OK..time for a bob young old guy guitar player story that has a finish !

In 1961 and '62 I was living in Hollywood.
My mom had a secretarial service and thru a series of happenstances I met Steve Allen..
He was doing the Steve Allen show from the little theatre on Vine Street right next to the old Hollywood Ranch Market.
I was just a kid guitar player playing surf music and Steve introduced me to Herb Ellis who was playing guitar in the TV show band.
Also in the band was Ray Brown (rest his soul) Frank Rosselini..Mousie Alexander(also both dead..jeeez I'm old)..lotsa great players.
Anyway..Herb and Jack Marshall (a famous Hollywood session guitarist) were trying to put together a lesson book for rock and roll guitar players who wanted to make the jump into Jazz.
I became the "guinea pig" for the stuff they were trying to work out..in exchange Herb gave me lessons in fingerboard harmony and lots of practical little be-bop tricks many of which I still use today.
It was also then that I developed an affinity for the ES-175 which had been Herbs guitar of choice for many years.
I got to meet great guitarists like Jimmy Raney, Barney Kessel and Tal Farlow..all of whom were good friends of Herbs.
Imagine me..a white-faced kid sitting there playing "Oh Lady B. Goode" with Herb Ellis, Ray Brown and Mousie Alexander as my rhythm section...wow..what I wouldn't give to relive some of that !

Any way...Herb taught me a cool little trick that won him drinks from other guitar players for years !
It's a six string diminished chord that uses 4 fingers and not a barre chord.
He called it "the spider" and I'll describe it as best I can.
You start (I'll do this in G diminished) with the standard 4 finger diminished form on the top 4 strings..You old guys will know which one I mean..

Strike the first string..then the second..then as you're striking the third and fourth strings you lift your fourth finger which was on the third fret 1st string and move it to the 4th fret of the 5th string..at the same time moving the second finger which was on the second fret of the 2d string to the third fret of the 6th
string...if you do this as you are striking the 3d and 4th strings then just hit 5th and six strings and BINGO a six string diminished


when you get smooth at this it really does look like a spider..hence the name !

Hope this makes sense..it's cool to be on stage and watch folks as you do this..it's an eye-popper I promise !

Bob

[This message has been edited by bob young (edited 09-04-2002).]