Page uses this same major pentatonic box pattern illustrated in FIGURE 9 to play bright-sounding country-style licks, most notably in "The Song Remains the Same" (in D, 7th position, at :58, and in A, 2nd position, at 4:19), "Celebration Day" (in C, 17th position, at 1:46, and 5th position at 1:53) and "Houses of the Holy" (in A, 2nd position, at 1:11).įIGURE 11 is a signature Jimmy Page "wall of notes" triplet run played in the 12th-position E minor pentatonic box pattern illustrated in FIGURE 2. After playing several measures of rather dark sounding E minor pentatonic blues licks in the 12th position, he suddenly creates a lighter shade of blue by playing E major pentatonic licks using the exact same fretboard pattern in the 9th position. Jimmy applies this transposition principle brilliantly in his "Communication Breakdown" solo. This simple three-fret transposition enables Jimmy to transform minor pentatonic licks into major pentatonic licks (and vice versa) in the same key using the same fretboard shapes and fingering patterns. If you compare the E minor and E major pentatonic box patterns depicted in FIGURES 2 and 10, you'll notice that the fingering patterns are identical, but that the notes assume different harmonic functions. He does this by simply moving the minor pentatonic box pattern shown in FIGURE 1 down three frets, transforming it into a major pentatonic box pattern in the same key, as illustrated in FIGURE 9. Page utilizes this same fretboard shape to play major pentatonic licks as well. In his first two lead phrases in "Moby Dick" (:36 and :41), he uses this same fretboard shape in the 10th position (see Figure 8) to play scorching blues licks in D minor pentatonic. For example, in his outro solo to "Black Dog" (4:12), he plays a lick similar to the one shown in FIGURE 6, but in the key of A using the 5th-position A minor pentatonic (A C D E G) box pattern illustrated in FIGURE 7. Jimmy also uses these same types of repeating smear/pull-off licks in different keys. You can hear Jimmy playing licks along these lines in his solos in "Good Times, Bad Times" (1:30), "Dazed and Confused" (3:52), "The Lemon Song" (1:51) and "Communication Breakdown." As you play through these figures, notice the use of pull-offs on the top three strings, as well as whole-step bends, such as from the minor third up to the fourth (G to A) on the 1st string at the 15th fret. Page utilizes this smear motif as a springboard to dive into blazing E minor pentatonic speed licks like those shown in FIGURES 4-6. The bend is executed with either the ring or middle finger while the index-finger barres the root-fifth doublestop on the top two strings. This lick begins with a whole-step bend on the G string from the fourth up to the fifth (A to B). Using this visual pattern as a template, Jimmy will often begin a phrase by playing the Chuck Berry-influenced "smear" motif shown in FIGURE 3 in the key of E. You will literally practice as fast as you can (or at the speed that you intend to play the exercise) until the notes become accurate.FIGURE 2 shows this fretboard pattern in the key of E with the root note E falling on the top and bottom strings at the 12th fret. Once you’ve learned how to play slowly and accurately, you’ll want to practice playing fast in order to gain speed. You’ll practice slowly in order to learn an exercise or shred guitar technique. When building speed you’ll want to practice playing both slowly and quickly. Try practicing to a metronome or drum beat set at 90 BPM in order to build your rhythm. If you can’t play on time, you won’t be able to practice accurately. You become more accurate on the guitar as you practice left-hand and right-hand techniques both individually and synchronized. When learning how to shred you want to focus on accuracy. There are lots of shred guitar exercises on the web, but start by learning these basic shred exercises to get familiar with basic shred techniques. The good news is shredding is a highly achievable technique, and it starts with some simple exercises and best practices. I mean, who wouldn’t want to after watching players like Joe Satriani, Guthrie Govan, and Tosin Abasi?
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |