Music

Guitar Lesson 3: Frippruary (Fracture, Pt. 1)

Awesome news!

Robert Fripp, the master, the one and only, has seen this lesson and commented on it. His corrections are a worthwhile read (of course). So, read through my lesson, and then read his commentary for corrections.

Please note: This lesson can be damaging to your mental and physical health. And, no, I’m not kidding. If you don’t have proper picking technique, you can easily injure yourself by trying out what’s provided in this lesson. Furthermore, if you do try to play it and realize how hard the song is, you might drive yourself (and those around you) nuts. The second half of this lesson is not pretty.

To be perfectly honest with you, I’ve been agonizing over this month’s lesson. I’ve got a lot of great small ideas, but I’ve decided to go with Frippruary. It’s the month of Robert Fripp. There’s no official holiday and his birthday isn’t until May, but I think this month should offer an especially challenging lesson for no particular reason. We’re going to incorporate some (optional) hybrid picking and some incredibly, incredibly difficult guitar playing.

Perhaps you’ve never heard Robert Fripp—allow me to introduce you to his music. Fripp is known for his atonal guitar playing and soundscapes. Most people don’t know what a monster he is on the guitar, but the man can outplay most musicians out there. He’s up there with Allan Holdsworth and Tommy Emmanuel, in my book, for one of the greatest guitarists of the 20th century. Fripp is the founding member of King Crimson and the only member to remain in every incarnation of the band since the late 1960s.

But, enough history. Let’s get to work!

Exercise 1 – Suite No. 1, Mov. 1, section A

Back in 1968, The Cheerful Insanity of Giles, Giles, and Fripp came out and Fripp actually wrote a lot of happy music. The only guitar-centric piece on the album is Suite No. 1 and it’s very difficult. Here’s the beginning bit, which you can play over and over until you get blue in the face with frustration. Get out your metronome and get set to play a lot of 16th notes.

FULL TEMPO: ~138 BPM

       u  d  u d  u  d  u d  u  d  u d  u  d  u d
       3  2  1 2  4  2  1 2  3  2  1 2  4  2  1 2
     |----------------------------------------------|---
     |-10--------------------10---------13----------|---
  4  |----10-9-10-12-10-9-10----10-9-10----10-9-10--|---
  4  |----------------------------------------------|---
     |----------------------------------------------|---
     |----------------------------------------------|---

       3 2 1 2 4  2 1 2 3 2 1 2 4  2 1 2
     |-----------------------------------|---
     |-9----------------9-------12-------|---
     |---9-8-9-10-9-8-9---9-8-9----9-8-9-|---
     |-----------------------------------|---
     |-----------------------------------|---
     |-----------------------------------|---

       3  2  1 2  4  2  1 2  3  2  1 2  4  2  1 2
     |---------------------------------------------|---
     |-10--------------------10---------13---------|---
     |----10-9-10-12-10-9-10----10-9-10----10-9-10-|---
     |---------------------------------------------|---
     |---------------------------------------------|---
     |---------------------------------------------|---

       3 2 1 2 3  2 1 2 3  2 1 2 3  4  1 2
     |-------------------------------------|---
     |-9-------------------------------8-9-|---
     |---9-8-9-10-9-8-9-10-9-8-9-10-11-----|---
     |-------------------------------------|---
     |-------------------------------------|---
     |-------------------------------------|---

       3  1 3 1 2 1 2 1 2 1 4  1 2 3 4  1
     |------------------------------------|---
     |-10-8-------------------------------|---
     |------9-7-------------------------6-|---
     |----------8-7-8-7-8-7----7-8-9-10---|---
     |----------------------11------------|---
     |------------------------------------|---

       2 1 2 4  3 1 3 2 3  2 3  3  1 2 1 4
     |--------------------------------------|---
     |----------------8---------10-8---8-11-|---
     |-7-6-7-10-9-6-9---10-9-10------9------|---
     |--------------------------------------|---
     |--------------------------------------|---
     |--------------------------------------|---

       3  2 3  1 4  1 4  3  2 3  2 3  2 4  3  2
     |---------8---------10-8-10-8-10-8---------|
     |-10-9-10---11-8-11----------------11-10-8-|
     |------------------------------------------|  REPEAT
     |------------------------------------------|
     |------------------------------------------|
     |------------------------------------------|

Video examples:

This is a difficult piece of music to play… do NOT get too frustrated when you find you have difficulties with something that seems so simple.

The key to playing the music above is to start slow with a metronome and a good pick. I’ve found that the Dunlop Tortex Medium picks (the yellow, standard picks) are the best for me. They have good texture and don’t move around a whole lot when your fingers get sweaty from so much pickin’.

In order to play this song properly, you’re going to need to hold your pick correctly. Make sure it’s parallel to the string (a slight angle in the clockwise direction to accommodate your wrist is fine). As for the picking itself, you’re going to use alternate picking starting with an upward pick on the first note. Trust me… if you lose this pattern, the song will fall apart. There’s a reason Fripp has released like 800 songs called “Discipline.”

