PREMIERCLINIC
ROCK
Trey Alexander’s QuantumRock
Hell Struggle Solo
This month’s lesson builds on Trey’s rhythm part from our July
issue. “Hell Struggle” features sweep picking, pentatonic lines and
even a little alternate picking. Displaying influences such as Dream
Theater and Yngwie Malmsteen, take your time working through
the riffs here until you digest the feel. Listen to them, as well as
Eric Johnson, Guthrie Govan and Greg Howe.
The solo starts off with a B minor pentatonic that’s repeated, then
goes into a B minor arpeggio, only we use sweep picking – picking
up the neck for the first lick, down for the second. The next passage
is a minor scale which starts at the 19th fret and remains on the E
string all the way down. This is where the Yngwie influence really
shows through. This passage finishes off back at the B minor pentatonic position and features a pinch harmonic on the B at the end.
The 9th measure ushers in the theme of the solo relying on a
minor melody, which showcases a cool slide at the 22nd fret before
repeating three times – old-school Strat guys are out of luck here!
Start slow and gradually increase the speed; there are a lot of notes
here. The fourth pass moves on to measure 11, which starts off the
same as the previous passage, but finishes differently, delivering
the player back to the B minor pentatonic position.
Work on your alternate picking and gradually speed up the licks
until you feel relaxed and comfortable playing them. Have some
fun with these lines and concepts, use them in your own playing
and rock it out!
