Brett Garsed is one of those rare players whose influence runs deeper than most people realise — not just in what he plays, but in the seamless, integrated way he plays it. This masterclass from the 2021 Modern Guitar Summit covers his approach to modern integrated slide guitar, and includes a wide-ranging conversation that touches on music history, influences, and what it took to develop a genuinely individual voice.
What you’ll get out of this lesson
You’ll get an inside view of how Brett approaches slide guitar as a fully integrated part of his overall technique, alongside his reflections on the players and experiences that shaped his musical development. This is as much about mindset and musical philosophy as it is about technique.
A Different Era: Finding Music the Hard Way
Brett grew up in the mid to late 1970s, at a time when access to music was radically limited compared to today. With only two television channels, seeing a worthwhile musical performance was rare. He describes watching Rory Gallagher on the Old Grey Whistle Test by chance, scrambling to find a cassette tape to record the rest of the show — and then not getting to see that footage again until around 2003, when it appeared on YouTube. Albums were equally hard to source: Brett relied on a friend at his local record store who would scour catalogues and contact import shops to find rare material. The Larry Carlton album with “Room 335” is one he recalls picking up in a record store and immediately knowing it was something special.
It was when I heard Larry and people like that, people with a really developed vocabulary, playing with a rock tone and a rock attitude, that’s what just did my head in.
Building a Vocabulary: Influences and Integration
Brett traces the lineage of the fusion style he became known for through Jeff Beck’s “Blow by Blow” and “Wired” albums, then Larry Carlton, Allan Holdsworth, Scott Henderson, and Frank Gambale. He’s careful to credit those players rather than accept the mantle of founding father — his own account is that he became a composite of those influences and found his own departure point from them. The integrating of hybrid picking, legato, rock sensibility, and blues feel into a unified language is what made his playing a launching pad for many players who came after him.
Modern Integrated Slide Guitar
The core of this masterclass is Brett’s approach to slide as something woven into his regular technique, not separated from it. Rather than treating slide as a distinct mode that requires a different posture or mindset, he integrates it fluidly with his usual picking and legato vocabulary. This allows him to move in and out of slide playing within a single phrase — approaching it the same way a jazz player might use vibrato or a bent note, as one colour among many rather than a total stylistic commitment.
Mindset and Perspective
Throughout the conversation Brett is consistently generous and self-deprecating, but there’s a real lesson in his perspective on influence and development. He talks about his time teaching at MI (Musicians Institute) and how he would direct students who were excited by fusion towards Scott Henderson — pointing them past himself to the source. That kind of honest, outward-looking orientation towards music and other players is a characteristic of the best musicians, and it comes through clearly here.
Taking it further
To deepen your engagement with this masterclass, seek out the recordings Brett references — the Jeff Beck albums “Blow by Blow” and “Wired” are the clearest entry point into the lineage he describes. Then listen to Brett’s own work to hear how those influences were absorbed and transformed. Pay particular attention to moments where he moves between slide and conventional technique within a phrase.
Your homework
Listen to one track this week that features Brett Garsed and identify at least one moment where he integrates slide with his regular technique in a way you can hear clearly. Transcribe that moment — even roughly, focusing on the shape of the line and the timing rather than every exact pitch — and then try to reproduce the feeling of that transition on your own guitar, whether or not you use a slide yourself.