tasty riffs & solos course book - amazon web...

Secrets of Tasty Riffs & Solos

- Course Supplement -

ByJonathanBoettcher

Thisbookmaynotbecopiedinanyform.

Itisforpersonaluseonly.

©2017PlayGuitar.com

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TableofContents

AQuickIntroduction..............................................................................................................3

TonesandSemitones.............................................................................................................4

TheMajorScale........................................................................................................................8ScalesAreMoveablePatterns....................................................................................................11

BuildingChords&Scales....................................................................................................13RelativeMajorAndMinor...........................................................................................................16ImportantScalePatterns.............................................................................................................19

AllAboutThirds.....................................................................................................................21

SoloingWithThirds..............................................................................................................31Talkin’AboutTriads.....................................................................................................................33ApplyingTriadsToImprovising...............................................................................................34

“Thrill”......................................................................................................................................36

“Rockin”....................................................................................................................................45

“Mouse”.....................................................................................................................................50

“Mighty”....................................................................................................................................59

TakingItFurther...................................................................................................................64

BlankFretboardWorksheet..............................................................................................65

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AQuickIntroduction

Inmyever-so-humbleopinion,thestudyofthirdsandhowtheyrelatetotheguitarisoneofthecoolestandmostusefulthingstograspasaguitarplayer.Majorandminorthirdsaretrulybeautiful–theyhaveaverypleasingandsweetsoundtotheear,andthereareamyriadofwaystoapplythemontheguitar.Countlesshitsongshaveappliedthirdsasakeypartoftheirsignatureriffsoriconicsolos–I’msureabookcouldbefilledwiththeirtitlesifwetookthetimetoresearchitfully.Infact,despitethelengthanddepthofthiscourse,attheendofthedaywe’llstillhaveonlycrackedthesurfaceofwhatyoucandowiththirds.Inthefirstsectionofthiscourse,I’vedonemybesttogiveyouatheoreticalunderstandingofthirds,howtheyrelatetochords,whattheirpatternslooklikeontheguitar,andwherethey’refoundonthefretboard.Inthesecondsection,webeginexperimentingwithapplyingthirdsasameansofimprovisingoverachordprogression.Inthethirdsection,we’regoingtolookatafewdifferentwaysthesesameintervalscanbeusedinthecontextofguitarsolos.Beforewegetintoit,aquickdisclaimer:thefirstsectionofthiscoursehasbeenpulledstraightoutofmyDynamicRhythmGuitar(DRG)course.Therestiscompletelyfreshmaterial,butifyoulikewhatyouseeinthefirstsection,IencourageyoutocheckoutDRGforalotmoreofthesame.Becausethereissomeoverlapbetweenthecourses,youcansave$50offDRGbyusingcouponcoderhythmrocks(nottobecombinedwithotheroffers).Alright–areyoureadytolearnaboutthirds?Inthevideowe’lldiverightin,butinthebook,I’veincludedasomefoundationaltheorytohelpgetyouuptospeed.Onelastthing–I’dlovetohearfromyouandhearhowthiscoursehasaffectedyourguitarplaying.Dropmealineatjonathan@playguitar.com!Toyourguitar-playingsuccess!

Jonathan Boettcher

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TonesandSemitones

Thesmallestdistancewehavebetweentwonotes(inWesternmusic)iscalledasemitone.Ontheguitar,asemitoneisequaltoonefret.Ifyoustartonthethirdfretofoneofthestrings,andgouponemorefret,you’vemovedonesemitone.Thesamethingworksgoingbackdownthefretboardtoo.Atoneisequaltotwosemitones.‘Semi’meanshalf,andtwohalvesmakeawhole,sosometimeswealsocallatoneawholetone.Ontheguitarfretboard,atoneisequaltotwofrets. Tone=wholetone=wholestep=twofretsdistance Semitone=halftone=halfstep=onefretdistanceThemusicalalphabetusesthefirstsevenlettersoftheEnglishalphabet:A,B,C,D,E,F,andG.Ifyouplayedthosenotesinorderjustlikethey’rewritten,you’dhaveanAminorscale,whichinitselfisstrongevidencethatAminorwasthefirstkeywestartedwith,historically.WhywasAminorthefirstscale?Thinkaboutit,ifyouweretheguywhoinventedthefirstscale,andyouhadtogiveeachnoteinitaname,wouldyoustartwithD,orF,orG#?No,itmakesfarmoresensetostartwithAandgountilyouhitthesamenoteanoctavehigher–anotherA.Thatisexactlywhathappened.Speakingofoctaves,anoctaveisadoublefrequency.Let’sputoursciencehatsonforamoment-thinkoffrequencyasbeingthenumberoftimestheguitarstringphysicallytravelsorvibratesfromsidetosidepersecondwhenyoupickit.Youcanactuallyseethishappeningifyoulookclosely,especiallyonthelargerstrings.Thelongerandthickerthestringis,thesloweritvibrates–thusithasalowerfrequency.Thethinnerandshorterthestringis,themorequicklyitvibrates.FrequencyismeasuredinHertz(Hz)andthisisthebasisforhowdigitaltunerswork–theyactuallymeasurethenumberoftimespersecondthestringistravelingfromsidetoside.Musically,certainfrequencieshavebeengivenletternames.Forinstance,ifyouplayanopenAonthe5thstringofyourguitar–assumingyou’reintune–itwillbeat220Hz.Now,backtoouroctaves…ifyoushortenthatstringexactlyinhalf,youwillexactlydoublethefrequency.The12thfretistheexacthalfwaymarkonyourguitar,sowhenyouplaythe5thstringatthe12thfret,you’vedoubledthefrequencyto440

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Hz,whichgivesyouanoctaveoftheAyoustartedwith!Youcouldkeepdoingthis;ifyouhavea24fretguitar,that24thfretislocatedtocuttheremainingdistanceinhalfagain,whichwouldgiveyou880Hz–anotherA.Octavesallcarrythesamemusicalnameaseachother–anAisanAisanA,anditdoesn’tmatterifitisalowone(say220Hz)orahighone(say440Hz).Sowefindthatatthe12thfretoftheguitar,thenamingofthenotesonthefretboardessentiallystartsoveragain–thatistheoctavepointforallthestrings.Thehigherthefrequency,thehigherthepitchofthesoundthatisproduced.Youwillprobablybefamiliarwithtermssuchastrebleandbass–thesearebasicallyreferringtohighpitch(treble)andlowpitch(bass)frequencies.Allofthatmightsoundabitcomplicated,buttakeamomentandfollowthereasoningthrough-somepeoplerelatebettertothatwayofapproachingthings,andoncethesetermsbecomeclearinyourmind,itreallyhelps.Don’tworry,youwon’thavetodoanymathinthiscourse,buttheexampleisusefulforunderstandinghowoctaveswork,andthefretboardingeneral.Musicisindeedverymathematical,becauseeverynotecanbemeasuredasafrequency,andifoneissoinclined,thereisalotthatcanbelearnedbylookingatmusicfromthisperspective.BacktoourstoryabouttheAminorscale.Lateron,theydiscoveredthatsomeofthosenoteshadextranotesinbetweenthem,andthusweendedupwithflatsandsharps,alsocalledaccidentals.However,twoofthosenotesdonothaveflatsorsharpsinbetweenthem,andthusarecallednaturalsemitones.ThenaturalsemitonesarebetweenBandC,andalsobetweenEandF.Alltherestofthelettershaveasemitoneinbetweenthem.Soforinstance,inbetweenAandB,wefindA♯, whichcanalsobewrittenasB♭.

♯=sharp=raisinganotebyonesemitone♭ =flat=loweringanotebyonesemitone

IfyouraiseaBbyonesemitone,yougetaC,becausethatdistanceisanaturalsemitone.However,insomescales,whichwewilltalkaboutlater,wecan’tusetheletternameC,soyouhavetocallthatsamepitchaB♯.We’llgetintothereasonsfor

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thatabitlater,butfornow,understandthataB♯soundsexactlythesametotheearasaC♮(Cnatural). ♮ =natural=thenoteisneitherflatnorsharpTherearesevennaturalnotesandfiveaccidentalnotesinourcompletemusicalscale(alsocalledthechromaticscale),foratotalof12notesaltogether.That’swhythe12thfretontheguitaristherepeat,oroctave.Eachstringascendsthrough12notes,fretbyfret,andendsupanoctavehigheronthe12thfret.Ifyouwanttogettoknowyourfretboardreallywell,amethodIrecommendissimplydrawingoutablankguitarfretboardonapieceofpaper,andthengoingthroughandfillinginallthenotenamesbyhand.Gothroughthisexercisestringbystring,andthenonceyou’vegotthehangofthat,trypickingdifferentstartingpoints.I’veincludedablankfretboardworksheetattheendofthisbookthatyoucanphotocopyorprintoffforpractice.StandardtuningforaguitarisEADGBE,fromthe6thstringtothe1ststring.The6thstringisthethickeststring,thelowestinpitch,andtheclosesttoyourface.The1ststringisthethinneststring,highestinpitch,andclosesttothefloor.Onthediagramonthenextpage,you’llseehowthesetonesandsemitonesrelatetothefretboardofyourguitar.Ontheleft,you’llseeanAnoteraisetoanA♯,whichyoucanseeistheexactsameasaB♭inthemiddlediagram.Onthethirdfretboard,youwillseethetonesandsemitonesappliedtothe4thstring.

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Thesameholdstruefortheremainingstrings.Thisisn’tabeginnercourse;soIexpectyoutoalreadybesomewhatfamiliarwiththis,butifyou’renot,takeafewminutesrightnowtocompletetheexercisefortheremainingstrings.Ican’tstressenoughhowimportantitistounderstandtheseprinciples;everythingelsewetalkaboutinthecoursewillbuildfromthispoint.Yousimplymustknow(orbeabletofigureout)what’swhatonyourguitar,andthisisthewayitallworks.

