Martin Miller is a man of many talents. The German musician is a highly respected educator, with books and video courses to help rock guitarists expand into fusion. He’s an Ibanez endorsee who unveiled his latest model, the MMN1, in 2023. He writes, records and tours original music, the most recent release being last year’s Maze of My Mind solo album.
But if there’s anything that’s really helped build his profile in recent times, it’s the live studio performances enrolling guitar heroes old and new to cover hits of every kind. From Hey Jude with Paul Gilbert to Kiss from a Rose with Lari Basilio and Get Lucky with Kirk Fletcher, plus more features from the likes of Mateus Asato, Josh Smith and Mark Lettieri, every one of these YouTube videos feels like you’re witnessing history in the making.
“With medleys, I try to give everyone a month’s notice because the arrangements are very specific,” Miller says.
“For the straight covers, we just wing it. The first take is the rehearsal – and the fourth one has to be it. When we did Superstition with Paul Gilbert, the intro was completely unplanned. On the final go, he just started improvising and pointing at me! It was a special moment, but there have been many since we got our first big guest, Andy Timmons.”
Timmons is a good point of reference for a player like Miller. Both are phenomenally skilled from a technical standpoint but often find themselves searching for more universal, vocal-like ideas that can articulate a clearer message than anything too convoluted or over-embellished.
“My older content was way more technique-driven,” Miller says. “Eventually I wanted to become more sophisticated. Virtuoso music can be impressive but extremely shallow. Other things seem simple but can be far more complex in depth. My jazz training helped. The way I approach Still Got the Blues,’ which funnily enough isn’t that bluesy and more European in places, is the same as Stella by Starlight.”
There’s a lot more to jazz than haphazardly inserting a few passing tones, he reasons. It’s not as much about playing the wrong notes as it is targeting the right ones, at the right time. Make no mistake, they’re always intentional.
“There’s no fishing for notes,” he says. “Take an A7 chord going to D major; it’s good to think of the connective tissue before the change. I might use a double-chromatic enclosure landing on the major third of D, which is F#, starting one note above, and then playing two from below leading into it.
“It’s a jazz concept, but you have to remember ideas are interchangeable. The difference is that I’m doing it with more gain and attitude.”
- Maze of My Mind is out now. Martin's latest book, Modern Rock Guitar Soloing, is out now via GuitarVivo.
