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Jul 16 2015 |
One String Scale Practice Part 1By: Scott Gilliam Posted in: Rock Guitar Lessons One of the benefits of the guitar is the ability to see/memorize patterns and shapes for scales and chords. The downfall of patternistic playing is just that, at times it can sound mechanical and predictable. Visual recognition is of course part and parcel of learning the instrument and should be embraced, but we have to be careful about falling into musical ruts, or worse yet, repeating ourselves in our solos, improvisations, compositions, etc.. A wonderful and fun way to open your ears to new melodic possibilities is playing on one string at a time.
I became aware of this in my younger years as a hard rock guitarist through the teachings of Joe Satriani. Years later, after developing an interest in jazz, I encountered a book called The Advancing Guitarist by Mick Goodrick. This is a legendary tome in jazz guitar circles and I urge you to seek it out. Mr Goodrick is a proponent of single string studies and it is a challenging and creative way to practice and play. You can even utilize your 6th or 5th string as a drone to aid in this type of study if you don’t have a looper handy, or better yet someone to accompany you.
Ex.1 is an Emin pentatonic scale on the 1st stg. The scale is spelled 1-b3-4-5-b7. How many times have we all played the the 1st pos min pentatonic scale? On one string we are confronted with having to think of the notes and it’s also easy to see/hear the intervals between the notes. They are starting from E – min 3rd, maj 2nd, maj 2nd, min 3rd, and maj 2nd. This can be done on every string and in all 12 keys for any scale.
 Ex.2 is an E harmonic minor scale played on the first stg (E). The scale is spelled 1 -2- b3- 4 -5- b6- 7. Notice the leading tone D#, a half step below the E on the 11th fret. This is the tension that gives this scale it’s mojo, target it often to bring out the sound of harmonic minor.
 Ex.3 is an Yngwie Malmsteen inspired line on the high E stg. It’s a triplet based lick and great for working on your right hand because there are no stgs to cross over, which is always an obstacle in achieving accuracy in the picking hand. There is a bit of a stretch from the C to the D#, it is the tricky part of this run because you will most likely be using your 2nd and 4th finger respectively for those two notes. To build up speed, break the line up into small fragments and work with a metronome. Add some aggressive vibrato on that bend at the end of the lick with your whammy bar (if you have one) to bring out your inner Malmsteen!
 Ex.4 is a A Mixolydian scale played on the 3rd stg. I chose to start on the A but you could also start on the open G which is part of the scale. This scale or mode is spelled 1-2-3-4-5-6-b7.
 Ex.5 is a lick in the style of The Allman Bros. Played all on the 3rd stg using the mixolydian mode, this lick utilizes some eighth and quarter note triplets reminiscent of Dicky Bett’s classic tune “Jessica”. I notated some legato in the tab which is great when you are playing on one stg.
 This is the first part of a two part lesson. In my next installment, I am going to cover some inventive ways to practice modes one string at a time, as well as some advanced techniques utilizing intervallic approaches to soloing. I really enjoy playing and practicing on one string. It’s great for testing your ears and seeing how well you know your scales without the aid of internalized fingerings. Best of all, you will play differently and in all likelihood break through some plateau’s. Until next time!
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