Modern ska blends brisk tempos, overdriven guitars, and bombastic drums to create an infectious energy that's hard to deny. One of the biggest hits from the genre's resurgence in the late 90s, Goldfinger's "Superman incorporates a rhythm guitar playing triads (upper chord voicings) on the upbeats. This guitar technique, commonly referred to as "skank", "ska upstroke" or "bang,", helps define ska. The "skank" can be difficult to pull off at first, due the fast tempos employed in ska songs. Both the fretting hand and the strumming hand need to be in sync, while employing techniques that require a certain degree of finesse. Let's quickly dive into some of the basic mechanics of both hands to gain a better understanding of how to play ska songs, including "Superman."
For the most part, ska rhythm guitar emphasizes playing chords on up beats. It can be difficult to play in time when doing this, especially for those not used to playing off- rhythms. However, "Superman," the guitar player's right hand constantly strums the strings in an 8th note pattern. With the right hand strumming downbeats and emphasizing upbeats, the arm's back- and- forth motion seems to mimic a metronome -- and that helps immensely in keeping time.
The left- hand technique complements the right- hand technique. For the most part, every downbeat strum is muted with the left hand. To do this, the guitarist keeps his fret hand touching the strings without pushing them onto the frets; the resulting sound is more rhythmic than melodic. Whenever the upbeat strums occur, the guitarist frets the chord to let it ring out. And while that seems simple enough, there's more to it than that; These chords are meant to be played staccato, which means the sustain of the chords are cut short. To do this, the left hand relieves the pressure from the strings shortly after playing the chord, which will prevent the strings from vibrating further. So to play this song correctly, your left hand will need to constantly change pressure on the strings; shifting between fretted and muted at exactly the right time will create that distinctive urgent, stabbing sound that makes this song so infectious.
It's a good idea to practice both right -hand and left- hand technique separately before putting them together, but once you do, then it's a question of endurance -- "Superman" is almost as fast as its namesake, so it might take you a few tries to play through the entire song without your hand cramping. Stick with it and you'll get there!
Brian Sheu joined Ubisoft's Rocksmith team in 2016. He currently holds a BA in Jazz Performance from San Jose State University, as well as an AA in Guitar Performance from Musician's Institute.
"Goldfinger live in Philadelphia in June 2008" by thisisbossi is licensed under CC BY-SA 2.0.
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