I'm not really familiar with McGuinn's comments about his sources for this solo, but I can loosely hear Coltrane in the first 4 notes and the overlapping diatonic 2nds certainly are a loose parallel to Asturias... But, this was very innovative in 1966, even if the motifs aren't derived out of thin air . I wouldn't be surprised if Coltrane couldn't refer the roots of Giant Steps back to something he heard. The intro to Asturias is really very well trod ground... Nothing innovative there. But definitely new as applied here, circa 1966. You might even argue that the E twanging before the guitar solo begins was another Asturias reference
(For some reason, my mind just took me to Hendrix's solo for Manic Depression in 1967. A similar harmonic vibe...)
But, be that as it may, this solo jumped out at all of us who heard it for the first time and my point in posting it was to demystify it for forum users who might be interested in playing the correct notes. When I initially wrote it out, my son was 14 and playing in the "School Of Rock All Stars." And as a doting dad, I just wanted him to look cool on stage when he pulled it off . Which he did... Of course, you have to have a good drummer, a good bassist.... And the right hair and sunglasses .