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TheMajorScale

We’vealreadybrieflydiscussedthechromaticscale–thescalethatincludesalltheavailablenotesontheguitar–butthatscaledoesn’tdousalotofgoodinpractice,becauseitdoesn’tbelongtoanyparticularkey.Amusicalkeyhasatonic:anoteorchordwherethemelodycomesbacktorest.Eachkeyhasacollectionofnotesandchordsthatisassociatedwithit.Whenweunderstandhownotesandchordsareassociatedtogetherinkeys,thenwe’restartingtogetsomewhere,andwehavethebuildingblockstostartputtingtogethersomegreatmusic.Therearetwomainsoundsthatwehaveinmusic:majorandminor.Majormeanslarge,andminormeanssmall,sowhenweapplythistotheintervalsinthescale,wefindthatamajorscalehasalargerdistancefromthetonictothethirddegreethanaminorscaledoes.Inpractice,thisgivesmajorahappier,strongersound,whileminorsoundssadder,moremelancholy,andlessforceful.However,majorandminoraretwosidesofthesamecoin,andeverykeyhasbothmajorandminorchordsinit.Amajorkeystartswithamajorchord,whileaminorkeystartswithaminorchord.Thefirstchordinthekeyisthetonic,anditgreatlyinfluencesthecharacterofthekey.Sowhat’sthis‘thirddegree’thatImentionedaminuteago?Let’slookatamajorscaletofindout.Intheexamplebelow,I’veusedaGmajorscale,andgiveneachletteraromannumeral.ThesearethescaledegreesthatImentionedearlier.Gisthetonic,orrootnote,orthefirstdegreeofthescale.Inthediagramabove,youcanseethatthereareeightscaledegreesinakey,withtheeighthbeingtheoctaverepeat.Thedistancebetweenanytwoofthemiscalledaninterval.Additionally,youcanseethatthereisapatternoftoneandsemitonedistancesbetweenthenotesinthescale.Thispatternthatyousee,T-T-ST-T-T-T-STholds

GABCDEF♯GIIIIIIIVVVIVIIVIII

T→T→ST→T→T→T→ST

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trueforallmajorscales,regardlessofwhichkey.Therefore,ifwelearnthepattern,welearnhowtobuildamajorscaleinanykey.Aslongasyoufollowthispattern,therearejusttwomorerulesyouneedtocreateapropermajorscale:

1. Youmustuseeachletternameonce,and2. Youmustuseeachletternameonlyonce.

Youcanuseeitherflatsorsharps,butdon’tmixyourflatsandsharpswithinakey.Ifyou’reinthekeyofB♭forinstance,don’ttrytothrowasharpinsomewhereelse,becauseitwillcauseyoutobreakoneofthetwogoldenrules.Itwouldbeagoodidearightnowtotakeafewminutesandpracticewritingoutseveralotherkeystogetthefeelofhowthisworks.Afteryou’vedonethat,let’sjumpstraighttothehardestkeyofall,C♯,whichhassevensharpsinit!Thiskeyisabittrickierthanmostoftheothers,andyou’llseewhyinamoment.ThefirstthingyoumightnoticeisthatthiskeyhasbothanE♯andaB♯init.Butaren’tthosesimplyanF♮andaC♮,respectively?Yes,theyareidenticalinpitchtothosenotes.Butrememberourrules–wemustuseeachletternameonce,andonlyonce.InthekeyofC♯werunintoaproblemassoonaswehavetomoveuponewholetonefromD♯,becauseifwechoseFasthenextnote,we’dbeskippingtheletterEentirely.Additionally,we’dthengetanextraproblem,becausemovingupasemitonefromFwouldgiveusF♯,meaningwe’dnotonlyhavecompletelyskippedE,butwe’dnowhavetwoF’s(FandF♯)toboot.Inwrittenmusic,thiswouldquicklybecomeanightmaretodealwith.Instead,tofollowtherulesofthegame,wegouponesemitonefromD♯toE,thenanothersemitonetoE♯tocompleteourwholestepup.ThenwecangoafurthersemitonetoarriveatF♯.Functionallyspeaking,anE♯isanFontheguitar,youplayitthesameasanF,butforthepurposesofwritingthemusic,inthisparticularkeyitiscalledanE♯.

C♯D♯E♯F♯G♯A♯B♯C♯IIIIIIIVVVIVIIVIII


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ThesameproblemandsolutionoccurswiththeB♯attheVII.ImentionedthisparticularoddballkeybecauseitistheoneIgetmorequestionsonthananyother–andifyoucansolvetheproblemspresentedbyit,thenyou’veeffectivelyunderstoodthewholeconcept.Let’sgobacktothekeyofGmajoragain,andthistime,let’sapplyittothefretboardofyourguitar.Onthefollowingdiagram,you’llseeallofthenotesfoundintheGmajorscalemarkedoutonthe6thstring.Then,ontheseconddiagram,you’llseeallthesamenotesofthescalegroupedinapatternthatiseasytoplaywithouthavingtomoveyourhandalloverthefretboard.Theredsquaresindicatetherootnote.Takeaminutetocomparethesetwodiagrams.

GMajorDiatonicScale,Root6

GMajorDiatonicScale,allonthe6thstring

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Ifyou’reunsurewhereallthosenotescomefromontherightdiagram,takeapencilandwriteineachnoteascendingfromtheopenpositionofthestring,andyou’llseethepatternlinesupwiththetonesandsemitonespatternwelearnedearlier.Whenyou’replayingthismajorscalepattern,assignonefingerperfret,withthemiddlefingerofyourlefthandanchoredaroundthe3rdfretwhereyourrootnoteGisfound.SometimesI’llrefertothefingersoftheleftorrighthandindifferentways:

Indexfinger=firstfingerMiddlefinger=secondfingerRingfinger=thirdfingerPinkyfinger=fourthfinger

ScalesAreMoveablePatternsMostinstrumentsrequireyoutolearnanewscalepatternforeachkey.AnFmajorscalewillbeplayedverydifferentlythanaCmajorscale,whichisdifferentagainfromaGmajorscale.Ontheguitar,wehavethegreatluxuryofbeingabletolearnasinglescalepattern,andsimplyshiftthatpatterntodifferentrootnotestochangethekey.Theactualpatternthatyourfingersfollowisthesamefromkeytokey;theonlythingthatchangesisyouranchorpoint;therootnote,ortonic.Ifyou’replayingamajorpatternthenyouwillhaveamajorscale.Thesameistruefortheminorscalepattern,whichwe’llgettoabitlater.Studythefollowingdiagramclosely.Theredsquaresindicateyourrootnotes,andbecausethispatternstartsonthe6thstring,wecallita“root6”scalepattern.Lateron,we’lllookatotherpatternsthatfindtheirrootsonotherstrings.ThemainthingIwantyoutoseehereisthatthescalepatternthatyourfingersfollowisexactlythesameasyoumovetodifferentkeys.Theonlythingthatchangesisyouranchorpoint.Grabyourguitar,andplaythrougheachpatterninorder,asitwillhelpyouhearitaswellasseeit.Learningbyapplicationispowerful!

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GMajor,Root6A♭Major,Root6AMajor,Root6

Studythesediagramsuntilthepatternreallyclicks,andyoubegintoseeitasamoveableunit.Transposingscalepatternsisoneoftheuniquethingsthatmakestheguitartrulyabeautifulinstrumenttoplay.Therealfocusofthiscourseisthirds,buttheterm“third”onlyhasmeaninginthecontextofascale,whichiswhyIwantedtotakesometimetocoverthisimportantfoundationfirst.Beforewegettothethirdsthough,we’regoingtotakeonemoredetour,andlookathowchordsarebuilt.Asyouwillsoondiscover,thishaseverythingtodowiththirds…andeverythingtodowithcraftingtastyriffsandsolos!

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BuildingChords&Scales

EarlierImentionedthateachkeyhasnotesandchordsassociatedwithit.Achordisagroupofthreeormorenotessoundedtogetherinharmony.Thesamepatternthatshoweduswhichnotesbelongineachkeycanalsobeusedtofigureoutwhichchordsbelongineachkey.Achordisbuiltbystackingthirds.Therearetwotypesofthirds:major,andminor.

Majorthird=twowholetones=foursemitonesMinorthird=atoneandasemitone=threesemitones

WhatdoImeanbystackingthirds?Well,let’stakeaG+chordforexample.OurfirstnoteisG(theI),thenwegoupathirdinthescale(totheIII)whichisB.Lookatthedistancethere–we’vegonetwowholetonesright?That’samajorthird.Let’saddanotherthird,startingfromtheIII–thatgivesusaD(theV).Thistime,thedistancebetweentheIIIandtheVisasemitoneandatone,orthreesemitones,whichisaminorthird.So,theG+chordisbuiltoftwosetsofthirds,amajorthird(GtoB)andaminorthird(BtoD).Ifitfeelslikewe’regettingprettydeephere,hanginthere,thiswillallstarttocometogethershortly,andthenI’llshowyouhowthistheorycanreallyimpactyourplaying.Let’sdoanotherone,startingfromtheA(II).FirstnoteisA,obviously,andifwegoupathird,wegetC(theIV).FromAtoCwefindthreesemitones,sothistimewe’vestartedwithaminorthird.OnemorethirdfromtheCgetsustoE(theVI),andthatcompletesourchordwithamajorthird.SowediscoverthatthechordstartingfromtheA(orII)isdifferentarrangementthanthatstartingfromtheG(orI).Therearefourmaintypesofthree-notechords,whichyoucanseeinthefollowingchart:



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TypeofChord Intervals ShorthandMajor majorthird+minorthird maj=+Minor minorthird+majorthird min=m=-Augmented majorthird+majorthird augDiminished minorthird+minorthird dim

Let’scompletetheexerciseandfigureoutthechordsforeachstartingpointinthescale–itmightbehelpfultoreferbacktothepatternonthelastpagewhileyougothroughthis:ScaleDegree Chord Notes Intervals

I G+ GBD majorthird+minorthirdII Am ACE minorthird+majorthirdIII Bm BDF♯ minorthird+majorthirdIV C+ CEG majorthird+minorthirdV D+ DF♯A majorthird+minorthirdVI Em EGB minorthird+majorthirdVII F♯dim F♯AC minorthird+minorthird

NoticethattheVIIchordisdiminished–ithastwominorthirds.Ifweaddthisnewinformationintoourdiagram,wegetthis:NoticethattheI,IV,andVchordsareallmajor.TheII,III,andVIchordsareminor.Thispatternholdstrueforeverymajorkey,andthesesixchordsarethefoundationof90%ofthesongsyou’reevergoingtocomeacross.NowwhenyouhearsomeonereferringtoI,IV,V,you’llknowwhatthey’retalkingabout.HowmanysongsdoyouknowthatusejustG,CandD?A,DandE?C,F,andG?D,G,andA?Thousandsofhitsongshavebeenwrittenusingjustthesethreechordsfromeachkey:theI,IV,V.Nowlet’stakeacloserlookatachordyou’realreadywellfamiliarwith,theG+chord.Thereareafewwaystoplaythischord,buttheoneshowninthenextdiagramismygo-tofavorite(addingthethirdfingeronthe2ndstring).


T→T→ST→T→T→T→STmajminminmajmajmindimmaj

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Beneaththediagram,you’llseethenamesofeachnotethatisbeingplayed.We’vegot:G,B,Dandsomerepeats:G,D,G.Ifyoubackupabitandcheckthechart,you’llseethatthenotesrequiredtobuildaG+chordareG,B,andD.Surprise,surprise,butthosearethenotesweseeinourG+chord!TheothercommonwaytoplayaGchordusestheopenBonthe2ndstringinsteadofaddingtheDwiththe3rdfinger.Again,thatnotebelongsinthechord;byaddingaDandreplacingtheB,westillhaveaG+chord,butwe’rejustchangingtheflavorofthechordeversoslightly.AnotherthingtonoteisthattohaveaproperG+chord,yousimplyneedthosethreenotestobepresent:G,B,D.Theorderisnotimportant,andyoucanhaveasmanyrepeatsasyouwish,ofanyofthenotes.Inthediagramabove,wehavethreeGnotesinthechord,twoD’s,andonlyoneB.

Let’slookattheC+chordnow.ThenotesweneedforaC+areC,E,G.ThenoteswehaveareC,E,G,C,E.Onceagain,weseerepeatsoftheCandtheE.Trymodifyingthischordbyplacingyour4thfingeronthe1ststring,3rdfret.You’rereplacingtheEwithaG.It’sstillaC+,butnowithasaverydifferentcharacter,doesn’tit?Noticethattherootnoteofthischordisonthe5thstring,andthereforewedonotplaythe6thstring.IfyouplaytheopenEonthe6thstring,you’llfinditmakesthechordsoundmuddy.