You’ll also notice that I only keep my left-hand fingers on the fretboard for as long as necessary, and not a millisecond longer. This is a useful technique for finger independence and develops speed so you can move from one string to the next without a whole lot of effort. If you’re one of those people who keeps all your fingers on the fretboard all the time, I think it’s time to break that habit. It’s not a good one and it’ll keep you from playing as fast and cleanly as possible. Make sure that your left hand and right hand are in synch and one hand isn’t slowing the other one down. I’ve found that my left-hand fretting isn’t entirely accurate with respect to timing and it’s very frustrating because there’s only one way to fix it… start slow. I hate starting slow, especially when it’s a fun piece like this one.

Exercise 2 – Fracture, Moto Perpetuo – section A

Get ready for the hardest guitar piece you’ll ever try to play in your life. It’s taken me years to get to this point, and it’s still not ready. Granted, I haven’t really sat down and slowly worked it out so many hours for so many days, but it’s the kind of piece that I return to here and again to see if I can make it work. I still can’t play it up to speed properly, but I’m getting there. Perhaps it’s not that tough for you, but man, I’m having a heckuva hard time with it. Here’s what Fripp had to say about it:

“Fracture” remains one of the hardest pieces I have ever played in public. During the moto perpetuo, in the middle of the piece, if the group’s time drifts the guitarist is hung out to dry. Often, the time drifted in the group. The guitarist is stuck with an endless (it feels) series of equal semi-quavers at 124-136 with cross-picking over two and three strings. Twenty-five years later this continues to provide technical challenges. The musical challenges remain, but more so for an American: the piece is distinctly European. Very little power rock is uncompromisingly European and convincing. Crimson metal of the early seventies is a rare exception.

I believe the full, real tempo is 126 bpm, but I might be off. If you think this part is hard, just try playing further into the song.

Before getting to the meat of this section of the song, I have two sub-exercises for you. These sub-exercises are absolutely essential to understanding how to play Fracture. I’m not saying I totally understand it, but I can tell you that by breaking the music down to some primitive components and mastering those, you’ll have a much easier time learning how to play the real thing.

SUB-EXERCISE 1

beat:  1  2  3  4   1  2  3  4   1  2  3  4   1  2  3  4
note:  L     S      S  S  S  S   L     S      S
fngr:  2     4      2  4  2  4   2     4      2
     |------------|------------|------------|------------|
     |------------|------------|------------|------------|
     |------------|------------|------------|------------|
     |-5-----7----|-5--7--5--7-|-5-----7----|-5----------|
     |------------|------------|------------|------------|
     |------------|------------|------------|------------|

     SUB-EXERCISE 2
       - All 16th notes

     |---------------------------------|---
     |---------------------------------|---
     |---------------------------------|---
     |-5-------5-------5---5---5---5---|---
     |---6-6-6---6-6-6---6---6---6---6-|---
     |---------------------------------|---

     |---------------------------------|
     |---------------------------------|
     |---------------------------------|  REPEAT
     |-5-------5-------5---------------|
     |---6-6-6---6-6-6---6-6-------6-6-|
     |-----------------------6-6-6-----|

Sub-exercise 1 will help you get the underlying rhythm down that’s not straight 16th notes. The notes, L and S, stand for Long and Short. So, Sub-Exercise 1 goes: long short short short short short long short short. Note that you are only to use your middle and pinky fingers for this sub-exercise. And! all the notes are picked upward (toward your face). If you can’t do these sub-exercises, you won’t be able to play the real thing. Sub-exercise 2 will help you get the picking pattern down for the section of Fracturewe’re going to learn in this lesson.

Once you get the picking pattern from Sub-Exercise 2 figured out and down-pat, you’re ready to move on. It’s really, really hard. Pick choice, relaxed hands and arms, and proper picking technique are the only tools you can utilize to get through this. Your picking muscles are going to be a combination of your wrist and forearm. You’ll understand when you start getting closer to the full speed.

Video of Sub-Exercise 1:

Video of Sub-Exercise 2:

Ready?

FULL TEMPO: 124-136 BPM

fingr: 2 3 1 3 4 3 1 3 2 3 4 3 2 3 4 3
     |---------------------------------|---
     |---------------------------------|---
  4  |---------------------------------|---
  4  |-5-------7-------5---7---5---7---|---
     |---6-4-6---6-4-6---6---6---6---6-|---
     |---------------------------------|---

       2 3 1 3 4 3 1 3 2 3 1 3 1 3 1 3
     |---------------------------------|---
     |---------------------------------|---
     |---------------------------------|---
     |-5-------7-------5---------------|---
     |---6-4-6---6-4-6---6-4-------4-6-|---
     |-----------------------5-3-5-----|---

       2 3 1 3 4 3 1 3 2 3 4 3 2 3 4 3
     |---------------------------------|---
     |---------------------------------|---
     |---------------------------------|---
     |-5-------7-------5---7---5---7---|---
     |---6-4-6---6-4-6---6---6---6---6-|---
     |---------------------------------|---

