The Musical Colors of Andy Summers

It was December 1982, and the Police, barely tolerating one another, were recording their final album, Synchronicity, at legendary producer George Martin’s AIR Studios in Montserrat. As the band’s skillful and creative guitarist, Andy Summers, recounted recently to YouTuber Rick Beato, the band was sitting with a synth-laden version of the soon-to-be mega-hit “Every Breath You Take” that no one quite cared for. With the song then being stripped down to basic tracks and songwriter Sting asking Summers to “make it your own,” the guitarist proceeded to record—in one take—the now-famous guitar hook that catapulted the song to #1 on Billboard’s pop chart.Last June, Summers released his latest solo album, the adventurous Vertiginous Canyons, which you can read more about in the fun and incisive Andy Summers: The Premier Guitar Interview. So, let’s take this opportunity to revisit the guitarist’s unique creativity in some of the Police’s classic songs, as the band weaved together elements of rock, punk, reggae, and jazz.Chords Are KeySo much about music and guitar playing, even soloing, begins to make more sense as you develop a better understanding of chords, a key part of Summers’ musical foundation. Ex. 1 is based on the aforementioned classic part in “Every Breath You Take.”Ex. 1Solid fret-hand fingering is important in order to be able to pull this off as smoothly as Summers does in the above video. He is notably employing a palm-mute throughout, which frees him from being overly concerned with the notes ringing over each other, and he can maneuver his fret-hand index finger to jump to non-adjacent strings. Let’s tackle Ex. 1 using his method. For the Eadd2 chord, use your index and pinky to fret the 5th and 4th strings, respectively; then, shift your index finger to the 3rd string to fret the G#. The only other challenge is the F#m(add2) chord, which you can fret with your index, middle and pinky, shifting your index finger as in the previous chord.
But what’s this “add2” stuff all about? Well, we’re in the key of E major, so let’s first take a look at its accompanying major scale: E–F#–G#–A–B–C#–D#. The notes of a basic triad (three-note chord) are the root, 3rd and 5th, with our E chord spelled E–G#–B. To the find the 2nd of any chord, simply count one step up the scale from its root. One step up from E is F#, which is indeed the note we’re adding to our E chord in the example. To add the 2nd to the F#m and A chords, we add a G# and B, respectively.
The 2nd can also be used in place of the 3rd in a chord, which Summers famously does in the opening riff of “Message in a Bottle” from 1979’s Reggatta De Blanc. These chords are known as “sus2” chords, as adding the 2nd without the 3rd being present creates a suspension—the tension created by adding a non-chord tone. (You might also be familiar with sus4 chords.) Ex. 2 illustrates an easy way to add the 2nd to some open-position chords. For the Gsus2, the 2nd (A) is located on the 3rd string; for the Csus2, the 2nd (D) is both on the 4th and 2nd strings, and for the Fsus2, the 2nd (G) is located on the 3rd and 1st strings.Ex. 2Ex. 3 illustrates the very same concept, but involves stretched voicings Summers employs in “Message…” Note how satisfying it sounds to resolve the 2nd of Asus2 (B) to its 3rd (C#) at the end of the second bar. In much the same way, you can create drama in your own playing simply by being aware of this concept of tension and release.Ex. 3Summers’ ColorsA hallmark of Summers’ playing is how deft he is at adding all sorts of colors to chords, which he does quite often in a host of Police classics, including “Every Little Thing She Does Is Magic” from 1981’s Ghost in the Machine.Here, though, he takes a different tack. By allowing the same open strings to drone over each chord of the progression, new colors are created each time. Ex. 4 illustrates this in a similar fashion.Ex. 4We’re moving a simple 5ths shape up the neck on the 2nd and 4th strings, while letting the open strings do the heavy lifting. Sometimes these droning notes turn out to be basic chord tones (root, 3rd, or 5th), as in bar 1’s G6 chord, where the open G string is the root. However, the open E adds the 6th, lending its own unique flair. The open G is key to the next two chords, where it acts as the 7th of A7 and the root of Gmaj13/B. In that same chord, the open E becomes its 6th. (The 6th is the same note as the 13th, but is generally called the latter when the 7th is present, as it is here in the form of the F#). Adding the same open strings to the C chord in bar 4 would simply result in its 3rd (E) and 5th (G), so we took things up a notch by adding the suspended 2nd (D) on the 1st string. Using Colors in a Different WaySo far, we’ve learned how to use colors to vastly expand our vocabulary of chords. But learning to recognize each color’s unique sound, while at the same time being able to visualize them on the fretboard, also massively revs up your soloing ability. A great way to do this is to learn to visualize where the color notes are located on the fretboard in relation to the chord shapes you already know. First, let’s create a compelling guitar melody (Ex. 5) over the same chords used in Ex. 1.Ex. 5Before actually playing it, reacquaint yourself with Ex. 1’s Eadd2 chord shape, noting that the added 2nd (F#) is found on the 4th string. Ex. 5 begins with that very same F# resolving up to G#, the 3rd. Now, play bar 1 while visualizing the Eadd2 chord shape. (If you prefer, you can visualize a basic open position E shape, noting where the 2nd can be located.) Much like how the CAGED system is structured, this same shape can be moved up the neck. (For more on CAGED, check out these Premier Guitar lessons.) For example, let’s try finding the same melody over a Gadd2 chord by first moving our Eadd2 shape up to the 3rd position, creating a Gadd2 chord, with its root found on the 6th string, 3rd fret). It requires stretching your fingers a bit, but here, actually playing the chord isn’t our focus. Instead, simply visualize the shape, noting how its 2nd (A) is again found on the 4th string. Next, play Ex. 6, which is our same melody, arranged to function over a Gadd2 chord. This same process can be repeated for the F#m(add2) and Aadd2 chords, and to visualize any added color note or suspension.Ex. 6Finally, let’s loosen things up by playing a similar melody, but more in the style of a guitar solo, primarily by adding some bends, as in Ex. 7. Ex. 7In similar fashion, exploring Andy Summer’s style, especially his vast knowledge of chords, reveals a depth to his playing that can be mined to open up new worlds to boost our own creativity.