Day 4.

Boomer - Part 1
Good to have you back for Day 4! You're really in the flow now and ready to tackle
another ripping Plini solo.

From familiar to fabulous

There’s so much we can do with our existing harmonic and melodic information.

● By getting into the cracks of articulating individual notes, we can get serious
mileage out of common shapes like major pentatonic.
● Articulation opens up a whole world of expression outside of just the notes
themselves.

You do you
This Master Class is all about preparing you to write your own soaring solos.

● All these new phrasing options give you the power to add your own character
and personality to your playing.
● Keep a list of all the articulations you’ve tackled.
● It’ll be a helpful reference when it’s time to craft your own leads.

Timing is everything
While this solo isn’t harmonically daring, the rhythm is quite syncopated and funky.

● Pay attention to your placements.

● Loop and slow down any tricky phrases to get them locked in.

Tune-up, plug in, and let’s get into today’s exercises. Come on!

Exercise 1. Dynamic phrasing

Start out muted, then gradually open up for a strong vocal-like quality. Pluck the last
note with your finger for a warmer “fleshy” timbre.
Exercise 2. Hybrid picking ascending sequence
Pick, hammer, and pluck your way through this lick.

B minor pentatonic scale – G and B strings

Pay attention to the subtle difference in each articulation and mine ideas for your
own solos.

Exercise 3. Bend to each note

Target each note in the scale with a half-step approach bend. This can feel bizarre
bending with just one finger, so take your time and focus on tuning.

Solo tutorial
It’s time to incorporate all these sick articulation techniques into a musical situation.
Plini guides us, phrase by phrase, through today’s solo.

It’s based on the B minor pentatonic scale, with the occasional added 9th (C#) for
extra color.

First half
Part 1.

Employ your dynamic phrasing to give this line some life.

Part 2.

Here, you’ll closely combine hybrid picking, trills and single-finger half-step bends
from above. There’s a lot of expression happening here so keep your focus sharp
and your tempo slow.

Part 3.

This phrase is like the end of a long breath. A simple pentatonic lick with a
double-stop ending acts as a landing point between melodic ideas. You got this!
Part 4.

Head up high on the neck for a B-string bend and a closely combined hammer on +
slide articulation. Pay close attention to each articulation and how they interact.

Part 5

This phrase starts off a bit silly. The overall concept is playing the pentatonic scale in
a playful way. Plini sort of “targets” the pentatonic for the first few parts, but it’s all
about creating that descending wiggle before landing in an actual position.
Part 6.

Here’s a simple pentatonic line with a double-stop ending marking the end of another
longer phrase.

Entire first half

Combine all the different parts to complete the solo. Let’s go for it!

Excellent work! It’s not easy to have these phrases feeling fluid together. Plini’s
position switching may seem advanced so feel free to circle back and isolate any of
the more challenging bits.

Stockpiling ideas
Today’s part of the solo is absolutely loaded with concepts.

● As we work through the class, make sure to note your favorite articulations
we’ve covered.
● You’ve seen how magical combining two or more articulations within a small
set of notes can be. Come up with your own combinations and cast some
musical spells.

Keep up the solid work! See you on Day 5 when we take on Part 2 of Boomer.