What Are You Working On Right Now?

[Mikael Dez]

I never do any such things, either.

You gotta understand that with some genres you have to put in that grind though right?

 

[Sascha Franck]

You gotta understand that with some genres you have to put in that grind though right?

"Grind" maybe yes. Copying others not so much. For me it just has no appeal at all. IOW, if I wanted to play super fast 16th runs, I'd come up with my own.

 

[Sascha Franck]

And fwiw, I'm absolutely fine with people doing all that stuff. As long as it's fun, it's fun. It just isn't for me.

 

[TSJMajesty]

Man I love it when I take a 10 minute break, then go back and play the lick I was working on, and it feels slow.

I's like, did I accidentally bump the metronome down 10bpm? Nope. Fuckin A!!

Now I can finally bump it a little more.

 

[TSJMajesty]

Tackling picking patterns that involve switching directions on one note. Like this part of Panic Attack:

It's definitely a challenge to not hit the single note a 2nd time, as you come back to the other string. And then made even more challenging when you have to go right back again. You can't keep the pick at whatever angle you're using, but instead, sort of make a 'U' shape with the motion, then go right back to a slant, when you're back to multiple notes on the string.

I've never heard anyone talk about this particular picking issue, but like anything else, it involves a lot of practice!

Since I tend to start riffs with a downstroke if they begin on a downbeat, this means I'm using a downward pick slant until I hit the G9, then use that "U" motion to get the D7 and the next G9, which leaves me with an upward slant, which is what I need to hit the D10, then get back to a DPS for the next bar.

Only this time, I need to hold that "U" motion through the G8, D7, G6, D7. Not to mention a fingering change!

At least it's inside string changes, which are easier for me than outside. But that's exactly what happens in the 4th bar of the riff!

 

[TSJMajesty]

Came across another solo of Petrucci's that I liked, so I looked it up, and sure enough, he has another nearly-impossible-to-play lick in it! And of course I had to try it!

From Barstool Warrior:

You can't even play the damn thing unless you have your guitar up on your leg in standing position, like he does live, because of the way it contorts your hand getting those notes on the low strings! And of course it's fast- 156bpm!

But again, with all the licks that I've worked on of his, this one is different. He never ceases to amaze me at how he's always coming up with something new/different/interesting to put into his solos!

 

[Mikael Dez]

Came across another solo of Petrucci's that I liked, so I looked it up, and sure enough, he has another nearly-impossible-to-play lick in it! And of course I had to try it!

From Barstool Warrior:
View attachment 51856View attachment 51857

You can't even play the damn thing unless you have your guitar up on your leg in standing position, like he does live, because of the way it contorts your hand getting those notes on the low strings! And of course it's fast- 156bpm!

But again, with all the licks that I've worked on of his, this one is different. He never ceases to amaze me at how he's always coming up with something new/different/interesting to put into his solos!

I am glad for my own sake that I don’t really like shredding - I love Petrucci more for his phrasing, incredibly clean playing (as in not messy, not clean tones), and his godly tone. If I loved the shred then I know I’d be on a constant crusade to get there

 

[TSJMajesty]

I am glad for my own sake that I don’t really like shredding - I love Petrucci more for his phrasing, incredibly clean playing (as in not messy, not clean tones), and his godly tone. If I loved the shred then I know I’d be on a constant crusade to get there

I have no illusions of ever being able to play most of his fast stuff at tempo. I use these kinds of licks as exercises to help me improve as a player.

And the melodic stuff helps me "see" how to make a solo make a statement, so to speak.

And yeah, his tone is to die for. I got to hear it up close again at the JP camp. It is unbelievable how awesome his guitar sounds!!

There was a Marshall 4x12 cab on the side opposite his rig, that he let other people who came up use when he was demonstrating something, and at one point he made a joke, "What's this crappy Marshall doing up here?"

 

[Mikael Dez]

Some very cool advice

 

[Sascha Franck]

Some very cool advice

Finding repeatable shapes is indeed a great thing - and particularly easy once you look at things as 3 sets of a pair of strings (E6/A, D/G, B/E1). The only downside being the pesky major third between the G and B strings. With a guitar tuned in perfect fourths, that would result in yet some more shape reusing options (and obviously make the octave "jump" between pairs a lot easier). I was actually fooling around with a guitar tuned in perfect fourths ages ago (long before I even heard the name Tom Quayle for the first time), took very little adjustment time, just that all the chord shapes I constantly need for my gigs didn't work anymore, so I dropped the idea.

 

[Mikael Dez]

Finding repeatable shapes is indeed a great thing - and particularly easy once you look at things as 3 sets of a pair of strings (E6/A, D/G, B/E1). The only downside being the pesky major third between the G and B strings. With a guitar tuned in perfect fourths, that would result in yet some more shape reusing options (and obviously make the octave "jump" between pairs a lot easier). I was actually fooling around with a guitar tuned in perfect fourths ages ago (long before I even heard the name Tom Quayle for the first time), took very little adjustment time, just that all the chord shapes I constantly need for my gigs didn't work anymore, so I dropped the idea.

That guy Emil is nuts, he primarily plays metal but he has an extremely diverse

Finding repeatable shapes is indeed a great thing - and particularly easy once you look at things as 3 sets of a pair of strings (E6/A, D/G, B/E1). The only downside being the pesky major third between the G and B strings. With a guitar tuned in perfect fourths, that would result in yet some more shape reusing options (and obviously make the octave "jump" between pairs a lot easier). I was actually fooling around with a guitar tuned in perfect fourths ages ago (long before I even heard the name Tom Quayle for the first time), took very little adjustment time, just that all the chord shapes I constantly need for my gigs didn't work anymore, so I dropped the idea.

I love not playing “in the box” how this expands the scale across the fretboard, ever since watching this I’ve started figuring out the same kind of mentality with any scale “where is the most logical spot for me to continue this, not just in this one position”

 

[Ed DeGenaro]

Been doing tabs for my2 shred students that wanna up their legato, economy and hybrid picking game.
Also work for alternate picking.

legato-economy etude

legato-economy etude

www.soundslice.com

Phrase-Shifting-Legato-Triplets.gp

Phrase-Shifting-Legato-Triplets.gp

www.soundslice.com

BG Lick

BG Lick

www.soundslice.com

G-Spot Blues

G-Spot Blues

www.soundslice.com

 

[Sascha Franck]

Been doing tabs for my2 shred students that wanna up their legato, economy and hybrid picking game.
Also work for alternate picking.

Sick!

 

[TSJMajesty]

Decided to pull back from my technique stuff for a bit, and focus on the more melodic side of JP, and tackle 2 of his solos.

The first one from Bend The Clock, and the one from Repentance. Both are definitely within my grasp, and should help me gain some confidence in other areas of playing style.

Cued up: