Right, here we go!
First of all I need to point out that all of these examples are written out in my 4ths tuning - in other words I'm tuned from low to high - E A D G C F. I've done this to represent these phrases in the form they'd be if I was to improvise them. I've given you standard tuned versions at the end of the tutorial. I recommend that you print these out for reference or if you don't want to retune your guitar! I'll be doing a full tutorial on this tuning very soon!
Okay, on we go!
If you've been practising the two preliminary exercises you should be ready for these five exercises.
All these phrases, except for the last one, are in a G major tonality. We're going to be using smooth legato, hybrid picking and chromaticism to produce a modern fusion sound in the style of Brett Garsed or Greg Howe.
This first phrase uses all of these techniques and some slides with the little finger giving us some pretty large position shifts.
When playing this style the biggest problem people generally face is one of timing and attack. Try to make sure that you're timing is accurate - hence the rhythmic simplicity of these examples. Make sure that all your notes are as similar in volume or attack as one another. By using the hybrid picking approach this can be improved.
Slow practice is the key here. If you try to play too fast before mastering the phrase you'll pay in terms of accuracy in tone and timing.
I hope you enjoy these phrases and try to produce your own or use these in your own music.
See you in example 2!
Tom