Mason Hill – Againstthewall

Against The Wall

Over five years since their self-titled EP dropped, and after a career path temporarily stalled by an unsuccessful record deal, a “quiet 2019” and the global pandemic, Scottish rockers Mason Hill look set to finally hit the big time, as their debut full-length album recently hit number 1 in the UK rock chart. Citing acts like Alter Bridge, Shinedown and Black Stone Cherry as inspiration, the band wear their influences on their collective sleeves – and we’re looking at the album title track here, though, in a change to our riff format, we’re taking a look at guitarist James Bird’s solo.

It’s a typically melodic rock offering played in drop B (B F# B E G# C#) and with a dash of an octave-up pitch shifter effect for a contemporary tone. Be sure to follow our slowed-down performance in the video on your Guitar Skills CD for a clearer idea of how the solo is played.

CHEAT SHEET…

Appears at: 2:20-2:35

Tempo: 126 bpm

Eb

Key/scale: natural minor scale Main techniques: Slides, position shifts, vibrato

WHATYOUWILLLEARN Drop B tuning Aeolian mode Slides

Most of James Bird’s solo takes place between the Eb 14th and 17th frets in the natural minor scale. Some guitarists find it easier ‘think pentatonic’ and mentally add in the extra notes – it’s worth learning the scale shape if you can though. Note Eb that the 15th fret G (shown in green) is from major, not minor, so it injects a temporary moment of brightness. Think how much brighter a major chord is compared to a minor one – this note has the exact same effect. Finally, if you want to play along to the solo in standard tuning, simply play three frets lower down the neck.