Hello shred nerds! Today's lick is an arpeggio sequence utilizing two MajAdd9 chords: Dadd9 to Cadd9. I'm really fond of this kind of sound... try it out over a static E power chord as well as the respective chord progression. Here's the video and tab (note that I'm on a 7 string tuned down a whole step to ADGCFAD and for musical clarity I will be naming the notes in pitch, not position).
Tab - Guitar Pro 6
Tab - PDF file
I'm structuring these arpeggios as 1 9 3 5 (13) (so for the Dadd9 it would be the notes D E F# A (B) and for the Cadd9 thats C D E G (A). Notice that I'm throwing the 13th in occasionally as well to help with the flow of the lick. I like playing arpeggios like this for a rather geeky reason; they remind me of the Prelude Theme from Final Fantasy games.
There is some extensive use of two finger tapping on the right hand here, as well, and I'm using it in the first two repetitions of the arpeggio to alternate "peaking" the line with the 13th and root. When I hit the 13th I'm "rolling" between T2 and T3 on the same string, but to hit the root, you need to do an unassisted hammer-on from nowhere onto the B string with T3 and back down again to the G with T2. The sensation is slightly different than rolling because instead of doing a hammer-hammer-pull-pull motion, you need to do a hammer-hammer-hammer-pull motion and be careful not to let the notes between the B and G bleed together.
Next I skip up to the high E and do what I've nicknamed an "expansion" pattern, where I go from a 3 note per string phrase to a 5 note per string phrase in which I grab the previously tapped note with my 4th finger, allowing me to "expand" the line up an additional two notes with my right hand. This is another kind of phrase I'm quite fond of. Notice here I "cram" notes so that the peaks of the melodic lines fall on specific parts of the beat without paying too much attention to the rhythmic subdivision (as such the subdivisions in the tab are approximate). Finally, I descend down to the G to repeat the pattern. Also notice that when I switch arpeggios I'm anticipating the new chord melodically when I go down to the G. This is done for technical reasons more than anything, as it allows a smoother transition to the new arpeggio from the previous one.
Once you've gotten this kind of pattern down, experiment with your own variations and try moving it around the fretboard and onto different strings. By the way, should you want to try this lick out with minor add9 arpeggios, simply flat the 3rd (and depending on whether you want a Dorian or Aeolian sound, you may want to flat the 13th as well).
As always, if you like what you see here, and you'd be interested in setting up a free trial webcam guitar lesson with me, you can email me here.
Also, if you haven't be sure to check out my band, Dark Empire on Facebook, Nightmare Records, and iTunes.
Until next time,
Matt
Sunday, November 4, 2012
Sunday, October 7, 2012
Solo Dissection - The Cleansing Fires
Hello again everyone! Its October, the weather is starting to get cold, leaves are on the ground, and Halloween is around the corner, which is the perfect atmosphere to compliment the 14 minute epic "The Cleansing Fires" on Dark Empire's latest album, "From Refuge to Ruin." If you haven't checked it out, You can do so here:
At the end of this tune, there is a guitar duel between myself and vocalist Brian Larkin (Brian is also a fantastic guitarist, so it made sense to give him an opportunity to showcase those talents somewhere on the album. Live, our 2nd guitarist Christian Colabelli takes the tradeoffs with me). For this week's blog, I'll be going over the first of my solos in the duel. As always, I am playing a 7 string tuned down 1 whole step (ADGCFAD) and for the sake of proper harmonic context I will be referring to the notes in pitch, rather than position:
The Cleansing Fires First Solo Guitar Pro 6
The Cleansing Fires First Solo PDF
I wanted the solo to be fierce, but I'm also really conscious of having a flow, especially when given only 8 bars to take a solo, and not having something that sounds like a run-on sentence of shred licks. I figured the best way to achieve this was to start with a longer, exciting run that would last the first half of the solo, and break it up halfway through with some odd phrasing and finish off with one final descending run to punctuate the ending.
