Whether you are a beginner or a seasoned pro, chances are you play along to your favorite guitar players from time time. It is a great way to further our guitar skills and often opens us up to fresh new ideas that we may have otherwise have never thought of. In this section, I hope to show you the limitless creativity that some great guitar players have displayed and hopefully it will inspire you to greatness!
Joe Satriani's music offers guitar players a nearly endless examination into
the amazing things that can be done on the guitar. Joe's music ranges from the
simple to the complex with everything in between. Super Colossal is
a perfect example of how to create great music based on simplicity. In this
song, Joe uses a simple repeating rhythm section over which he plays a very
catchy melody. Following a couple repeats of the melody, he breaks into a superb
solo section over a simple chord progression. The first 4 measures feature an
A#5 chord over which he plays some nice pentatonic lines in A# Minor Pentatonic.
The chord progression then switches to C#5 at which his lines switch to C# Minor
Pentatonic.
Notice how the simple chord progression lends itself nicely to an improvisational
style. In fact, as you go through this lesson, feel free to embellish on the
solo - make it your own.
Above you see the tab fo the first 8 measures of the solo. I will cover the
remainder in a future lesson. The tab for this piece is readily available online.
The tab I used was taken from a PowerTab file found here.
I modified measures 48 and 49 to shift the notes down a string since I find
the lines to sound better on the B and G strings as opposed to the E and B strings
as originally tabbed. Technically, this is not a difficult solo to execute.
Just focus on playing the pentatonic lines fluidly and really get into the tune!
You will not sound convincing unless there is a sense of genuineness. I guess
I should take a listen to my own recording and make sure I am practicing what
I preach! (Note: I used backing tracks that I found online after some google
searching - it appears some die hard Satriani fan went to rather great lengths
to create some very usable tracks!)
You will certainly want to listen to Satriani's version of this piece. If you do not have his latest CD, you can listen to it through Rhapsody.
Click here for Rhapsody .
Lessons
