Rock Lead Guitar (Guitar Lesson)

Chapter 1: (02:08) Introduction Matt kicks off lesson 15 by playing a portion of the solo section to Aerosmith's "Sweet Emotion." In this lesson, he will use Joe Perry's original recorded from Toys in the Attic to tie together many of the lead guitar concepts that he has discussed in the lesson series. The "Sweet Emotion" solo contains repeating licks, string skipping licks, hybrid scales, and string bends. All of these concepts have been discussed in past lessons.

Matt will also explain how to interject your own creativity and artistic voice into the solo section. By weaving improvised licks around Perry's memorable recorded lines, a unique new spin on the solo is produced. Chapter 2: (04:23) Sweet Emotion Solo Ear Training

Ear Training

Throughout the lesson, Matt will not give a fret-by-fret demonstration of each lick. Instead, you will be forced to practice your ear training skills. Matt will play each phrase a couple of times at the recorded tempo and at a significantly slower tempo. Do your best to transcribe as much of the solo as possible by ear and by watching his hands. Feel free to rewind the video as many times as necessary when transcribing each lick. Don't worry if this task is beyond your current level at this point! Tablature and standard notation to the original solo are included under the "Supplemental Content" tab. Refer to the tablature if you get hung up on a certain lick.

Lick 1 (Repeating Lick)

The original recorded solo begins with a simple repeating lick. This lick consists of a double stop played in a funky, syncopated rhythm. Remember that playing a guitar solo is similar to telling a story. A story or solo must have a logical beginning, middle, and end. Joe Perry begins with a simple, catchy idea. Simple ideas always make the best introductions. Solos that begin with insane shredding can be much more difficult to digest. This funky, syncopated, double stop lick grabs the audience's attention and prepares it for the fast, wailing licks that follow.

The double stop used in the lick contains the notes D and G#(Ab). When played together, these notes can imply several different chords. For example, these notes are found within the E7, Bb7, and Bo7 chords. These chords are just a few of the chords in the musical language that contain these notes. Try to think of some other chords that contain these notes on your own. In the case of "Sweet Emotion," the lick is played over a bluesy riff that loosely implies an E7 chord.

Practice Time

After you attempt to transcribe the licks with the first four measures, check your work with Matt's transcription listed under the "Supplemental Content" tab. Spend some time practicing the first four measures along with a metronome before advancing to the next scene. Begin your practice session with the metronome set to a slow tempo such as 60-70 beats per minute.

Note: Matt also taught this lick in a recent entry for the JamPlay Lick / Riff Library. This brief lesson will be added to the site in the near future. Chapter 3: (03:10) Measures 5 & 6 Listen to Matt play the lick several times before you try to figure it out on guitar. Try to sing it in your head. Then, rewind the video once again and begin to transcribe these measures. Check your work with the transcription provided in "Supplemental Content." Once you've made any necessary corrections, spend some time practicing these measures. Practice them very slowly with a metronome set around 60-65 beats per minute. Gradually increase the tempo by four beat increments as you become comfortable with each setting.

Scale Patterns

The licks in measures 5-6 are played out of the tried and true minor pentatonic box pattern. The pattern is played in 12th position in the key of E minor.

Note: Tablature and standard notation to all scale patterns discussed in this lesson can be found under the "Supplemental Content" tab. Chapter 4: (02:38) Measures 7 & 8 Combining Scales

Throughout the solo, Joe Perry mixes the major and minor forms of the E pentatonic scale to generate bluesy sounding licks. Occasionally he throws in some licks that could be analyzed as portions of the E Dorian and E Mixolydian modes. However, these passages can also be analyzed as simple combinations of the major and minor pentatonic scales. The notes G# and G natural are frequently used together in a single lick. Also, notice how the note C# from the major pentatonic scale gets thrown into the mix during these measures.

Hybrid scale licks are commonly used in almost all styles of music. Listen at 00:48 as Matt provides some sample improvised licks that blend the E minor and E major pentatonic scales. Hybrid scale licks are especially common when playing over simple, bluesy riffs or chord progressions that contain both the minor and major third of the key. The "Sweet Emotion" solo riff contains both of these notes (G and G#).

