Reticulated Python Eats Bear
BY PAUL GILBERT
Paul Gilbert purposefully began playing gui-
tar at age 9, formed the guitar-driven bands
Racer X and Mr. Big, and then accidentally
had a No. 1 hit with an acoustic song called
“To Be with You.” Paul began teaching at
GIT at the age of 18, has released countless
albums and guitar instructional DVDs, and
will remembered as “the guy who got the drill
stuck in his hair.” For more information, visit
paulgilbert.com
CHOPS: Intermediate
THEORY: Intermediate
LESSON OVERVIEW:
• Break down larger arpeggios
into easily digestible chunks.
• Combine arpeggios to create
longer phrases.
• Digest licks with the ferociousness of a python.
scramble for my small mouthfuls. But if I’m
willing to do it, I can build an arpeggio of
just about any size.
Our first bite, shown as Bite 1, is thankfully a small one. It’s a simple A minor triad
lick comprising just three notes. Your left
hand is going to gobble this right down.
But let’s not ignore the right hand. The
secret is to not pick every note. Let me
rephrase that in a positive and more specific way. Pick the first note. Do not pick
the second note. Pick the third note. Your
choice of upstrokes and downstrokes are
going to be crucial, as this lick gets larger.
We will use an upstroke for the E and a
downstroke for the A. Loop the lick around
a few times to get the hang of it.
This is a good time to remember that we
are not pythons and that we should spend
some time digesting. How to do it? Start
tapping your foot and playing along. I suggest a 16th-note feel. As you loop the lick,
make sure to observe the small rest every
time. In Bite 2, we’ll extend this idea over
three octaves.
I’m sure you’ve noticed that the position shifting and string jumping is the
challenge for this lick. I want to encourage
you first by saying that the position shifts
are easy if you think about them the right
way. Your hand is shifting from the 8th to
the 5th to the 3rd position. For a moment,
try to forget that you’re playing single
notes and just think of moving power
& Bite 1
™™ ™™
4
4
oeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeJ ‰ OE
™
™˙
12
8
10
12 8
10
12 8
10
™
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≤≥≤≥≤≥
Click here to hear
sound clips of these
examples and download
an exclusive etude
Bite 2
™ ™
44 &
oeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoe
OE
™™
It was only a small bear—about 50 pounds—but a bear nonetheless. This
is just one more reason to keep your eyes
open if you happen to be in the jungles
of Borneo. The digestion process is what
interests me as a guitarist: Can I bite off
a giant arpeggio and digest it in one bear-sized piece? Or will I get better results from
dividing up the arpeggio into smaller segments I can digest gradually over time?
There is something appealing about
the former. I certainly admire the snake as
it lazily lounges for 10 weeks with a large
lump in its middle and not a care in the
world. On the other hand, there are those
of us who scramble and search daily for
small mouthfuls of sustenance.
What I’ve discovered from playing and
teaching is that a bear-sized arpeggio is
nearly impossible to digest in one mighty
bite. The python can do it. I can’t. I must
™
™˙
12
8
10
95
7
73
5
™
™
Bite 3
™ ™
44 &
oe™
oe ‰ oej Ó
™™
™
™˙
12
9
™
™
7
Bite 4
™ ™
44 &
oeoeoe
oeoeoeoeoeoej
‰
OE
™™
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≥≤ ≥
5
37
5
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37
5
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