Improvvisation #3: Modern Style

We now move on to a more diffficult sound with the use of distorsion in a modern style solo that mixes some typical guitar techniques. The melodic line of the solo is built using techniques such as tapping, string-skipping, hybrid-picking, etc, to give more technical emphasis. Always remember the shuffle division of the sixteenth rhythm.
You can listen to the solo that we are about to analyze in mp3 format, try it on the base, or observe and print the complete score.

Cadd9 chord - Bars 1 and 2
The introductory bar (the so-called bar 0) requires the use of one slide note played by the middle finger, which starts at the 15th fret, up to the 17th, down to the 13th, then down to the 5th and climbing to the 8th note, in the beat of the first movement of bar 1. Everything in sixteenth time (shuffle, obviously), without ever removing the finger from the string.
In the second part of bar 1 we have the pentatonic major of C combined with string skipping, while in bar 2 we find the first of the odd divisions (group of seven notes) that we will see in this solo. Notice the movement of the notes of the C major scale seen in the second part of the bar. We should have the same fifth tonal intervals from the 13th fret and ahead.

Am11 chord - Bars 3 and 4
In bar 3, pay attention to the ligature of the four initial notes. It's best to use the indicated fingering.
In bar 4, after the bending and release, a sequence of tapping begins that must end in beat on the following bar.

Fadd9 chord - Bars 5 and 6
Some string-skipping using fairly complex fingerings. In the first part you work on a pair of strings, to then continue in the 4th movement of bar 5 with the use of the F triad, played up to the 2nd movement of bar 6, where it finishes with a bending and release between notes F-G-F. The phrase in the 4th movement introduces the next melody.

Gsus4 chord - Bars 7 and 8
A sequence of triads played with the hybrid pick/finger technique, which is performed with single notes on the 5th, 4th and 2nd strings. In bar 8 we find a melodic line (with pick/finger) that alternates a sequence of raised notes in sixteenth to a fixed note in the song (G note, 2nd string, 20th fret).

Cadd9 chord - Bars 9 and 10
Even if the chorus ended at bar 8, we would have wanted to add a pair of conclusive bars to the Cadd9 chord, beginning with a phrase composed of 9 sixteenths that finish with a blue-note (the Eb, third degree minor in C), played with bending and release of one tone. This note derives from the effect of the third degree (note E) of the scale, and gives it a blues taste.
There are different sound possibilities can be introduced, such as the diminished arpeggio of C found in bar 10 (composed of notes C-Eb-F# and A). Notice how the sequence of notes is connected to the scale of C major returning to the scale at the end of that phrase with the last three notes G-E-C. This is a very common trick, especially in jazz.



Complete score
Score
Download the base in mp3 format
Base mp3 (3.272 KB)
Download the solo in mp3 format
Example Modern Style mp3 (720 KB)

Previous page

Return to the top of the page
Top of page

Print