Lick My Pick #7
1 Comments Published by Kevin Broken Scar on Wednesday, February 17, 2010 at 10:56 PM.
Please pardon the quality of this video as I did not record it with the usual set up. I was playing my old Ibanez RG470 through a tiny Fender Frontman practice amp. The RG really feels like a shred guitar and I feel I'm playing a little better already. The reach for the upper register is a lot easier due to its deeper cutaway and the 24 fret neck.
I've always admired how Paul Gilbert incorporates different techniques into his licks and playing, making the licks come alive with great melody. This lick incorporates hammer-ons, pull-offs, tapping and slides. The best part is I don't even need a pick for it! If you're a Paul Gilbert or Mr. Big fan, you'd know that this lick is inspire by their song, Green Tinted Sixties Mind.
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--t12--p7--p5--h7--t12--s14--s12--p7--p5--h7--t12--7b9--(t12)-----
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t = tap
p = pull-off
h = hammer-on
s = slide
Okay, I hope the video, the tab and my explanation will do this lick some justice. The letters in front of the numbers indicate whether it is a tap, pull-off, hammer-on or slide into the notes.
You can either tap with your index finger or your middle finger. Whichever works best. If I play this lick with a pick already in my hand, I would use my middle finger to tap the notes.
I think the first note is pretty straight forward. I tap it and then move on to do standard pull-offs and hammer-ons with my left hand. The only bit that is different here would be the sliding done with the tapping finger from 12 to 14 and back to 12, as you can see in the video.
The other bit that is difficult to describe in tab form as my tabbing skills are limited, (Az, care to correct me here?) is the last note where I tap 12th fret. While holding down the 12th fret with my tapping finger, I bend the 7th fret towards the 9th fret. An alternative to this would be to simply slide the 12th fret to the 14th with my tapping finger but I think by doing it this way, it creates a bit of tension. It was really fun playing this lick! Enjoy!
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All Broken Scar's music is available on www.reverbnation.com/brokenscar
All Broken Scar's music is available on www.reverbnation.com/brokenscar
Labels: Hammer On, Ibanez RG470, Lick My Pick, Paul Gilbert, Pull Off, Slide, Tapping
Lick My Pick #6
1 Comments Published by Kevin Broken Scar on Wednesday, February 10, 2010 at 10:00 AM.
Since I've hurt my arm over the weekend from too much mixing, I decided to go easy on my playing and do a small easy lick instead. I don't think this is very Paul Gilbert sounding and I think it's more John Mayer inspired. It's a little more bluesy and I use it a lot to connect licks. It's also pretty cool to cycle these notes and play each note in this lick in different patterns to get really cool sounds. Explore and have fun with it!
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----------------------12h14~p12------------------------------------------
----------9h11s13-----------------13s11~---------------------------------
--9h11---------------------------------------------------------------------
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h = hammer on
p = pull off
s = slide
~ = sustain
The video and the tab should explain it all. I played it on the neck pickup, just to give it that fat and warm tone to create a fluid and easy flowing sound.
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----------------------12h14~p12------------------------------------------
----------9h11s13-----------------13s11~---------------------------------
--9h11---------------------------------------------------------------------
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h = hammer on
p = pull off
s = slide
~ = sustain
The video and the tab should explain it all. I played it on the neck pickup, just to give it that fat and warm tone to create a fluid and easy flowing sound.
______________________________________________________
All Broken Scar's music is available on www.reverbnation.com/brokenscar
All Broken Scar's music is available on www.reverbnation.com/brokenscar
Labels: John Mayer, Lick My Pick, Paul Gilbert
Lick My Pick #5
2 Comments Published by Kevin Broken Scar on Wednesday, February 03, 2010 at 2:05 PM.
This lick is really cool because you don't need to play super fast to achieve a cool sound. Picking the notes on their own may not sound like much, as you can see in the first part of the video but turn on the delay and it brings this lick to life. The delays actually make it sound like you're playing really fast. The catch though is that you need to play very consistently in time so that the picked notes don't clash with the delayed notes.
Paul Gilbert calls the repeats caused by the delay effect the dotted 8th notes because you are playing the line in 8's and the delayed notes fill the gaps. I guess the best way to understand this whole concept is to watch a video of the man himself explaining it. Check it out!
This is my version in the key of C#m.