       2 3 1 3 4 3 1 3 2 3 1 2 1 3 2 3
     |---------------------------------|---
     |---------------------------------|---
     |---------------------------------|---
     |-5-------7-------5-----------5---|---
     |---6-4-6---6-4-6---6-4---4-6---6-|---
     |-----------------------5---------|---

       2 3 1 3 4 3 1 3 2 3 4 3 2 3 4 3
     |---------------------------------|---
     |---------------------------------|---
     |---------------------------------|---
     |-7-------9-------7---9---7---9---|---
     |---8-6-8---8-6-8---8---8---8---8-|---
     |---------------------------------|---

       2 3 1 3 4 3 1 3 2 3 1 2 1 3 2 4
     |---------------------------------|---
     |---------------------------------|---
     |---------------------------------|---
     |-7-------9-------7-----------7-9-|---
     |---8-6-8---8-6-8---8-6---6-8-----|---
     |-----------------------7---------|---

       2 3 1 3 4 3 1 3 2 3 4 3 2 3 4 3
     |---------------------------------|---
     |---------------------------------|---
     |-6-------8-------6---8---6---8---|---
     |---7-5-7---7-5-7---7---7---7---7-|---
     |---------------------------------|---
     |---------------------------------|---

       1 1 2 3 1 3 2 3 1 3  2 3  1 3 1 3
     |-----------------------------------|---
     |-6---------------------------------|---
     |---6-------------------------------|---
     |-----7-------7--------9--------5-7-|---
     |-------8-6-8---8-8-10---10-6-8-----|---
     |-----------------------------------|---

       2 3 1 3 4 3 1 3 2 3 4 3 2 3 4 3
     |---------------------------------|---
     |---------------------------------|---
     |-6-------8-------6---8---6---8---|---
     |---7-5-7---7-5-7---7---7---7---7-|---
     |---------------------------------|---
     |---------------------------------|---

       2 3 1 3 4 3 1 3 2 3 1 3 1 3 1 3
     |---------------------------------|---
     |---------------------------------|---
     |-6-------8-------6---------------|---
     |---7-5-7---7-5-7---7-5-------5-7-|---
     |-----------------------6-4-6-----|---
     |---------------------------------|---

       2 3 1 3 4 3 1 3 2 3 4 3 2 3 4 3
     |---------------------------------|---
     |---------------------------------|---
     |-6-------8-------6---8---6---8---|---
     |---7-5-7---7-5-7---7---7---7---7-|---
     |---------------------------------|---
     |---------------------------------|---

       2 3 1 3 4 3 1 3 2 3 1 2 1 3 2 3
     |---------------------------------|---
     |---------------------------------|---
     |-6-------8-------6-----------6---|---
     |---7-5-7---7-5-7---7-5---5-7---7-|---
     |-----------------------6---------|---
     |---------------------------------|---

       2 3 1 3 4  3 1 3 2 3 4  3 2 3 4  3
     |------------------------------------|---
     |------------------------------------|---
     |-8-------10-------8---10---8---10---|---
     |---9-7-9----9-7-9---9----9---9----9-|---
     |------------------------------------|---
     |------------------------------------|---

       2 3 1 3 4  3 1 3 2 3 1 3 1 3  1 3
     |------------------------------------|---
     |-------------------------------8-10-|---
     |-8-------10-------8-------8-10------|---
     |---9-7-9----9-7-9---9-7-9-----------|---
     |------------------------------------|---
     |------------------------------------|---

       2 3  1 3  4  3  1 3  2 3  4  3  2 3  4  3    1
     |-9---------11---------9----11----9----11----|-13-|
     |---10-8-10----10-8-10---10----10---10----10-|----|
     |--------------------------------------------|----|
     |--------------------------------------------|----|
     |--------------------------------------------|----|
     |--------------------------------------------|----|

Video examples: Slow first, then fast

I don’t know about you, but I find that really, really difficult to play. One thing that might help you out is using hybrid picking for the notes that follow the pattern in sub-exercise 1. What I do is use my middle finger to pick those notes and give my picking a 1/16th note break during nearly every quarter note. What’s convenient about this is that you can re-position the pick during these points because it might be easy for the pick to fall out of your sweaty fingers. At least, that’s a problem I’ve experienced. It also gives your wrist a break. I would not suggest that hybrid picking becomes THE way you play Fracture, but if you’re in a pinch and, for some reason, playing this in front of other people, hybrid picking might help you get through the piece with relative ease.

Video of hybrid picking:

If you’re using Mac OS X (and why shouldn’t you be?), there’s a great freeware, open-source metronome application out there called MetronomeX. It’s great and has a nice, big click indicator. I love it and use it all the time.

At this point, you might be thinking, “Okay, that’s all well and good, but what makes this a guitar lesson?” Here are some of the things you’re gaining by playing this song:

Next month, we’ll explore the next sections of the songs in this lesson. I don’t think I’ll be able to come up with a clever way of combining the names Fripp and March, though. The next part of Fracture is even harder than what is contained in this lesson. I don’t know if I’ll be able to actually play the part for the lesson, but I can write about it from a theoretical perspective. Hah.

Until next month, have fun irritating anyone who lives with you by playing this stuff for hours at a time with a metronome.