ee TECHNIQUE Quarren If you want to get the virtuoso sound, you need to have a great alternate pi nique, Good alternate picking is tough. Here are some things to keep in mind as you practice the following examples: \ — Donot “lait” your right hand. In other words, don’t move your picking hand as fast as | you can and then add your fretting hand later, The hands must wor! unison. Start slowly and speed up. Using a metronome to control your speed is a good idea & The reason we practice technique is because we want no limitations on what we can play. Remember though. if you focus only on technique, you will not become a good player. ‘There are many things that make a great player and chops are only a part of it. Here'saquickexplanation of} 10) pned wsetor ‘the TAB used in this book: " e— i f —— ALTERNATE PICKING ‘Alternate picking is the technique of alternating between down-picks and up-picks. We'll start with a double-picking exercise, Notice that each note is picked twice (hence the name). ™ = Pick down, towards the floor. rick up, towards the ceiling. Praga 4arr221144442201 10-10" 13182 4313- aH a 40-10 10-10- 10-10- 30-1098 0-20-1919 0-218 ie 5s! ir 15-15" 15715" 1-17 AAT AAT AR-A?- A717- Aap zer raat agar a arse arr earn aard 3 Continue exercise 1 until you run out of frets! You can also try it on different strings. Here's a cool sequence. A sequence is a melodic pattern that is repeated at different pitch levels. This one has a four-note pattern that is moved down the neck chromatically (in half steps — a distance of one fret). When played very fast, it'll sound like a video game. Continue the sequence down to the 1st fret. gu “i a bl . b e be be o * o be he 2 - : + io f 6° ‘2 29 —10—20 491819 19917 18 1716 i 16. 15: ee a a rB- = 1 3 2 3 1 8 2 3 @e bp» a. Continue the pattern 14: 43-—12- —13 > 44 aWe're going to use groupings of five in this next exercise. Many sequences guitarists play are in even numbered groups, such as four or six. Using a group of five is a good way to break itup alittle, it provides a more interesting challenge for the picking hand, ge t aaa ee 2104 Og ae Pv arzr ez 4a e224 42142442244 24 Here’s a cool exercise combining a grouping of the first six notes of the D and A Major scales. . in. ¥ ete és eRe wae ae rE e rT AS oe Oe face 4 7 a4 4 2 12 49 ¢ 4 @ 2 gs 194 141848191713 171g— SINGLE-STRING PICKING —— how lets take a look at alternate picking on 2 single string. Staying on one string allows us to increase the tempo (speed) a little because we do not have the difficulty of moving to grother string, Without the distraction of changing strings, you can concentrate on coordi nating the two hands. One of the mostimportant aspects of having good chops is being able to keep the hands synchronized, even at rapid tempos. This exercise is based on the chromatic scale (a scale using only half steps). Be careful when playing this one, The notes are so close together that it's easy to lose synchronization between hands. nas | 2022-21 20°-19-21-20-19-18-20-19-ABATAOABAT AE ABTA 1O-1S UAE 1S 1410-98 141A 7,2 211521 eK ‘This exercise requires wider stretches with the left hand. 4 er eeu ee 6 he — é oes u —_— te? FE eS O10 Sf 0 HOSS OO ITO — = 4 TECHNICAL NOTE There are many styles of good alternate picking. Some players use the wrist for the picking motion, some use the arm or even a quick flex and release of the joints of the thumb and fingers. All these styles are okay! Stick with what feels most comfortable for you and practice, practice, practice. Using a heavier pick will improve your articulation (control of the sound of attack or beginning of each sound).The next example is another chromatic, single-string idea, but this time we'll use an odd grouping of notes similar to example 3 on page 6. This time, we'll work in groups of Seven. Again, be careful with the closeness of the chromatic notes. Keep it slow until you have some control. Sometimes, accenting the first and fifth beats of the grouping of seven helps to keep it clean. _ 42—10—8 —12—10—8- A0—8—7—5—8 13— TWO NOTES PER STRING— the traditional pentatonic scale fin- having three notes on a string and Let's not forget about two notes on a string, such a: gerings, As guitarists, we frequently get caught up loose the feel for other variations. 1447-4 sett ren—— SWEEP PICKING—— Let's take a look at economy or sweep picking. You are probably familiar with this tech~ nique. It involves using all downstrokes to ascend and all upstrokes to descend. Some players, such as Frank Gambale, are amazingly good at this technique and use it for nearly 100% of their Generally, the sound and rhythmic control of alternate picking are better, but for traditional arpeggio shapes and ideas that involve one note per string, sweep picking Is the only way to fly. The “catch 22” of this technique is that it’s harder to do slower, yet that’s how you have to practice to get it cookin’. Do not bounce your picking hand! Keep it solid and pretend you're pushing and pulling through the strings in one fluid motion rather than in separate picking motions, Let's start with a few sweeping basics. For the theory behind these arveggios, cheek out Chapter 2. Here is a classic A minor arpeggio using a combination of sweep picking, hammer-ons and pull-offs: Hammer-on Armin Okay, now for something larger; we'll “loop” the A Minor arpeggio from example 12 by playing it descending and then ascending Amin gen - ae? : “se! se 4 ot 4 aor - a 10 — —— 7212-15 e115 a1 .agaete-4t2t241433214‘Many rock players stick to major and minor sounds. Let's move beyond that. Check out this Amin?’ arpeggio. Notice the use of aslide -— to shift position on the 3rd string, Also ‘cheek out the picking hand extension at the top of the arpeggio. This is an easy way to ‘extend the range of your arpeggios. After you play the A on the 1st string, immediately bring your picking hand up and use your 1st or 2nd finger (whichever feels best) to tap on the C at the 20th fret. T=Tap - 1 son a oe 2 eS 5 be ee ftp oe SSS 2 HTP Pe ioe te me) 16 15137 — 20 417 —15- 214017 17412 % = 11 Ss 4204 a-3a 2 4 3 7 3 9 2 3-3 1 29 4 4 based on an A7 chord. We'll use our sweep j, and position slide as in the Amin7’S example above, but now we'll add some additional hammer-ons and pull-offs to extend the sound.While we're looking for interesting sounds, let's try using some suspended (sus) arpeggios. Ah, the sound of sus! They create a modern, wide interval sound. A