Guitar Styles of Hisashi and Takuro
by Kevin Aparicio
Hello everyone. This is Kevin Aparicio, and this is my first installment of "Guitar Styles" which will be focused on Glay.
In the following weeks or so I will release installments dedicated to the guitar styles of Glay. This first lesson deals with Takuro and Hisashi playing with and without each other.
The first thing I want to tackle is the tone of Glay. The guitar tones are very high pitched and have tons of treble. Hisashi usually uses strat models (which have single coil pickups) and occasionally uses Gibsons and his Tokai guitars. I am assuming that if they have humbuckers, he uses the humbuckers for the twangy sound. Even using the neck pickup is great for getting a little "growl" in your tone.
The first example comes from the chorus to "HOWEVER." Notice here how Hisashi and Takuro play the same chords, but at different positions. You can hear this clearly because the guitars are panned.
In the chorus, Takuro plays barre chords and power chords and hits the entire barre on the 2nd and 4th beats, while Hisashi plays first position chords. Take this excerpt from the chorus:
Takuro E---------8------------7--|---------5------------5--| B---------8------------8--|---------5------------5--| G---------9------------7--|---------5------------5--| D---------10-----------9--|---------5------------5--| A---------10-----------7--|---------7------------7--| E----8-8--8-------0-0-----|----5-5--5-------5-5--5--| Hisashi E--0-0--0-0--0-0-0--0-0---|--0--0-0--0-0-0--0-0-0---| B--1-1--1-1--0-0-0--0-0---|--1--1-1--1-1-1--1-1-1---| G--0-0--0-0--0-0-0--0-0---|--2--2-2--2-2-0--0-0-0---| D--2-2--2-2--0-0-0--0-0---|--2--2-2--2-2-2--2-2-2---| A--3-3--3-3--2-2-2--2-2---|--0--0-0--0-0-0--0-0-0---| E-------------------------|-------------------------| Ta e ma naku sosogu ai no na wo Takuro E-------------------------|---8--------------------| B-------------------------|---8--------------------| G--10---------12----------|---9--------------------| D--10---------12----------|---10-------------------| A--8----------10----------|---10-------------------| E-------------------------|---8--------------------| Hisashi E-------------------------|---0----0-----0----0-----| B-------------------------|---1------1---1------1---| G-------------------------|---0----------0----------| D---X-X-3--------X-X-5----|---2----------2----------| A---X-X-3--------X-X-5----|---3----------3----------| E---X-X-1--------X-X-3----|-------------------------| Eien to yobu koto ga deki ta nara Takuro E---------8------------7--|---------5------------5--| B---------8------------8--|---------5------------5--| G---------9------------7--|---------5------------5--| D---------10-----------9--|---------5------------5--| A---------10-----------7--|---------7------------7--| E----8-8--8-------0-0-----|----5-5--5-------5-5--5--| Hisashi E--0-0--0-0--0-0-0--0-0---|--0--0-0--0-0-0--0-0-0---| B--1-1--1-1--0-0-0--0-0---|--1--1-1--1-1-1--1-1-1---| G--0-0--0-0--0-0-0--0-0---|--2--2-2--2-2-0--0-0-0---| D--2-2--2-2--0-0-0--0-0---|--2--2-2--2-2-2--2-2-2---| A--3-3--3-3--2-2-2--2-2---|--0--0-0--0-0-0--0-0-0---| E-------------------------|-------------------------| Kotoba de wa tsutaeru koto ga doushitemo dekinakatta Takuro E-------------------------|---8--------------------| B-------------------------|---8--------------------| G--10---------12----------|---9--------------------| D--10---------12----------|---10-------------------| A--8----------10----------|---10-------------------| E-------------------------|---8--------------------| Hisashi E-------------------------|---0----0-----0----0-----| B-------------------------|---1------1---1------1---| G-------------------------|---0----------0----------| D---X-X-3--------X-X-5----|---2----------2----------| A---X-X-3--------X-X-5----|---3----------3----------| E---X-X-1--------X-X-3----|-------------------------| Itoshisa no imi wo shiru
Now, the next example comes from the intro to "More Than Love," where Hisashi and Takuro play in unison. You can hear the first three chords clearly, but the second half of the riff is a little messy, so add palm mutes and scratches to it. It starts off slow, and then it moves faster to a fast-paced song, which brakes at the end and in the middle for the guitar solos.
Intro (Guitars 1 & 2) ==palm mute throughout==== E----------------------------------------- B----------------------------------------- G-------2---4----------------------------- D---4---2---4-----------2-0-2-2----------- A---4---0---2------0-2------0-2p0--------- E---2------------2------------------------
Another example of guitars in unison comes from "Sen No Naifu Ga Mune Wo Sasu." The guitars play a fast (and very fun) riff and end it with a chromatic run on the A string which is palm muted.
Main Riff --PM------ --PM---- E-------------------------------------------------------- B-------------------------------------------------------- G-------------------------------------------------------- D--7--4--7--4--7--4------------7--4--7--4--7--4---------- A--5--2--5--2--5--2----0-1-2---5--2--5--2--5--2----0-1-2- E--------------------------------------------------------
Our next example comes from the fast-paced song "Rhapsody," which features a nice opening riff which is double by two guitars. An acoustic guitar and faintly heard electric play a D chord over the riff.
E--------------------------------------------------------- B-3/----15-15-15-15-\14-14-14-14-\12-12-12-12\10-10-10-10- G--------------------------------------------------------- D--------------------------------------------------------- A--------------------------------------------------------- E--------------------------------------------------------- E--------------------------------------------------------- B-\8-8-8-8-\7-7-7-7-\5-5-5-5-3-3-3-3-5-7-8~------7-8-10b-- G------------------------------------------6-7-9---------- D--------------------------------------------------------- A--------------------------------------------------------- E---------------------------------------------------------
The last example comes from "Glorious," in which the intro comes from two guitars playing the same rhythm figure, while the bass skips octaves for one measure.
E------------------------|------------------------| B------------------------|------------------------| G------------------------|------------------------| D-2h3--3-2h3-------------|-2h3--3-2h3-------------| A-3----3-3---------------|-3----3-3---------------| E------------------------|------------------------| Bass G------------------------|------------------------| D------------------------|------------------------| A-7h8-8-7h8--------------|------------------------| E------------------------|-0h1--1-0h1-------------|
Well, that's it. "RHAPSODY" tab is next, and my next work, "BELOVED" performance notes.
Questions? Comments? E-mail Kevin at GuitaRock@aol.com s=)