248506658-Paul-Gilbert-Shred-Alert.pdf

DVD

PAUL GILBE GILBERT  RT presents

SHRED ALERT!!! THE ULTIMATE

DVD GUIDE!

DVD

PAUL GILBERT presents

SHRED ALERT!!! 1. ALTERNATE UNIVERSE Using alternate picking and note skipping to play interesting arpeggio patterns

2. READY TO RUMBLE Quick, effective pick-hand warm-up exercises

3. READY TO RUMBLE, PART 2 More pick-hand warm-up exercises

4. ASSUME THE POSITION Using position shifts to your advantage when soloing

5. ACCENTUATE THE POSITIVE Alternate picking with accent patterns

6. FAST AND CLEAN Alternate-picked 16th notes—the business card of shred guitar

7. STICK YER NECK OUT Using neck diagrams to your advantage

8. SHAPE SHIFTING How to organize patterns on the fretboard

9. SNAKE-CHARMING LICKS The fifth mode of harmonic minor

10. UNITED MUTATIONS    K    T    K    T    K    T

Mastering muting techniques

   R    E    H    P    A    R    G    O    T    O    H    P

11. BREAKIN’ OUT The blessings and benefits of live performance 2 GUITAR WORLD

Photograph by PHOTOGRAPHER

CHAPTER 1

ALTERNATE UNIVERSE USING ALTERNATE PICKING AND NOTE SKIPPING TO PLAY INTERESTING ARPEGGIO PATTERNS

»

HI, AND WELCOME to the first

chapter of Shred Alert, where I’ll teach you many of the techniques I use. Let’s begin with a very simple picking exercise ( FIGURE 1 ) and look at some of the neat and musically interesting variations you can spin from it. We have two notes, E and B, picked repeatedly with alternating downstrokes and upstrokes, a technique known as alternate picking . This is a good exercise for what I call “outside picking,” as the pick movement is consistently on the “outside” of the pair of strings, which is considerably easier than “inside picking.” What I am going to do now is expand on this idea by applying a mathematical pattern to an Em triad arpeggio (E G B). In FIGURE 2a, the notes are played sequentially in an ascending fashion in two octaves across the neck; in FIGURE 2b, the same notes are played in a different position as a sweep-picked arpeggio (sweep picking involves dragging the pick across the strings in a single downward or upward motion). This is how most rock guitarists play arpeggios—straight up and down. What I like to do in order to create a more interesting melodic contour is apply a note-skipping pattern that goes “up two, back one, up two, back one,” etc,” as demonstrated in FIGURES 3a-d: in FIGURE 3a, instead of playing E to G, I play E to B, just like our initial picking exercise. In FIGURE 3b, I move on to the next pair, G-E, using the same “outside picking” motion. Now that we have a new pattern, let’s get it under our fingers by alternating between each note pair ( FIGURE 3c ). FIGURE 3d shows the next pair, B and G, and all three pairs are played in sequence in FIGURE 4a. The pattern sounds cool when continued across three octaves, as demonstrated in FIGURES 4b and FIGURE 4c. This note-skipping concept can be applied to other arpeggios, as well as scales. A very common chord progression in rock and metal is Em D5 C5 ( FIGURE 5a ). It’s standard practice with this progression to substitute the raised, or sharp, four ( s4) for the five of the C5 chord, sounding C and F s instead of C and G. This alludes to the C Lydian mode, shown in ascending four-note groups in FIGURE 5b.

3 GUITAR WORLD

Instead of just playing a C major triad (C E G) over C5, let’s add the s4 to the mix, as shown in FIGURE 6 with the notes C, E, F s and G. If we apply the noteskipping concept, we get C-Fs as our first pair ( FIGURE 7a ). FIGURE 7b illustrates the ensuing sequence played across

FIGURE 1 1 FIGURE

three octaves. It’s also fun to play each pair as a two-note chord ( FIGURE 7c ). Try applying this approach to whatever scale or mode you can think of. As shown in FIGURE 8a, it works well with E Dorian, the E blues scale and an A diminished-seven arpeggio.❒

FIGURE 2 2a Em triad FIGURE

FIGURE 2b2b FIGURE

FIGURE FIGURE 3a 3a

sweep arpeggio

*

P.M.

P.M.

( ) 15 1919

9 12

17 4

4

2

8

1216

2

9

14

9

1014

10

12

*

= upstroke 3

= downstroke

FIGURE FIGURE 3b 3b

3

14

14

14

3

15

15

15

15

FIGURE 4b4b FIGURE

12

FIGURE FIGURE 4a 4a  sim.

17 14

17 14

17

14

14

14 12

17 14

15

FIGURE 4c 4c FIGURE 19 17 16 1714 17

14 14 12

14 12

3

FIGURE FIGURE 3d3d

14 14 12 15

10

12

3

FIGURE FIGURE 3c 3c

14

14

12

2017

19 2017

17

16

16 1714 17

14

14

14

15

12

19 17 20 17 16 16 17 14 17 14 14 14 15 12

16

14 15

FIGURE FIGURE 5a 5a Em

D5

8 9 9 7

8 9 9 7

X X X X

X X X X

X X X X

X X X X

C5

7 7 5

7 7 5

X X X

X X X

X X X

 0

X X X

FIGURE FIGURE 5b 5b C Lydian mode

5 5 3

4 3

5 3

4 3

FIGURE FIGURE 6 6

1

 0

5 3

C

4 3

E

(root) (maj3)

12

14

15 12

12

10

G

( 4)

(5)

13 !

