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Advanced Patterns and Sequences - Part 4

Advanced Scales Rock
Rick Graham 210 lessons

Thanks for joining me in sequence 4!

This sequence is based upon an A diminished scale. This scale is an octotonic scale and is sometimes called a whole/half scale. This is because the scale is built upon those intervals which re-occur every minor third. As a consequence, this scale is symmetrical and lends itself well to the pattern based world of the guitarist. Let's check out the diagram:

In this sequence, if you compare the tab with the diagram, on first glance it is much easier to get to grips with the diagram as a visual reference because of the symmetrical nature of the scale.

To begin with, start by identifying the series of whole and half steps on each of the two strings. This is not too difficult to ascertain as you can see from the diagram. The succession of whole and half steps occur on exactly the same frets. Starting at the 4th fret of the 3rd and 1st strings, play the two notes simultaneously and proceed to ascend and descend to acquaint yourself with the whole/half pattern. It is fine to use just your 1st and 2nd fingers for this as we are just dipping our toes in the water, so to speak.

Once you have done that you can proceed straight on to the sequence. Again, we are approaching this with left hand hammers from nowhere and right hand taps.

I have purposely omitted the 'T' symbols as I didn't want to clutter up the diagram. Simply refer to the tab for the tapped notes.

An important aspect not to overlook which will help you to attain a flowing, fluid approach is the left hand position shifts. Observe the notes for the full rhythmic values without cutting them short.

As always, use this and the other sequences and extend them, invert them, do whatever you wish to them to come up with your own sequences and ideas.

Now that we've nailed this sequence, let's head onto sequence 5!

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