Advanced Patterns and Sequences

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Instructor: Rick Graham Level: Advanced Topic: Scales Style: Rock

Excerpt: Alrighty then! Let's get cracking on the first sequence. The whole sequence is based around the tonal centre of A dorian and while it is mainly diatonic, there are some additional passing notes present which make the sequence that little bit more interesting to the ear. I think that rather than trying to digest every single note from the outset, it would be...

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Instructor: Rick Graham Level: Advanced Topic: Scales Style: Rock

Excerpt: Ready to go with exercise 2? Good stuff! OK, this exercise is based upon an A minor pentatonic scale which shifts positions using the 3rd finger. The best way to practice this pattern is to play the notes in the same order as indicated in the diagram below, slowly:  Every third note on each string should be played with the third finger of the left h...

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Instructor: Rick Graham Level: Advanced Topic: Scales Style: Rock

Excerpt: Alrighty then! The next sequence is in the tonal centre of E and utilizes the notes of the E minor pentatonic scale. Pentatonic scales are more often than not, played as two note per string scales but here it requires 4 note per string pentatonic shapes. The left hand will take care of the first three but the fourth is played as a right hand tap as indicated...

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Instructor: Rick Graham Level: Advanced Topic: Scales Style: Rock

Excerpt: 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 guit...

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Instructor: Rick Graham Level: Advanced Topic: Scales Style: Rock

Excerpt: This sequence is a particular favourite of mine and can actually be heard on my track 'Aftermath' which will be appearing on my new album. This main pattern is a suspended 2nd arpeggio with an added tapped 13th and it descends sequentially to create a cascading effect. When using the arpeggio in a sequence like this one, the effect can be very pleasing to th...

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Instructor: Rick Graham Level: Advanced Topic: Scales Style: Rock

Excerpt: In sequence 6 we are in familiar ground again in that the sequence is based around the A minor pentatonic scale. The use of left hand slides give this sequence a very Asian flavour to it which is very pleasing to the ear. If we examine the diagram we can see that up until the final note, only strings 3 and 1 are used. Pay careful attention to the positio...

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