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!

I honestly have no idea why it took me so long to discover Al DiMeola and Paco de Lucia. I guess it had to do with the tunnel vision I had when I first started learning the guitar - if it wasn't 80's metal or shred style guitar on electric I didn't want to have anything to do with it. But like most guitarists, I eventually matured and over the years I have discovered a limitless array of incredible guitar players who cover a wide variety of styles.

Though I had seen Al DiMeola's name on pretty much every guitar magazine I read when I was learning guitar, it wasn't until fairly recently that I discovered him. My introduction to DiMeola came in the form of a legendary live guitar CD titled Friday Night In San Francisco which featured DiMeola, Paco De Lucia and John McLaughlin. Having labored many years on developing pick technique, these guys immediately resonated with me. And beyond their obvious technical skills, they display a level of musiciansmanship that is quite envious.

Having listened to the live CD, I continued to seek out their music and eventually came across Al DiMeola's CD Elegant Gpysy on which I found "Mediterranean Sundance". Al, Paco and John play a variant of the song which is morphed with one of Paco's tunes, but I prefer the studio version.

Anyway, enough said. Let me show you the intro section of this great piece!

Tab for this tune is readily available online. Click here for a Power Tab version. To hear Al and Paco play it, either buy the Elegant Gypsy CD, or listen to it online using a streaming service such as Rhapsody. I have provided a clip of me playing the intro, which should give you a good sense for the intro even if you are inable to listen to the actual song.

If you listen to Al and Paco play, you'll note that Paco is panned left and Al is panned right. During the intro they are essentially playing the same parts, but with Paco adding flamenco embellishments. In addition, during certain riffs by Al, Paco is playing chord strums. The challenge when playing the intro as one guitarist is blending these chord strums and riffs in a seamless manner. You can be the judge of whether I blended them seamlessly!

Here are some comments on various parts of the intro (the measure numbers are based on the Power Tab file that is linked above):

• Measures 1 - 4: This is the classic intro riff of the tune, familiar to many guitarists! Al plays it somewhat straightforward, while Paco adds flamenco embellishments.
• Measures 9-11: In this section, Al plays lead lines while Paco strums chords. As you listen to my recording, you'll see how I combined the strums and the lead riffs.
• Measures 12-13: Here we have Al and Paco playing fairly fast scalar lines. You'll want to hone your alternate picking chops before tackling these riffs!

The other measures are essentially repeats of the above concepts.

I hope this great guitar classic provides inspiration for your own playing!

Later,

Brian Huether

It was not until fairly recently that I developed a strong interest in Gypsy Jazz. Having experimented a little with traditional jazz, I found that it just was not clicking, but when I stumbled upon gypsy jazz I felt an immediate connection. The great Minor Swing by Django Reinhardt is an icon in the Gypsy Jazz world and is a typical song that beginners learn. You may not know the song by name, but when you hear it, it may likely sound familiar.

Gypsy Jazz is normally played on a Gypsy Jazz guitar and Gypsy Jazz players normally employ a picking technique that is unique to Gypsy Jazz. In this lesson I do not play a Gypsy Jazz guitar, nor do I use the gypsy picking technique. Purists may look down upon such a rendering, much as classical purists would look down upon the performance of a classical piece on a steel string acoustic. I am not overly interested in purist viewpoints and believe that any musician should feel free to play any piece of music on any instrument. So grab whatever guitar you have and let us get to it!

Django recorded a number of versions of Minor Swing, each that starts out with a guitar and violin harmonizing the intro melody. The version that I played for this lesson is a combination of elements I liked from several renditions (such as the descending bass line which I adapted for guitar). I highly recommend listening to several renditions so that you too may mix and match what is most pleasing to your ears.

Many artists have recorded their own renditions of Minor Swing. On Rhapsody I count 65 available versions. The version by the Moreno & Marina Quartet is amazing! Click here to get a free 14-day trial of Rhapsody.

As you go through this guitar lesson, be sure to focus on the timing of the piece (rests, etc). Be sure to maintain a good swing feel. If you are like me and had not previously played a lot of swing feel music, you may find it takes a while for it to become natural. But once it becomes natural, you will find yourself playing with a new sense of creative phrasing!

Good luck.

Brian Huether

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 .

Good luck.

