Depeche Mode Personal Jesus- Adding Second Guitar for Verse

Mike-

Hello! I've been working on your tutorial Personal Jesus by Depeche Mode and trying to get some ideas incorporating a second guitar player with me for a live performance. Your slide/vibrato portion of the tutorial is pre-recorded during your full performance video because one player cannot do both.

Any ideas on having the second guitar player play along with me during the verse but at an octave or two higher and include the slide/vibrato as well?? I'm thinking the second guitarist playing the verse progression of: F# minor, A5, E5, B minor, C#8 and D8 with the same voicings but just higher on the neck may be too cumbersome. Perhaps it would be more efficient to play the verse with some chord inversions on the 1st thru 3rd strings??

Appreciate any ideas or feedback on the above.

Tony

Hey Tony, great question!

I think that since the first guitar (the guitar that plays the main riff throughout) is pretty busy sounding for most of the song, what would sound really good is for the second guitarist to play single strums of the chord progression and let the chords ring out underneath. That way it adds to the foundation of the sound, but still leaves plenty of space for the main riff. Then incorporate the slide fills on top and it should be a fun approach to play.

Make sense?
Let me know how it goes!
Cheers,
Mike

Hey Mike, thanks for the quick response. I have a pretty good understanding but just want to make clear from your suggestions. Could you answer or agree with the following.

1. Guitar 2 will not need to play chord inversions as I suggested earlier but play the same chord voicings as Guitar 1?

2. Guitar 2 will not need to strum chords during the Chorus, only Guitar 1 will continue playing the riff during the chorus?

3. Guitar 2 will play the chords on the Verse as Guitar 1 but will ring the chords for two beats in each measure and not play the quarter rests as Guitar 1 does?

This will clear things up for me, appreciate answers on the above.

Thanks!

Tony

Hey Tony, sorry I got a little mixed up with the verse and chorus in my response.

I meant that approach for the chorus section -- Guitar 2 playing single strums while Guitar 1 plays the main bluesy riff.

For the verse, you actually had a good idea playing the voicings higher up the neck. That would sound nice and thick. You could also just have Guitar 2 double exactly what you are doing to make it sound huge as well.

so, in direct response to your points:

1) either would work great ... experiment and see which blend you like better.

2) the chorus is where I think single strums underneath that riff would sound pretty good. again, you could also have Guitar 2 jump in on that riff with Guitar 1 and add in the slide part along the way when needed.

3) no, sorry that was my mistake in my previous response. Whether you choose to play higher chord inversions or unison, make sure you are strumming and holding the chords for the same amount of beats on each guitar. This will give the tightest, biggest sound.

Hope this helps!
Mike

Mike-

Appreciate your clarification and additional suggestions for the Depeche Mode song, thank you! I plan on performing this one in front of the Sam Ash Mic Night as well our Meetup Guitar Group in Philadelphia.

This past spring I did something a little out of the ordinary and bought a five piece acoustic drum set and started taking private drumming lessons to get a solid foundation on rhythm, percussion and just learning how to play relaxed because it's absolutely mandatory for drumming. Something I always wanted to do for many many years.

A month back one well known performing acoustic guitarist in the Scranton PA area took a step back and looked at me cross eyed when I told him of taking up drumming lessons. Just like playing bass or keyboards, I feel it's a great side compliment to have for a guitarist, although playing the guitar is my first love for musicianship.

Tony

Hey Tony, good for you ... taking some drum instruction is something I've always wanted to do myself but just never found the time. Any kind of musical learning and growing on other instruments is always going to impact your main instrument positively. It will definitely be good for your groove and timing on guitar.

Cheers!
Mike

Mike-

Thanks! Even though I'm not a professional musician, I'm thinking along the same lines; it does not hurt to have a background with another musical instrument. I know a number of guitarists who also play on some level another musical instrument such as keyboards, bass or drums.

I'm currently unemployed and won't be hitting the road again for work till perhaps fall/winter so I can devote time now and get out of it what I can. With the living arrangements of working on the road, in hotels or small apartments it will not be practical to lug the entire drum set with me. With that in mind, my drumming instructor mentioned I could get away with just taking the snare drum, stand, drumming board and of course metronome to keep with my hand, wrist and stick techniques in tone and time, which is an absolute essential for even well seasoned drummers. I get the impression the snare drum is most heavily used along with the bass drum and high hat.

Have a great summer!

Tony

Right on Tony! You too!

Mike