I start off with an ascending tapping run in D minor pentatonic. I'm moving through the scale using string skipping between the low E and D strings, and then the D and B, sliding up an octave in each repetition. This method of sliding into an out of octaves with pentatonics is something I do a lot, and really affords myself the ability to traverse large areas of the fretboard with relative ease. When I reach the high E string, I do something that I've nicknamed "tapping expansions," which is where I move from using 2 fingers on the left hand and one on the right into 3 fingers on the left and two on the right via a rolling pattern. After this, I slide down to the 12th fret and do a descending phrase in 3's down to the D string, before I turn it around and do another string skipping pattern back to the high E, ending with a bend at the 15th fret of the B. Much of this lick involves "floating" meaning, I'm not really paying attention to sticking to a particular rhythmic subdivision with the phrase, but instead I'm "cramming" notes to fit within a desired melodic rhythm of peaks and valleys, which is why you'll see lots of different rhythms used to notate this lick in the tab. This is simply an approximation, although I do often also write licks that purposefully are divided as quintuplets, septuplets, etc.
Next, I start a phrase in quarter note triplets using a D diminished 7th arpeggio. The nature of the riff I'm playing behind, which is primarily just a chugging low D5 chord, enables me to switch tonalities pretty easily since its so wide open, so I'm able to move to a more dissonant sound here because of that. I felt the combination of the diminished harmony with the 3 against two feel of the line created a sense of unease, further increased by bending up to the final note of the arpeggio from the 22nd fret. The last lick of the solo is based on an intervalic approach to a D half/whole diminished scale, in which I take a minor 3rd/whole step pattern down in a very erratic, disjointed sounding phrase. I really like creating different intervalic phrases based on notes from the diminished scale, because you can really get a wide variety of riff and lick ideas from it. This is a pretty interesting subject, so perhaps I'll create a lesson touching upon it for a future blog if enough people are interested.
Thats it for today. As always, feel free to email me if you'd be interested in setting up a free trial Skype webcam guitar lesson. And also, remember to Like Dark Empire on Facebook and check out our new album "From Refuge to Ruin" on Nightmare Records and iTunes.
See you next time,
Matt
At the end of this tune, there is a guitar duel between myself and vocalist Brian Larkin (Brian is also a fantastic guitarist, so it made sense to give him an opportunity to showcase those talents somewhere on the album. Live, our 2nd guitarist Christian Colabelli takes the tradeoffs with me). For this week's blog, I'll be going over the first of my solos in the duel. As always, I am playing a 7 string tuned down 1 whole step (ADGCFAD) and for the sake of proper harmonic context I will be referring to the notes in pitch, rather than position:
The Cleansing Fires First Solo Guitar Pro 6
The Cleansing Fires First Solo PDF
I wanted the solo to be fierce, but I'm also really conscious of having a flow, especially when given only 8 bars to take a solo, and not having something that sounds like a run-on sentence of shred licks. I figured the best way to achieve this was to start with a longer, exciting run that would last the first half of the solo, and break it up halfway through with some odd phrasing and finish off with one final descending run to punctuate the ending.
I start off with an ascending tapping run in D minor pentatonic. I'm moving through the scale using string skipping between the low E and D strings, and then the D and B, sliding up an octave in each repetition. This method of sliding into an out of octaves with pentatonics is something I do a lot, and really affords myself the ability to traverse large areas of the fretboard with relative ease. When I reach the high E string, I do something that I've nicknamed "tapping expansions," which is where I move from using 2 fingers on the left hand and one on the right into 3 fingers on the left and two on the right via a rolling pattern. After this, I slide down to the 12th fret and do a descending phrase in 3's down to the D string, before I turn it around and do another string skipping pattern back to the high E, ending with a bend at the 15th fret of the B. Much of this lick involves "floating" meaning, I'm not really paying attention to sticking to a particular rhythmic subdivision with the phrase, but instead I'm "cramming" notes to fit within a desired melodic rhythm of peaks and valleys, which is why you'll see lots of different rhythms used to notate this lick in the tab. This is simply an approximation, although I do often also write licks that purposefully are divided as quintuplets, septuplets, etc.
