Phrasing and Legato Lesson
One of my favorite scales is the whole-tone scale. It can sound mysterious, alien, or frightening on its own, or you can interject some whole-tone licks into something more run-of-the-mill (pentatonics, major modes) to make your playing more interesting. Comprised of merely 6 notes, there is only one interval used (yep, whole-tones). Because of this, there are only two whole-tone scales; between the two of them, they contain all twelve notes found in Western music. Today we will be using the E whole-tone scale (or you could call it the F#, G#, A#, C, or D whole-tone scale). Now, let’s take a look at the licks…
Note: You might notice that the second measure runs over by a few 16th notes of time; it was just easier for me to save space that way. If you listen to the example, all shall be clear.
Measure one contains some formidable-looking rhythmic activity, but it is easier to play than it appears. Just listen to the example while learning this lesson until you have the timing right. Playing interesting and unusual rhythms like these will make your lines sound more unique and, well, cool. If you don’t want your audience falling asleep, you’d better develop some worthy phrases. I’ll go into greater detail on phrasing in the future…
In the second measure, there is a fairly difficult and fast run, utilizing all four fingers of the left hand and the middle and ring fingers on the right. To add to the destruction, we’ll be skipping strings very quickly. Let’s break it down…
Starting on the D string (note D, 12th fret), begin the run with a hammer-on with the index finger of the left hand; some people call this a “hammer-on from nowhere”. Continue hammering the middle, ring, and pinky fingers, then tap with your right hand middle finger. At this point, you’ll skip the G string and hammer your index finger again on the B string (note C, 13th fret). The run continues as it did on the D string, but this time you’ll right hand tap with your ring finger. The fingering for the G string is identical to D, and high E is identical to B, except you’ll tap D (22nd fret) with the middle finger and the E (24th fret) with your ring finger. For the final F# (bent 24th fret high E), quickly slide your left hand middle finger to the position. That’s it, you’ve completed the phrase! When you play it up to tempo, you may get some unwanted, extraneous noise; make sure you’re muting effectively with both left and right hands. Furthermore, pay extra attention to your left hand fingering; make sure the notes are effectively sounding, and you aren’t just blazing past them.