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Tutorial - NeoBlues
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NeoBlues - Part 1

Richard Lundmark 307 lessons
Tutorial

NeoBlues

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Here is the first analysis part. We will begin by looking at the intro. Here we have an up-tempo, string skipping and finger tapping run in the G minor pentatonic scale.

In the first part without tapping, you will encounter the note E added to the mix, giving the line a dorian mode. In the tapping part however, I have exchanged the minor third Bb for the major third B, thus making this part a G mixolydian mode (as I’m still in the pentatonic, it’s really a “Mixo-Blues” scale).

You will also notice how I’m not picking every note, but rather picking groups of three notes, and having legato on the other groupings. This makes for a less staccato sound and enables me to really dig into the picking parts. You can of course try playing this with all picking if you'd like, or even all legato should that feel more comfortable for you. For me, it’s more a question of what gives the best sound for that specific song.

A word on the tapping part... It is quite important here, that you tap upwards, not downwards, as is common among many rock players. Think of this tapping as an upside-down pull-off. Once you apply this technique to your tapping hand, you will eventually find that this frees you up technically to apply tapping to true improvisation, and not just practiced licks and sequences. I will dive more deeply into my approach to tapping in a future technical tutorial. Stay tuned for that!

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