Next, I start a phrase in quarter note triplets using a D diminished 7th arpeggio. The nature of the riff I'm playing behind, which is primarily just a chugging low D5 chord, enables me to switch tonalities pretty easily since its so wide open, so I'm able to move to a more dissonant sound here because of that. I felt the combination of the diminished harmony with the 3 against two feel of the line created a sense of unease, further increased by bending up to the final note of the arpeggio from the 22nd fret. The last lick of the solo is based on an intervalic approach to a D half/whole diminished scale, in which I take a minor 3rd/whole step pattern down in a very erratic, disjointed sounding phrase. I really like creating different intervalic phrases based on notes from the diminished scale, because you can really get a wide variety of riff and lick ideas from it. This is a pretty interesting subject, so perhaps I'll create a lesson touching upon it for a future blog if enough people are interested.
Thats it for today. As always, feel free to email me if you'd be interested in setting up a free trial Skype webcam guitar lesson. And also, remember to Like Dark Empire on Facebook and check out our new album "From Refuge to Ruin" on Nightmare Records and iTunes.
See you next time,
Matt
Saturday, September 29, 2012
Arpeggios of Death - Connecting Shapes to Form Huge Lines
For this week, I thought I'd focus more on an actual lesson style post. I'm still not really quite sure what direction this blog is going to go in (thoughts on musical subjects with the occasional lesson or vice versa) so if anyone is out there reading, please let me know what interests you more!
I wanted to showcase how I string together arpeggio shapes to come up with some pretty scary runs. The sample for today will be a lick I've been using live to start off the solo from the Dark Empire song Humanity Dethroned, the title track from our 2nd album. The lick as a whole encompasses nearly 4 full octaves, so the effect is pretty dramatic. Before getting started, I should note that I tune down one whole step on a 7 string guitar (ADGCFAD). You don't need a 7 string to play this lick, but I will be referring to the notes as they sound in pitch, not by position.
Humanity Dethroned Lick Guitar Pro 6 File
Humanity Dethroned Lick PDF file
I start off with a 3 octave B minor tapped arpeggio that skips from the low E to the D and then the high E string, before returning back to the D and then up again to the high E. This type of pattern was inspired by Guthrie Govan and is a really great, versatile way of running through triad arpeggios that sounds similar to, but much more flowing than the typical sweep arpeggio shape. When doing these types of string skips its really important to slow things down and really check on your muting technique. I use my right hand palm to cover up strings lower than the one I'm currently playing and my left hand index finger to mute the higher strings. The notes between skips should sound fluid; try to avoid any "hiccups" or breaks in the line. Ultimately, this should sound like its all on one really long guitar string.
Next, I slide up a position, which puts me right in line to do a 2nd inversion B minor descending sweep shape, but instead of sweeping it, I just perform it with hammer-ons-from-nowhere. Again, really be sure to separate and articulate the notes as you descend down; you don't want to have any note bleed between strings. Taking it really slow is the key.
Once I've descended the 2nd inversion shape, I transition up again to do another string skipping tapping arpeggio shape, this time a Bmin7. Normally, I would tap the root on the high E string, but instead I "expand" my left hand into a wide-form shape so that I'm grabbing the root note (B) on the high E string with my 4th finger, so I can tap the minor 3rd (D) at the 24th fret. I would suggest practicing each of these 3 sections one at a time until you're confident with each individually, then connect them to form the entire Bm arpeggio run.
Next, I go straight into an A# diminished 7th arpeggio descending in groups of 3 notes, using a Greg Howe style "tap/pull/hammer" pattern. Next, I move this down an inversion and finish off with a descending B Harmonic minor scale. even though I am switching to a scalar 3 note per string pattern, I still tap the top note, because I find this allows for the smoothest transition out of (or into) the tapped arpeggio style licks.
