Guitar Lessons and Theory

Inside the Scales

Analyzing a solo, being aware of the patterns inside may help you avoid playing the same licks over and over again. Try to identify the following:

2-notes patterns: intervals

Thirds, sixths and fourths are the most popular intervals. Sometimes they come with a grace note.

3-notes patterns: triads

Starting from a note of the scale and play the note itself, the third and the fifth. For example, for C-major: C, E, G; D, F, A; E, G, B; F, A, C; G, B, D; A, C, E; B, D, F. As you see, you get major, minor and diminished triads. They can be played as a group of 3, 6, 7, 9, 10, 13 notes or whatever.

4-notes patterns: arpeggios

Adding the seventh to the triads you get 7th chord arpeggios. For example, for C-major: C, E, G, B; D, F, A, C; E, G, B, D; F, A, C, E; G, B, D, F; A, C, E, G; B, D, F, A. You get major 7th, minor 7th, dominant and half-diminished arpeggios.

5-notes patterns: pentatonic scales

In major scales you may extract three minor pentatonic scales. For instance, in C-major you've got pentatonic scales starting from A (A, C, D, E, G), D (D, F, G, A, C) and E (E, G, A, B, D).

6-notes patterns: blues scales

Add the "blue note" (the flat fifth) to the pentatonic scales and you get blues scales.

7 or 8-notes patterns: scales

Any pattern of adjacent notes.

See some examples in the major scale, in the harmonic minor scale and in the melodic minor scale.

Singing Instruments

Historians believe that Music was born out of speech and in the beginning there was singing. And indeed, singing what you play is an obligatory exercise when learning to improvise. For instance, George Benson sings and plays in perfect unison (this is also his trademark). Listen to Keith Jarrett’s indistinct hum (he’s not the only one, you may see in live performances players singing while improvising but the over-all sound covers their hum)! Is it a reminiscence of his improvising practice or does he want to add more phrasing to his playing?

Another approach would be play on your instrument while you listen to your favorite singers and imitate their phrasing. Stylish singers, like Al Jarreau, Ray Charles and Billie Holiday would be preferable. Take the recording of your improvisation that you think it's the most "lyrical" of all. Could you write words for it?

Also: don’t forget that your solo like a story, it's supposed to have a beginning, an end and dramatic peaks in-between.

Speed and Technique

While trying to teach vibrato, one of my students said: "I don't care about these things, just give me some fast licks!" There are many guitar beginners that don't care about making music. They just want to impress their friends. Technique is not only about speed and tapping, it's also about vibrato, hammer-ons and pull-offs, slides, bends, harmonics, muted notes, tremolo bar and so on.

I had students that came with tens of fast licks but couldn't play hammer-ons and pull-offs. I heard guitar players that can play very - very fast but when time comes to play a tune it sounds boring and dry. The guitar is a very versatile instrument, the electric guitar is, maybe the most versatile of all. Think of all that huge variety of sounds! But, in the hands of a technically limited player, it becomes the most boring of all.

The guitar technique is versatile as well. For example, there are 4 ways you can produce vibrato: horizontally, vertically, picking and with the help of the tremolo bar. There are also several kinds of harmonics, 2 ways to mute notes, there are combinations between techniques like: bending and tapping and trills and vibrato bar.

Try to master as many techniques as you can and you'll notice that playing and studying will be easier and more diverting.

Old Songs, New Solos

Let's take an exercise that is meant to test your musicality:

Take one of your favorite songs, a song that has a strong guitar solo. Look for its MIDI file (at http://www.myguitarsolo.com/midis.htm or http://www.musicrobot.com). Open the MIDI file in your music editor, mute the solo guitar track, play and record your own solo. Do it again and again until you are satisfied. Now listen to what you recorded and compare it to the original solo. Is it a valuable one? Is it in your style or it still sounds like the old one?

Suggestions? I'd try Dire Straits' Sultans of Swing, Van Halen's Jump, Yes' Yours Is No Disgrace, Santana's Europe, Yngwie's Black Star, Deep Purple's Blind Man, Metheny's Are You Going With Me, Gary Moore's Jumping On Shadows but it depends on the music style you like.

What to Play

Many players are surprised when, in spite of the fact they make music exactly like the last hit on the market, nobody wants to hear them. Let's say you love Children Of Bodom, you made some songs in their style and your band plays like them. Still nobody wants you. Why? Because there is already a group called Children Of Bodom. Or, let's say you spent a lot of time to learn to play like Yngwie. Still nobody wants you because there is a Yngwie and nobody needs a second one.

The conclusion: enjoy other's music but make your own thing. Those that have idols don't make it. You want to be a real musician, be an iconoclast.

Don't restrict yourself to only one genre. Listen to blues, rock, jazz, fusion, classical and contemporary music, flamenco and raga. Only by having a wide view, you will be able to hear that new thing you are looking for and that sounds like nothing else heard before.

Your instrumental technique should serve the music. In order to be versatile, try to study guitar players that are very different one from each other. For instance: Steve Vai, Joe Pass, Stevie Ray Vaughan, Sylvain Luc, David Gilmour, Larry Carlton. For the beginning.