Transcribing / Practice Time

Listen several times as Matt plays measures 7 and 8 at 01:36. He begins by playing them at tempo. At 02:16, the lick is played with a metronome set to 80 beats per minute. Transcribe these measures. Then, compare them with Matt's transcription. After making your corrections, begin to practice along with a metronome. Once you can play these measures comfortably at around 75 beats per minute, feel free to move on. You can return to this scene later to perfect the lick. Chapter 5: (05:38) Measures 9-12 A. Measures 9-10

Up to this point, the solo has primarily been played out of the 12th position patterns for the E minor and E major pentatonic scales. In measure 9, the solo leaps to the first position patterns for these scales. Now, they are played one octave lower. Leaping between two different octaves of a pattern is quite common in rock and blues solos. Jumping between octaves is an excellent way to quickly grab the listener's attention. This technique is used in the solo to "Alive" by Pearl Jam. A transcription to this solo can be found in Phase 3. Also, check out Jimi Hendrix's solos in "Voodoo Chile."

Octave Displacement

At 00:56, Matt demonstrates measures 9 and 10. Measure 9 begins with a musical technique referred to as "octave displacement." Normally, you would expect the E note that begins the lick to be played at the 2nd fret of the fourth string. Instead, the E note is displaced one octave lower. Consequently, the E note and the Bb note that follows are not played within the same octave.

B. Measures 11-12

Watch and listen as Matt demonstrates these measures at 03:18. The lick is repeated at a slower tempo at 04:42 to make the transcription process slightly easier.

At the beginning of measure 11, the solo jumps back up to the upper octave of the pentatonic scale. An octave displacement lick begins this phrase as well. The open D note on the fourth string is played instead of the D note played at the 12th fret.

E Major Blues Scale

The lick in these measures can be analyzed as part of the major blues scale. It can also be analyzed as a combination of the E major and E minor pentatonic scales. The major blues scale adds a b3 to the major pentatonic scale. Compare the spelling of E major pentatonic and the E major blues scale listed below.

E major pentatonic: E, F#, G#, B, C#, E
E major blues scale: E, F#, G, G#, B, C#, E

During these measures, the E major blues scale is played out of ninth position pattern. Matt demonstrates the E major pentatonic scale in this position at 03:40. The major blues scale with the additional G note is demonstrated at 04:12. Compare and contrast the sound of these two scales. Chapter 6: (05:31) Solo Ending Matt begins this scene by playing through the final phrases in the solo. As you listen to his performance, what key features of the solo do you notice? What scales are being used? Are any licks repeated? Are there any wide melodic leaps?

Repeating Segments

Throughout the final measures, a repeating two measure idea occurs. Joe Perry plays a memorized lick in the first bar of each two bar segment. Then, he improvises during the second bar of each segment. This two bar segment continues to repeat until the end of the solo.

Segment 1

Work through one segment at a time as you transcribe the final portion of the solo. Once you figure out how to play the initial repeating lick, you are halfway home! Watch and listen as Matt plays through the first two bar segment at 01:52.

Segment 2

The next two bars are demonstrated at 02:12. The improvised lick features a trill between the minor and major third of the key (G and G#). It also features some wide interval leaps and string skipping. Notice how Matt slightly lifts his right hand from the bridge when playing these skips.

Segment 3

The third segment is played at 02:38. Once again, the improvised lick contains a trill between the major and minor third.

Segment 4

Matt demonstrates the final segment at 03:15. The song fades out at this point in the solo. Listen to live recordings of the song on Youtube for some ideas of how to logically conclude the song. Compare and contrast the way in which Aerosmith concludes the song in each performance. The repeating two bar segment is used as an effective cue to alert the other band members that the song is beginning to wind down.

Recorded Solo Performance

The entire recorded solo is demonstrated along with a metronome at 03:47. This will provide you with an opportunity to hear how all of the licks fit together. Chapter 7: (05:51) Make it Your Own When covering a classic guitar solo that is recognized by many people, Matt almost always takes the same approach. He plays the most memorable licks from the recorded solo. Then, he fills in the gaps between these licks with improvised material. Joe Perry takes a similar approach to the solo when he performs it live with Aerosmith.

Matt typically begins the "Sweet Emotion" solo with the repeating double stop licks. Then, he improvises until he reaches the repeating two bar segments that conclude the solo. During each segment, he plays the repeating lick in the first bar. Then, he improvises in the next bar. This two bar alternating pattern continues until the end of the solo. Watch at 03:00 as Matt plays through the entire solo section using this approach. Use this approach when playing your own version of the solo.

Preview of Next Lesson

In the next several lessons, Matt will begin to explain the music theory behind various chord progressions. Music theory will be used to determine which scales work over a given chord progression. First, Matt will explain how to play a solo over diatonic progressions in the major, natural minor, and harmonic minor tonalities. Then, he'll explain how to improvise over non-diatonic progressions. As the series progresses, scale and chord relationships will be supplemented with solos from JamPlay's Phase 3 area. In the next lesson, the solo section Candlebox's "Far Behind" is used as an example. The chord progression under this solo is completely diatonic to the key of G major.

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