LESSON > DIGGING DEEPER
up—meaning every pitch is at least one step
higher than the last—followed by a two-measure line that moves entirely downward
(Fig. 2). This exercise is especially tricky
on the guitar, because so often we’ll reach
the high string and still have another measure’s worth of notes to play. In this case,
the biggest challenge is pacing your line so
you move as much horizontally on a given
string as you do vertically. This strategy
helps you avoid getting stuck on the 1st
string in the home stretch.
So far, we’ve kept the rhythmic parameters
constant by playing only eighth-notes. Now,
it is time to add the eighth-note triplet to
the mix. One of the ironies of playing long,
impressive-sounding lines is that even if the
content is interesting, if the rhythmic delivery
is constant (da-da-da-da-da-da) it can be easy
for the listener to tune out. So rhythmic vari-
ety is essential. Let’s continue alternating lines
that go up with lines that go down, but this
time we’ll add at least one eighth-note triplet
per line. In Fig. 3, you can see an example of
an improvisation using this idea.
Fig. 2
44 &
AOE„Š7
oe#oeoe#oeoe#oe#oe#oeoe#oe#oeoeoe#oeoeoe#
oeoeoe oeoeoe#oe#oe oeoeoe#oeoe# oeoeoe
7
457
9 10 12 16
1710975 4
7
7
˙
45
46
67
45
4
76
74
750
Fig. 3
4 4 &### AOE„Š7
oeoeoeoeoeoeoeoe
3
oeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoe oeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoe oeoeoeoeoeoeoeoe
3
˙
245
47
67
4
6
579
5 9 10 121416 19 17 10 9 7
10 9 7 5
7
64
64
74
75
Fig. 4
4 4 &###
D‹ G7 B¨‹ EOE„Š7 E¨OE„Š7#11
oeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoeoenoeoeboeoeoeoe# oenoe#oenoenoeoenoeb oen oen oen oeb oeboeoenoenoeb
5
7
57
5 7 10 14
16 15
14 11 9
11 9 8
˙
7
8
5
6
5
8
6 13 10 8
6
875
6
8
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