Whyisthat?Shouldn’titworkokay,becauseEisintheC+chord?It’strue,Eisinthechord,butbymakingEthelowestnoteinthechord,wechangethecharacterofthechorddrastically.Thenotethatislowestinpitchstronglyaffectstheflavorofthewholechord,whetherornotitistherootnote.Thinkoftherootnoteasthefoundationnoteofthechord;thepitchthatthechordisbuiltfromandcenteredaround.Itsetsthedirectionandcontextforhowourearsheartheothernotes.Forthisreason,weusuallyusetherootnoteofthechordasthelowestnoteinthechordtoo,becausethatismostpleasingtotheear.Thatsaid,therearemanytimeswhenwedochoosetouseanalternatebassnoteinthechord,andyou’llseethesewrittenasslashchords.ThosearecoveredinmoredetailinmycourseDynamicRhythmGuitar.

GBDGDG

CEGCE

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ThemainthingIwantyoutotakeawayfromthissectionisthatchordsarebuiltdirectlyfromthenotesinthescale,andtheyareformedbystackingthirds.Manyguitaristsneverrealizetherelationshipbetweenthenotesintheirchordsandthenotesinthescaleandthekey.Asyoucometounderstandthisrelationship,youcanbegintouseitinyourplayingandemphasizingdifferentnotesoutofthechordsyou’replayingtohelpthemelodyorharmonyofthesong,aswellasforbuildingyourownuniquechordshapesandsounds.Findingthevariationsofthesecommonchordsthatmostappealstoyourownearisagoodwaytostartdevelopingyourownuniquesound.Understandingthistopicwillbecrucialtothestuffwegetintolateron,sogooverthissectionafewtimesuntilitreallymakessensetoyou.RelativeMajorAndMinorBynowyou’reprobablystartingtorealizethatthirdsplayahugeroleinourmusic.Notonlydotheydeterminewhatkindofscalewe’reworkingwith,they’realsothebuildingblocksofourchords,andinaddition,we’renowgoingtoseehowtheyformanincrediblyimportantchordrelationshiptoo:thatofrelativemajorandminor.Lateroninthiscourse,we’regoingtospendalotoftimelookingathowwecanusethirdstocreatesomeofthesweetestharmoniesandriffsyou’veeverplayedontheguitar.Butfornow,backtotherelativemajorandminor.Everymajorchordhasarelativeminorchordthatisassociatedwithit.Likewise,everyminorchordhasamajorchordthatisrelativetoitaswell.Thesepairingsareconsistentacrossallkeys.Thinkofeachpairingastwosidesofthesamecoin.Theeasiestwaytofindtherelativeminorchordforanymajorchordistogodownthreesemitones(aminorthird)fromtherootnoteofthemajorchord.Ontheguitar,thisisthreefrets.SoifwehaveaG+chord,therootnoteisG(6thstring,3rdfret),andifwegodownthreefrets/semitones,wefindourselvesattheopenE.Thus,EmistherelativeminorchordandscaletoG+.Moreontherelativeminorscalelater.Let’slookatthechordsinthekeyofG+again:


majminminmajmajmindimmaj

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StartingwiththeIchord(orVIIIifthat’seasiertovisualize),G,godownaminorthird,andyou’llseeEm.Likewise,BistherelativeminorofD,andAtherelativeminorofC.Whyarethesechordsimportant?Therelativechordsareverycloselyrelatedtoeachother,infact,ifyoulookclosely,everypairingsharestwooutofthreenotesincommon.Thismakesthesechordsandintervalsexcellentchoicestostartwithwhenyou’recreatingriffs,butwe’llgetintothatmorelateron.Anotherreasontheserelationshipsareimportant,isifyouknowthemajorI,IV,Vchordsofakey,youcanveryquicklyusetherelativeminortricktofindthethreeminorchordsforthekey.Simplycountdownthreefretsfromeachmajorchord,andyou’llfindyourrelativeminorchord.Appliedtothefretboard,wefindthattheIIVVpatternalwayshasthesameshape:

KeyofG KeyofA KeyofB

I=G,IV=C,V=DI=A,IV=D,V=EI=B,IV=E,V=F♯

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ThereasonIshowthatpatterninthreedifferentkeysistoreallydrivehomethefactthatvisuallyonthefretboard,thatpatternisconsistent,aslongasyoudon’tcrosstheBstring.However,we’redealingwithrootnotesofchords,soreallythe5thand6thstringsarethemainonesyouneedtoknowforcommonlyusedbarchords.

Nowwesimplymovethewholepatterndownthreefrets,andwehavebothour3majorchords(I,IV,V)andour3minorchords(II,III,VI)foranykeywewant.Notehoweverthattheyarenotinthesameorder–theminorchordsareorganizedasVI,II,IIIonthefretboard.Ifyou’relookingforallthechordsinagivenkeyinanicehandyarrangement,justtaketheIIVVmajorchords,andlookinthesurroundingnotesforwhereyoucanfillintherelativeminorchords.Anotherhugelyimportantusefortherelativeminoristherelativeminorscale–possiblythemostfriendlyofallguitarscalestosoloin.ThemajorscaleIshowedyouearlierisgreatforfiguringoutthechordsinthekey,andothertheory-relatedissues.Manypeoplealsousethemajorscaleastheirprimaryscalepatternforsoloing;howeverpersonallyIfindthattheshapeoftheminorpatternisactuallymorefinger-friendlyontheguitar.Althoughtheconceptswe’retalkingaboutinthiscoursearetightlyrelatedtothescalesonyourguitar,whatwe’redoingisactuallyexploringanalteratewayofapproachingthefretboardthatfitshand-in-glovewiththescales.Assuch,we’renotgoingtogotoodeeplyintothescaleshere–ifyouneedarefresheronthisyoucancheckoutmyGuitarScalePatternscourse.That

said,thenextsectioncoverssomeimportantscalepatterns–let’stakealook.

KeyofG

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ImportantScalePatternsLet’sbrieflylookattwohighly-usefulpatternsyoucanusetofilloutthefretboardalittlebit.They’rebothminorpatterns,andareverycloselyrelated.

Inthediagramontheleft,thefirstpatternyouseeistheF♯diatonicminorpattern,root6.Recallthatroot6meanstherootnoteisonthe6thstring,andthat’swherewefindthisone,6thstring,2ndfret.Fromherewe’resimplyusingexactlythesamenotesyou’llfindintherelativemajorscaleofthesamekey–inthiscase,thatwouldbeAmajor.ThemaindifferenceisthatF♯hasbecomeourstartingpoint,andisalsothetonalcenterofthisparticularscale.Comparethenotesyoufindheretotheonesinthefarrightdiagramonpage12(AMajorScale),andyouwillfindtheyarethesame.Ifyouknowsomeclassicaltheory,youmayknowofthispatternastheAeolianscaleormode.Now,ifwepullthesametrickagain,butstartfromadifferentF♯,wefindanotherF♯diatonicminorscale,thisonewithitsrootnoteonthe5thstring(atthe9thfret).Inclassicaltheory,theycallthispatternthePhrygianscaleormode.PersonallyIfindthatmostguitarplayersarenotfamiliarwiththeseterms,andsoI’veoptedtogowiththefunctionalnamesinstead.Intheshadedareastotheleft,youcanseehowthecoreone-octavepatternremainsconsistentfrompatterntopattern,demonstratingonceagainthenotesall

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remainconstantregardlessofthepatternorplacementonthefretboard.Beforewemoveon,let’slookatonemorediagramthatpullsallthreeofthesepatternstogether.Thedottedareasshowthethreemainpatternswe’vediscussed.ThefirstoneistheF♯DiatonicMinor,Root6.Thesecondoneoverlapsthefirst,andisADiatonicMajor,Root6.Itstartsonthe5thfretofthe6thstring.Don’tbetrickedbytheG♯beingthefirstnoteinsidethedots,itdoesbelonginthescale,butitisnotthestartingpoint.Simplyplaythisscaleeachway–startingandendingontheG♯thenontheA–andyourearwilltellyouwhichworksbest.ThethirdpatternistheF♯DiatonicMinor,Root5.Again,therearenotesbeforethatF♯butforourpurposeswerelatetotheF♯astherootnote.Muchmorecouldbesaidaboutthesepatterns,butasI’vementionedearlier,thedirectionofthisparticularcourseisawayfromusingscalepatternsandmoretowardsusingothertypesofpatterns.Assuch,Ipresentthesemerelytorefreshyourmemory,andIhopeyouknowthemwellenoughalreadythatyouwillbeabletoseehowthepatternswestarttalkingaboutoverlaywiththeseones.Okay,that’salotoffoundationtolay!It’simportantstuffthough,asyou’lldiscoveraswebegintostarttalkingabouttherealcoreofthiscourse…thirds.Areyouready?Let’sdivein!

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AllAboutThirds

Thirds!Asyoumayhaveguessedbynowfromallourtalkaboutstackingthirdsandhowthey’rethefoundationofchordconstruction,thirdsaresuperimportantinmusic.Wecanusethirdsforalotmorethanjustbuildingchords,andthatiswhatthissectionwillbegintoexplore.Thinkaboutitforasecond–ifyouwantedtochooseasinglenotethatwouldharmonizewellwithaG+chord,whichonewouldyouchoose?YoumightsayaG;andplayinginunisonisindeedthesafestoption.However,slightlymoreinteresting–butequallysafe–optionsmightbeaBoraD,theIIIandtheVfromthechord.Now,ifyouweregoingtochooseatwo-noteharmonytogoalongwiththatchord,whichnoteswouldyouchoose?SomeofthebestoptionswouldbethecombinationsyoucanmakedirectlyfromthenotesthatbuildtheGchord:GB,GD,BD.TheGDcombinationisaI-V,andtheothersarethirds:amajorthird(GB)andaminorthird(BD).Noneofthosenotesaregoingtochangethecharacterofthechorditself,regardlessoftheoctaveorarrangementyouplaythemin.IfyouweretoplayanF♯note,thatmightsoundcool,butnowyou’dbecreatingaGmaj7chord,whenyouaddinthenotesbeingplayedalreadyintheG+chord(G-B-D-F♯).Thatmayormaynotworkinthesong…butIcertainlywouldn’tcallitaguaranteed,safeoption!Workingwiththethirdsalreadypresentinthechordisagreat,safewaytoaddalotofcharactertothesong.Sostarthere,andwhenyou’recomfortable,begintoexperimentfurthertoseewhatyoucancomeupwith.You’restayingwithinwhat’salreadythere,butvoicingitdifferently,andoftenthat’sexactlywhat’sneededtoputanewspinonatiredsong,createawholenewone,orcomeupwithaninterestingmelodyorharmonyforaprogression.Keepinmindthatareallygreatwaytovoicethingsdifferentlyistochoosethesamenotesfromthechord,butinadifferentoctave,oronadifferentplaceonthefretboard.Thatchangesthesonicqualityofthenotes,andwillcreateareallyniceharmonywiththenotesbeingsoundeddirectlyoutofthechordbeingplayedinthebackground.Manyfamoussongsusethethirdsdirectlyoutofthechordstocreateverycoolriffsthathavebecomepartofthesignaturesoundofthosesongs.Ifyoulistenclosely,