Thats it for now. I hope you've learned something new from working on a lick such as this. If you're interested in setting up a free trial Skype webcam lesson with me, don't hesitate to Email me.
And of course, if you haven't, be sure to "like" the Dark Empire Facebook Page and check out our new album "From Refuge to Ruin" on Nightmare Records and iTunes.
Until next time!
Matt
I wanted to showcase how I string together arpeggio shapes to come up with some pretty scary runs. The sample for today will be a lick I've been using live to start off the solo from the Dark Empire song Humanity Dethroned, the title track from our 2nd album. The lick as a whole encompasses nearly 4 full octaves, so the effect is pretty dramatic. Before getting started, I should note that I tune down one whole step on a 7 string guitar (ADGCFAD). You don't need a 7 string to play this lick, but I will be referring to the notes as they sound in pitch, not by position.
Humanity Dethroned Lick Guitar Pro 6 File
Humanity Dethroned Lick PDF file
I start off with a 3 octave B minor tapped arpeggio that skips from the low E to the D and then the high E string, before returning back to the D and then up again to the high E. This type of pattern was inspired by Guthrie Govan and is a really great, versatile way of running through triad arpeggios that sounds similar to, but much more flowing than the typical sweep arpeggio shape. When doing these types of string skips its really important to slow things down and really check on your muting technique. I use my right hand palm to cover up strings lower than the one I'm currently playing and my left hand index finger to mute the higher strings. The notes between skips should sound fluid; try to avoid any "hiccups" or breaks in the line. Ultimately, this should sound like its all on one really long guitar string.
Next, I slide up a position, which puts me right in line to do a 2nd inversion B minor descending sweep shape, but instead of sweeping it, I just perform it with hammer-ons-from-nowhere. Again, really be sure to separate and articulate the notes as you descend down; you don't want to have any note bleed between strings. Taking it really slow is the key.
Once I've descended the 2nd inversion shape, I transition up again to do another string skipping tapping arpeggio shape, this time a Bmin7. Normally, I would tap the root on the high E string, but instead I "expand" my left hand into a wide-form shape so that I'm grabbing the root note (B) on the high E string with my 4th finger, so I can tap the minor 3rd (D) at the 24th fret. I would suggest practicing each of these 3 sections one at a time until you're confident with each individually, then connect them to form the entire Bm arpeggio run.
Next, I go straight into an A# diminished 7th arpeggio descending in groups of 3 notes, using a Greg Howe style "tap/pull/hammer" pattern. Next, I move this down an inversion and finish off with a descending B Harmonic minor scale. even though I am switching to a scalar 3 note per string pattern, I still tap the top note, because I find this allows for the smoothest transition out of (or into) the tapped arpeggio style licks.
Thats it for now. I hope you've learned something new from working on a lick such as this. If you're interested in setting up a free trial Skype webcam lesson with me, don't hesitate to Email me.
And of course, if you haven't, be sure to "like" the Dark Empire Facebook Page and check out our new album "From Refuge to Ruin" on Nightmare Records and iTunes.
Until next time!
Matt
Saturday, September 22, 2012
The value of music... plus the solo for "Lest Ye Be Judged"
Greetings guitar friends! Today I'm going to start off expressing my thoughts on the value of music and the value of musicians. Its pretty clear we live in a world today where it has become pretty common place to take the arts for granted, largely because of the internet and the immediate access we all have to it. I've known people to download dozens and dozens of albums from torrent sites without batting an eyelash.