-----------------------------11----------12-------------------------------
------------------9---12----------12--------------------------------------
--------9---11-------------------------------------------------------------
--11-----------------------------------------------------------------------
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There are so many creative ways of using the delay effect and this is just one of them. In this exercise, I used my Marshall Echohead, set to Hi Fi mode (digital delay) and the the repeat function is set to just do one repeat. Similar to what Paul Gilbert did in his video. It's funny how I never knew how to really use a delay pedal until now. Usually, I would just use the tap function on the pedal and tap in the temp of a song I'm playing, set it to have about 40% repeats and at half the volume of the original notes. More on delays in the future.
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All Broken Scar's music is available on www.reverbnation.com/brokenscar
All Broken Scar's music is available on www.reverbnation.com/brokenscar
Labels: Lick My Pick, Paul Gilbert
Here's lick #4, in the key of C#m. This is a slightly longer lick I've been working on and as you can see, it is very Paul Gilbert-inspired. There's lots of hammer-ons and pull-offs in there that makes the lick sound really smooth, as if the notes stick together. Of course, it works great too if you pick all the notes individually. I've seen lots of guitarist pick through their licks accurately with lightning speed and that is pretty impressive.
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--------------------------9h10p9-------9h10h12------------------------------------
--8h9p8-------8h9h11------------11------------------------------------------------
-----------11-------------------------------------------------------------------------
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--9h11p9-------9--11--12--11--12--14--12--14--16-----------------------------
------------12------------------------------------------------------------------------
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h = Hammer-on
p = Pull-off
I guess the tab is quite self explanatory. Again, I used directional picking for this lick. I find this lick really challenges me to play it as cleanly as possible, muting the unplayed strings with my palm and not hitting unwanted strings as I go up the frets.
This lick doesn't use the pinky too much, but just enough for me to work out the coordination between all four fingers. My pinky has always been the weakest finger and after my volleyball injury, it actually became worse. However, the more I practice and use my pinky, the more it regains strength.
I think this lick sounds really cool too as it evokes a feeling of running from one place to another, with a sense of purpose and direction. It feels like running the last 10 metres in a 100m race to me.
This version in the video is played with a slightly different feel. Notice the last few notes of the lick on the 1st string are picked in staccato making it a little more tense, I reckon. There are always options and this is one of them.
Enjoy!
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All Broken Scar's music is available on www.reverbnation.com/brokenscar
All Broken Scar's music is available on www.reverbnation.com/brokenscar
Labels: Lick My Pick, Paul Gilbert
This lick is taken from the solo for the live version of Scratch, when I play the electric guitar with the band. It uses a combination of slides and some string skipping without the huge stretches like Richard's licks, which I am still working on by the way. This lick is one of those in my vocabulary that I regularly pull out as it had a sense of direction, like it is going somewhere and the string skips just makes the phrasing a bit more space than if you were to play the same set of notes otherwise.
In the video: I played this on my Fender Strat on the neck pickup through my Orange practice amp.
---------------------------------12--------14--------14\16----------
-------------12-------14----------------------------------------------
----11\13-------13-------13--------13--------13-------------------
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This is how I picked the notes. On the 3rd string, slide from 11 to 13 with an up stroke. Then pick every note on the 2nd and 1st strings with a down stroke. The 13th fret on the 3rd string is always picked with an up stroke. Lastly, slide from 14 to 16 on the 1st string.
Somehow picking all the notes on the 3rd string with an up stroke feels natural to me. When my picking hand comes upwards, I'd hit the note with an up stroke and when my picking hand goes downwards, I'd hit those notes on the 2nd and 1st strings with a down stroke. I don't know if this is a "lazy" way of doing it, but it seems to work for me. Please, feel free to drop me suggestions or share your ideas with me on how you would execute a lick like this. There's no end to learning.
Hope you like this lick. Enjoy!
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All Broken Scar's music is available on www.reverbnation.com/brokenscar
All Broken Scar's music is available on www.reverbnation.com/brokenscar
Labels: Lick My Pick
I got carried away with rehearsal yesterday with Asami and Julian (which was awesome by the way) that I guess, it is safe to say, one lick a day would be a huge commitment to keep up with, so how about we scale it back to one lick a week? Sounds good?
So, I was having a chat with Richard from The Poseidon Connection about these Paul Gilbert licks and the light bulb turned on it my head to ask Richard to contribute as a guest blogger. So here we go!
Skip Scarp Scoop Scarp Beedum Beedoo!
