Have you ever seen those guitarists that sound like they know exactly what they’re doing when they’re improvising? They just seem to hit all the right notes while their playing sounds crisp and melodic, as if they’d planned it all out beforehand, or were born with a God-given sense of melody. I’d always wondered how on earth they were able to come up with such melodic and flowing lines, thinking that they must simply be gifted, or have done some serious woodshedding. Then, during one unforgettable class at music college the door was opened to a method for playing and thinking as melodically and as effortlessly as they did, and this is what I want to share with you in this eBook.
3NPS (three-note-per-string) scales, as used by legions of guitarists but popularized mainly by Joe Satriani, are one of the most efficient ways to navigate the fretboard and get your scales down IF you follow the guidelines in this book. As the name suggests, a 3NPS scale is any scale that contains three notes on each string, and as you'll see in this eBook, this makes for a very consistent way to map out scales on the guitar fretboard. What we’ve done here is revamped the 3NPS scale system and turned it into an incredibly effective means to learn a wide variety of scales all over the fretboard by streamlining the number of patterns, as well as the picking system. This is not a scale theory book, and contains no pentatonic scales. This is a quick and dirty (and very effective) method for learning 3NPS scales all over the fretboard; something to work on in the woodshed. It will improve your picking technique and speed. It does not require a great amount of thinking as you only need to learn two picking patterns, which is really one in two directions, and only three scale patterns instead of the usual seven per scale.
A lot of students ask me how they can take their improvisation skills to the next level and move beyond pentatonic scales and into modes and arpeggios. My response is to tell them not to abandon pentatonic scales in favor of modes and other soloing devices, but to use them as a springboard and a solid foundation from which to expand their harmonic awareness. If you play rock, blues and even jazz, you’ll be using pentatonic scales for the rest of your life, so there’s no need to discard them! In this book, we’ll be using the much-loved minor pentatonic scale as the basis for learning and having a quick way to access the modes of the major scale, as well as the basic seventh chord arpeggios. This means that when you go to improvise, you'll have a vast array of options with which to go beyond pentatonic soloing. Work through this book daily and I guarantee you a smooth and painless transition from pentatonics to incorporating modes and arpeggios into your playing.
(Musicians Institute Press). Perfect for seasoned rockers seeking new challenges and jazz newcomers looking for a good start, this book/CD pack covers scales, chords, licks, techniques and other vital jazz improv concepts step by step. The accompanying CD features 65 full-band demo and play-along tracks.
Ever since my first guitar teacher introduced me to the music of Allan Holdsworth in the late 90s, it has been an ongoing apprenticeship. I became fascinated, not only with his music, but with his approach to music itself, and the way he thinks about chords, scales and improvisation. Allan’s REH video was a blessing for me as I was able to glean enough insight into his playing to understand the way the great man thinks, and more importantly to begin to apply those concepts to my own playing. I struggled with music theory and orthodox approaches, so when Allan’s beautifully simple way of thinking about chords and scales clicked for me, I knew I had found something that finally made sense. I must admit, I couldn’t play you a single Allan Holdsworth lick, and I wouldn’t want to as the thought of dissecting his music in that way was always unappealing to me. What I wanted to do was get inside his head, grasp his way of thinking about music, and find out exactly how he was able to come up with such intricate yet outrageous lines and compositions. And that is precisely what this book is about. Allan’s playing looks incredibly complicated, and then some, to the innocent bystander, but the approach behind it is incredibly simple and easy to grasp. It’s so straightforward in fact that most players who have attempted to describe what he does completely miss the point. Once you do understand his approach, however, you’ll have a new appreciation for how far he’s taken it, and how far it can go. This book is not for the faint-hearted, but you shouldn’t be put off by thinking that you’ll be getting to grips with a lot of tricky concepts, because you won’t; Allan’s way of thinking is almost childlike in its simplicity, and when you glimpse it I can assure you that you'll be intrigued.
If you ask anyone who's been playing guitar for a while how to turn scales into solos, you'll likely get a variety of answers. They'll tell you to learn licks, work on your arpeggios, even learn your favorite players' solos note for note. While this is all good advice, I've had some particularly stubborn students that wanted to go beyond that; they wanted to be able to improvise using any scale up and down the fretboard, but at the same time break free from those deeply-ingrained scalar lines and patterns. It was then that I suggested the zonal approach to improvisation; by working in reduced areas of the neck with specifically designed patterns, they were soon able to create melodic, flowing lines that didn't sound at all like scales--they sounded like real music! This is the approach you'll find in this book. We dissect 15 of the most common scales, beyond the pentatonics, and break them down into zones which can be practiced either by scale, or for any particular scale across the fretboard. The objective of this book then is to provide a structured reference to make the transition from playing scales to playing, improvising and creating musical lines when soloing. It’s aimed at the intermediate to advanced guitarist looking to be able to improvise confidently and freely on the instrument in a wide variety of styles. It is also aimed at guitarists that want to move beyond rote pentatonic/blues soloing and incorporate other scales and modes into their playing, as well as building up a vocabulary to solo fluently over chord changes.
Do you want to master lead guitar so you can start to sound like the guitar greats you idolize? Then Modern Lead Guitar is for you! What's Inside: Modern Lead Guitar will teach you everything you need to know to solo over chord changes. This guitar instruction book features 23 common chord progressions and plenty of sample licks and solos to get you improvising in an instant! At 91 pages in length, this is a substantial guitar lesson book professionally formatted and aimed at helping you deliver the perfect guitar solo. From the author of the #1 best-seller Guitar Aerobics (Hal Leonard), Troy Nelson once again brings his easy-to-follow guitar teaching style to this helpful guitar lesson book. With hundreds of 5-star reviews, Troy Nelson's guitar lesson books are meticulously written, edited, and proofed by Troy himself, a lifelong author and editor. First, learn the basics of music theory: *Major Scale *Minor Scale *Pentatonic Scales *Chord Progressions *Modes & Modal Progressions *Key-Center Approach *Chord-Scale Approach Then, you'll learn how to apply the major and minor scales, as well as their modal and pentatonic counterparts so you can really soar over chords. Guitar licks in this book include styles like rock, metal, country, jazz, and blues. All guitar examples are demonstrated in clear, expertly formatted tab. FREE access to instant audio downloads from Troy's website include: *Full-band audio examples *Play-along guitar tracks Scale and arpeggio reference guide and notes of the fretboard included. Free shipping with Amazon Prime. About Troy Nelson: Troy Nelson is the former Editor of top guitar magazines Guitar One (sister publication of Guitar World) and Guitar Edge. After earning a degree in Occupational Music, Nelson launched his music editing career at Hal Leonard Corporation, the world's largest print music publisher. He's a life-long guitar player whose passion is helping others learn to love the guitar as much as he does. Here's what others have to say about guitar lesson book author Troy Nelson: "Troy Nelson, guitar god." - Amazon reviewer "I'm a total fan of Troy's books and method of learning." - Amazon reviewer "Troy Nelson, former editor of my favorite guitar magazines." - Amazon reviewer "His brilliance is his ability to break the project down into practical, bite-sized daily medicine and, at the same time, add a nice flavor to the dose." - Amazon Reviewer, Fretboard Freedom "I must say, I have noticed a big improvement in my playing. My wife no longer tells me to turn it down or off." - Amazon Reviewer, Guitar Aerobics "Another winner from Troy Nelson." - Amazon reviewer, Rhythm Guitar 365 "I LOVE this book. It's my first purchase from Troy Nelson, and it's got me interested in his other books" - Amazon reviewer, One-Man Guitar Jam
Chord tone soloing and soloing over changes on guitar is a complex area which can be approached in many ways, and where even a cursory search for online resources is likely to leave you with more questions than answers. It’s particularly difficult on guitar because guitarists tend to arrive at this point with varying amounts of knowledge and gaps in their playing, whereas other instrumentalists approach soloing over changes in a more uniform way. While it’s true that everyone learns differently, I believe that a solid approach to soloing over changes requires a system that is a) not based on patterns, b) develops the ability to locate notes on the neck either by interval or by the name of the note, and c) develops the player’s ear to the point where he/she is able to fully express themselves and truly improvise on their instrument as oppose to a formulaic, calculated and somewhat cold approach to something that should be, insofar as is possible, spontaneously created in the moment; and this is what I hope to achieve with this eBook.
Mike Stern is an electrifying guitarist whose blistering chops combine jazz harmony with rock-fusion and perfect bluesy phrasing. In this book, he shares his secrets of altered scale soloing and reveals the keys to his signature sound.
When it comes to scales and improvising, the guitar fretboard is a maze, and this is both good and bad… Well, instead of bad, let’s say it’s ‘challenging’ because like any maze it’s easy to get lost, familiar routes can often lead to dead-ends, and it can be overwhelming to find your way out. On the other hand, we have countless routes (possibilities) to choose from, all of which provide different creative opportunities; what I’m basically saying is that by learning one or two scale systems to ‘get through the maze’, we stop seeing (or even avoid) the many other ways there are to navigate the fretboard. This is where 25 Guitar Scale Hacks comes in. This book is about exploring the fretboard using those other routes to create motion, fluidity and bring the music out of any static pattern. Here, we dispense with the standard patterns such as 3NPS scales or the CAGED system in order to explore the many other patterns, nuances and hacks the guitar fretboard has to offer. Who is this book for? This book is for the intermediate to advancing students who really want to make their playing stand out from the crowd, feel stuck in a rut, or want to move away from rote pattern playing and predictable-sounding solos. 25 Guitar Scale Hacks looks at improvisation based on the guitar fretboard; in other words, we’re putting the guitar and all its nuances first, rather than working from generic patterns that are traditionally taught in scale and arpeggio books. The concept of 25 Guitar Scale Hacks then is a collection of mini-lessons or hacks for a deeper exploration of scales and how to make music with them. Feel free to work through the book in the order it’s written or choose the hacks that interest you the most.