sus arpeggio is created by starting with the notes of the basic triad, 1, 3 and 5, and replacing the 3rd with the Ind or 4th degrees of the major scale instead. See page 47 for more information about sus chords, Bsus4—_—_—; P= [MI PRO VISATION ———= Good rock improvisational skills include many elements. It takes a great ear, knowledge of the fretboard, a thorough knowledge of theory, 2 good sense of rhythm, chops, creativity, experience, etc. For now, wo're going to take a look at some of the theory involved in soloing. Keep in mind, also, that it's not always the obvious things, such as flashy technique, that make good soles. Inflection, the expression with which you play each note, is immensely important, Subtle nuances such as how and where you choose to bend, of slide, or vibrato are what make a real virtuoso, ‘These are all things most beginning and intermediate players ignore or don’t realize exist. But ‘they are just as important (if not more) than having chops. They define your personal style and help make your playing more emotive. Great improvisa- tion fs a combination of ideas such as those presented in this chapter, inflections and chops. — QUICK THEORY REVIEW —— It is assumed you already have a working knowledge of your pentatonic scales, basic arpeggios and are somewhat familiar with the infamous modes, As a quick review, below is the harmonized major scale, the organization of half steps and whole steps between ‘the roots of each chord and the corresponding modes for each degree. It is also a good idea to study the harmony review on pages 45-47 before going any further. If the mate- vial there is familiar to you, turn back to this page and continue, = whole step EA, = Half step Me? Dmin? Emin? Fmal7 a7 Amin? Emin7’5 CMaj7 fonian Dorian Paygian Lydian Mixolydian. © Aoelian. =—_Locrian lonian —— MODES —— ‘As you probably know, a mode is @ simple re-ordering of another scale. If you play a scale starting and ending on a note ather than the 1st degree of a major scale, you are playing ‘a mode of the major scale. For example, if you start and end the scale on the 2nd degree of a major scale, you have the Dorian mode. Even the scale starting on the 1st degree has a modal name: the lonian mode. “ <_—Here are fingerings for the seven modes of the major scale: lonian mode Borian mode Phrygian mode Lydian moue 1 2, 4 ni Mixolydian mode Aeolien mode “SS i Locrian mode The major scale is important because so much of what we do in music, theory-wise, stems from it. if you memorize the harmonized major scale chart on page 13, you have started to learn how to solo in any key, in any mode, If you learn the fingerings and know where the roots are in each, you're on your way to using your entire fretboard. Now, you may be saying, “Veah, well I know this stuff and have the modal finger- ings memorized but I'm still not satisfied with my solos.” This is most likely because you still can't hear the modes yet, and that's the most important part. Play these modes over and aver. Try te sing along with each pitch as you play them, and then try to sing the pitches before you play them. Find music you like that is written in certain modes and listen, The modes are like having seven different buckets of paint (oh no, silly analogy alert!), Each has its own individual “color.” You have to learn the subtle differences to use them well,— ARPEGGIOS —— ow, take a look at the harmonized scale on page 13 and notice that, when harmonized, each degree of the major scale has a corresponding chord. As you may know, arpeggios are just broken chords and arpeggios are very important tools for improvising. Many chords and ther corresponding arpeggios are built on the 1st, 3rd, Sth and sometimes 7th degrees of a seale, Let's look at some basic arpeggio forms. Major? 1 Minor? Dominant? 1 Now let’s put it together. Listen to the next track. It is a chord progression in E Mixolydian (A Major starting on the Sth degree, E). Listen to the use of diatonic arpeggios in the solo. Mixolydian E (Chords played by keys) Ftmin v Rhythm guitar or low E string pattern Die AleArpeggios can he used for improvisation with all the modes. Let's make a B Dorian progres- sion, Since the Dorian mode is built on the 2nd degree of a major scale, B Dorian uses the same notes and chords as A Major. To improvise, use the B Dorian mode and some of its diatonic arpeggios. Hore is a progression to solo over with the B Dorian mode. Let the band on the CD back you up. | Bmin? 77) —— RELATIVE PENTATONICS — This book assumes you know the five pentatonic positions (major and minor). If you don't, check out Beginning Rock Guitar by Paul Howard, also published by the National Guitar Workshop and Alfred, We can use the root position minor pentatonic fingering (probably the most familiar) anywhere there's a minor 7 chord in the harmonized major scale. We can use a major pentatonic scale to play over major chords. To get the most out of the major and ‘must understand several concepts: jor pentatonic scale fingerings you know, you 1, Every minor pentatonic scale has a relative major pentatonic scale. The A Minor Pentatonic and C Major Pentatonic scales can be played with the same fingering — they have exactly the same notes, only the roots are different. The roots are a minor 3rd (three half steps) apart with the minor scale being the lower. 2. The pentatonic scales can be treated as modes, too. For example, you know the B Dorian mode has the same notes as the A Major scale, but arranged in a different order. So, the A Major Pentatonic scale, which contains only notes from the A Major ‘scale, can be used in place of B D ). So can Ft Minor Pentatonic, which is the relative minor pentatonic to.A Major. Imagine the possibilities! ‘With all of this in mind, you'll see that over the B Dorian progression in example 20, we can use A Major pentatonic, B Minor Pentatonic, Ci Minor Pentatonic, D Major Pentatonic and FF Minor Pentatonic. Cool, huh? Go back and try example 20 using these scales. ISOver B Dorian, we can play E Dominant Pentatonic because E is the Sth degree in the key of A Major, which is the major scale that B Dorian is built from. We can also play Ct Japa- nese Pentatonic because Ct is the 3rd degree in A. Let’s take a listen to these two over our B Dorian progression. Remember, these are all only just fingerings or patterns — just tools. It's up to you to breathe some life into them. Learn ‘to hear the