A simple trick to making the Lydian sound come out is skip the 2nd note of the mode,
and just play around with the root, 3rd, fourth, and fifth notes of the mode… With special
focus on the 4th note. (Bb)

Then , after establishing this sound, you can change up the sound
by hitting that second degree of the mode. (F#)

That’s the basic idea.

FREETIME:

Although they can sound mysterious,
they’re really nothing more than
inversions of a scale.

If you have C major scale, you have
the notes: C, D, E, F, G, A, and B.

Then you also have:

C Ionian (Major)
D Dorian
E Phrygian
F Lydian
G Mixolydian
A Aeolian (Minor)
B Locrian

All with the same notes — the only difference
is which note you start on, or emphasize.

That’s why , for example, in the Guitar Scale
System software, there’s no modes listed.

Why? Because if you’re learning a pattern
across the whole neck, all the notes would
be the same.

Still, we can create different sounds depending
on which note we start on.

In the next email, I’ll show you a few cool
tricks using the Lydian Mode.

For now, I want to leave with you a cool chord
that emphasizes the lydian sound.

Let’s take E Lydian… The note that really
stands out is the Bb.

This forms a tritone interval, which is the
creepiest of all intervals :)… Play
an E note and Bb to hear what I mean.

I think tritones were actually illegal to play
in the days of old. You could be accused
of being a witch. I’m serious. lol…

Anyway this interval sounds awesomely bittersweet when you
mix it together with the beautiful Maj7 sound
inside of an Emaj7#11 chord.

To me, this chord really captures the essense
of the Lydian mode.

Check it out:

–6–
–9–
–8–
–6–
–7–
–0–

Middle finger goes on the A string,
ring finger on the G string,
pinky on the B string, and you’re
barring the top 4 strings at the
6th fret with your index finger.

Try playing this chord and then
some lydian riffs.

Hope you enjoyed that video. Now, try to figure out the rest of the melody of
Star Spangled Banner by ear! It’s all in C major except for the F# as we discussed.

Also, try improvising your own variations AND/OR create
your own new melodies using this flat fifth concept.

And when you’re done, don’t forget to check out “Chord Mastery”.

Btw, If you haven’t downloaded “Chord Mastery” yet, Click Here Now!

I’ve seen many a “guitar god” solo made up from basic pentatonic licks
in very ordinary fretboard positions. You can certainly make some wailing
sounds in the root position pentatonic pattern. The keys are smooth
bends and vibrato, a good sense of rhythm and control, and boom –
you got some cool licks going on.

In Killer Guitar Control Secrets, I go
over these concepts (and more) in depth.

Oh and it also helps to have
efficient picking technique if you want to play fast licks. Check out this lick and
specifically pay attention the downstroke and upstroke
patterns.

Click here to download a MIDI file so you can hear the audio.

Click here to download a MIDI file so you can hear the audio.

Just a fair warning – this is a fairly advanced lesson, so
if it goes over your head, please check out some of the
other lessons on my blog, or, of course, MY DVD COURSES.

I am going to be showing a lick using 3-note-per-string pentatonics,
combined with an advanced irregular rhythm. These pentatonics
will stretch your fingers if you’re not used to them…However,
the real challenge and lesson here, is to master the rhythm behind
the lick.

When a guitarist starts getting good and expressing themselves,
their licks start getting more complicated.

Like Jimi Hendrix said, the point isn’t to get complicated on purpose,
but instead to put as much of yourself as you can into the music.

Still, complicated licks seem to be the result of lead guitar virtuosos.
I’ve seen tabs of Jimi Hendrix and Jimmy page’s wild solos – and there
were tons of complicated rhythms with uneven groupings.

This makes sense to me because how else would the uniqueness
of each artist manifest through the notes? It’s like looking at a great
painting – you wouldn’t expect everything to be drawn in neat little
square boxes, right? Same as in music – the rhythms of a great solo
aren’t necessarily going to fall into neat little symmetrical rhythmic patterns…

I have a few different thoughts about how guitarists should relate to
this phenomenon.

On one level, it doesn’t really matter what the rhythm structure is for
your licks. Just play from the heart, and as long as you’re sincere in what
you play, you can forget all the analysis.

On the other hand, having more knowledge about rhythm can help you.
For example, if you play a complicated lick and then decode it, it can help
you understand that lick on a deeper level. You’ll be able to play it more
consistently or create different variations of it based on your understanding.

Also, having a strong rhythmic feel can help you to play more in the pocket,
and also can boost your creativity.

Here’s a lick I came up with yesterday and it was somewhat of a challenge
to tab it out because of the irregular rhythm to it. That’s kind of what
prompted this article.

To my ear, it doesn’t SOUND irregular… It sounds smooth. That’s the same
phenomenon going on with the great guitar players – their playing sounds natural
and beautiful, but when written out on paper, it gets “jumbly”.

Here we have a mix of quarter notes, eighth notes, and eighth note triplets.

As an exercise, try the following COUNTS:

1 – trip-le-tee – 3 – trip-le-tee

1 AND – trip-le- tee 3 AND trip-le-tee

Ok, now here’s the lick I wrote:

 Click here to download a MIDI file so you can hear the audio.

The trickiest part rhymically is the 12th fret low E string – because we were
playing 16th note triplets , now we have to go back to an 16th note for
just one note, then back into the triplets again.  Listen to the audio
for the right feel.

Don’t let the 16th notes scare you. Just pretend they are 8th notes at faster speed.
For example, the first 4 notes of the lick are a 16th note followed
by a 16th note triplet. (A 16th note triplet means 3 notes fit into the
space of 1 eighth note)

The first 4 notes are basically just the second COUNT pattern I showed ( 1-AND trip-le-tee),
except the first note is a rest. So its like “AND trip-le-tee”…

Same thing with the tricky part in the middle – you’re going from a triplet
to a grouping of 2 – only here, there is just 1 of those 2 notes before you
go back into the triplet feel again.

If you can’t get it exactly, don’t worry, just try to to experiment with a
few irregular rhythms of your own.

It’s Claude J. back again with another arpeggio mini-lesson.  

Before I get started with that though, I have some exciting news… I did get my video camera finally
so hopefully I will have some video lessons for you soon.  Actually now the problem is with my computer.
I just ordered a new one because the old one is several years old and is on its last legs.    It kept powering
down by itself because of overheating.  I actually had to get a small room fan to blow cool air on it so
I could work at all!   This has GOT to be the most pathetic computer ever, lol…

Words don’t describe it, so I took a pic for you:

Anyway, DON’T WORRY… lol…Like I said I’m getting a new machine.  I just need to go pick it up.

Ok, onto our lesson.

Today let’s take a look at moving an arpeggio through a few positions.  We will go up the A major arpeggio,
down… and then up again.  Each time, we will be shifting positions by sliding up the neck.

Here’s the example:

This lick will help us do the following:

1. Learn some cool arpeggio shapes
2. Help us connect the fretboard in our minds
3. Show us how we can start “getting around the neck” with arpeggios
4. Prepare us for more advanced licks

After the first few notes, we are hammering on with our pinky on the high E string, then sliding to the 12th fret, then pulling off back to the 9th fret.  Again, on the A string, we are sliding with our pinky. 

If you’re not used to these kinds of shapes, it may seem weird but just use your common sense.
On the last phrase at the 14th fret, you’re just barring by laying your ring finger flat on the fretboard.

Try this lick in a few different keys and have fun!