Shredded Metal

If you find yourself playing scales and licks in the same position all the time, using quick slides between frets is a great way to develop a more linear style of soloing – as opposed to just going up and down in ‘boxes’. For this column, I’d like to show you a few shred-style licks to demonstrate this idea.

EXERCISE #1

This is a lick in the key of E minor, which begins with a descending sequence of ‘fours’ on the first string. Using the E natural minor scale, the first three notes are played with fingers four, two and one (frets 19, 17, and 15 respectively). However, the last note of the pattern is achieved by sliding your first finger down a fret (from 15 to 14, in this case). This moves you into a new position on the fretboard, and the sequence then continues from the 17th fret. As you move down the string (using the most appropriate or comfortable fingering), the basic finger pattern will be: three notes/ slide, three notes/slide, and so on. Upon reaching the fifth position, the lick concludes by descending through the E harmonic minor scale – this is executed once again via first-finger slides (on the second and fourth strings). Personally, I prefer to play these types of licks using alternate picking, so I’ve notated it as such. However, you could also play the same lick in a legato style using pull-offs and hammer-ons. You could even use a combination of the two.

EXERCISE #2

To illustrate my previous point, this lick is similar to Exercise #1, except it’s in the key of A minor and played using hammer-ons and pull-offs. Starting once again with a descending ‘fours’ sequence using the natural minor on the first string, the run then switches to the harmonic minor and moves across the strings, finishing on the sixth string root note. As you can see, the fast first-finger legato slides allow for easy and seamless movement between different positions, so you can cover a wide range of the fretboard in the one lick.

EXERCISE #3

This technique can also be used for ascending passages, as demonstrated here in C# minor. On the recordings – which you can hear on australianguitarmag.com.au – I play this lick with alternate picking, and then with hammer-ons and pull-offs (so you can hear the difference). As such, I’ve left off the picking and legato notations. Practise all of these licks slow at first, making sure to keep the rhythm even and steady when performing the slides. You can then aim to gradually increase the speed.

Using quick slides to change positions is a technique that’s not just suitable for shred and heavy metal guitar soloing. For example, if you’re a rock or blues player, you could apply the same concept to a minor pentatonic or blues scale. It’s a great way to bust out of a rut!