Japanese and Dominant pentatonic scales just as you would the regular modes. As mentioned earlier, to make these scales (and all scales for that matter) sound more interesting and musical, you need to use inflections (bending, sliding, vibrato etc.) as well. Listen for the use of inflections in this example, Then, create your own solo with these scales. Bmin7 Efe Hf you think about it, you'll see that in any one mode of the major scale, we have many improvisational tools: + Seven diatonic arpeggios with one root position and three inversions of each, + Three places to play the root position minor pentatonic and its four inversions {over iimin’, iiimin? and virin?). * Two places for the major pentatonic and its four inversions (over | and IV). + One place for the dominant pentatonic and its four inversions (over V). # One place for the Japanese pentatonic and its four inversions (over iiimin’), * Dozens of ways to finger each mode. Wow! That's a lot of stuff! Take just a few things at a time and learn them thoroughly. Remember, knowing a lot is not as important being able to use the information you have. Joe Satriani came an the scene in 1986 with the release of his first alburn, “Not of This Earth.” His combination of technical triliance and musical inventiveness coninue to inspire and instruct to this day,Let's purt it all together in a jam. The chord progression is shown in example 22. Notice that we're going to use several modes: D Dorian, € Lydian, G Aeolian and E Mixolydian. To bagin with. well stay on D Dorian for a while, but then the chords change more rapidly. This ‘means you have to stay on your toes because each chord suggests a different mode! TENSIONS You'l also notice the use of tensions in some of the chords. Tensions, often called extensions, are notes added to a chord that are higher than the 7th. Measuring up from the root of the chord, an extension will be either a 9th, 11th or 13th. They add color, and often diss. nance (a clash) to the chord — hence the name, tensions. See pages 46 and 47 for more information about tensions, Dmind Dming,13 DDorian-—-- Dring, 13 Di Cada DC Cadd9 min? © Chydian ~- + G Aeolian. _. E Mixolydian_—__ 4 f you are unfamiliar with some of these chords, soe Chapter 6 beginning on page 45. Here are some fingerings for the unusual chords: Dmin9 Dming, 13 D/C Cadd9 ¥0129 xo 20 21034 i YF, =Repeat the previous measure.23 “More!,” you cry? Okay, here we go. "—— THE HARMONIC MINOR SCALE AND ITS MODES — We have discussed how the major scale is harmonized and some ideas we can apply to it. Now let's move into other realms, There are two other wonderful scales trom which we can derive modes: the harmonic minor scale and the melodic minor scale. The harmonic minor and at least one of its modes have been made popular by such great guitarists as Ritchie Blackmore, Uli John Roth and the ever popular Yngwie Malmsteen and all of his successors. Here is the harmonized C Harmonic Minor scale and its arrangement of half steps and whole steps: CminMai7?—Drrin’s—eIMa7#S Emin? G7 AMaj7 —Bdim7— CminMaj7 é SS St NN Ss NT SN SS 4 w w H we SS - & 40: oi. eee etch Lt Notice that we have an augmented 2nd (whole step and a half—three half steps) between the 6th and 7th degrees of the scale. This makes some of the fingerings a little rough but practice makes perfect. Notice the interesting chords that result in harmonizing this scale: the min/Maj? (123-5-7) and Maj7*5 (1-3-45-7). Here are sample fingerings for these interesting chords: min/Maj7 Maj7#5 1423 Xx4344THE MODES OF THE HARMONIC MINOR SCALE ‘There are a variety of different names in use for the modes of the harmonic minor scale. For the sake of simplicity, let's once again think in terms of inversions. Here are the fingerings for the harmonic minor scale and its inversions: Root Position {st Inversion (starts on 2nd) 1 Ind Inversion (starts on b3rd) i 3rd Inversion (starts on 4th) let 4th Inversion (starts on Sth) i 6th Inversion (starts on 7th) 1 oT, 3ARPEGGIOS Keep in mind that we can make arpeggios from any of the diatonic chords of the harmonic minor scale, just as we did with diatonic chords of the major scale, You will notice that there are a few new chord types in the harmonized harmonic minor scale. Here are arpeggio fin- gerings for those chords: 1— The min/Maj7 (1, 3, 5, 7) Notice that since we have a dominant 7 chord (V7), we can br dominant pentatonic scale (page 17) to use in our solos. 1g back our friend the /= Double flat 7. One whole step (two half steps) lower than the usual position (major 7)., Here is a cool progression to jam over using the harmor Below is a great progression for the Sth mode or inversion of the harmonic minor scale, sometimes called Phyrgian dominant. This is a one of the more commonly used modes of the harmonic minor scale. Think modally — you can use any fingering of the harmonic or seale as long as you think of the Sth degree as the root. The result will be Phrygian dominant. Listen to the solo on the CD and then create your own. Fis GS FAS NC. qa o— 2-3 @ 2 0 3 12130 we—— THE MELODIC MINOR SCALE AND ITS MODES —— Now, on to the melodic minor scale and its modes. Strangely enough, these modes don't really make much of an appearance in rock music, We find them mainly in jazz and fusion but let's change all that, shall we? There's some very fertile ground for rock guitar within these melodic minor modes. Here is the harmonized C Melodic Minor scale: | CrminMaj? —Omin? —EPMa7#5 F? G7 Amin?’s—Bmin7*5— CminMaj7 St Ne Nee Se Ww H Ww Ww H Ww H i | j ; 3 4 3 : = $ 3 ¢ ——— — i 3 i — : Yngwie Malmsteen released his first solo album jn 1984. His speed and cexterity had a huge impact on the guitar world, drastically increasing the level of technical ability expected of rock quitarist.THE MODES OF THE MELODIC MINOR SCALE The modes of the melodic minor scale have some commonly used names that are based on those of the major scale modes. But, you can continue to think of them as 1st inversion (Dorian 2), 2nd inversion (Lydian °5), etc., if you like. Here are the fingerings for the melodic minor scale and it’s modes: Melodie Minor Dorianl2 Lydian #s tydianby xoiyaian be Aoelianbs Super Lectian (altered)Working new sounds into your playing will go a little smoother if you dig in gradually. Let's look at a progression with which the melodic minor scale works well. in this progression, we'll start with something familiar and then add a chord from the melodic minor scale. Over the first chord, Emin11, we can use an E Dorian mode. Over the second chord, Emin/Maj9, we'll use E Melodic Minor. This is also a good way to directly hear the difference between the two scales because we play them from the same place, E Emini EminMaj7,9 is © EminMaj7,9 0123) — A DOORWAY BETWEEN SCALES —— This is another way to go deeper into scale usage. This will be a short introduction to a fascinating idea. Vou should try to apply it in as many ways as you can, Notice that when we harmonize the major, harmonic and melodic minor scales, they all share a common chord — the V chord is dominant in all three, Dominant 7 ‘Major Scale CMa? min? Emin? Amin? Bmin?’5 Maj? —— = 444 C Harmonic Minor CminMaj?— Dmin7's Marts AMej7—Bdim?—Cmintaj7 1 | 6 i Melodic Miner CminMaj7 Din? E’Ma7ts, min??5— Bmin7’S — CminMaj7 CSThis becomes a kind of “doorway” through which we can move from one musical world to another. For example, in the next progression, there is an E7'5 chord over which we'll play the fourth mode or inversion of B Melodic Minor (often called the E Lydian °? scale). The TV chord of a melodic minor seale is a dominant 7 chord, so this mode works well — it contains the root, 3rd, 5th and ‘7 of the chord. Now we'll move up a whole step to an F'7(11) chord. Notice that we've arrived on the V chord of the B Melodie Minor scale, which is also a dominant 7 chord. Remember, the V chord is the doorway chord which will allow us to travel from one musical world to another. Now, instead of using the 5th mode of B Melodic Minor (F lydian '6), we'll switch to ‘thinking of the F!7(11) as the V chord of the B Major scale and use our trusty F Mixolydian mode (the 5th mode of the B Major scale). Because these scales have the same V chord, it will work musically. Let's take a look: Elydianbs —— === FF Mixolydian This is just the beginning of what you can accomplish thinking this way. You can take this idea further and work more chords from all three of these scales into a progression. Give it atry! Richie Blackmore recorded with Deep Purple and Rainbow in the 1970s and ’60s. He was one of the first players to bring the techniques and discioline of classical music to the world of rock guitar—— MELODIC MINOR AND THE POWER CHORD —— Because we use power chords so much in rock, by now you may be thinking, “Yeah, well, | like all this melodic minor stuff just fine, but { don’t want to play all those jazz chords!” Well, fear not, my head-banging friend — your power chords still come in handy. Let's make a progression based on an E power chord that also uses important tones from the E Lydian ‘7 mode, which is the 4th mode of the B Melodic Minor scale. The notes of the E Lydian 7 mode are E, F?, Gi, A#, B, C’ and Di. The basic E power chord — E5 — consists of the notes E and B. We can start with a power chord, then keep the E in the bass and move the top note around to notes from the E Lydian "7 mode. This would make a cool progression for soloing with the Lydian ‘7 mode without using any jazzy diatonic chords. —— VISUALIZATION —— ‘An important element of improvisation is visualization. Visualization means to see with your “mind's eye”— being able to mentally “see.” In the case of improvising, it refers to being able to simultaneously “see” everything available to you in any given situation. For ex- ample, let's say you have a chord progression that changes keys with each chord. When each chord is played, every note usable over that particular chord should “light up” on the fretboard in your mind. Obviously, this is easier said than done. Remember that every musical device — every type of arpeggio, each pentatonic scale, every mode — has a unique effect. If you visualize an arpeggio and decide to play it over a chord, it will sound much different than if you had chosen to play a pentatonic scale. For ‘example, sometimes arpeggios are equated with a classical sound, whereas a pentatonic scale may lend itself to a bluesy sound. The physical layout on the fingerboard of each of these devices is important, too. For example, a pentatonic scale is laid out a little better for bending certain notes. 1 is why it’s important to see all possibilities, whether entatonic scales, peggios or whatever. It’s also important to use the notes available in unique ways. That's where four-notes-per-string fingerings come in. SS— FOUR-NOTES-PER-STRING FINGERINGS 4 ists, much of what we play involves three notes on a string, such as the modal Js found earlier in this chapter. We can shake this up a bit by visualizing four notes on a string instead. Your lines will become more interesting. They will also become more linear and have a different kind of interval structure, Instead of thinking of traditional scales, let's break away from the norm and look at this in terms of small cells of four-note patterns for use on any string, Remember, although you can slide between the notes of each cell, the true usefulness of this idea only shines through when you use all four fingers of the left hand. CELA For use with major, melodic minor and harmonic minor sounds. Es CELL. For use with major, melodic minor and harmonic minor sounds, 2e{—be fet fe CELLC For use with major, melodic minor and harmonic minor sounds. fe oe 3 +o CELL.D For use with meladic minor and harmonic minor sounds. fe Ps “eeCELE ° For use witfi major or melodic minor sounds. [° “® “@ CELL F For use with harmonic minor sounds. lig Ve | \3q \*e | CELL G For use with harmonic minor sounds. 