13 9 11

F

12

10 7

9

10

7

8

FIGURE FIGURE 7a 7a

12

14

13 9 10 9 8

9

9

!

8

8

8

10 9

10 12

10 9

9 X 10

11 10

12 14

11 10

12 13 X 1 1 12

14 13

12 12 1413 15

1412

20 !

20 19

15 15

20 19

21 17 18

1 9 18

20

17

19

17 19

15 15

1/2

FIGURE FIGURE 8a8a E Dorian

 0

15 17

12 1512

15 17

14

1/2

12

13 12

10

E blues scale

13

12 11

12

FIGURE FIGURE 7c 7c

12

10

FIGURE FIGURE 7b 7b

 sim.

9 8

9

8

18

A diminished-seven arpeggio

( 18 )

14

17

17

20 19

12

14

14

16

14

15 14

16 15

17

1714

17

CHAPTER 2

READY TO RUMBLE QUICK, EFFECTIVE PICK-HAND WARM-UP EXERCISES

»

IN THIS CHAPTER, I’d like to

show you my favorite right-hand (pick-hand) warm-up exercise. I use this exercise at every show, every clinic and any time I need to warm-up my right hand before performing. The entire exercise is played on the top three strings in a rhythm of repeating eighth-note triplets. This means that each beat in a bar of 4/4 is divided like this: ONE-trip-let, TWO-trip-let, THREE-trip-let, FOUR-trip-let. To play each eighth-note triplet, I use a picking motion of up-up-down. As illustrated in FIGURE 9, I pick the open high E string with an upstroke, followed by the open B picked with an upstroke, followed by the open G string picked with a downstroke. I also use palm-muting (P.M.) to attain a more staccato (detached) sound. Palm muting is performed by resting the edge of the pick-hand palm across all of the strings, at the bridge saddles. Note that the upstrokes are performed as individual strokes, as opposed to picking a single upstroke dragged across the top two strings, which would be what’s known as a reverse sweep or reverse rake. It requires more muscle movement and coordination to perform two upstrokes, but that’s why this is a good warm-up exercise—repeating three distinct picking motions in this way will build up the muscles in the pick hand. Because I get bored hearing the same three open strings over and over, I like to use different chords to make the exercise sound more interesting. As shown in FIGURE 10, I can barre across the top three strings at the fifth fret to sound an Am triad. This will soon get monotonous as well, so I can easily make it sound more interesting by changing the note on the high E string to imply a melody, as demonstrated in FIGURE 11. In order for this exercise to be an effective warm-up, I need to keep picking the strings in this way for at least two minutes, which of course inspires me to move around the fretboard a little bit and find some other interesting shapes and figures to play. Let’s start with different inversions (chord voicings) of Am, as shown in FIGURE 12a: I begin in eighth position, with the minor third, C, on top, and then shift up to a 12th-position inversion of Am with the fifth, E, on top. Likewise, I’ll alter the note on the high E string for a little variety, as in FIGURE 12b. Another good thing to do is to practice picking dynamics, by picking softer or louder, or switching between

the two. You’ll find that when playing very quietly it takes a lot of control to keep the picking even. Let’s move to some different chords: FIGURE 12c begins with a G major voicing, again altered by changing the note on the high E string: FIGURE 12d features an ascending D diminished-seven voicing, and FIGURE 12e begins with some natural harmonics (N.H.), sounded by lightly

FIGURE FIGURE 91

ON  ON DISC  DISC

FIGURE FIGURE 102

FIGURE FIGURE 11 3

Em P.M.

Am P.M.

0

5

Am P.M.

*

 sim. 5

0

5

3 = upstroke

5

5

5

3

FIGURE FIGURE 12a4a

7

5 5

3

= downstroke

8

5

0

*

7

5

5

3

5

3

3

FIGURE FIGURE 12b4b

Am P.M. throughout

Am P.M. throughout

 sim.

 sim.

8

8

12

10

15

10 9

13 14

3 14 13

12 13

14

14 13

14

3

3

5

5 5

10 10

9

3

7

5

10 9

3

8

5

10 9

3

7 5

13

12

8 10

9

3

3

3

10 9

3

3

3

5

5 5

FIGURE 12c4c FIGURE

3

5

3

cresc.

3

G P.M. throughout

 sim. 7

8 8

10 8

7 8

7

3

FIGURE 12d4d FIGURE

8 8

7

7

3

5 8

8

3

7 8

7

3

8 7

3

3

7

3

Ddim7 P.M. throughout

Am

 sim.

4

4 6

7 6

7

FIGURE 12e4e FIGURE

3

7 9

10

3

10 9

10

3

10 12

13

13 12

13

3

13 15

16

3

12 15

16

3

3

13 14

14

3

3

Em  N.H.

 sim. 12

5 12

5 5

12

3

0 5

5

3

Am 5 5 5

0 5

3

0

(slow down)

5

3

5

5

3

10 9

cresc.