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you’lloftenhearthirdsbeingusedtocreatetastylittleriffsinbetweenorovertopofthevocals.Herearejustafewtolookupifyou’reinterested–you’llfindversionsofalloftheseonYoutube:�TupeloHoney(VanMorrison) �IntoTheMystic(VanMorrison)�BrownEyedGirl(VanMorrison)�YourBodyIsAWonderland(JohnMayer)

�WantedDeadorAlive(BonJovi)�SlowDancingInABurningRoom(JohnMayer)

�Gravity(JohnMayer) �TequilaSunrise(TheEagles)�BrownEyedGirl(VanMorrison)�TheLemonSong(LedZeppelin)�TheZoo(Scorpions)�Heaven(LosLonelyBoys)�MaryHadaLittleLamb(StevieRayVaughan)�FeelsLikeRain(BuddyGuy)

�FinishWhatYouStarted(VanHalen)�FortunateSon(C.C.R.)�GreenRiver(C.C.R.)�SusieQ(C.C.R.)�Pride‘nJoy(StevieRayVaughan)�KillingFloor(JimiHendrix)

Whenyoureallystartlockingintowhatthirdssoundlike,youwillhearthemusedEVERYWHERE.Seriously,thelistaboveisbutatinysampling…Becausethirdsonlyrequiretwonotes,therearemany,manydifferentwaystoplaythemontheguitar.We’regoingtogothroughafewdifferentways,butifyoureallywanttogetcreativeyoucanfindmore;especiallyifyoustartaddingopennotesintothemix.Whenyouplaytwonotessimultaneously,itiscalledadiad,oradoublestop.I’llusethesetermsinterchangeably.Beforewestartlookingatthepatternsforawholekey,let’sfirstbreakdownthetwoindividualpatternswe’redealingwith:majorthirdandminorthird.Recallthataminorthirdisthedistanceofthreesemitones,andamajorthirdisthedistanceoffoursemitones.Becauseofthewaythefretboardislaidout,thesedistancesproducereliablepatternsthatyoucanuseanywhereonthefretboardtofindathirdreallyquick,evenifyoudon’tknowthenamesofbothofthenotesyou’redealingwith.Knowingthepatternsisjustashelpfulasknowingthenotenamesthemselves.Onthenextpage,we’llstartwiththethirdsfoundonstringsadjacenttoeachother.

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GMajorThirds GMinorThirdsWheneveryou’relookingforintervalpatternsonthefretboard,you’llfindtheyareconsistentacrossstrings3-6;howeveronceyoucrossthe2ndstringthepatternchanges,becausethedistancefromGtoBisamajorthird,notafourthlikethedistancebetweenalltheotherstrings(EtoA,AtoD,etc).Ontheleftyoucanseethemajorthirdpattern,andontherightyoucanseetheminorthirdpattern,appliedtoalladjacentstrings.Studythesecloselyandnotethedifferencesbetweenthemajorandminorpatternsoneachstring.Thepatternsremainconsistentallacrossthefretboard,unlessit

touchesorcrossesthe2ndstring.Onthefirstandsecondstrings,theoriginalpatternresumesagain.Nextlet’slookatpatternsthatskipastring.Duetohowthefretboardislaidout,ifwewanttoskipastringwithourthirdstheonlyeasilyaccessiblewaytodothatistoinverttheorderofthenotes.Inotherwords,aninvertedthirdisonewheretherootnoteishigherinpitchthanthebassnote.Theactualintervalisidenticaltoa6th,soyoumayseethesecalled6thsfromtimetotime.However,ifwecallita6ththentherootnoteischanging.Eitherwayistechnicallycorrect,inthiscourseI’vechosentocalltheminvertedthirdsinsteadof6ths,becauseIthinkit’sjustalittleeasiertorelateto.

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Inpracticalterms,therootnoteoftheintervalisG,andthemajorthirdisB;howeverwhenthethirdisinverted,theBbecomesthelowestnoteofthepair.InvertedGMajorThirds InvertedGMinorThirds

Onceagain,noticehowthepatternchangeswheneverittouchesorcrossesoverthe2ndstring.Everywhereelse,itremainsconsistent.Keepinmindthatonthispageandthepreviouspage,we’relookingsimplyatthedifferencebetweenthemajorandminorpatternsasthey’refoundondifferentstrings.Whileyou’restudyingthesethirdsandinvertedthirds,doitwithaguitarinyourhandsoyoucanplayandhearthedifferentsoundscreatedbyplayingthesesamenotesindifferentplacesaroundthefretboard.Ican’tstresshowimportantthisis–atfirstallthisstuffwe’recoveringisheadknowledge,butthegoalistotransitionasquicklyaspossiblesoitbecomesearand

handknowledgethatappliestoyourfretboardaswell.Don’tworry–thisisaprocess,anditwon’thappenovernight,butitwillhappenasyouapplyyourselftoit!

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Nowlet’slookatonepairofstrings(2&3),andhowwecanapplythirdsfromeveryscalepositiontothosestrings.We’llusethekeyofGmajor.RecallthattheG+scalegivesusthesenotes:GABCDEF♯We’llusetheGstringasourrootstring;allourrootnotesforthesethirdswillcomefromthere.AsweprogressalongtheGstring,wefollowthenotesoftheG+scale.Eachnotehasapairwhichcompletesthethird;somearemajorthirdsandsomeareminorthirds.Notethatthepatternofmajorandminorthirdsexactlyfollowsthepatternwediscoveredearlier:

Allthatwearedoinghereistakingthefirstthirdoutofthechordthatcouldbebuiltfromthatscaleposition.Thuswhenlookingonlyatthefirstsetofthirds,theseventhnotegivesusanotherminorthird,becauseadiminishedchordisaminorthirdplusaminorthird.Inthediagram,youcanseeadescriptionofthethirdbesideit.Forinstance,E-indicatesaminorthirdofftheE.ItdoesnotindicateafullEminorchord,inthisparticularapplication…howeverifyouwantedtofinishoffthechord,allyou’dneedwouldbetoaddonemorenoteandyou’dhaveit!Ipickedthissetofthirdsfirst,becauseitiseasytograspgiventhekeyofG+andtheGrootnotestring.Also,thematchingnotesarefoundonlyonestringaway,soeverythingisniceandtighttogether.Notethegeneralpatternofasinglemajorthirdonthetonic(G),thentwominors(A,B),twomajors(C,D),andtwominors(E,F♯).That’sveryusefultoknowandworkwithwhenyou’replaying!

IIIIIIIVVVIVII

majminminmajmajmindimGABCDEF♯

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Beforemovingontosomethirdsthatskipstrings,let’stakealookatthekeyofG+asseenfromacoupleotherstrings.Thediagramontheleftfollowstherootsoffthe2ndstring;howeverthenotesusedarealloutoftheG+scale.Ontheright,it’sthesamestory,butwiththerootsonthe4thstringinstead.Whentherootnoteisonthe4th,5th,or6thstringsthepatternisgoingtobeidenticalbecausetheBstringisnotmessingitup.

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Playeachofthesesetsofthirdsthroughoverandoveragain,andbegingettingusedtothepatterns,howtheyalternatefrommajortominor.Homework:drawoutthethirdsinG+twicemore,withrootnotesonthe5thand6thstrings.Then,doafewofthesesequencesinotherkeyslikeE+andA+.Thenextsetsofthirdswe’regoingtolookatareinverted,andtodothatwe’llbeskippingastring.Thenicethingabouttheseisthatthere’salittlemoreseparationbetweenthepitchesofeachnote,sothesehaveareallynicesoundtothem.

Asmentionedearlier,somepeoplecallthesesixths,butitalldependswhichnoteyou’recallingtherootnote.Ifyouswitchedtherootnotetobethebassnote,thenthesewouldbesixths;howeverthenyou’dalsobechangingyourreferencepoint.AddinstringskippinginvertedthirdsAddintwostringskippinginvertedthirdsThefarrightpatternonstrings3&5isthesameaswhatyou’dseeonstrings4&6,youjusthavetomoveitaccordingly.

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Here’sanothersetofthirds,thistimeskippingtwostrings.

AllofthesethirdshavebeentakenfromthekeyofG+,howeverjustlikebarchordsandscales,theexactsamepatternscanbeusedforotherkeys,theyjustneedtobemovedaccordingly.Homework:Pickakeyyouuseoftenandwriteoutallthevariouscombinationsofthirdsinthatkey.Itwouldbeagoodexercisetodothisforallofthefivemostcommonkeys(C,A,G,E,D).Youcanusetheblankfretboardworksheetatthebackofthisbook.

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Onetricktorememberingthepatternofhowthesethirdsappearonthefretboardistouseyourknowledgeofroot5androot6barchords.Thesechordsshouldbesecondnaturetoyou,they’resoimportant.Allofthethirdspatternswehaveexaminedsofarcanbefoundrighthereinthesebarchords.Payspecialattentiontowherethethird(BorB♭)isineachpattern,asyouhavetohavethatnoteinordertohaveathird.Nowjustusethenotesthatyouwantfromeachoftheroot5orroot6barchordsasyouprogressuptheneck,andyou’llhaveabeautifulsequenceofthirdsorinvertedthirdstoworkwith!

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There’sonelastsetofinvertedthirdsI’dliketopointoutbeforewemoveon–theonesyoucanfindbyskippingthreestrings.Youwon’tfindtheseonesinthebarchordsmentionedabove.Checktheseout:

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SoloingWithThirds

Okay,hopefullytheprevioussectionsgaveyouagoodgroundinginwheretofindthirdsonyourfretboard;nowwe’regoingtostartapplyingtheseinapracticalwaytomakingmusic.Masteringtheuseofthirdsunlocksagreatsecretofmelodicguitarsolos.Hardlyanythingwe’llcoverherecouldbeconsidered“shredding”;however,I’vedonemybesttomakealltheexamplestasteful–onesthatyou’dhear,andthink“yeah,thatsoundsgood!”Youcanplaythemfast,youcanplaythemslow–speeddoesn’tmatterasmuchwhenyouchoosetherightnotes.Awordofcautionbeforewegofurther–ifyou’regoingtosolousingthirds,you’regoingtoneedtobeVERYAWAREOFTHEPROGRESSION!Ican’tstressthisenough.Indaysgoneby,youprobablylearnedtosolousingthepentatonicminorscale,whichishowmostpeoplestart.Thatway,aslongasyou’vegotthepatterndown,youneverhavetoleaveit,andyoucansoundgreat.That’scool–that’sexactlyhowIstarted,andhowIteachpeopletogetstartedsoloing.Butwe’renottalkingaboutbeginnersoloinghere,we’retalkingaboutwaystomovebeyondthat,waystogofurtherandindifferentdirections.

Thirdsarebothmajorandminor.Ifyoupickathirdtolandonthathasnothingtodowiththekeyinuse,itwillclash–usuallybadlyandnoticeably.Forexample,ifyouplayaDminorthirdovertopofaDmajorchord…it’sgoingtostickoutlikeasonicsorethumb!

So,learntheprogression,andlistentoitcloselysoyoulearnhowtofindyourplaceinitasyouplay.Thisisnottobeviewedasabadthingorahardship,it’sallaboutbringingyourlevelofmusicianshipupabigsteptothepointwhereyou’refarmoreawareofwhat’sgoingoninthesong.Embraceit!Tohelpyoupayattentiontothechordsandlearnhowtohearthem,I’vecreatedvideoswiththejamtracksthatshowyouwhatchordyou’reonandwhat’scomingup–usethem!Doyouthinkthemostmelodicofguitarsoloswerecompletelyad-lib?Possibly–butwhetherthesoloistwasconsciouslyawareofthefactornot,they’reALLintricatelyconnectedtotheunderlyingchords,andthat’swhatwe’relearningtodotoday.

!

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Ifyoucangettheprogressioninyourheadreallywell,youwillfinditverysatisfyingandenjoyabletosolousingthirds,becauseittheywillfitsowellwiththeprogression.Asyourskillwiththemdevelops,you’llbeabletoworkwithnewprogressionsmuchmoreeasilyandwithoutasmuchconsciousthoughtaboutwhereyou’reat.Eventhescalepatternsyou’velearnedinthepast–thosehugelybeneficialscalepatterns(ifyou’vetakenmycourses,youknowI’vestressedthemtillthecowscomehome…)Yeah,eventhosescalepatterns,you’llfindwewon’tbeusingmuchtoday.Whenyoustartviewingthefretboardintermsofthirds,yougetadifferentsetofpatternstorelateto.Ifyoulookclosely,theyworkperfectlywithalltheotherscalepatternsyou’velearnedpreviously(diatonic,pentatonic,etc).Butbecausetheriffswe’recoveringtodayarenearlyallthirdsbased(yes,thereareafewnon-thirdsbonusesthrowninforgoodmeasure),wewilloftenbetransitioningbetweentraditionalscalepatterns,orzippingrightthroughthemwithouteventakingnotice.Someoftheriffswe’llbeplayinglineupperfectlywiththepatternsofthirdswecoveredearlier,butmanyoftheriffssimplyhavealotofthirdintervalsinsideofthem.Sometimestheintervalhappensonthesamestring,sometimesyou’llseeitmoreeasilyintermsofthepatterns,butthepointiswe’relookingdifferentwaystoapplythebeautyofthirdstoourplaying.Sometimeswe’llplaythethirdssimulataneously,asdiads,andsometimestheywillbeplayedsequentially,oneaftertheotherinsinglenotelines.Itdoesn’tmakemuchdifference,becausethehumanearstillassociatesthenotestogether.Theystillprovidecontextforeachotherwhetherplayedtogether,ornexttoeachother.WhatIrecommendistoreallygiveyourselftostudyingthesethirdsforalittlewhile.Theywillchangethewayyouviewthefretboard.Then,whenyou’restartingtofeelconfidentusingthem,begingoingbacktoyourfavoritescalepatterns.Thecombinationofthetwowillbeverypowerful,becausetheyworktogetherhandinglove.I’lltrytomentionthescalepatternsfromtimetotimeaswegothrough,tohelpyoukeepperspective,butI’mwarningyouinadvance,they’renotthefocushere.

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Talkin’AboutTriadsWetalkedabouttriadsabitearlier,butnowIwanttotakeaslightlymorecomprehensivelookatthem,becausethesesmallchordshapesaresoincrediblyuseful.Aquickreminder:atriadissimplythethreenotesnecessarytoformabasicchord;theI,III,andV.Triadscanbemajor,minor,diminishedoraugmented–butwe’renotcoveringthelasttwohere.It’simportanttoknowwhichoneyou’redealingwith.ThediagramontheleftshowsC+triads;thediagramontherightshowsA-triads.

Notehowthemajortriadsontherightareinsimilarpositionstotheminoronesontheright,butthey’repullingfromdifferentchordshapes,thenamesofwhichareindicatedbythetitles.Thisiscool,becauseyoucaneasilymovefromaC+shapetoanA-shapewithoutmovingfar.Thesediagramscoverfourstrings,butyouonlyneedthreenotesforatriad.Soeachshapecanbeplayedtwoways,dependingonwhichstringsyouwanttoworkwith.Thatmeansthereare12shapesrepresentedinthesediagrams:6majorand6minor.Learnthemwell!

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Thereasonwe’renotlookingataugmentedordiminishedtriadsisthatthemajorandminoronesaresimplyfarmoreuniversallyapplicable.Augmentedtriadsarenotfoundnaturallyinthekey,andthere’sonlyonediminishedtriadfoundnaturallyinkey,soyoucan’tmoveitaroundthefretboardmuchinasolo.Thus,we’rereallyfocusingonmajorandminorhere,asyoucanusethemallover.ApplyingTriadsToImprovisingWe’regoingtostartapplyingthesetriadsinafairlysimplemanner–simplybyplayingthemovertopofaprogression.Keepinmindthattherearemanydifferentwaystousethesetriads–here’safewideastogetstartedwith:

• PlayatriadtomatchthechordintherhythmtrackieAmoverAm.• Picknotesfromthetriadtoemphasize,letthemringout,oruseapicking

pattern.• Trythetriadthatisrelativetothechordbeingplayed.IfDmajorisbeing

played,tryplayingtheBminortriad,orpullnotesfromittouse.IfEminorisbeingplayed,tryplayingtheGmajortriad,etc.

• Trysimplyusingthetonicofthekey.InthekeyofAminor,justplayaroundwiththenotesinthevariousAminortriadstoseehowtheysoundovertheentireprogression.Seeifyoucancreatemelodiesusingjustthosenotes.

• Startexploring,movingthroughdifferenttriadsovertopofonechord.• Usepairingsofnotesfromthetriadsandstartexploring.• Useyourimagination!Treattheseasaframework–youcanaddorsubtract

howeveryouwantto.Perhapsplayatriadoverthefirstchord,thenariffoverthesecond,thenatriadagain,etc.

Theprogressionwe’lluseinthissectioniscalledMouseanditlookslikethis: Am | F |Dm Em | AmInthevideo,Ispentafairbitoftimedemonstratingthesedifferentapproaches.Thekeyistotakeyourtime,don’tbeinahurry,andsimplyrelaxandletthenotesleadyou.Asyouspendyourrelaxedtimewiththeprogressionandwiththesetriads,youwillfindthingsthatwork,andthingsthatdon’t.Soon,youwillbeginusingmoreofwhatyouknowworks,andwithpractice,you’llbeabletoimprovisesomethingthatsoundsgreateachtime.Learningtousethesepatternsandideastoimproviseisjustasimportantaslearningriffsthatincorporatethem,becauseitisthebasisforlearningtocreateyourownriffs.

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Nowwiththatsaid,learninggood,melodicriffsistheeasypathtocreatinggood,melodicsolos.Inthenextsection,we’regoingtolearnawholebunchofriffs,butwe’regoingtostringthemtogetherintoshortsolophrasestoo.Mostoftheexampleswe’llcovercanactuallyfittogetherendtoendorinterchangeably,ifyouwantanicelongersolo.Ofcourse,onceyou’vegotsomegreatriffsatyourdisposal,it’suptoyoutomodifythem,rearrangethem,andexperimentwithyourownthing.Inthiscourseyou’lllearnalotoftipsonhowtosolo–buthere’sabiggietostartwith:everyriffyoueverlearncan(andshouldbe!)changedtoyourheart’scontent.Rhythm,timing,placement,key–there’snothingofflimitshere.Inordertotakethemostoutofthiscourse,Ireallyrecommendworkingwitheachoftheriffsyoulearnindividually,untilyoudiscovderafewwaystomodifyeachoneonyourown.Thatwillhelpyourememberthembettertoo.Keepinmindthatthethirdsthatwillsoundgoodinthechordprogressionaretheonesthataretieddirectlytothekey.Theonesthatwillsoundbestaretheonesrelateddirectlytothechordthatisbeingplayed.Sowhenyou’replayinginagivenkey,takeamomenttofamiliarizeyourselfwiththepatternofthirdsintervalsthatisrelevanttothatparticularkey,andthenworkoutofthatwithyourriffs.Withinthatgeneralprocess,takeacloserlookatwhichchordsarebeingplayedbehindyourriff,andfigureoutwhichspecificintervalswouldbethebestplacestostartexperimenting.Attheendoftheday,letyourearguideyou–itwilltellyouwhatworksandwhatdoesn’t.Anddon’tbeafraidtoexperiment!Homework:Printoffafewcopiesoftheblankfretboardworksheetfoundattheendofthisbook,andheadbacktotheAllAboutThirdssectioninthisbook.Startdrawingoutthevariousthirdsandinvertedthirdsyoufindinthatsection,butthistimeforthekeyofAminor.Honestly–drawingstuffoutwithyourownhandsreallyworks,itreallyhelpsyouunderstandthefretboardusingadifferentpartofyourbrain.Areyoureadytostartsoloing?Thisisgoingtobefun,andonceyougettheseriffsintegratedintoyoursoloing,I’dlovetohearaboutit,okay?Let’sdivein.

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“Thrill”

Thefirsttrackwe’regoingtolearnsolosforiscalledThrill.It’slooselybasedoffBBKing’sThrillisGone.We’vegotfour12-barsoloswe’regoingtoworkwithonthistrack,sothey’relongerthantheoneswe’reworkingwithintheothertracks,butthekeytolearninglongerpartsistosimplybreakthemdownintosmallerones.Inthiscase,individuallicks.ThetrackisinAminor,andlookslikethis:

Am |Am |Am |AmDm |Dm |Am |AmF |Em |Am |Am

Ofspecialinterestarealltherelevantrootnotes,andofcoursewhetherornotachordismajororminor.We’vegoingtoworkalotwiththekeyofCmajororAminor(remember,thesekeysarerelativeandshareexactlythesamenotesandchords),becausewe’vealreadycoveredGmajorextensively,andIwantedtogetyouworkingwithanotherkey.Fingeringandpickinginformationhasbeenincludedonthetabs,butthatpartreallyisn’twritteninstone.Forthatmatter,theriffsandtimingaren’teither.TheyrecordhowIfeltitatthetimeIwroteit…youmayfindthatyoufeelitdifferentlyonedaytothenextandthat’sgood!Don’tgethunguponplayingitpreciselylikeIdo,instead,gethunguponabsorbingtheideassodeeplythattheyoozebackoutofyouinyourownway,inyourownstyle.Startoffbyplayingthroughthisprogressionanumberoftimessimplyusingallofthevariouschordpositionsyouknow.Thosearereallyimportantanchorpoints.Playinopenchords,barchords,andusingeveryotherformofchordyou’refamiliarwith,aslongasitisanAminororFmajor,etc.Payattentiontotheshapesyou’reusing–forinstance,ifyou’reworkingwithroot6barchords,thinkabouteachnoteyou’replayingwhenyoustrumthatchord,andlookatthepatternthechordcreatesonyourfretboard.I’mtryingtobringyourreal-timeawarenessofwhatyou’replayingupalevel,becausetheeverynoteineverychordyouplayishalfofapotentialthirdintervalforyoutouse!Ifyouwant,insteadofstrumming,dosomesimplearpeggiopicking(onenoteaftertheother)throughthechords,becausethatwayyou’llreallystartconnectingwiththeindividualnotesineachchordandhowtheysoundovertheprogression.

