Editing Roger McGuinn (section)

==The Byrds==
[[File:The Byrds 1965.png|thumb|left|upright 1.3|McGuinn (centre) as a member of the Byrds in 1965]]
During his time with the Byrds, McGuinn developed two innovative and very influential styles of electric guitar playing. The first was "[[jangle|jingle-jangle]]", ringing [[arpeggio]]s based on [[banjo]] [[Fingerstyle guitar|finger picking]] styles he learned while at the Old Town School of Folk, which was influential in the [[folk rock]] genre. The second style was a merging of saxophonist [[John Coltrane]]'s free-jazz atonalities, which hinted at the droning of the [[sitar]], a style of playing first heard on the Byrds' 1966 single "[[Eight Miles High]]" and influential in [[psychedelic rock]].

While "tracking" the Byrds' first single, "[[Mr. Tambourine Man]]", at [[Columbia Records|Columbia]] studios, McGuinn discovered an important component of his style. "The 'Ric' <nowiki>[</nowiki>[[Rickenbacker#Rickenbacker guitars and 1960s rock and roll|12-string Rickenbacker guitar]]<nowiki>]</nowiki> by itself is kind of thuddy," he noted. "It doesn't ring. But if you add a [[Audio level compression|compressor]], you get that long [[sustain]]. To be honest, I found this by accident. The [[Audio engineering|engineer]], Ray Gerhardt, would run compressors on everything to protect his precious equipment from loud rock and roll. He compressed the heck out of my [[Twelve-string guitar|12-string]], and it sounded so great we decided to use two [[Vacuum tube|tube]] compressors (likely [[LA-2A Leveling Amplifier|Teletronix LA-2As]]) in series, and then go directly into the [[Mixing console|board]]. That's how I got my 'jingle-jangle' tone. It's really squashed down, but it jumps out from the radio. With compression, I found I could hold a note for three or four seconds, and sound more like a wind instrument. Later, this led me to emulate John Coltrane's saxophone on "[[Eight Miles High]]". Without compression, I couldn't have sustained the riff's first note."<ref>{{cite web|title=Byrds' Roger McGuinn gets to root of his music passion at folk conference|url=http://www.gomemphis.com/news/2009/feb/14/mcguinn-at-roots-of-folk/|work=Space Times News|publisher=cripps Interactive Newspapers Group|access-date=March 17, 2011|author=Bob Mehr|date=February 14, 2009}}</ref>
[[File:Roger McGuinn 1965 wearing glasses.jpg|thumb|McGuinn reading [[KRLA Beat|''KRLA Beat'']] in mid-1965 while wearing his distinctive glasses]]
"I practiced eight hours a day on that 'Ric,'" he continues, "I really worked it. In those days, [[12-string guitar|acoustic 12s]] had wide necks and thick strings that were spaced pretty far apart, so they were hard to play. But the Rick's slim neck and low action let me explore [[jazz]] and [[blues music|blues]] scales up and down the [[fingerboard|fretboard]], and incorporate more [[hammer-on]]s and [[pull-off]]s into my solos. I also translated some of my banjo picking techniques to the 12-string. By combining a [[Plectrum|flat pick]] with [[Finger pick|metal finger picks]] on my middle and ring fingers, I discovered I could instantly switch from fast single-note runs to banjo rolls and get the best of both worlds."<ref>{{cite web|title=Roger McGuinn – Rickenbacker 360/12|url=http://www.iconicguitar.com/2010/05/roger-mcguinn-rickenbacker-36012.html|work=Iconic Guitar|access-date=March 17, 2011}}</ref>

Another sound that McGuinn developed is made by playing a [[Seven-string guitar#Hybrid Designs|seven string guitar]], featuring a doubled G-string (with the second string tuned an octave higher). The [[C. F. Martin & Company|C. F. Martin]] guitar company released a guitar called the ''HD7 Roger McGuinn Signature Edition'' that claims to capture McGuinn's "jingle-jangle" tone, which he created with 12-string guitars, while maintaining the ease of playing a 6-string guitar.

[[File:RogerMcGuinnKralingen1970.jpg|thumb|Roger McGuinn at [[Holland Pop Festival|Kralingen]] (1970)]]
After ''Mr. Tambourine Man'' in 1965, "[[Turn! Turn! Turn!]]", written by [[Pete Seeger]] with the lyrics drawn from [[Ecclesiastes]] in the Old Testament, was the Byrds' second Number One success in late 1965. In 1966, “[[Eight Miles High]]” peaked at no. 14 on the U.S. charts, achieving enduring classic status, even though the song was subject to a U.S. radio ban due to its alleged reference to recreational drug use. 1967 found the Byrds sliding still further in the charts, with “[[So You Want to Be a Rock 'n' Roll Star]]” which peaked at no. 29. “[[My Back Pages]]”, another Bob Dylan cover, was released later the same year and was to be their last top 40 hit. In 1969, McGuinn's solo version of the "Ballad of Easy Rider" appeared in the film ''[[Easy Rider]]'', while a full-band version was the title track for the album released later that year. McGuinn also performed a cover of Bob Dylan's "It's Alright, Ma (I'm Only Bleeding)" for the [[Easy Rider (soundtrack)|''Easy Rider'' soundtrack]]. 1970's ''[[Untitled (The Byrds album)|Untitled]]'' album featured a 16-minute version of the Byrds' 1966 hit "Eight Miles High", with all four members taking extended solos representative of the "jam-band" style of playing popular during that period.<ref>{{cite web|title=The Byrds Biography|url=http://rockhall.com/inductees/the-byrds/bio/|work=The Inductess: The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame|publisher=The Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Museum|access-date=March 17, 2011|year=2010}}</ref>

In 1968, McGuinn helped create the groundbreaking album ''[[Sweetheart of the Rodeo]]'', to which many attribute the rise in popularity of [[country rock]]. McGuinn originally conceived the album as a blend of rock, jazz, folk and other styles, but [[Gram Parsons]] and [[Chris Hillman]]'s bluegrass-western-country influences came to the forefront.
[[File:Roger MdGuinn in 1972-by Dan Volonnino.jpg|thumb|McGuinn with the Byrds at a concert held at [[Washington University in St. Louis]] (September 1972)]]