By Richard Leong
The Poseidon Connection
www.myspace.com/poseidonconnection
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Poseidon-Connection/
One of the earliest guitar heroes to utilize string skipping in guitar-playing is our favourite Mr. Paul Gilbert. During the era of 80s guitar shredding, most guitarists were focusing on sweep picking after the uprising of Yngwie but our Pablo was shredding his heart out using the string skipping technique. In its basic form, it would be beneficial to start with the Major and Minor shapes in the keys of E Major and E Minor respectively.
So, some of you may ask, how do execute these lines smoothly? Basically, there are 2 ways; alternate picking and legato. For a smoother fluid sound, legato is the best option. Look at Ex1. On the 3rd string, pick on 13 and then hammer on 16. When you skip the 2nd string and start to pick on the 1st string, control/ mute the 3rd string using your palm, and simultaneously pick the 1st string 12th fret and then hammer on the 16th, then pull-off to the 12th.
Note that everything is down stroke picking!!!! This is one of the ways that Paul Gilbert executes the line. For the descending line, pull-off will be used extensively.
INSERT: I am still struggling with this string skipping lick hence the lack of a video. Like I said, this is my learning journey. Thanks Richard for the challenge of not only string skipping but the large stretches too! - Kev Broken Scar
So, I was having a chat with Richard from The Poseidon Connection about these Paul Gilbert licks and the light bulb turned on it my head to ask Richard to contribute as a guest blogger. So here we go!
Skip Scarp Scoop Scarp Beedum Beedoo!
By Richard Leong
The Poseidon Connection
www.myspace.com/poseidonconnection
http://www.facebook.com/pages/The-Poseidon-Connection/
One of the earliest guitar heroes to utilize string skipping in guitar-playing is our favourite Mr. Paul Gilbert. During the era of 80s guitar shredding, most guitarists were focusing on sweep picking after the uprising of Yngwie but our Pablo was shredding his heart out using the string skipping technique. In its basic form, it would be beneficial to start with the Major and Minor shapes in the keys of E Major and E Minor respectively.
Ex 1 : E Major shape
-----------------------------------12---16---12--------------------------------
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-----------------------13---16--------------------16----13--------------------
----------------14----------------------------------------------14--------------
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Ex 2 : E Minor shape
------------------------------------12---15---12-------------------------------
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-----------------------12---16----------------------16---12-------------------
----------------14-----------------------------------------------14-------------
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So, some of you may ask, how do execute these lines smoothly? Basically, there are 2 ways; alternate picking and legato. For a smoother fluid sound, legato is the best option. Look at Ex1. On the 3rd string, pick on 13 and then hammer on 16. When you skip the 2nd string and start to pick on the 1st string, control/ mute the 3rd string using your palm, and simultaneously pick the 1st string 12th fret and then hammer on the 16th, then pull-off to the 12th.
Note that everything is down stroke picking!!!! This is one of the ways that Paul Gilbert executes the line. For the descending line, pull-off will be used extensively.
INSERT: I am still struggling with this string skipping lick hence the lack of a video. Like I said, this is my learning journey. Thanks Richard for the challenge of not only string skipping but the large stretches too! - Kev Broken Scar
______________________________________________________
All Broken Scar's music is available on www.reverbnation.com/brokenscar
All Broken Scar's music is available on www.reverbnation.com/brokenscar
Labels: Lick My Pick, Richard Leong, The Poseidon Connection
Lick My Pick #1
2 Comments Published by Kevin Broken Scar on Wednesday, January 13, 2010 at 1:33 PM.
I realised it doesn't make much sense by merely describing guitar licks with text and tab with no sound. So, I decided to record a short video instead.
This lick is exactly the same pattern as the one in the previous post just that it is moved up the fretboard to start on the 12th fret instead, making it a C#m pentatonic lick. Paul Gilbert calls these licks descending 3's, if I'm not mistaken.
e -12p9-------------------------------------------------
B ------12-12p9----------------------------------------
G ----------------11-11p9------------------------------
D --------------------------11-11p9--------------------
A ------------------------------------11-11p9----------
E ----------------------------------------------12-9----
Notice that I don't pick all the notes and I use pull offs in this lick. This is really an easy lick and it is nothing new at all but it is really fun to play. I use it to warm up and also to gain strength for pull-offs.
Anyway, these are not lessons as they are way too simple to be lessons but they serve as a record of my journey, practicing these Paul Gilbert-inspired licks to be incorporated into my playing style. Enjoy!
______________________________________________________
All Broken Scar's music is available on www.reverbnation.com/brokenscar
All Broken Scar's music is available on www.reverbnation.com/brokenscar
Labels: Lick My Pick
