Guitar Gamelan
BY JAKE CINNINGER
Since joining Umphrey's McGee in 2000, guitar-
ist Jake Cinninger has become one of the most
respected guitarists on the jam-band scene.
Through relentless touring and willingness to
push the musical envelope, Cinninger along with
his Umphrey's bandmates have become one of
the most popular bands on the festival circuit.
For more information, visit umphreys.com.
CHOPS: Intermediate
THEORY: Intermediate
LESSON OVERVIEW:
• Play in odd time signatures
• Learn to layer parts that are
in mixed meters
• Create phrases that cross
barlines
In Umphrey’s McGee, we really like to turn rhythm on its head and are constantly in
search of cool ways to change up a boring stock
riff. In this lesson, I want to look at a fun little
idea that makes a small group of musicians
sound big and bossy. The idea is to play three
different time signatures against each other
and eventually have the parts unite as one
larger phrase. The riffs presented below are an
example of using this concept to create some-
thing uncommon.
Fig. 1
5
4 &## > >
oeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoe
>> >>
oe
oe
oeoeoeoeoeoeoeoe oe n oeoeoeoeoeoe n oeoeoe
>>
˙
3
5
3
4
53
5
3
4
5
0
5
0
4
50
5
0
4
5
3
5
3
4
53
5
3
4
5
0
5
0
4
50
5
0
4
5
64 oeoeoeoeoeoeoe oe oeoeoeoeoeoeoe oe Fig. 2
oeoeoeoeoeoeoe oe
24 oe
∑
¤
12
14
14
12
12
14
10
12
14
14
12
12
14
10
12
14
14
12
12
14
10
0
0
0
Fig. 3
™™ /
++++++++
oe oeoeoe ¿¿¿¿ oe ¿¿¿¿
+++++++o
oeoeoe ¿¿¿¿oeoeoeoe ¿¿¿¿
++++++++
oe oeoeoe ¿¿¿¿ oe ¿¿¿¿
™™
+++++++o
oe oeoe ¿¿¿¿¿¿¿¿ oeoeoeoe