Back in my senior year of high school, I was asked to present a debate for my government class to argue over. The Napster issue happened to be in the headlines, and being an issue that hit close to home (wanting to be a professional musician and all), I chose this for the topic and to argue against illegal downloading. My entire class argued against me, stating that downloading "helps musicians get noticed" and that "all their money is made from touring anyway" and "it won't hurt the industry." Flash forward 10 years later and, for better or worse, I was right and my classmates were wrong. The numbers prove it; illegal downloading has hurt the music industry.
But instead of berating those of you who may download illegally (perhaps you've even downloaded my music illegally! ;-) ), I'd instead like to talk about the value we place on music. Obviously, music is very dear to us. In the metal subculture in particular, the music represents more than just sound waves to its fan base. It's a way of life. It moves us, strengthens us, and without it, many of us might even lose a sense of ourselves.
Music has to come from somewhere, though. That "somewhere" is the mind of a skilled musician, and this is why for centuries they have been celebrated for their craft. But think for a moment what makes something valuable and how we express desire for that value. If the music of a band or artist is to be considered of worth, it needs to be treated as such. A precious gemstone is cherished because its beauty cannot be found in a simple pebble on the side of the road. If we are to show the artists that move us and speak to us that their music has worth and value, we cannot treat their work as that of a common rock. To reduce the beauty of music to a commodity that can simply be taken up and cast aside is to devalue that beauty. When you pay an artist for their work, you are telling them that their work is of value to you, that their creative output is that shiny gemstone in your CD case (or mp3 player or hard drive), and without it, your world would be a lesser place. When you treat an artists work as a commodity, you are telling them that their work is no more special to you than any of the other pieces of gravel out there that you couldn't care less about.
When an artist feels their work has no value, what incentive do they have to share their work with others?
We are already seeing the devaluation of music stretch beyond that of paying for recorded audio. There is downloading of recording software and audio plugins, and its slowly becoming more and more common for venues to try to get live music for free. As a guitar teacher, I can only imagine that there will come a time when I'll be told I should be teaching for free as well.
I also think that part of being an artist in this day is to find ways to work within the system. It's clear that music listeners have become accustomed now to being able to hear, or "sample" an artists work before paying for it. For this reason, I think more artists need to embrace streaming media as that means of "trying before you buy." Whether its YouTube, an artists own Soundcloud or Reverb Nation page, etc. streaming media allows the listener to hear your worth while still being able, as an artist, to offer them something more with a proper sale (downloadable content at higher quality... CDs are on their way out, but I'm sure more tangible collectable items and merchandise can be offered in conjunction with digital downloads in the future, as they are with CDs). For this reason, I'm 100% fine with my music being uploaded to YouTube. I say this because I am confident in what Dark Empire has to offer the metal world, and as long as fans are educated as to why it is important to show an artist that their work is valuable to them, I have nothing to fear from my music being available on streaming media.
So, the moral of the story, kids... if you like an artist, support them! Oh, and here's the PDF file and Guitar Pro file for the solo from the Dark Empire tune, Lest Ye be Judged, from our new album, From Refuge to Ruin:
Lest Ye Be Judged PDF
Lest Ye Be Judged Guitar Pro 6
Hey look, I'm giving this out for *free*!! ;-). Interested in learning more about how to compose your own solos and licks like this yourself? Email me at mmoliti@mac.com if you might be interested in webcam (Skype) guitar lessons!
And of course, Dark Empire's From Refuge to Ruin is available at these fine internet locations:
Direct from our label, Nightmare Records
Amazon.com
iTunes
Until next time!
Matt
Back in my senior year of high school, I was asked to present a debate for my government class to argue over. The Napster issue happened to be in the headlines, and being an issue that hit close to home (wanting to be a professional musician and all), I chose this for the topic and to argue against illegal downloading. My entire class argued against me, stating that downloading "helps musicians get noticed" and that "all their money is made from touring anyway" and "it won't hurt the industry." Flash forward 10 years later and, for better or worse, I was right and my classmates were wrong. The numbers prove it; illegal downloading has hurt the music industry.
