"Play in the style of" Guthrie Govan

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Instructor: Rick Graham Level: Crazy! Topic: Improvising Style: Rock

Excerpt: Yo! and welcome to my latest tutorial this time focusing on the style and techniques of the amazing UK guitarist Guthrie Govan. This lesson was created with inspiration from the following: Blues Jam Tracks Cornford Records I first came across Guthrie Govan when he won the UK Guitarist of the Year back in 1993 with his track 'wonderful slippery thing'. ...

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

Excerpt: Alrighty, let's kick off the proceedings with the first lick. Guthrie tends to use this kind of idea within his improvisations with great effect. I really like that kind of unexpected burst of notes and to achieve the same effect, it is very important to get the rhythm dead on. Practice this very slowly maintaining control of the synchronization of both lef...

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Instructor: Rick Graham Level: Crazy! Topic: Improvising Style: Rock

Excerpt: OK, time to take a deep breath as this one is a challenge! I try to see this whole pattern as one entire lick rather than segments pieced together. Of course, it will be necessary to subdivide the parts so that you can put them together when you are ready to do so but it really helps me to see it as one lick. There are a variety of techniques used here and...

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

Excerpt: This final Lick is very reminiscent of Guthrie's style of playing and is one that he uses on a regular basis. It is made easier by the fact that the shapes used on each successive string are exactly the same. The lick will test your ability to shift positions with accuracy so practice carefully! Muting is also essential here due to the position shifts and s...

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Instructor: Rick Graham Level: Crazy! Topic: Improvising Style: Rock

Excerpt: OK let's nail this solo! One of the most important aspects of this first section is the string bending and control of intonation. You must practice with the aim of getting perfect intonation and complete control over your manipulation over the strings. It will not cut it even if you are a fraction out so make sure you are mindful of this when practising. P...

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Instructor: Rick Graham Level: Crazy! Topic: Improvising Style: Rock

Excerpt: Ok let's continue! Notice how the motifs start developing here. Including motivic development within this solo was a vital part of capturing the style of Guthrie's playing. If you analyse any of his solos, the majority of which I feel are improvised, you will find a masterful control over motivic development. It is essential that you are able to identify th...

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Instructor: Rick Graham Level: Crazy! Topic: Improvising Style: Rock

Excerpt: Lets continue further into the world of Mr Govan! Again the use of motivic development occurs here in a sequential chromatic pattern which ascends on the top e string by step. With these legato patterns try to keep as light a touch as possible as this will yield the best results. Righty then, lets seperate the men from the boys with the lick from hell! I'...

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Instructor: Rick Graham Level: Crazy! Topic: Improvising Style: Rock

Excerpt: OK, the legato madness continues to greater heights! This section is where the solo reaches its dynamic peak in the tapped string skipped arpeggio again commonly used by Mr Govan! At this point I'd like to comment on uhe use of string damping tools. During these kind of tapped passages which invariably present some challenges in the muting department, Guth...

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Instructor: Rick Graham Level: Crazy! Topic: Improvising Style: Rock

Excerpt: Hang in there guys we're almost there! This final section includes a very often used 'Guthrie-ism' in the final string skipped tapping lick. The actual pattern is based on the pentatonic scale and the beauty of this kind of pattern is that once you have learned it on one string, when you skip strings to play it an octave higher, you play exactly the same p...

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Instructor: Rick Graham Level: Crazy! Topic: Improvising Style: Rock

Excerpt: Here's the backing track for you. Once you feel that you have nailed every lick of the solo, try it at full tempo along with the backing track. Be sure to post any recordings, be it audio or video, for everyone at the forums to check out. Good luck!

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