You Got To Be You
September 26th, 2008Dear Dude,
I started playing guitar mainly because I heard Eddie Van Halen’s ‘Eruption’ and nearly creamed. The first songs I learned were Van Halen tunes, and within 3 months of playing I was already really good at copying Ed. Over time I learned tremolo picking, pull off’s, hammer on’s, legato, wah wah, and most recently sweep picking. Now that I write my own solo’s though, I seem not to utilize these techniques to their fullest extent, only using the most basic forms of them. For example, I have a chord progression that goes “minor chord, major chord, minor chord, major chord” and I play the respective sweeps an octave up, but compared to sweeping I hear in metal today, it sounds novice. This seems to be the problem with all of my solos; they have more melody than technicality. I look to guys like Dimebag, and hear him seem to go completely nuts, but still sounding in key, compared to when I let my fingers go crazy, its a mess. I know scale has a lot to do with it, but at high speeds, it’s a mess. Do you have any tips on how to better combine speed, technicality, and melody?
Thanks,
5150 Fan
Dear 5150 Fan,
There are a lot of us out there who heard Van Halen’s Eruption and fell in love with the guitar. Although I have never been able to have a sit down with the big man I know from just about every interview I have read that he wants you to be you so he can be him. So, I am truly stoked that you took your love for Eddie out of the cover band world and are trying to incorporate it into your own playing. I mean that is after all, the point right? Anyway, here’s a hint, a lot of dudes struggle with this problem and even more importantly almost everyone struggles with incorporating new techniques and styles of others into their own at one point. Honestly, that struggle is part of the joy of playing an instrument. But for you, I have some proposed suggestions that might just push you along to writing some different types of solos.
Ok, no offense but playing the sweeps an octave up over the chord progression IS actually kind of amateur compared to the types of sweep picking that’s out there. If you want your solos to have sweeping and shredding for flash value, well then you are going to have to step your game up. But if you are sweeping those octaves up for some melodic purpose it could all work. It’s all about your intentions as an artist and from the sound of it you’re trying to intentionally write intricate shredding parts. So the first thing I suggest you do is make a list of maybe 10 solos you think sound the way you want your solos to sound. I know they’re out there and a few may be VH solos, but the trick is finding solos of other artists who have a VH vibe but are still different. For example, Michael Schechter, Dimebag Darrel, Zakk Wylde, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, and Randy Rhodes are a few. You can hear a little of Eddie’s style (or at least similar moves) in all of their playing. But, the above guitarists rarely sweep arpeggios (I must mention Marty Friedman who doesn’t have a VH vibe at all but can sweep the fuck out of an arpeggio). That’s why I like to add a few newer artists. I suggest Alexi Laiho (Children of Bodom), Ben Weinman (Dillinger Escape Plan), Doc Coyle (God Forbid), and Douglas Sabolick (A Life Once Lost), to name a few. After you have your list go out and get the tab for those songs (I use guitar pro or power tab and just goggle the song name or the artist, its free). After you have the tabs for your top 10 then you have one more step, listen. Go note for note with those solos and study how they work. Listen to how the rest of the music changes under and around the solo. The key here is to study the way other guitarists move ideas into their playing. I promise you learn a run or two here and there and it will lead you to something new, it always does for me.
Suggestion two, this one is a bit easier but involves you being able to record yourself. A good way for me to come up with solo or run ideas is to sketch them out first so that I can find something I sort of like and then take the time I need to develop it. A lot of times I record many different versions of riffs that are played just terribly. The idea is that if I find something I like I can go back later and work out each note when I have the time. It’s sort of like sketching out a painting before you go in and paint it all. I start by building a drum loop, you can use any program you want or just use a click track (although the vibe is all gone for me unless there is the sound of a kit). Take that beat and record your rhythm track or just a chord progression (it can be any progression, just make it up, THAT’S THE EXERCISE). Once you laid down that progression try improvising a few times over and over. Once you hear a theme, rhythm, or voice you like stop and repeat until you get the idea clear. Sounds crazy but it does help me think of new ideas. Most importantly I think it’s a good way to add the feel and sound of improve. Most of Eddie’s solos were made up on the spot one or two takes according to most everything I have read. It’s that kind of feel you want to add to your solos too. So experiment with sketching the solos out a bit that way you can do more then just copy the arpeggios an octave up because you have to time to figure out all the note choices.
Whenever I have been confronted with this type of situation I have always looked to one of these two techniques to get me by. Studying other guitarists and the way their solos sound is key learning how to open up your playing. Improvisation is your best friend when it comes to learning how to break the rules you set on your self. As I said in the beginning you got to be you, if you keep studying what other dudes are doing and pushing yourself to try new things, it wont be long till you find your own little combination of sounds. Then your not to far from your name coming up on a list of guitar players to goggle!
The Dude
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That’s right first Washburn and now Randall. Recently, I took some time to hang with Jody and the good dudes of Randall Amplifiers while at Darkest Hour’s House of Blues show in Chicago. In this installment of Randall TV I go over the main features as well as little known secretes of the Randall MTS head, talk about my new love for the duel effects loop, and take some time to walk through the pedal board set up I’m currently running. If you see the Randall MTS in a music store try it out! But until you get a chance to hear how sick the MTS sounds check out the