3

7 10

9

14

3

8

10

3

13 14

3 7

9

14 13

14

3

10

12 13

14

3

8

14

14 13

14

3

15

3

4 GUITAR WORLD

laying a fret-hand finger across the top three strings directly above the fretwire. If you play all of these figures in sequence without stopping, you will have repeated this picking motion for about three minutes. By this point, your pick-hand will be warmed up. In the next chapter, I’ll offer some permutations on this useful and effective exercise.❒

3

 0 5 5 5 7

CHAPTER 3

READY TO RUMBLE, PART 2  MORE PICK-HAND WARM-UP EXERCISES

»

IN THE LAST CHAPTER, I pre-

sented an intensive pick-hand exercise that I do before every show or clinic. I know that in any situation it will get me warmed up and ready to play in no time. To refresh your memory, the exercise is built from sequences of eighth-note triplets that fall on three adjacent strings, one note played per string, moving from the highest string to the lowest. Instead of playing each triplet as a reverse sweep, which involves dragging the pick across the three strings in a single upward motion, I prefer to use individual pick strokes, picking the first two notes with upstrokes and the last note with a downstroke. It is the use of these individual strokes that really builds up one’s picking strength and stamina. With just about everything I use as a warm-up exercise, one of my hopes is that I will eventually use the given technique in a piece of music. I’m not interested in warm-ups that are simply muscle-building routines. To me, it’s more useful and enjoyable if the exercise exudes some musical merit as well. One of the ways to apply a musical approach to this picking exercise is to instill a scalar concept, molding the exercise to the musical structure of a given scale. A scale that works well with this exercise is Phrygian dominant, which is the fifth mode of the harmonic minor scale. Sometimes referred to as the “snake charmer” scale, Phrygian dominant is intervallically spelled 1 f2 3 4 5 f6 f7. In the key of E, the notes are E F Gs A B C D; FIGURE 13 is a descending run based on this exotic-sounding scale. The first thing I did with the scale was to harmonize it in three-note chords, as shown in the first bar of FIGURE 14 Starting with an E+ (E augmented) triad, I move the chord shapes down the neck by shifting each note on each string to the next lower scale tone on that string, i.e., the E note on the fourth string moves down to D, the G s on the third string moves to F and the C on the second string moves to B. The process continues down the fretboard to first position. .

5 GUITAR WORLD

Now let’s apply our picking technique to these chord shapes, as demonstrated in the second part of FIGURE 14. Following an eighth-note pickup on the fourth string, picked with a downstroke, each eighth-note t riplet is picked up-up-down on the second, third and fourth strings, respectively. Notice that I like to use palm muting  throughout (rest the edge of the pickhand palm across the bridge saddles) to attain a more percussive attack and a clearer separation of notes. Now that you have a handle on the concept, let’s experiment by moving these chord shapes around the board in different patterns: as shown in FIGURE 15, I begin by descending in the same

FIGURE FIGURE 13 1

manner as FIGURE 14 for the first two bars, but at the end of bar 2 I anticipate each new chord shape by shifting to it on the preceding eighth note, sounded on the fourth string with a downstroke. This approach is then adhered to for the remainder of the exercise. Anticipating each new chord shape like this serves to make the exercise sound even more interesting. Once you’ve become comfortable with the picking technique and musical concept, try to invent your own ways of connecting these kinds of triadic chord shapes. For the truly adventurous and ambitious, try applying the pattern to all the other groups of three adjacent strings. ❒

E7 9

1/2

Freely 1/2

12

 0

1210 13 1210 9 10 9 10

9 10

9

9 10

10

910

9 7 9 7 6 7 6

6 8

8 7 8

3

3

3

3

3

7 7

3

7  5 7 5 4

3

1

0 0 1 2 2 0

0

3

FIGURE FIGURE 14 2 E

E7 9 A m E 7 F

E Dm E

E

*

E7 9

Am

E7

F

E

Dm

E

P.M.  sim.

13 13 14

12 10 12

10 9 10

9 7 9

6 5 7

5 4 6

3 2 3

1 1 2

13

12

10

13 14

10 14

9

6

9

5

7

12

10

5 9

3

1

4 7

2

1

6

3

1

0

3 = downstroke

*

3

3  = upstroke

3

3

3

3

3

FIGURE 15 3 FIGURE P.M. throughout  sim. 13

12 13

14

5

3

3

3

6

3

5 5

3

3

3

1 2

3

3

3

6 2

3

3

3

3

14

3

7 9

3

15 13

14

9 9

3

13 9

3

10 10

3

10

3

10 12

10 5

7

12 13

14

3

6

3

13 7

9

1 3

3

9 9

3

1 2

3

10 10

2 6

3

5 7

3

4 6

6 9

9

1

4 7

3

9 4

6

3

5 9

3

5 5

7

5

7 10

3

2 3

6

9 12

6

4

9

10 14

3

3

10

1 15

7

3

CHAPTER 4

ASSUME THE POSITION USING POSITION SHIFTS TO YOUR ADVANTAGE WHEN SOLOING

»