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Personally,Ifoundthatrelatingthirdstomybarchordshapeswasagoodstartingpoint–they’refamiliarshapestome,allthewayupthefretboard,andwhenIstartbreakingthemdown,workingwithdifferentstrings,Icankeepthebarchordinmindtohelpfigureoutwhatmyintervalshouldlooklikeinthatposition.Asyoubecomemorefamiliarwiththeshapesandlocations,you’llleanonthislessandless;howeverintheabsenceofanotherstartingpoint,thisworkswell.Let’stakealookatthefirst12barsolo.ThrillSolo1

Sincethisisthefirstcompletesolowe’relookingat,we’regoingtobreakitdownprettydeep,andlookathowthesethirdsarebeingapplied.Aswegothroughtherestofthetracks,wemayormaynotgetintothesamelevelofdetail,butthemainthingistotrytolearntheprinciplesofwhatishappening,thenyoucanapplythemonyourown,anywhere.

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Okay,let’slookatthatfirstbar.WestartoffslidingintoanEnote,thenhitaG.Remember,notesdon’thavetobeplayedatthesametimetoformasoundthatispleasingtotheear;inthiscase,andinmostoftheothersinthiscourse,noteswillbeplayedinsequenceratherthansimultaneously.Thatsaid,inthisriff,youcanletthenotesringoutovertopofeachother,anditsoundsgreat.ThosetwonotesformanE-third(E-G).Here’swherethetheorygetsfun:EGistheminorpartoftheC+chord(CEG),andofcourse,C+istherelativemajorchordtoAm,whichisbeingplayedintherhythm!Rememberfromtheprevioussection,thenotesandintervalsfromchordsthatarerelativetoeachothersoundgreattogether.Inbartwo,weplaythatsameinterval,thenwecomedownandinthelastpartofthatbar,weworkwithC-A-C.A-CisanA-third,whichasexpectedsoundsgreatoverAm.Here’saquicktip,ifyou’renotfamiliarwithreadingmusic.Eachnoteisassignedeitheralineoraspace–onceyougetthefeelforitevenjustalittlebit,itbecomesveryeasytorecognizeintervalsofthirds,inparticular.Thediagrambelowisnotintendedasacomplete‘learntoreadmusic’diagram,butmerelyasaquickierefresherincaseyou’veforgotten.Keepinmindifyouprefertonotreadthemusic,that’sperfectlyfine,simplypayattentiontothepatternsthatarebeingplayedandyou’llgetthesameresult.Ipromise!Here’sbar2again,blownup:

Now,thattopportionshowsthemusicnotation.Notice“FACE”–thosenotenamesrepresentthespaces,andthat’saneasywaytorememberwhat’swhere.Ofcourse,fillintheblankstofindthelines:EGBDF.Noticethatwhenyoulookatjustlines,or

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justspaces,you’realreadyworkinginthirds.Thisgivesusareallyeasytooltohelpidentifywhenathirdisbeingplayed,simplycheckiftwonotesareonspacesbesideeachother,oronlinesbesideeachother.Suchisthecasewiththefirsttwonotes,EandG,whichareonspacesadjacenttoeachother.Okay,withthatinmind,let’smoveontobar5,wherewefindaninvertedthirdonthe12thfret,G-E.Invertedthirdsarenotaseasytoidentifyataglancethroughthemusic,unlessyouhaveatrainedeye,buttheyareeasyifyou’relookingatthepatternsonyourfretboard.Remember,aninvertedthirdisreallythesamethingasanormalthird,exceptthattherootnotetotheintervalisnotthelowestinpitchofthepair.Functionally,wecanusethemthesameway,aslongasweknowwhatwhatnoteswe’reusingtorelatetoeachother.Inthisparticlarcase,we’replayingoveraDm.HowdoesE-GrelatetoDm?Itdoesn’t,andthat’sfine.Wedon’thavetoalwayshavetohaveadirectconnection,butIwanttopointoutthetimesthatwedobecausewecanlearnfromthem.However,thereisaconnectionheretothetonicchord,Am(explainedinbar1),andaswelearnedearlier,thetonicchordsoundsgreatovertheentireprogression.Here’sthatwholelineagain:

Inbar6,weseeasetofthreeinvertedthirds.Startingtorecognizetheseshapes?We’resimplywalkingdownfromE-,throughD-,andarrivingonC+.Inbar7,we’rebackontotheAmintherhythm,andourleadlineissittingthereonanotherG-Epairing.Again,thatcomesfromC+whichisperfectforhangingoutforawhileoveranAm.Inbar8,wehavebasicallythesameriffaswesawinthefirstline…repetitioninsolosisquiteeffective!Let’smoveontothelastsetoffourbars,9-12:

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Inbar9,wefindacoolthirdinterval(A-C,whichisA-)thatskipstwostrings.Thatincreasesthesonicdistancebetweenthenoteswhichisalwaysnice.Inbar10,weusethesamepattern,butnowwe’restretchingthatnoteonthesecondstringtocompletethemajorthird(G-B=G+).Okay,we’renearlythere!Bar11featuresacompleteA-triadwhichservesasthestartingpointforourriff,thenwestretchuptoanEanddropbackdowntotheConthe5thfret.That’sE-C,whichisaC+thirdplayedinreverse.Thelastthreenotesareanotherthird,C-A-C.Recognizethat?It’sA-…Lastly,butnotleast,we’rehangingoutonasingleAnoteforthelastbar.Sometimesspaceandslownessintherightplacessaysmorethanusingalotofnotes.CheckoutsomeofBBKing’splaying,it’sfullofcreativeexpressionlikethat.Inthiscase,Aisthetonic,anditsaysalot,eventhoughtheplayingisprettysimple!Someoneoncesaidthatthenotesyoudon’tplayareeverybitasimportantastheonesyoudoplay…Here’sagoodpracticetipforyou,ifyouwanttoimproveyourmusic-readingskills:takeapencilandgothroughthissolo(andalltheotherstoo!)anddrawcirclesaroundallthethirdsandinvertedthirdsyoucanfind.I’mnotgoingtobotheranalyzingeverylastintervalineverysinglesolo,butwewillcoverquiteafewaswegothrough.Certainlyenoughtogetyoufamiliarwithhowtheywork!Let’smoveontoSolo2.

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ThrillSolo2

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Inthissolo,itwasgettingalittletighttofit4barsperline,soitwilllookalittledifferentthantheothers,buttherearestill12bars,twoperline.Therearen’tmanysurprisesinthissolo,sowe’lllettheanalysisslidethistime.It’sallaboutapplyingwhatyou’velearned,andmakingitsoundmusicalandfittheprogression.ThrillSolo3

Inthissolowe’regettingintorepetitioninabigway.Therepetitionstartsaroundbar5,andofcourse,featuresathirdinthemix.Here’sabigtip:repeatingthesamethreenotesforsixbarscanbeviewedasalimitation,buttryacceptingthatlimitationasachallengeinstead!Althoughyou’renotvaryingthenotesplayedortherhythminwhichthey’replayed,tryworkingonintensityinstead,makingthephraseriseandfallthroughintensityalone.It’sgoodpracticethatwillhelpyouinotherriffsaswell!

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ThrillSolo4

Justforkicks,let’sbreakdownthefirstpartofthissolo,tokeepyourtheorychopssharp!Inthefirstbar,wefindanE-Ginterval,that’sanE-third.ThatcomesstraightoutoftheCchord,whichofcourseisrelativetothatAmintheprogression.Then,wegotoE-C,whichisaninvertedC+third.InbartwowehaveB-G,whichisaG+thirdplayedinreverse.Inbar3,we’reworkingofftherelationshipbetweenAandC,whichisanA-third…ofcourse,playedoveranAmchord.Inbar4,westretchthatfirstDnoteupintoanE,whichbecomesthenoteyourearremembers,thenwepulloffbackintoaC.So,E-CisaC+thirdplayedinreverse,whichagainisperfectovertheAmchord.Next,we’regoingtopullthesametrickonthesecondstring,creatingaB-Ginterval,whichisG+.ThenweendoffbouncingthroughE-G-E,andofcourseE-GisanE-third.

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Okay,that’sthefirstfourbarsofthesolo,canyoudotherest?Giveitashot,anddoyourbesttoanalyzewhat’shappening.It’sworthsayingthatalthoughthisanalysisisaveryusefulexercise,Ireallydon’texpectyoutobethinkingonthislevelwhileyou’reactuallyplaying.Itmaybethatyourbrainworksthatway,whichwouldbecool,butmostpeoplewillusethisexercisetobecomefamiliarwiththepatternsandhowtheyapplyandhowtheyrelatetothechords,andthenquicklyyou’llmovetowardssimplyapplyingthisstuff,withouthavingtothinkhardaboutwhereitallcomesfrom.However,engagingwithit,evenforatimewhileyou’reworkingthroughthiscourse,willdefinitelybringyourmusicianshipskillsupanotch!Iwrotemostoftheseriffsbyengagingprimarilywiththepatterns,whileplayingmyguitar,thenIwentbackaftertocheckoutthetheorybehinditall.Eitherwayisvalid,itreallydependsonyourcreativeprocess.Thegreatthingisthatonceyouknowwhereitcomesfrom,youcanalwaysfindmore!Thirdsarethegiftthatkeepsongiving,therearesomanywaystoapplythesethingsalloverthefretboard,Ipromiseyouthatifyoumakearealstudyofthis,itwilltransformyourplaying.Iknowithasdeeplyinfluencedmyownplaying!BonusIdeaHere’salittlebonusideaforyouthatIdon’tthinkwecoveredinthevideo.It’saperfect5th,butnotintheusualpowerchordshape.Thethingwithfifthsisthattheyareneutral;youfindthemasakeycomponentinbothmajorandminorchords.Thatmeansyoucanusethispatternoveranymajororminorchordintheprogression,anditwillsoundgreat.Inthediagramtotheright,youcanseethreesetsofthese;Ihaven’tdonethewholekey,butyoucan!Theredsquarenotesaretherootnotesforeachpairing.Itmighthelptothinkoftheseascomingfromtheirrespectiveroot6barchords.TheFyouseecomesfromF+,etc.Slidethesearoundinthesamewayyou’dexperimentwiththirds…you’llfindthere’slotsyoucando,andlotsofoptionsonnotesthatarerightnearbyaswell.Forinstance,thethirdisreallyeasytoadd,especiallyonthemajorchords.Checkitout!

