Shawn Lane Lines

Hello stringslingers! In this "lick & line" lesson we'll look at a hybrid legato pattern, that is usually played in triplets. However, we will do it in 32nd notes AND do it in the style of the late, great Shawn Lane and his "falling down the stairs" type of sound. So, get your guitar and let's go! As you can see in the tab, and notice when you play the line, you will see that it is a 6-note pattern over 2 string, that are then repeated as we go down. However, since we are playing it in 32nd notes the beats will fall on different notes all the time, thus creating that "falling" down the stairs feel as far as the note value groupings goes. Also, as I'm using a symmetrical shape, and moving it diagonally down the neck, that enhances that"sliding" feel of the line. Shawn Lane of course would play a lick like this without Hybrid Picking. You can of course also try that approach, since I only hybrid pick one note in every "segment". But do try both approaches, since the hybrid approach will serve you well in other applications as well. Another thing I would recommend here is that you start out by playing the lines in 16-note groupings over say a 120bpm, then as you get that up to say around 160bpm, you change the tempo down to 80bpm and start playing 32nd note values. You will notice a dramatic difference in "feel" of the line all of a sudden! The goal tempo is 100bpm, which would be equal 16notes in 200bpm. But again, opt for playing over 100bpm in 32nd's, and ALWAYS try to use a drum groove or backing track rather than ONLY a metronome, to help you visualize the line in a more musical context. OK, let's move on to line number 2 shall we?