I’D LIKE TO ADDRESS the dodgy

subject of “position shifting.” A great way to jump into this topic is to use as our basis one of the most commonly used scales in rock, the minor pentatonic. FIGURE 16 illustrates A minor pentatonic played in fifth position. Most guitar players have played this scale in this position a million times. In this chapter, I’ll show you how to play it “outside of the box,” using position shifts that give you greater movement and versatility over the fretboard. When this scale is played in fifth position, the highest note is C (first string, eighth fret) and the lowest note is A (sixth string, fifth fret), and you are stuck within the limitations of those boundaries. Position shifts open those boundaries, allowing us to play this scale from the absolute lowest note possible, the open low E, to one of the highest notes possible on a guitar, the D on the first string’s 22nd fret. FIGURE 17 illustrates a very comfortable way to traverse this scale, as well the entire fretboard, across three and a half octaves of A minor pentatonic. Following the first note, the open low E, I fret a G on the third fret of the sixth string and then hammer-on up to A at the fifth fret. I then move over to the A string and start with a hammer from the third fret to the fifth, then slide up from the fifth to the seventh fret. This is followed by fifth-to-seventh-fret hammers on the D and G strings. The next note is the key to this exercise: using the open high E string to sound the next note in the scale, I am afforded the opportunity to shift all the way up to 17th position and continue playing the rest of the scale. Making that position shift sound seamless can be a little tricky, so it’s a good idea to break the phrase up into smaller pieces, as shown in FIGURE 18. Begin by looping the first six notes of the scale with the position shift. Once that begins to feel comfortable, add a few more notes and continue to do so until the entire phrase feels comfortable and seamless. Familiarizing yourself with an expanded note register like this will afford you a range that is normally exclusive to keyboard players. Another good (but admittedly in-

6 GUITAR WORLD

sane) position-shifting exercise is to play the entire A minor pentatonic scale in fifth position using just one finger. As shown in FIGURE 19, I first play the entire scale using only my index finger, which forces me to move it up and down the fretboard very quickly and, hopefully, accurately. I then repeat the exercise with the middle finger, ring finger and pinkie. This type of drill will get you accustomed to making instantaneous position shifts with every one of your fretting fingers. The last position-shifting lick in this chapter is shown in FIGURE 20. This one looks a little crazy because I shift

back and forth between two positions very quickly. In the first bar, I begin in 10th position and use string skipping, from the high E to the G, to play the first two notes. I then play the last four notes in 12th position. The lick in bar 2 is almost identical, except the first and fourth notes in the lick are played one fret lower. When you get t his one up to speed, it sounds a little like a synthesizer lick. Hopefully these exercises will help you to get a handle on position shifting, and I do hope you have fun playing minor pentatonic scales with your pinkie only. ❒

FIGURE FIGURE 16 1 A minor pentatonic scale 8

FIGURE 17 2 FIGURE

5 8

5 7

5 7

5

5 7

5

3 8

5

0

3

5

7

7

5

1 1 0

17 17

5

7

17 17

20

20

20

17

20

20

17

20

19

19

FIGURE 183 FIGURE 0 5 5

0

7

5

7

17

5

0

7

17

7

19

5

17 19

5 3 0

3

5

7

17 19

7

17 19

7

5

1 0

17 17

5 5 3 0

3

5

7

20

20

1 20

17

20

20

17

7

5

20

17 19

7

17 19

7

5

FIGURE FIGURE 19 4 5 5 5 5 5

index: middle: ring:  pinkie:

5

8

1 2 3 4

1 2 3 4

8

10

8

5

8

8

5

7

7

5

7

7

7

8

1 2 3 4

1 2 3 4

1 2 3 4

12

15

1 2 3 4

1 2 3 4

1 2 3 4

etc. etc. etc. etc.

FIGURE 205 FIGURE 10

9 12

12 12

14

3

1

1

3

14

12

3

1

5

12

14

1

3

3

4

1

3

1

3

5

*by Paul Gilbert

CHAPTER 5

ACCENTUATE THE POSITIVE  ALTERNATE PICKING WITH ACCENT PATTERNS

»

IN THIS CHAPTER   we’re

going to look at the concept of syncopation, and we’ll begin with a rhythm figure that lays out an accent pattern. Keep that rhythmic syncopation in your mind, because I use those same accents in the crazy picking exercise that is the focus of this column. Check out the rhythm guitar figure riff in FIGURE 21: this pattern is made up of root-fifth power chords played in a syncopated fashion against an open low-E pedal tone. This is essentially a two-bar rhythm pattern with very pronounced, specific accents: in bar 1 they fall on the downbeat of beat one, the upbeat of beat two and the downbeat of beat four; the accents in bar 2 fall squarely on beats one, two and three. If one were to recreate that rhythm orally, it would sound like this: ONE (and two) AND (three and) FOUR (and) ONE (and) TWO (and) THREE (and four and). FIGURE 22 illustrates the picking exercise, which is based on a long sequence of 16th-note triplets. Notice how the line is contoured with accents falling in the same places as in FIGURE 21. It’s in the key of E minor and stays diatonic (within the scale structure of) to the E natural minor scale, which is also known as the E Aeolian mode (E Fs G A B C D). The great majority of the lick is alternate picked, but I throw in a couple of double hammer-ons, which serve to smooth out the sound. Also, it’s very important to begin this lick with an upstroke. Throughout the exercise, the initial pick on each new string is executed in this manner. I begin FIGURE 22 in ninth position and play the initial pattern twice. I then move up to 12th position and follow the same pattern contour while staying within the scale structure of E natural minor, which necessitates a slight change in fingering. I then do the same thing in 16th position. In FIGURE 22a, I move the lick up the fretboard one scale degree at a time, beginning in ninth position on Fs, then starting on G, A, B and C. A great thing to do is focus on one part of the lick, such as the fragment shown in FIGURE 23. Play this slowly until it feels comfortable, then gradually increase your speed. ❒

FIGURE FIGURE 21 1

= 152

1.

B5

D5

E5

P.M.

P.M.

4 4 2

3.

D5

0

14 14 12

0

G5

0

0

0

0

0

E5

0

9 9 7

0

0

9 9 7

0

FIGURE FIGURE 22 2 = downstroke

Em

= downstroke

P.M.

P.M.

P.M. 9

9 9

9 12

10

8

3

10

10

12

9 12

10

9

10

10

12

12

10

9

10

12

12

12

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

 sim.

9

9

12

12 10 9 10 12

12 12

3

16 14 12 14 15

15 14 12 14 15

15 14 12 14 15

(repeat  prev. beat)

3

12 14 16

12 14 15

X

3

3

3

3

3

12

3

3

16 16 15 0 1 5 17 1 9

151719

161719

3

16 19171617 19

1917161719

1917151719

3

FIGURE FIGURE 22a2a

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

Em

P.M.

P.M.

P.M. 9

9 9 12

10

9 10

3

 sim.

9 10 12

9 10 12

12 10

9

10

9 12

10

9 10

12

12

12

X

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

11 10 10

10 12 14

11

10 12 14

14 12 10 12 14

14 12 10 12 14

14 12 10 12 14 3

X

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

12 12 12

12 14 15

12

12 14 16

1 6 1 4 1 2 1 4 16

15 1 4 1 2 1 4 1 5

15 14 12 14 15 3

X

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

14 14 14

14 15 17

14 16 17

14 17 16 14 16 1 7

17 15 14 1 5 1 7

17 15 14 15 17 3

3

X 3

3

3

3

3

3

FIGURE FIGURE 23 3 P.M. 16 16 15

151719

161719

16 1917161719

16 19 17 16 17 19

1917161719

19171517 19 3

7 GUITAR WORLD

0

P.M.

7 7 5

0

P.M.

9 9 7

0

D5

4 4 2

0

E5 P.M.

11 11 9

0

P.M.

9 9 7

0

12 12 10

0

P.M.

12 12 10

F 5 P.M.

9 9 7

B5

P.M.

7 7 5

12 12 10

0

G5 P.M.

P.M.

E5

P.M.

E5

P.M.

9 9 7

0

G5

P.M.

7 7 5 0

2.

A5

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

3

CHAPTER 6

FAST AND CLEAN ALTERNATE-PICKED 16TH NOTES—THE BUSINESS CARD OF SHRED GUITAR

»

I WANT TO talk about an in-

gredient that is essential to every guitar soloist’s arsenal: alternate-picked 16th notes. Sixteenth notes are like the “business card” of shred guitar, as the essence of the style is the ability to cleanly execute fast, alternate-picked 16ths throughout the fretboard. I’d like to show you a great 16th-note sequence that can be played all over the neck, is great for both your right- and left-hand technique and also sounds very melodic and musical. For the sake of familiarity, let’s use the key of E natural minor (E F s G A B C D). FIGURE 24a illustrates the initial shape, which we’ll adapt to various positions, moving up the neck through the scale. Using alternate (down-up) picking, starting with a downstroke, I play on the top two strings exclusively, beginning with two notes on the high E string, followed by two notes on the B string, then one note per string, ending with two notes on the B. In this and all other examples, the index finger remains at the same fret throughout the melodic shape. Begin by playing this lick slowly, and gradually build up speed. For FIGURE 24a we started on B, the fifth of the scale. Let’s move the idea one note higher within E natural minor, beginning on C, the sixth ( FIGURE 24b ). Notice that the fingering is slightly different—this is to accommodate the structure of the scale: whereas the first two notes of FIGURE 24a were a whole step apart, and fretted with the ring and index fingers, the first two notes in FIGURE 24b are a half step apart, and are fretted with the middle and index fingers. For FIGURES 24c-g, we continue to move the pattern up one scale degree at a time. FIGURE 25 then begins on the fifth, B, one octave higher than where we started. Each of these “shapes” offers a new challenge in terms of fret-hand fingering. FIGURE 24f  is particularly interesting because you have to use all four fingers (fret-hand fingerings are indicated below the tab). Another cool thing about that lick is its pull to a C Lydian (C D E F s G A B) tonality (C Lydian and E natural minor are comprised of the same notes). Now let’s run these melodic shapes in sequence. In FIGURE 25, I play the initial lick five times and then descend through the shapes. I end with a little flair, bending the Fs up a half step to G and applying a tapped harmonic, executed by “bouncing” the pick-hand index finger

8 GUITAR WORLD

FIGURE 24a1a FIGURE

FIGURE 24c FIGURE 1c

FIGURE 24b1b FIGURE

Em

Em

Em

*

7 5

5

8 5 7

8 7

8 5

* alternate picking:

= downstroke;

 sim. 7 10 7 8 10 7

8 !