4 [> 2@-e 2 CELL H For use with pentatonic sounds. CELLS For use with pentatonic sounds. CELLJ For use with pentatonic sounds.The diagram below shows what all six strings on a section of the neck would look like for the 8 Dorian mode using our four-notes-per-string visualization. Notice that, because of the four-note structure, many notes are repeated. These are the available notes in this part of the fretboard for use when improvising with B Dorian, not a tradi these are the notes that should “light up” when jalizing B Doriar sound unusual when played straight through from bottom to top or vice versa. BLDORIAN WITH FOUR-NOTES-PER-STRING Brin? E/E =m P Ss PHH H HH Bp S 2 4014121417 sees oe 1e18 Let's listen to this approach being used over a B Dorian progression on the CD. Here's the progression: Bmin7 EB There are only twelve different notes we can use (in Western music) and they've alll been used before, many times over. It's up to us to combine them in different orders and different ways that sound pleasing or interesting to our ears (and hopefully the ears of others!). The four-note-per-string concept is just one road to creativity. Seek others! ~~Rhythm is an extremely important area of focus, even in your soloing. As a good soloist, it's imperative that you pay close attention to what you solo over — not only harmoni cally, but rhythmically as well. Many guitarists just wail over the chords and don't really listen to the rhythm. As a result, their solos lack coherence. Great soloists are always in the groove, In this chapter, we will cover some advanced rhythmic ideas, such as odd time signatures. |t is assumed that you can play in time and that you know a little bit about the | time signature and the basic theory behind rhythm. if not, check out Beginning Rack Guitar by Paul Howard. Let's get started. Accenting — playing specific notes louder than others —is an important part of making a rhythm sound good. Simply stressing certain notes can add interest to an otherwise uninteresting Passage. Let's take a simple, sixteenth-note groove in | and add specific accents. We'll use an €7°9 chord for this one. erta accent a —— ODD TIME —— Odd time refers to time signatures where the number of beats per measure is greater than four and not divisible by two, such as }, { and 11. Often, it is helpful to think of them as a 1e signature with a missing or added beat, or part of a beat. This can have ‘the effect of throwing the listener off, making them say, “hmmm ... that’s odd.” Odd time will probably seem relatively mathematical at first — you'll have to count carefully to get the “feel.” However, it is enormously important to get beyond this point and become more comfortable, eventually internalizing these rhythms and time signatures, In other words, feel it Lett groove, If it stays a math equation, your music and groove will be rigid and boring, Let's take a look at a groove in {. We're going to accent certain beats thus subdividing the ‘group of seven notes into 3+2+2. You can subdivide the seven beats into any combination of beats that adds up to 7. For example, 2+3+3 or 4+3 are possible groupings. Try to come up with some groupings of your own, scratch or chuck. Wold the eee strings closed with the left hand te and strum with the right to create an unpitched, percussive effect. eure. 2 °S 2 TF 2 1 Re BM Bn a SSLet's try an example in 3. & 2838182 182838182 Like training your ear, you need to train yourself to feel these rhythms rather than read them. It’s gotta groove! Sometimes it's cool to put several time signatures together — changing from one to the other. The term for this is metric modulation. This can be found in the music of progressive rock bands such as Rush, Genesis, Kansas and Dream Theater, Below is an example that changes time every measure! Try to feel it as one, unified rhythmic pattern. Gsus2 Bsus2 sus2 Bsus2 ous1st Guitar ‘Another interesting idea for use with odd polyrhythm — the juxtaposition of time natures against each other. This means playing in two or more time signatures simulta- neously. King Crimson — a great band — uses this idea frequently. In this example, the 1st Guitar will play a phrase in {time. The 2nd Guitar comes in with a figure in 3, and then we'll add a 3rd Guitar playing in {. and Guitar & Ol Teach 34 This idea can certainly be used with other instruments as well. In this example, we'll have ‘the drums play in J while the guitar plays a figure in . THE GUITAR PART E5add9 Cie G5add9 crLet's work a bit of this odd time stuff into our soloing. When soloing over an odd time groove, you have to phrase differently than you would in |. This is why you must eventu- ally internalize these rhythms rather than just count them out. Odd times force one to think a little differently, too. Some of the old standby licks you've been playing for years won't work that well in an odd time. A good place to start would be to play short phrases and try to end them on the first beat. Let's listen to some soloing in a | groove on the CD. Here's the groove: Badd Gadd! 11,13 If you happen to be playing in } time, you can still use a little odd time in your soloing to spice things up a bit. Just as we juxtaposed different time signatures on page 34, we can phrase in an odd time, or give the sense of odd time, while playing over a standard 4 groove. Let's check out some phrases of five and seven played over 2 | groove. Listen to the CD track and try to hear the odd length solo lines sound against the {. In the first and third bars, play seven notes in the times of two beats. In the second and fourth bars, play five notes in the time of two beats. 6s 1s—10—15- 10 43-8-10—-8-19-10— -13-8-19-8-48-10— 18101510(i pRACTICE ————— HAPTER Tivee things are needed for proper technique-oriented practicing: a metronome, a lot of time and a ton of drive, —— CONCENTRATION —— Technical guitar playing is probably 99.9% in the mind. It's not really what you Practice, but how. You must develop your ability to concentrate to an immense degree. This is easier aid than done. Try this exercise within an exercis. LOOPING ‘Take one short lick or sequence such as the first example in Chapter One of this book. Loop it — play the example over and aver again, Don't {think about anything but what you're playing. Feel the pick hitting the strings. Is it dead on? Are you getting a full sound on every note? Feel the tips of your fretting hand, Are you using just enough of the finger to. Set a good sound without being inefficient? Are your fingers springing off as quickly as possible without cutting the sound off? Are you fi them too high? Try to sense all of this at once. Keep going. During the looping exercise, are you thinking about what happened in school or work today? Bre You wondering what’ for dinner? Are you thinking about what's on TV? Are you thinking about an object that's in the room you're in or an event that happened to you? ‘Most likely, {he answer to one or more of those questions is “yes.” Or maybe you were distracted by Sound, like birds or cars outside your window. The answer to all of these needs to he "no" You absolutely must concentrate completely on whatever you're practicing at a particular time. Essentially, you must "be" the exercise. The mind wants to wander — and certainly will — unless you take control, —— WARMING-uP —— Warming-up is also essential. Strenuous practice without a proper warm-up can lead to 2 case of tendonitis. Repetitive motion injuries run rampant among musicians, especially with guitarists who lean toward a technical style of playing, Try some gentle hand stretches (away from the guitar) and some slow scales and arpeggios until your hands feel warm and loose before getting into a heavy practice session, IS— GET YOUR MIND IN THE RIGHT PLACE —— Here are some things that will help to develop your concentration and “get your mind in the right place" for practicing: 4. Loop a short exercise and apply complete concentration for around 15 seconds, Then rest. Repeat this cycle of looping and resting. Try this each day and build up gradually — over a period of weeks — to longer and longer loops. 