Guitar Lesson Six

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Guitar Lesson Six - Music

The intro to Crazy Train by Ozzy Osbourne is a great riff and a great example of making music out of a two-string fingerboard pattern:

Notice that all of the notes (except for the open E) are right out of pattern 6 at the second fret on the E and A-strings.

It sounds like this: Crazy Train

The above fingering isn't necessarily the best way to play this riff, but I want you to see the pattern. Once you see the pattern, you can substitute this fingering in the second measure:

The second fingering is easier to play and will sound more smooth, but it's more difficult to see the pattern. Study both fingerings until you understand how the same notes can be played differently.

Keep in mind that there are usually several ways to play any given group of notes on the guitar, and one of the tricks is to find the easiest way. But, also, remember that the easiest way is not always the best. You will most likely run into certain passages that seem to sound better when you play them with a more difficult fingering. When faced with a situation like that, I always opt for the fingering that sounds the best.

Breaking The Law by Judas Priest is another classic guitar riff that demonstrates how a scale shape can be turned into cool sounding music:

Here's what it sounds like: Breaking The Law

Let's close out this lesson with two songs that utilize intervals on two strings at once.

Here is the opening of Feel Your Love by Van Halen:

And here's what it sounds like: Feel your Love

Another good example of a similar type of idea is The Zoo by Scorpions:

There are a couple of things in the notation of this last one that I want to draw your attention to:

First: Notice the funny blue bracket attached to the repeat sign at the end of the second to last measure. This is called an ENDING.

Endings are used in music notation when the composer repeats a section but changes just the end of the phrase. This is called VARIATION and adds interest to what would be the simple repeating of a section of music.

To play the piece, above, you start at the beginning and play through to the repeat sign. Then, without stopping, you go back to the start and play through until you get to the measure that is covered by the bracket. Skip that measure and play the next measure instead.

Second: Notice the red whole note in the last measure. I colored the note red to draw your attention to the fact that you are playing the same note (G) on two different strings. The guitar is one of only a few instruments that can do this.

Here is what it sounds like: The Zoo

Neither of these last two songs are as hard as they look. The trick is to try and "feel" the rhythm. Listen to the examples and don't let the notation scare you.

Until next time...

This lesson is divided into six parts:

Introduction

Theory Part I

Theory Part II

Left Hand Technique

Right Hand Technique

Music

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