10 8

FIGURE FIGURE 24e1e

Em

Em

13 10 12

10

13 10

12 !

14 12

FIGURE 24f1f FIGURE

10 !

12

15 12 13

15 12

14 !

19 15

17 !

FIGURE 24g1g FIGURE

Em

Em

15 14

3

12 8

= upstroke

FIGURE FIGURE 24d1d 12 10

8

12 8 10

14

17 13 15

2

4

1

3

15 !

17 13

2

4

1

17 15

15

19 15 17

3

FIGURE FIGURE 25 2 Em

(play 5 times)

19 17

14

12

17

20 17 19

15

12

12

13

17 15

20 17

15

12

12

10

15

19 15 17

13

10

12

10

1 5 14

1 9 15

13

10

10

8

17 13 15

12

8

10

14

8

1/2

8

7

10

7

8

7

10

7

7

5

8

5

5

7

8

5

17 13

12

8

*T.H.

7 !

7(19) !

*Tap harmonic

FIGURE 26 3 legato (w/pull-offs) FIGURE Em

19 17

12 10

20 17 19

13 10 12

10

17

13 10

20 17

10 8

17 15

19 15 17

12 8 10

8

directly against the 19th fret. As these exercises include a few two-notes-per-string descending lines, a cool twist is to use pull-offs wherever possible in order to attain a smoother legato sound, as demonstrated in FIGURE 26. And despite what some people say,

12 8

15

19 15

8 7

15 14

10 7 8

7

17 13 15

10 7

14

17 13

7 5

14 12

15 12 13

(play 3 times) 5 8 5 7 8 5

12

15 12

1/2

 ) 

7 !

using pull-offs and hammer-ons is not cheating! Legato phrasing is a very valid technique, and, personally speaking, I do not adhere to a “pick everything” approach when I play. I actually use a combination of picking and legato, which I think sounds great. ❒

CHAPTER 7

STICK YER NECK OUT USING NECK DIAGRAMS TO YOUR ADVANTAGE

»

ONE THING I’VE FOUND very

helpful in my guitar studies over the years is using what I call neck diagrams to map out riffs, patterns and melodic “shapes.” I find that diagramming makes it easier to visualize and, in turn, remember, new shapes on the fretboard. A good example of a common fretboard shape is an open D chord: just about every guitar player is familiar with the triangular shape of a D “cowboy” chord. But when the shape is a little more complex, it helps to map it out and study it visually. Let’s start with a string-skipping arpeggio in the key of A minor, illustrated in FIGURE 27a: this begins at the seventh fret on the D string, followed by the fifth and ninth frets on the G string, a skip over the B string and then the fifth and eighth frets on the high E string. Notice the visual shape created by these points on the fretboard (see diagram)—it looks a little like a rhombus. Pay close attention to the fret-hand fingering indicated for this shape. Aside from picking every note, you can use hammer-ons and pull-offs, as there are two consecutive notes present on the G and high E strings. FIGURE 27b illustrates how to play the lick using pull-offs, and FIGURE 27c takes things a step further by incorporating pull-offs on the way down and hammer-ons on the way up. Using hammers and pulls like this makes the lick considerably easier to play than it would be if you were to pick every note because of the numerous skips over the B string. Another advantage of using hammers and pulls is that you can get some good speed going and create interesting phrasings. As shown in FIGURE 27d, I use quick hammers and pulls on the high E and G strings to keep the lick moving along. Practice all of these patterns slowly, striving for a very smooth and even sound. Now that you have this pattern clearly visualized, I’d like to show you a cool bonus benefit that I discovered. If we transpose the pattern up a minor third (three frets), we get a C minor arpeggio, as illustrated in FIGURE 28. But here’s the twist: one day, I decided I was going to explore the entire fretboard and find every single place I could possibly bend a note within the context of a blues in A. In this key, most guitarists will bend the G string at the seventh fret, as shown in FIGURE 29a, or the B string at the eighth fret, as in FIGURE 29b, or perhaps the B string at

9 GUITAR WORLD

.. .. .

FIGURE FIGURE 27a1a

Am

3fr  5fr 

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5 5

9

1

4

8

7

FIGURE FIGURE 27b1b

Am

8fr9fr 

8

5

8 9

5

4

1

7fr  fret-hand: 2

1

3

3

FIGURE FIGURE 27c1c Am

1

3

(play 3 times)

8

5

5 9

5

5

8

5

9

9

5

7

7

FIGURE 27d1d FIGURE

1

Am

(play 3 times)

8

5

5 9

5

5

8

8

5

8

5

5

9

9

9

5

9

5

5

7

3 5

8

5

8

5

3

5 9

9

5

9

5

5 7

3

FIGURE 282 FIGURE

A7

7

3

FIGURE 29a3a FIGURE

Cm 11

7

FIGURE 29b3b FIGURE

1

1

8

1

5

5

8 12

8

9

7

7

10 !