2. _ Listen te your favorite “technical” guitarist for a while hefore you sit down to practice. This will inspire you and make you want to work a little harder, By the time you get to ‘the guitar, you'll be completely hyped-up and ready to go. 3. Practice for no more than an hour at atime. You can’t really concentrate properly for longer than that and it's not good to put more strain on the hands than an hour's worth of chops practicing. This may sound silly, but...clean your practice room! The more orderly and neat your practice area is, the more you are put in the frame of mind to exercise di ein your practicing. You will become a “neat freak” and that's a good state of mind to be in while practicing for chops. 5. Try to find a practice area that is well away from distractions. Not only do you have internal distractions (stray thoughts) to defeat, but external ones (based on your senses), too. Your senses will try as hard as they can to take your mind off what you're doing — but it’s your job to overcome this. 6. Speaking of distractions: no TV! Or telephone. Many people love to flop down in front of the TV and watch reruns of The Love Boat while “practicing.” This is called “maintenance,” not practice, and doesn't help you break new ground in your playing. 7. There are two basic levels to practicing chops: 1. Training your hands to do what you want them to (training your motor memory) and, after this is achieved; 2. Playing the exercise faster while still maintaining efficiency. There is an inherent danger in getting something into your motor memory and then repeating it day in and day out, though, and that leads to... & Mix things up. Don't always practice the same things every day in the same way. For example, start all of your exercises one day on an upstroke instead of a downstroke, or vice-versa. If you're used to starting something one way and then try it differ. ently, it will confuse your hands at first and force you to make some new mental connections. That's a good thing. 9, Make a list of things you want to accomplish for each day and follow it meticulously. A ‘theme that has been running through this chapter is “get your mind in the right place.’ Strangely enough, writing dovmn a schedule for practicing will help you to do Just that. Much more so than just thinking “Hmmm... ! guess Il practice this and then something else.” A sample practice schedule might go like this: 10 minutes — Warm-up 10 minutes — Single-string alternate picking 10 minutes — Arpeggios (alternate picking) 20 minutes — Sweeping technique 10 minutes — Fretting hand legato (developing smooth, connected lines with hammer-ons, pull-offs and tapping) <10. 1. You absolutely, positively must sometimes leave your comfort zone. Once an exercise is acquired into motor memory, the hands move automatically. This is the crucial stage when you must play the exercise at the edge of your ability without losing synchronization between the hands, Push your limits. When doing this, if you don’t feel uneasy, you're not making the progress you should be. Remember, however, you must guard against repetitive strain injuries — don't try to play through pain. Use a metronome. A metronome is a great tool for measuring how fast you can play something. Using one is an easy way to find what your “edge” speed is with any given passage, and it will give you a reference point from which to push that speed. Sometimes, knowing this information can work against you. If you know where your “edge” speed is, your mind may “tell” you that's the top, and you can’t go any faster. Fear not, there is a way to beat your mind at its own game. Simply turn on the metronome randomly, without looking, and increase the speed until you can't possibly go any faster without falling apart on the exercise. Then look at what speed it’s set. Sometimes, you'll be surprised to learn that you can play faster than you thought. Although we've been stressing the metronome, sometimes you need to avoid using it. Balance your practicing between playing with the metronome and then simply going to your amp, plugging in, setting the distortion to “stun” and playing your brains out, This goes along with the whole idea of “mixing it up” mentioned in #8, Practice on a clean channel or acoustic, as well. Playing out — either gigs or jam sessions — is essential, especially if you can play with other musicians of high caliber. This dramatically increases your ability on the instrument. Pretend your favorite guitarist is looking over your shoulder. How would you play? You can get the most out of practicing, by alternating the emphasis of each hand in what you practice. For instance, when your picking hand gets tired, switch to legato (hammer-on and pulFoff) exercises. This allows you to stay fresh and not hurt either one of your hands, Rest! The die-hard practicers out there always start kicking and screaming when they hear this. But taking a day or two off is very beneficial to your playing. You may loose a little edge, but you'll gain a new perspective and a renewed energy for playing. This Is also a great way to push through those “sticking points” we all occasionally hit. Go somewhere and do something totally different than music. Do not think of anything relating to the guitar or music if at all possible. Enjoy life. Remember, the more time you spend with the guitar, the better you're going to get. And by using the practicing ideas in this chapter, you'll be able to make the best use of your time and experience the quickest gains. It's not only quantity of time, it's quality time as well. You have to have it all!guar SS ADVANCED SOLOING = In this chapter, we'll be using some of the techniques