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“Rockin”

ThisisanotherverysimplelittlejamtrackthatsimplyworksoffaI-IV-VprogressioninthekeyofD.Therearenominorchordsinthisprogression,butrememberwhatwe’velearned–therelativeminorpatternsworkwellovertopoftheirrelativemajors!Thatmeansthatallthoseminorpatternsarestillvalid,eventhoughtherearenominorchordshere.Thetwo-barloopisquitesimple:

D | G A We’vegotsixdifferenteight-barsolosforthistrack;ithasadifferentfeeltoitthatIhopeyouenjoy.Let’sdigin.Rockin’Solo1

Firstwe’regoingtostartoffwitharest,whichisausefultechniqueinsoloing.Everythingelsestartsatthebeginningofthebar(rhythm-wise)sowhenyou’resoloing,ithelpscreatespacebetweenthemandyoubywaitingjustamoment.Nextupwe’replayingachromaticpassingnote(F)thatdoesn’tactuallybelonginthekey.Howdoesthatwork?Well,someoneoncesaidthattheonlytruescaleisthe

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chromaticscale–it’sjustallaboutthenotesyoupick.Andthere’ssometruthtothat,becauseusedcorrectly,youcangetawaywithanynoteyouwant.Inthiscase,playingtheFjustbeforetheF♯createssometensionthatresolvesbeautifullyoncewegettotheF♯whichbelongsdotheD+chord.Inbar2,thefirsttwonotesareB-D,whichisaB-third,directlyoutofG+…andplayedoveraGchordtoo.ThenweplaythesamepatternuptwofretsovertheAchord.Inbar3we’rebackontheDchord,andwe’replayinganinvertedD+third,againwiththatchromatictrick.Bar4ismoreinvertedthirds,comingdirectlyoutoftheGandAchordsrespectively.Areyoustartingtorecognizethesepatterns?Bar5we’veseenalready,andbar6againcomesoutoftheG+andA+triads,butthistimewe’reusingstrings2and3.You’veseenbar7already,andthelastbarwe’reusingstrings2and3toplayafewthirdsagain.Rockin’Solo2

We’renotgoingtobreakthissolodowntoodeeply;howevernearlytheentirethingisworkingwithinvertedthirdsonthe2ndand4thstrings.Agoodexercisewouldbetogothroughandidentifywhichspecificthirdsarebeingused(writeinthenamesontopofthemusic),andwhetherornottheyrelatetoachordintheprogression,orifthey’rejustbeingusedtopassthrough.

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Rockin’Solo3

Thissolousesalotofinvertedthirds,andalsoalotofrepetition.JustlikethesoloinThrillwherewehadalotofrepetition,treatthisasanopportunitytoseewhatyoucan“say”usingthosesamenotesoverseveralbars.Rockin’Solo4

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Okay,insolo4westartoutbendingaCnoteintoaD…whichofcourseisthetonic!ThenwedoitagainovertheGandovertopoftheA,andintothenextDweplayaroundwithaB-third,whichofcoursecomesfromtheDchord.Inbar4we’vegotabitofarunmixingthirdpatternsandscalenotestogether,andofcourse,endinginbar5onanAnote,whichcarriesthroughovertheDchord.Ofcourse,AistheVnoteintheDchord,soitwillalwayssoundgoodoverthatchord.We’veseenthelickinbar6before,andinthelastbar,we’reworkingwiththirdsagain,aB-fromtheGchord,andaC♯-fromtheAchord.Rockin’Solo5

Okay,timeforyoutodoalittleanalysis!Whatdoyouseeinthissolo?Takeoutaredpen,startcirclingthirdsandinvertedthirds,andtrytofigureoutifthere’saconnectiontotherhythmprogression.

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Rockin’Solo6

Doyourecognizewhat’shappeninginbar1?Withtheexceptionofthechromaticnote,theothernotescomefromtheD+chord:F♯andD,aninvertedD+third.Inprettymuchthewholerestofthesolowe’reusingvariousformsofinvertedthirds,sometimesonstringsoneandtwo,sometimestwoandfour.Areyoustartingtorecognizethesepatternswhenyouplaythem,orseetheminthetab,orreadtheminthemusic?Themoreyoucanconnectwiththepatterns,thequickeryourbrainwillbeabletocategorizeandusethem,sothey’renotjustrandomnotesanymore.Okay!That’sthelastsoloforthistrack,let’smoveontothenextone…

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“Mouse”

NextupisaprogressioncalledMouse.I’vecalleditMousebecausefirstImadeonecalledMighty,andthenonedayIwasfoolingaroundwithitandcutthetempoinhalf,andthoughtitsoundedreallycoolanddifferent,despiteusingtheexactsamechords.So,thislittlesqueakerbecameMouse.(Mighty…Mouse…harhar)Ihopeyouenjoyit.Here’stheMouseprogression: Am | F |Dm Em | AmNotethatDmandEmareonlytwobeatslong,sothisisafour-barphrasethatcanbeloopedendlessly.Oursoloswillbeinfour-barchunkssoastolineupwiththeprogression.MouseSolo1

There’safairbitgoingon,eveninthesesimpleriffs.Noticethatinthefirstbarwe’reusingthirdsindiadform,inotherwords,playingtwonotessimultaneously.Thepairingswe’reworkingwithareG-B(aG-third)andA-C(anA-third),whichgetsyounearlytotheendofthebar,atwhichpointyoufindalsoE-C,(aninvertedC+third).

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InthesecondbaryoufindadiadusingD-B,whichisaninvertedB-third,andthenthenextnoteisaC.ThinkabouthowthatCrelatestothechordbeingplayed,whichisF.FtoCisafifth,whichisanotherintervalthatsoundsamazing…andalsohappenstobetwoofthenotesfoundintheFchord.Inbarthree,wehavethreenotesplayedoneaftertheotherovertopoftheDmchord:C-E-G.That’sactuallyaC+triad,playedasanarpeggio.Arpeggiosimplymeansplayingthenotesdistinctlyoneaftertheother,insteadofsoundingthemallatonce,likewhathappenswhenyoustrumachord.Now,C+istherelativemajoroftheAminorchord,whichhappenstobethetonicofthischordprogression.ThatfactgivesAminorandCmajorspecialstatushere,andtheycanbeplayedoverprettymuchanyotherchordintheprogressionandstillsoundgood.That’swhyC+cansoundgoodoverD-inthisparticularcase.Inthesecondhalfofbar3,there’sanEmintheprogression,andwe’replayinganotherarpeggiousingthesenotes:A-C-E.Recognizethose?That’sanAminortriad.AsIjustmentioned,Aminorhasspecialstatusasaresultofbeingthetonicofthiskey,andsoitsoundsgreatovertheEmhere.Thenextfewnotesarejustthrowninforkicks‘ngiggles–noteverythinghastobeforareason!Sometimesyoujustwanttogobackandforthoveracoupleofnotesbecauseitsoundsgood…sodoit!Attheendofbar4,wehaveanotherriffusingthesamediadsasyoufoundinbar1;howeverthistimetherhythmofhowthey’replayedisdifferent.That’sanimportantdistinction,becauseyoucangetreallycreativeusingrhythmalone,ifyou’reworkingwithgoodnotes.So,whynotusethosesamenoteswe’veusedtwicealready,andcomeupwithacouplerhythmicvariationsofyourownthatyoucanplayinthesameplace?Attheendoftheday,youmostlikelywon’tbethinkingthroughallofthesestepsconsciouslywhileyou’replaying–Irealizethat,becauseIdon’teither.Butthemoreyoucanengagewiththeprocessnow,themoreyou’llbeabletoapplytheprincipleswhenyouwanttofindcreativewaysofexpressionontheguitar.Ihopethesepatternsandprinciplessoonbecomesecond-naturetoyou,andatrustworthywayyoucanrelatetoyourfretboard,butdon’tletyourselfgettooboggeddowninthefinedetails.Ifyoucanfollowthetheory,that’sawesome–runwithit.Ifyou’restrugglingwiththetheory,thengiveittheoldcollegetry,butdon’tstressoveritorgetdiscouraged,simplybeginworkingwiththepatterns.Then,comebacktothetheorylateronwhenyou’vegotmorepracticalexperienceapplyingthem,andyou’llfinditsticksbetter.Everyonelearnsalittledifferently,sofindwhatworksforyouandrunwithit.

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MouseSolo2

Okay,let’sdoanotherfour-barphrase.Inbar1we’vegotthiscoollittleriffthatIjustloveusing.Ifyouwanttorelatetothescalepatterns,thiscomesoutoftheRoot5minorscale.We’restartingonaD,butbendinguptoE.Then,weplaythatGonthefirststringwhichgivesusabeautifulE-Gdiad–anEminorthird.Fromthere,inbar2weplayanE,thenD,thenC,thenA.Again,noteverythinghastobeathird,sothefirstpartisjustwalkingthroughthescale,butbearinmindthatthelasttwonotesformanAminorthird,andyourearremembersthat.Attheendofbar2wefindthosesamediadsfromSolo1again.Inbar3,we’regoingdowntotheRoot6Minorscaleposition,andwe’regoingtoplayanotherfavoriteriffofminethatworksgreatintheblues.Thenotewe’rebendingisaD,anditgoesuptoanEandbackagain.Overtopofthat,we’replayingEandAonthefifthfret.So,E-E-A.NoticethesenotescomerightoutoftheA-triad…Next,overtheEmchord,we’replayingBandthenG,oneaftertheother…Thosenotesofcourse,comestraightoutoftheEmchord,andareaninvertedG+third,whichformsthesecondhalfoftheEmchord.

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Inthelastbar,weslideintoaD,thenplayaB…that’saninvertedB-third.Noticewedon’thavetouseathirdthatisdirectlyrelatedtothechordunderneath–Isaidthatinitiallysimplytogiveyouasafestartingpoint.Nowwe’restartingtomovebeyondthat,intoless“safe”waters,butalsoonesthatallowformorecreativefreedom.Thinkofitlikeswimminginthedeependnow.JAttheendofbar4,we’regoingtocloseoffwithanothersetofinvertedthirds:G+,A-,G+.ThenweplayA,G,E…thatG-Eisanotherminorthird(E-,playedbackwardsstartingwiththeG).Ifyou’restrugglingtofollowthetheory,gothroughtheseriffslookingforthevisualpatterns.ThatlastinvertedE-thirdiseasyformetorecognize,notbecauseIthinkofthenotenamesbeingplayed,butbecauseIknowthatwheneverIseetwonotesinthat“knight’smove”configuration–onestringover,twofretsback…IknowI’vegotaminorthird.HeadbacktotheAllAboutThirdssectionifyouneedarefresheronthesepatterns.They’revaluable!MouseSolo3

Okay,let’sdissectonemorefour-barsolo,thenwe’lltonedowntheanalysisabit!Inbar1wecomeacrossyetanotherwaytorhythmicallyarrangetheseamazinglyusefulnotesfromSolo1.Noticetheshortrestatthestartofthissolo–that’saverycommonandusefultechnique,towaitjustaweebitbeforesayingwhatyouhavetosay.Itmakesitalittlemorecomplicatedtowriteoutmusically,butitsoundsgreattoplayitthisway;thatwaythestartofyourphraseisoffthemainbeat,startingonthe“and”insteadofonthe“one”count.Also,thelittlebracketsaroundthatfirstpairofnotesindicatesaghostnote–asupershortlittlenotethatyoudon’tgivethe

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samespaceasanormalnote,it’sreallyjusttheretosetthestagebrieflyforwhathappensnext.Afterthat,noticetheG-EwhichisthatsameE-thirdplayedbackwardsagain,thenwe’reendingonaC+triad(C-E-G),playedinreverse(G-E-C).Again,noticethepauserightattheendofbar1.Sometimesbysayingnothingatall,itmakestherestofwhatyousaythatmuchmoreimpactful…I’vebrokenbar2downabitfurtherbelow,incaseyou’renotfamiliarwithreadingthemusicyoucanseethenotenameseasierthisway.ThisparticularriffisawholelotofthesamenotesthatyoufindrightwithintheF+chord(F-A-C).KeepinmindthatD-(D-F-A)istherelativeminorchordtoF+,sothatalsogivesusaDnotetoplaywiththatwillsoundawesomeovertheF.