7

8

5 7

3

FIGURE 29c3c FIGURE  freely

A(7) 1/2

1/2

1 1/2

1/2

8 7 7 5

5 7

1

1

5 8 8 5 8 5 5

5 8

1

5 8

8

5 8 5

5

7

8

5 8 7

8 7 5

5 7 7 7

5

7

3

FIGURE 29d3d FIGURE A(7)

5 5 7

7

5

7

5 5 7

7

3

FIGURE 30 4 FIGURE A(7)

3

A5

 grad. bends 1/2

11

1/4

1

1/2

1/2 1/2

8

1/ 2 1

11

1/4

1/2 1/2

1 /2 1/ 2

1/ 2 1/2

1

1

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12 8

8 10

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7

7

5

7 6

3 3

3

1

4

1

2

2 2 0

5 3

3

2 0

2 2 0

3

1

the seventh fret, as demonstrated at the beginning of FIGURE 29c. String bending is a technique that imparts a lot of emotion and character to your playing, and as such I don’t want to be limited to just one position—I want to be able to bend everywhere! In searching for more places to bend, I realized that, in the key of A, I could use the notes of the C minor triad shape in FIGURE 28, as long as I

bend  each note up a certain amount to a “right” note in the key of A, as demonstrated in FIGURE 29d. Now that I had these new places to bend, I combined them with the more conventional “key of A” bends, as shown in FIGURE 30. Try incorporating these bends into your playing. For the adventurous, take a really bad note in the key of A—like Bf—and bend the daylights out of it until it sounds good. ❒

CHAPTER 8

SHAPE SHIFTING  HOW TO ORGANIZE PATTERNS ON THE FRETBOARD

»

I’VE FOUND IT VERY helpful as

a guitarist to familiarize myself with the layout of the keyboard on a piano. This in turn has made it easier for me to visualize patterns on the guitar fretboard. A quick look at the black keys on a piano reveal the logic with which they are laid out: starting on the far left and moving right, there are two blacks keys followed by three black keys, and the pattern repeats across the entire keyboard. The great thing for piano players is that any scale, chord or musical phrase in one position and octave can be easily moved to another because it will look exactly the same; you only have to memorize its “shape.” The guitar, however, is not like this; depending on the string or fretboard position, the “shapes” of scales and riffs can change quite a bit, even when playing exactly the same notes. But I’ve developed an approach to the guitar’s fretboard wherein you can use the same shapes, and very easily move them through different octaves. As shown in FIGURE 31, there is an A note located on the sixth string’s fifth fret, another A one octave higher located on the seventh fret of the fourth string (two strings over and two frets higher), and another A located at the 10th fret on the second string (two strings over and three frets higher). It’s very valuable to memorize the positions of these three A notes, because the patterns of many licks based around one of these A notes can easily be moved to either of the other two A notes. This is especially true if the lick falls on the sixth and fifth, fourth and third, or second and first strings, because these pairs of adjacent strings are tuned in fourths, and the shape of any lick on these pairs of strings will be identical. A simple example is an A5 power chord: FIGURE 32a combines an A root note on the sixth string with an E note, which is the fifth, on the fifth string; you can move this shape up an octave to the fourth and third strings, two frets higher ( FIGURE 32b ), or the second and first strings, three frets higher ( FIGURE 32c ). FIGURE 33a illustrates an A major triad (A Cs E) played on the bottom two strings; we can move this same triangular shape over to the other A notes ( FIGURES 33b and 33c ) and yield the same musical result in higher octaves. In comparison, fingering the notes of this arpeggio across all of the strings in one position would give us something like what is illustrated in FIGURE 34,

10 G U I T A R W O R L D

FIGURE FIGURE 31 1

FIGURE FIGURE 32 2

FIGURE FIGURE 33 3

A5

a)

b)

10 7

c)

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9

10

12

9

a)

 0

b)

12 10

9 7

7 5

A5

c)

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5

A5

6 4

5

9

7

7

12

10 9

6

9

7

7

6

4

7

5 3

3

3

3

FIGURE 34 4 FIGURE

FIGURE 35 5 FIGURE 5

4

7

7

6

5

5

5

6

7

7

4

5

4

9

12

3

3

3

3

FIGURE 3666 FIGURE FIGURE

3

FIGURE 37b7b FIGURE

FIGURE 37a7a FIGURE

17

 0

5 5 3

5 5 1

13

15

18

20

20 !

13

15

12 14 15

1

18 15

171920

3

FIGURE FIGURE 37c7c

12 14 15

18

141617

15

3

10

5 3

A5 G5 E5

9

7

7

5 3

7 7 5

7

7

9

5

6

FIGURE FIGURE 38a8a

!

17 19 20 17

17 15 13

14 16 17 7

13

9 10

7 10

FIGURE 39a9a FIGURE C m7 5 8fr 

FIGURE FIGURE 38b8b

FIGURE FIGURE 39b9b 9 1112

1215

T

121415

231

9 12

7 7

10

7 10

9

7

9

7 10 7

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FIGURE FIGURE 39c9c A7

1/2

1 2 1 5 14 7 5

7

9 5

7

9

11

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12

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1/2

14 12

1 0 1 2 14

12 15

13

14 !