and tonalities you've learned earlier in the book. We'll combine arpeggios and the “sweeping” technique. We'll use some scales we discussed earlier and learn some new scales and advanced ideas as well. It's a good idea to blend things together as much as possible so that no one technique or idea is painfully obvious. {Alot of rock guitarists are happy to solo with just a single minor pentatonic scale fingering in one position on the neck. Anyone working in this book is not likely to be satisfied with that kind of playing. It is one of the aims of this book to open your mind and ears to new sounds and scales, and to try to get you playing them over the entire range of the guitar. We'll take that a little farther now with this next concept. —— ALTERED CHORDS—— ‘An altered chord is one where either the Sth or the 9th (see page 47), if the chord has one, is changed with either a sharp or a flat. The possible alterations, measured up from the root, are '9, ‘9, °5 and ‘5, The inclusion of altered chords in a progression opens up many interesting po ies for soloing, Take a look at the progression in example 41. The first chord is E7°5. The Sth is altered with a flat. Over this chord, we'll use an E Lydian '7 scale (the 4th mode of the melodic minor scale — see page 25). THE F LYDIAN*7 SCALE E75 Fitaddt1 G78 Amin7’5rs Here’s an idea based on the Lydian '7 scale: Freely ERS —— 2 == === oe eet =f | = BS ——— a —— 4 , Fa EE = 16—18—10 25 — yo 18-16 4 EB ———— = ——— i ee 4 8 ye e 4 & @ © 8 @ ye 4 12 12 Our next chord is F'7(11). Over this, we'll use the Mixolydian mode (page 14) and dominant pentatonic scale (page 17). Here's an idea to try: ge - nea in A SSS atesThe next chord is a G7#9, To solo over this chord, we'll use some cool arpeggios with alterations (A’ = °9, E' = +5). Once we start using alterations in the chords, adding some more to the solo will sound very co EB = = a ==: Zz 7 i — g 5 4 yore 3 a3) @ 3 a 1 2 8 4 Steve Morse made his narne in the 1970s playing with the Dixie Dregs His first solo album (1984) show- cases some of the best picking ‘chops on record.| The following chord is an Amin?'5, which is the perfect chord for, you guessed it, an Amin7’5 arpeggio. Try using the lick in example 14 on page 11. Next we have 2 Di7°9 chord. Over this, we'll use a Dt Symmetrical Diminished scale. This scale is just a symmetrical pattern of a half step and a whole step that Is repeated: half, whole, half, whole, etc. THE. SYMMETRICAL DIMINISHED SCALE Here is an example using the symmetrical diminished scale based on a twelve-note pattern played on the 1st and 3rd strings. The pattern is sequenced. gia * 4s fete @ Tad) : HPP e 14151412 42—14—15—12-—11 44—1 EA 1514121415 1911 414i B21 23 4 23Next we have a plain old C! Minor chord. We'll use arpeggios based on the C'min9(11) and Csus4 and G'susd (a 4th is substituted for the 3rd — G?, C?, D’). This example shows that arpeggios can be a little fess obvious and a little more flowing, too. Notice we'll be using some of the “sweeping” as well as some legato playing with hammer-ons and pull-offs. This lick is written unmeasured (no rhythms are indicated). The exact rhythm and speed can he selected by the performer. See how fast you can get it going and try varying the rhythm.Let's finish up our solo with another new scale. The last chord is an A7#5. This is a great opportunity to use the whole tone scale. This scale is made up exclusively of whole steps. THE. WHOLE TONE SCALE Hero's a lick using the whole tone scale: Go back and put all of these licks to use in a solo over the progression in example 41 on page 39. Play with the CD, track 38, and have fun. You are putting a lot of ideas and techniques together to create your solo, You've accomplished a lot. Congratulations. Keep rockin’!HAPTER HARMONY REVIEW — Most players know something about music theory but don’t use that knowledge every ay, oF don’t have it very well ordered in their minds. This section is here to help fill in some of the gaps you may have. —— INTERVALS —— Harmony is the study of chords. A chord is any group of three or more notes played to- Te understand chords, you must understand the basic concept of an interval Ay he distance between two notes. For example, a half step (the smallest interval) i 2 distance of one fret. From the Ist fet to the 2nd fret isa half step. A whole step i a Aistance of two half steps. A half step is also called a minor 2nd. A whole step is a major 2nd. —— TRIADS —— A three-note chord is called a triad. Triads either major (four half steps) or minor (t 1-3-5 of the major scale (see page 13), are made by stacking two intervals of a 3rd — three half steps). Or, you can think of it as being A major triad has a major 3rd on the bottom and a minor 3rd on the top. C Major Tiad §——C Major Scale = —— rap ore =o 1 2 3 4 5 &§ 7 6 A minor triad (min) is made with a minor 3rd Or, you can think of it as 13-5 from the maj melodic minor scale (see page 24). on the bottom and a major 3rd on the top. jor scale — the 3rd is flatted — or 1.'3-5 of a Minor A diminished triad (dim or °) is just like a triad but with a lowered Sth (1'3.'5) and an augmented triad (aug or +) is just like a major triad but with a raised Sth (1-2-5),— 7 cHoRDS — (7 chord is built by stacking an additional 3rd on top of a triad. Or, we can think of them as including the 1-3-5-7 of a scala. A major 7 chord (Maj? or 47) is a major triad with a major 3rd added on top. Or, you can think of it as 1-3-5-7 of a major scale. CMajor7 chord ¢ Major Seale ler et shor a e ‘A minor 7 chord is a minor triad with a minor 3rd added on top. Or, you can think of it as 1-'3-5-'7 of the major scale (the 3rd and 7th are flatted) or 1-'3-5-'7 of the Dorian mode. Minor 7 Chord C Dorian Mode o tinor = = Go} o& SHO S= 2 bb 4 7 5 6 Ww 8 IMPORTANT 7 CHORDS Dominant 7 7 135-7 Minor 7’5 cmin7'5 1934 Major 7'5, Maj7'5 1-3-45-7 Diminished 7 Caim7 13-547 Minor Major 7 CminNaj7 12357 — TENSIONS —— Tensions, often called extensions, are notes added to a chord that are generally higher than the 7th. Measuring up from the root of the chord, an extension will be either a 9th (an octave higher than a 2nd), 11th (an octave higher than a 4th), or 13th (an octave higher than a 6th). You can think of them as being additional 3rds stacked above the 7th. There is one exception to this, and that is 6 chords. Sometimes a 6th is added to a chord, one whole step above the Sth. We still think of this as a tension. “SSTensions add color, and often dissonance (a clash) to the chord — hence the name, ten sions. They create tension in your chords or in your lead playing. We add these to our chords to spice them up a bit. ‘SOME TENSION CHORDS Major 6 cé 135-6 Major 9 cmaja 1-35-79 Minor 6 Ciné 123-5-6 Minor 9 ming 193!5-7-9 Minor Major 9 CminMaj 1-°3-5-7-9 Dominant 7 (11) 7 (11) 135/741 —— ALTERED CHORDS—— Sometimes we alter the tensions by raising them a half step with a sharp or lowering them a half step witha flat. For example, acommon altered chord is the dominant 7'9 (C7! 