Sowe’restartingwithanF+triad(F-A-C).Thenwehaveacouplefillnotes,andanotherA-thirdplayedbackwards(C-A),thenaninvertedG+third(B-G),andthenweendonC-A,whichisaninvertedA-third.NoticealsothatthosetwonotescomestraightoutoftheRoot5F+barchord…

Okay,thereyouhavethreecompletefour-barphrasesyoucanuseoverthisjamtrack.Thenextoneswe’regoingtolookatwereoriginallywrittenfortheMightytrack,butIrealizedthey’reabitspeedyifyou’rejustlearningthelicksforthefirsttime,andthoughtwe’dcoverthemherefirstinstead.Plus,youcanrelatetothemabitdifferentlywiththeslowertempo.So,you’llseetheseagainintheMightysection,butherewego.

FACDCABGBCA

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MightySolo5

Thefirstbarhereissimilartowhatwe’veseenbefore,andofcoursethat’sathirdyouseeinthesecondbar.Therealinterestingpartisinbarthree,whereweusethirdstocreateanicelongdescendingrunthatcanbeusedtotransitionbetweenscalepatterns,ifyouwantto.Havealookatthenotesinthatrun,andfindwherethethirdsare.Here’sahint:ifyoulookatthemusic,it’sprettyeasy.Justlookfornotespairsthathaveeitheralineoraspaceinbetweenthem,separatingthem.I’lldothisfirstexampletoshowyou(below),andthenyoucancirclethethirdsintheothersolosonyourown.

Ifyoudon’tlikereadingmusic,that’snoproblematall.Simplytakeacloselookatthepatternsasyouplaythemonthefretboardandlookforthosethirdsfromthepatternsperspective.You’llarriveatthesameresult.

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MightySolo7

Here’sanotherlittlerunusingthirds,thisoneascending,andnotgoingasfar(thoughyoucouldcarryitonaslongasyoulike).Usethesametrick,lookingatthemusic,toidentifywherethethirdsareinthisone–goaheadandcirclethem,it’sgoodpractice.Intermsofactuallyplayingthisrun,startbygoingthroughitasslowlyasnecessarytomakeitsoundgood-with,orwithoutthejamtrack.Ifyouneedto,takeafewbarstogetitdown,thenworkonyourpickingaccuracyandspeed,itwillcomealong.Bar2ofcourse,featuresanow-familiarminorthird(D-B,whichisaB-thirdplayedbackwards).Bar3usesariffwelearnedearlierinadifferentway,andendswithathirdinterval:C-A,whichisA-playedbackwards.Thatriffcanbealittletrickytogetdown,too.

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MightySolo8

Okay!Nowwe’regoingtoextendthatrunwedidinMightySolo7andgoafewfretshigher,rightupintotheRoot5Minorposition.Thateffectivelyallowsustotravelfromthe5thtothe15thfretwithouteveryusingascalepattern–prettycool!Anytimealongtheway,youcansimplystoptherunanddropintoascaleofyourchoice.Iwon’tsaytoomuchmoreonthissolo,exceptthatattheendofbar3there’sanicetriad:E-C-A.That’saperfectAminortriadplayedinreverse.Haveyoubeennoticinghowoftenweplaythesethings“backwards”fromhowyou’dperhapsthink?Anditsoundsgood…whichallgoestoprovethattheorderofthenotesreallydoesn’tmatternearlysomuchaswhichonesyouchoosetogrouptogether.

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MightySolo10

ThisisthelastoftheMightysoloswe’llcoverhere,thenwe’reontothenextprogression.Thisonestartsoutlikethelastone,butattheendweslipintosomeinvertedthirdswhichsoundreallycool.Thebeginningofbar3–overtheDmchord–wefindanF-Dpair,that’sDminor,againplayedbackwards.Sometimesthesefitdirectlywiththechordintherhythm,andsometimestheydon’t.NoticethatthethreenotesplayedinthelastbarareC-A-E.That’sare-arrangedA-C-Etriad,whichofcourseisAm…andofcourse,we’replayingthatovertopofanAmchord.Soundsgood,doesn’tit?

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“Mighty”

Asdiscussedearlier,MightyisexactlythesamechordprogressionasMouse,soyou’llbefamiliarwiththechordsalready;howeverthetempoisnearlydouble,soitendsuphavingquiteadifferentfeel.Mouseisat60bpmandMightyisat110bpm.We’lltakealookat10different4-barsolosforthistrack;thoughofcourseyouhavetheideasfromMousethatyoucanuseheretoo,nottomentionanythingyou’vepickedupfromelsewherethatyouwanttosqueezeinhere!MightySolo1

Youmightnoticethatthefirstnoteweplayhereisn’tactuallyinthekey–it’saD♯whichinthekeyofAmisapassingnote–achromaticnote–betweentheIV(D)andtheV(E).Thatparticularnoteissupercommonintheblues,infact,itissometimesreferredtoasthebluesnote.Inthisriff,we’reusingthatnotetoaddalittletensionbeforewegetintoaniceE-Cinterval,whichofcourseisaC+third.Afterthatwe’llusethesametrickwithaD+third,thentoanAmthirdwherewe’llhangoutforabit.Barthreeusesinvertedthirds,andinbarfourwefindanotherveryusefulriffthatcanbemodifiedtonoend.Inthiscase,weendonanEmthird.MightySolo2

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ThisonestartsoutsimilartoSolo1,butthenweslipupawholeoctavetothe17thfrettothatAmthirdagainthatwe’veplayedbeforeonthe5thfret.Octavesareagreatwaytomixthingsupalittle!Inbar3wehavetwosetsoftriads;FACwhichisF+,therelativemajoroftheDmchord,andthenwealsohaveGBDwhichisG+,therelativemajoroftheEmchord.Thatlastbarisn’tbasedonthirds,butthefirstnotewestretchtoanE,whichisthenunisonwiththesecondnote,alsoanE.Thatproducesacooleffectthatyou’llcomeacrossalot.Fromthere,we’reusingtheEandAwhichalsocomeoutoftheAmchord,thoughtheyarenotthirdswitheachother.MightySolo3

Inbar1,thebestwaytoplaythislickistobarthefirstinterval,whichallowsyourotherfingerstobefreeforthehammeronpulloff.Ofcourse,thoseareinvertedthirds,andthelasttwonotesinthebarareaC+third,playedinreverse.Inbartwowe’regoingtoplayexactlythesamething;sometimesrepetitionisaveryvaluablemusicaldevice–ifyoufindalickyoulike,tryrepeatingitovertopofthewholeprogressiontoseewhereitfitsbest,orhowmanytimesyoucangetawaywithplayingitandkeepingitsoundinggood!NoticetheinvertedA-thirdinthelastbar…MightySolo4

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Nosurprisesinthefirstcoupleofbars,andinbar3we’retakingthesamelickandmovingituptothe12thfret.Afterall,whynot?Itsoundscool!Allstillbasedonthirds,andofcourseyouseethirdsattheendofthatbartoo.MightySolo5

We’veseenthissolobefore,butlasttimeweplayeditalotslower.Iwon’tgothroughtheexplanationofit,apartfromsayingworkonyourpicking!Youneedbothaccuracyandsomespeedtogetthatrunsoundingclean,butit’sworthpracticingfor!MightySolo6

Inthissolowe’reworkingoutoftheRoot5Minorscalepattern,justforreference’sake,butagain,muchofitisbasedoffthethirdspatterns,withtherestofthenotesyouseebeingsuppliedfromthescale.

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MightySolo7

We’veseenthisonebeforetoo–ifthetempoisabitquickforyou,practicelotsusingtheMousetrack,thencomebacktoMighty.Samegoesforanyoftheselicks,really.MightySolo8

Okay,here’sthepayoffifyou’vebeenpracticing!NowwegetanicebigrunmovingfromtheRoot6MinorpositionallthewayuptotheRoot5Minorposition,anditmovesatagoodrate.

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MightySolo9

I’mnotgoingtoexplainthethirdsandinvertedthirdsinthisone–takeoutyourpencil,andusethetrickIshowedyouearliertomarkthepairings!MightySolo10

Here’sanotherlongerrun,andwe’regoingtoendthissolowithsomeinvertedthirdsthatsoundgreat.

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TakingItFurther

Well,congratulations–you’vemadeitallthewaythroughthecourse!We’vecoveredalotofground,andIhighlyrecommendtakingsometimetoleteverythingyou’velearneddigestandsettle,andthen…comeonbackandrevisitallorpartsofthecourse.Guitarplayerstheworldoverhavetoldmetheyhaveoftengleanednearlyasmuchonthesecondtimethroughmycoursesastheydidonthefirst.Thereasonforthisisitispackedfullofinformation,andthere’sonlysomuchwecanabsorbatatime.Themorethatfoundationoftheoryandpatternsgetsbuiltupinyou,themoreyou’llbeabletoabsorbeachtimethrough.Asyouworkwiththesethings,you’llbegintomakeconnectionsthatweren’tevenpresentedinthecourse!Oneapproachmightbetoreallyworkoveraparticularpairofstrings–workittodeath,inaparticularkey!Getsoincrediblyfamiliarthatyoucanplaythosepairingsallupanddownthefretboardwithoutevenlookinganymore(orjustalittle!).Workonslippingthembetweenyourchords,workonplayingthemovertopofaprogressionasrhythmfills,andthenworkoncreatingsomeleadfillswiththemtoo.Mostofall,havefun.Then,pickanewpairofstringsandrepeat.Inthiscourse,we’veexaminedmainlythekeysofGmajor(sameasEminor),Aminor(Cmajor),andDmajor(Bminor).Alloftheriffswe’velearnedcamefromthesekeys,plustheprogressionsandchordswe’veworkedwith.Iwantedtogodeeperratherthanwide,givingyoualottothinkaboutinasmallnumberofkeys,becausethenyou’llbebetterequippedtoexaminetheremainingkeysonyourown.Sothat’syournexttask:pickanewkey,andstartdivingin.Figureouthowyourpatternsandscalesandriffstransposeacrosstothenewkey,andhavealooktoseeifyoucancapitalizeonanynewopennotesthatappear.Startjammingaroundwiththeseriffs,listeningtohowtheysoundinthenewkeys,andthenmodifythemasyou’velearnedandstartaddingyourowntoo!Ifyoucanfindsomesongsinthenewkey,usethemasthebasisforyourproject.I’dlovetohearhowthiscoursehashelpedyourplaying–orforthatmatter,ifyouhaveunansweredquestionsaboutthecourseI’dbehappytohelpwiththoseaswell.Eitherway,youcandropmealineatjonathan@playguitar.com.Allthebestinyourguitarjouney!

Jonathan Boettcher

tasty riffs & solos course book - amazon web...

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