10 5

which is a little more work for the brain because it involves different “shapes.” Let’s use this approach to create licks. FIGURE 35 incorporates the root/fifth “power chord” concept, with the notes played separately and in sequence. Given a chord progression like A5-G5-F5, as shown in FIGURE 36, you can play that lick in F over the F5 chord. Add a few notes to that shape, and we can get an F Lydian sound, as shown in FIGURES 37a-c.

5

3

Let’s apply the concept to an E minor lick ( FIGURE 38a ). We can move this up one and two octaves, as shown in FIGURE 38b, fretting it exactly the same way. For fun, try improvising around those shapes. FIGURES 39a-c incorporate this concept with a Csm7f5 arpeggio; for an additional twist, FIGURE 39c positions a Csm7f5 arpeggio-type lick over an A7 chord, which yields a cool, fusion-y A9 (A Cs E G B) sound. ❒

CHAPTER 11

BREAKIN’ OUT  THE BLESSINGS AND BENEFITS OF LIVE PERFORMANCE

»

BEING A FULL-TIME guitar

player is an amazing experience. I’ve had this “job” for the past 20 or so years, and it’s brought me a great deal of happiness. I’ve often thought about the most important aspects of my job. One is that, when I perform, it’s not necessarily essential that I play all the notes perfectly or in a technically pristine manner. More important is that I have a great time. If I am really having fun onstage, that energy translates to the audience and they have a great time too. Of course, if I hit lots of wrong notes, I definitely won’t be having a good time. But if I hit one bad note and in my mind I’m thinking, “I don’t care—the rest of it is great,” then everything is cool. It’s all about enjoying having the opportunity to perform music. This brings me to the matter of the difference between being a “bedroom” guitarist and one who is experienced and comfortable playing live in front of people. I’m of the firm belief that when performing onstage you should play the guitar with more than just your fingers—you should play with your entire body. I performed at a tribute to the Who last year, and had to follow Pete Townshend’s lead when it came to recreating his parts. Pete absolutely does not play with just his hands; he uses his whole body, including his back, torso, legs and arms. It’s a stunning experience to play Who songs with the mindset of being a vessel for the music, as Pete does. The Who’s music is very high-energy, and it feels great to stand up and play it with all your might. One of the first times that I really “got it” and understood what this meant was when I was listening to Jimi Hendrix. I shouldn’t say “listening,” because my parents gave me a couple of Hendrix albums when I was young, and I did like them, but the thing that really got me excited was when I saw a Hendrix movie, and suddenly I could watch how he played, and how he moved when he played. For example, he took a very simple string-bending lick, along the lines of FIGURE 52, and  just shook the earth with the thing by adding such physical force and rhythmic drive to it. There was so much power in his playing, and I thought, “Oh, that’s it—that’s  why people keep talking about Hendrix.” To play rock music back in those days, you had to get together with

13 G U I T A R W O R L D

FIGURE FIGURE 52 1

N.C.(A)

1

7

7

1

5

7 7

5

7 X 5

7 X 5

7

5

7 X 5

7

5

Th 1

7

1

7

5

7 X 5

7

5

G5

1

7

5

7 X 5

7

5

7

5

7 X 5

X X X

5 5 3

5 5 3

5 5 3

5 5 3

5 5 3

5 5 3

Th

FIGURE FIGURE 53 2

E5 12 13 12

12 15

13

15 13 12

15

12 14 12 14 12

15

12 15 14 15 14 12 15 14 15 14 12

15

14

6

12

12 13 15

7

15 13 15 13 12

12 13 15

12

3 7 

15 13 15 13 12

11 12

14

11

5

5

11 14 12 14 12 11 14 12 14 12 11 14

7 

9

11 14

9

14

grad.  bend 1

12141211

14

111211

14

111412141211121119

12

9

12111211 9

9 12

9

5

other musicians and crank up the amps loud, as opposed to simulating this via using Pro Tools in your bedroom. This is why so many musicians of Hendrix’s era tended to be good at delivering powerful musical statements to the audience. I encourage you to get together with other musicians and find a place where you can crank it up. There are an infinite number of things to be learned from live performance. An obvious one is getting over making a mistake—if you’re used to merely hitting “undo” on your keyboard, you won’t know how to deal with it when you are onstage. All the pioneers of rock—Jimi Hendrix, Pete Townshend, Eric Clapton, Jimmy Page and Eddie Van Halen, to name a few—learned these valuable lessons early on. When you think of young Eddie jamming in his basement with his brother Alex, you can envision how the two of the m learned to play together like they were one person, or like musical twins. If you can build musical relationships by

5

9

12 101210 9

6

12

9

10

0

 

finding musicians you enjoy playing with, and do so over a long period of time, you will increase the likelihood of making magic come out of your guitar. So play with other musicians as often as you can. If you know that t he drummer is showing up at seven o’clock, it will motivate you to get your act together. I’ve written many a song using that specific motivation. Here’s another tip: Even if you are playing some terrifying shred-type licks, you should end the solo with as much expression as you can muster. For example, if you play something like FIGURE 53, which features some blazingly fast shredding, end things with an expressive bend and some extreme body movement, in order to send it off with a big exclamation point. Try to harness as much energy as possible and channel it into your playing. This wraps up our the Shred Alert. I hope you’ve learning the techniques I’ve taught you, and that they help your playing to improve and become more expressive. ❒