5-17-49, The possible alterations to tensions include 'S, 5 #9, ’9, '11 (which is really just a '5) and 13 (which is really just *5). —— SLASH CHORDS —— ‘Slash chords are very useful. A slash chord is a chord with something other than the root in ‘the bass (the lowest note). In a slash chord, the symbol to the left of the slash is the chord. ‘The symbol to the right of the slash is the bass note. Hera are some examples of slash chords: EB ‘An E Major chord with a B in the bass, ‘Amin7/G An A Minor 7 chord with a G in the bass, —— SUS CHORDS —— Sus chords are like triads but the 3rd is replaced by either the 4th degree of the scale (sus4) or the 2nd degree (sus2). The formula for a sus4 is 1-4-5. The formula for a sus? is 1-2-5,fonrenTs —— THE AUTHOR 3 —— FOREWORD Tn gjernecrancse gerd — CHAPTER ONE * TECHNIQUE ....02.0..-0000 eee 4 ALTERNATE PICKING .. 4 ‘SINGLE-STRING PICKING 7 TWO NOTES PER STRING oe agagnsenaass 9 SWEEP PICKING ..... J rrsiveneceanentrten 10 — CHAPTER TWO © IMPROVISATION aso . 13 QUICK THEORY REVIEW soso iuciivecnisosmeunrrctener nt 43 MODES. stent saesaertoeycomeneerncemests AB ARPEGGIOS oe . i a si IS, RELATIVE PENTATONICS -.0ses-cstsesoene aD . 16 ALTERNATE PENTATONICS ssa aaesecaner (SBR oat EE THE HARMONIC MINOR SCALE AND ITS MODES s cectierens 20 THE MELODIC MINOR SCALE AND ITS MODES ......~ : 24 A DOORWAY BETWEEN SCALES. : pecistinsees 26 MELODIC MINOR AND THE POWER CHORD 2 28 VISUALIZATION aunscceengennonseapensniatn 28 FOUR-NOTES-PER-STRING FINGERINGS ..0.--0+ pcs 28 — CHAPTER THREE ¢ RHYTHM... — a 32 ODD TIME. punts et coerce AR, — CHAPTER FOUR ° PRACTICE ..... ecasecirsaesetaon ai 36 CONCENTRATION 0 essa sige saoscvcansstssnernnecsreern BE WARMING-UP ..... cece eos 36 GET YOUR MIND IN THE RIGHT PLACE o.-.--r si 37 —— CHAPTER FIVE * ADVANCED SOLOING .... entaengetinneitin 39 ALTERED CHORDS «102-1 gua sain ee} —— CHAPTER SIX ¢ HARMONY REVIEW ......... nas senses AD INTERVALS... ison eeyenennvogensnsninboustonsetoenanten 45 TRIADS 2.0 tenet erie 45 7 CHORDS wscseseresecsveerseten sagan a eoleen 46 TENSIONS oro agg secesrenenen siscen 8 ALTERED CHORDS . i se 47 SLASH CHORDS «0.0 aa - ssscizeaneann AU SUS CHORDS — eye ‘A compact disc is included with this book. Using this'disc will help make jeatning more. enjoyable and the 00 © fAfermation more meaningful. The disc features a banc’ playing most of the ‘examples. It is important for ‘You to play along with the CD as much as possible, This dsc features some ‘great players that you can play Ba wets wr ann your tre, The Co wi lp yu. ply the core, ptes and rhythms and capture oe gn feel” for each example. The track numbers below he symbols correspond directly to the eremie you mont to hear. Tack I, will help you rune to this CD. Have fun! aEe Peers eo att NAAR LEE LB EU METI CRIT UT eco (aC TM RAMIC TA aT - “*] 5 v= Ke} cs SR tanta ee speed picking and sweeping Set eo ene re Sac... * improvising with altered | V3 6) & Cee en (NIRA ee See Cae et Geena acya juTHon Terry Syrek is a senior faculty member of the National Guitar Workshop. He is an active session player in New York City and an endorsee/d | for Jackson Guitars. A graduate of the Berklee College of Music, he has | been featured in andior written for many publications, including the New York Times, Guitar Player magazine, Guitar magazine, radio shows and a book called The Modern Guitarist by Matt Williams. fponewonn Ah, the path of least rosistance..Everyone wants something for nothing and that applies doubly to the guitar. | can’t tell you how many students, in my many years of playing and teaching, come to me with the same problem: “Ineed help. | have sixty instructional guitar videos that | watch all the time, I've studied so-and-so’s picking hand with geomettical precision. I've got what's his name's money- back guaranteed legato workout down to a science, | use the fingermaster hand pumperupper. I meditate on the meaning of chops [blah-blah-blah, etc]—and | still sound ewul. Why?!" Try this now: put your pick under your pillow. Go to sleep and wait for the magic chops fairy to come overnight and grant you insane chops by morning. Did it work? Itis with heavy heart that I tell you the ugly truth: you don’t get something for nothing. In other words, good guitar playing happens because you play the instrument. Right, then. Go grab your guitar now, Yes, you who are reading this now. You wanna get better? Good, then don't put your guitar down. It’s really that simple. The more you play, the better you get. All your books and videos are not enough—you need to play! This book is only a collection of thoughts and ideas that have helped me. It’s not a magic pill you can take that will make you great overnight. I don’t have some supernatural insight. This book is meant to make you think a little differently and subsequently come up with your ‘own ideas. This book also assumes that you have a fair amount of experience soloing, know your pentatonicscales, major modes, major and minor arpeggios and are familiar with basic rhythm. ‘You should also be familiar with common lead guitar techniques, such as alternate picking, hammer-ons, pull-offs and tapping. ‘The CD contains performances of all the examples in this book and provides some jam tracks over which you can try the material out. I started playing guitar because | heard its overwhelmingly powerful sound and it com- pletely knocked me out, I knew | had to play. The further on I go, the easier it gets to lose site of that i inspiration. Always remember why you took up the instrument in the first place: because it’s fun and you love it! Thanks to: Nat Gunod and Joe Bouchard at the NGW; the kind folks at Alfred: Sheila Romeo; Greg Kalember: Kevin Easton at Jackson Guitars; Mike Fortin, Mom and Dad /Syrek; and my old guitar teacher, Tony Janflone. Without these people this book |would not have been possible. —