Pat Metheny's Finger Routes: the role of muscle memory in guitar Improvisation

Based on transcriptions taken from footage of Pat Metheny's live performances, this analysis examines a selection of Metheny's guitar solos in order to investigate the relationship that exists between improvisation and instrumental technique, with a particular focus on left-hand (the fretting hand) muscle memory. Through the examination of four solos it is hoped that stylistic features of Metheny's playing will be discovered in terms of demonstrating some of his unique vocabulary, but primarily the analysis aims to go beyond simply presenting licks, and to begin to demonstrate the way in which Metheny navigates his instrument whilst improvising, and to show how the mechanical movements impact on the musical ideas and the construction of the improvisations themselves.