I know this is a little late in coming but........better late than NEVER!!!!
This lesson is primarily for skill levels intermediate through masterclass, but once again,
even beginners can benefit by taking their time and very slowly learning to play through the shapes displayed here.
This is a quasi classical style group of phrases hinged together with key changes and shifts in minor and major emphasis and is also an excerpt from one of my newly written guitar cadenzas. It can be used as a tremendous exercise for both hands as well as an awesome practice routine for advanced ear training and as a great tool for timing workouts.
It is played in straight 16th note groupings and is written at 180 bpm.
I included chord voicings for each measure for those curious about the fuller effect of the passages.
Now, let's get STARTED.
STEP #1
Grab your guitar.
STEP#2
Stare dumbly at your guitar.
STEP#3
Admire your guitar.
Now you are ready!!!
The first passage is in Aminor Aeolian and starts with a juicy stretch from the first linear octave(12th fret) on the high E string to the 19th fret and ending with a tap on the 24th fret then returning back to the 12th. The best way to approach this stretch would be to anchor at the 12th with your index and proceed to hammer-on the 17th with your ring finger and then hammer-on the 19th with your pinky before tapping with your middle finger on the 24th fret and descending the movement using pull-offs.
From there you will simply descend the Aminor arpeggio that is so very familiar to most of us and then ascend it.
The second passage utilizes a descending Dminor arpeggio with an emphasis on A#Lydian but gets a bit tricky about ten notes into it. When you reach the 12th fret(A) on the A string you will shift your entire hand position to play that note with your pinky and on to play the 8th fret(F) with your index finger before shifting your pinky into the 10th fret position on your low E string (D) and proceed to play the 5th fret on the same string with your index finger which is a nice stretch as well. As you move into the next ascending shape there will be a 2 string barre that will be played with your index finger before playing the 10th fret on your Gstring(F) and pulling off a nice string skipping jump to end the phrase on the 5th fret of your high Estring(A).
The third line starts with a death defying speed leap all the way up to the 22nd fret of the high Estring(D) with your pinky finger without missing a beat. As you pull off the D to the Bflat(18th fret) you will continue to descend a Gminor arpeggio and then move into an altered Gminor transition that consists of a 2string ring finger barre and then ending in a 3string index finger barre.
Staying diatonic to the last key change in the third section of Gminor Aeolian, the 4th and final passage is a major arpeggio with its emphasis being D# LYDIAN and cascades down and climbs back up to finally end on C before the entire solo section is repeated again.
The fingering for the looping point is a fairly difficult transition to pull off smoothly with straight 16ths but with enough diligence this solo movement can be performed to perfection.
Remember to take your time and do not try to play this death defying group at full speed until you are articulating every note with clarity and timing precision or else it will end up sounding like slop and will grant no real benefit to your musical evolution.
It is far better to play well slowly than to play like crap at high speed.
The mark of a true shredder is to have the ability to play and sound excellent at all speeds and tempos.
Until next time, keep it SHRED!!
Eric