But instead of berating those of you who may download illegally (perhaps you've even downloaded my music illegally! ;-) ), I'd instead like to talk about the value we place on music. Obviously, music is very dear to us. In the metal subculture in particular, the music represents more than just sound waves to its fan base. It's a way of life. It moves us, strengthens us, and without it, many of us might even lose a sense of ourselves.
Music has to come from somewhere, though. That "somewhere" is the mind of a skilled musician, and this is why for centuries they have been celebrated for their craft. But think for a moment what makes something valuable and how we express desire for that value. If the music of a band or artist is to be considered of worth, it needs to be treated as such. A precious gemstone is cherished because its beauty cannot be found in a simple pebble on the side of the road. If we are to show the artists that move us and speak to us that their music has worth and value, we cannot treat their work as that of a common rock. To reduce the beauty of music to a commodity that can simply be taken up and cast aside is to devalue that beauty. When you pay an artist for their work, you are telling them that their work is of value to you, that their creative output is that shiny gemstone in your CD case (or mp3 player or hard drive), and without it, your world would be a lesser place. When you treat an artists work as a commodity, you are telling them that their work is no more special to you than any of the other pieces of gravel out there that you couldn't care less about.
When an artist feels their work has no value, what incentive do they have to share their work with others?
We are already seeing the devaluation of music stretch beyond that of paying for recorded audio. There is downloading of recording software and audio plugins, and its slowly becoming more and more common for venues to try to get live music for free. As a guitar teacher, I can only imagine that there will come a time when I'll be told I should be teaching for free as well.
I also think that part of being an artist in this day is to find ways to work within the system. It's clear that music listeners have become accustomed now to being able to hear, or "sample" an artists work before paying for it. For this reason, I think more artists need to embrace streaming media as that means of "trying before you buy." Whether its YouTube, an artists own Soundcloud or Reverb Nation page, etc. streaming media allows the listener to hear your worth while still being able, as an artist, to offer them something more with a proper sale (downloadable content at higher quality... CDs are on their way out, but I'm sure more tangible collectable items and merchandise can be offered in conjunction with digital downloads in the future, as they are with CDs). For this reason, I'm 100% fine with my music being uploaded to YouTube. I say this because I am confident in what Dark Empire has to offer the metal world, and as long as fans are educated as to why it is important to show an artist that their work is valuable to them, I have nothing to fear from my music being available on streaming media.
So, the moral of the story, kids... if you like an artist, support them! Oh, and here's the PDF file and Guitar Pro file for the solo from the Dark Empire tune, Lest Ye be Judged, from our new album, From Refuge to Ruin:
Lest Ye Be Judged PDF
Lest Ye Be Judged Guitar Pro 6
Hey look, I'm giving this out for *free*!! ;-). Interested in learning more about how to compose your own solos and licks like this yourself? Email me at mmoliti@mac.com if you might be interested in webcam (Skype) guitar lessons!
And of course, Dark Empire's From Refuge to Ruin is available at these fine internet locations:
Direct from our label, Nightmare Records
Amazon.com
iTunes
Until next time!
Matt
Friday, September 21, 2012
First post!
Welcome to anyone reading to my very first post on my very first blog! I'm not really sure what to make for an introduction... Why did I make a blog? First, I figured this would be a good outlet to get some of my teaching information out to a wider audience. I'll try to post a short lesson or lick every so often, or if enough people are reading, any lesson requests someone might have. Remember, I'm available for private lessons on Skype, so be sure to shoot me an email at mmoliti@mac.com or skype message me at MetalMattMoliti for any inquiries on that.
The second thing I plan on using this blog for is for any music related musings, be it related to my band, Dark Empire, any other musical work I might be involved in, or just random thoughts I feel like sharing.
So thats about it then. Until next time!
The second thing I plan on using this blog for is for any music related musings, be it related to my band, Dark Empire, any other musical work I might be involved in, or just random thoughts I feel like sharing.
So thats about it then. Until next time!
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