Brian Huether

In the previous lesson I went over the first 8 measures of the solo section in Super Colossal. In this guitar lesson I will go over the remainder. The remainder of the solo has some elements you have already seen in the first 8 measures - A# Pentatonic Minor lines played over an A#5 chord. Just like we saw in the first half of the solo, the second half starts off with 4 measures of A#5 chords. This time, instead of progressing to C#5, the progression switches to D#5 for 2 measures and G#5 for 2 measures. In total, the chord progression for the solo section is

| A#5 A#5 A#5 A#5 | A#5 A#5 A#5 A#5 | A#5 A#5 A#5 A#5 | A#5 A#5 A#5 A#5 |
| C#5 C#5 C#5 C#5 | C#5 C#5 C#5 C#5 | C#5 C#5 C#5 C#5 | C#5 C#5 C#5 C#5 |
| A#5 A#5 A#5 A#5 | A#5 A#5 A#5 A#5 | A#5 A#5 A#5 A#5 | A#5 A#5 A#5 A#5 |
| D#5 D#5 D#5 D#5 | D#5 D#5 D#5 D#5 | G#5 G#5 G#5 G#5 | G#5 G#5 G#5 G#5 |

Above you see the tab fo the final 8 measures of the solo. The tab for this piece is readily available online. The tab I used was taken from a PowerTab file found here. The second half is relatively easy to play technically, as was the case with the first half.Note: The audio file contains the full solo - the second half starts at around 0:24.

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.

Good luck.

Brian Huether

I spend so much time learning intricate pieces on the acoustic that I sometimes lose sight of how beautiful simplicity can be. I have always been mesmerized by the dreamy sounding acoustic guitar in Poles Apart. I tried emulating it once on my acoustic to no avail. But then I looked up the tab and saw that it is played in a DAGDAD tuning. What a revelation! This tuning certainly lends itself to playing open strings and Poles Apart is full of sweet sounding, ringing, open notes.

Above is the tab for the opening measures. There is not much more to the song throughout except for the bizarre interlude in the middle. I took this excerpt from the powertab file found here. However, I modified it a little based on other versions I saw.

I play the piece entirely with alternate picking and I play with somewhat of a swing feel. Also, I don't play everything note for note. What is most important is focusing on the accented notes and just giving it a feel that is compatible with the song. You may notice that some of the classical pieces we have gone over involve similar picking patterns! So for some of you, this piece will be a breeze to play pick style!

In my recording, I threw in the bass notes that bridge the intro with the verse section - don't be confused by what you see in the tab and what I played.

If you have the excellent Rhapsody service, you can readily find this song.

Click here to get a free 14-day trial of Rhapsody

Later,

Brian

In a previous guitar lesson, I went over the intro to another great song from Friday Night in San Francisco - Mediterranean Sundance. I have revisited Friday Night in San Francisco as of late and hearing the blazing intro riff to Fravo Rasgado inspired me to write a quick guitar lesson. Many of my lessons are tough to digest in a single sitting, and so this guitar lesson is a refreshing change since it is short and sweet. And let's face it - the riff is pretty damn cool!

Above is the tab. As I said - it is short and sweet. Essentially, you just play the same picking pattern across all 6 strings. You will need to have excellent alternate picking chops to nail this riff up to tempo (about 152 BPM). So just start nice and easy until you work it up to blazing speed!

Later,

Brian

I remember the moment I decided to play guitar. It was after hearing a Dokken song on MTV. Dokken and other so called glam bands got a lot of criticism towards the late 80's/early 90's, but when it comes to blazing, virtuoso rock guitarists, no music era comes close. Dokken's George Lynch was certainly one of the top 80s era guitarists and most of his solos serve as a great lesson in technique and virtuosity.

In this guitar lesson, we look at George Lynch's solo section in Into The Fire.

Above is the tab for this solo. You can find the complete tab online. Just do a google search on "Dokken Into The Fire Tab". I used tab that I found online as the basis for the tab you see above, but I modified it a bit to suit my playing. It is not note for note, but it is close enough for you to get the idea.

There are a couple tough measures of note: In measures 7 and 8, there is an ascending sextuplet pattern that can be played either using legato or alternate picking. I chose alternate picking to get a more agressive sound. In measures 11 and 12, there is again a technical section that can be played using legato or alternate picking. Once again, I chose alternate picking for these measures to continue the agressive sound.

I hope you enjoy learning this great solo!

Later,

Brian

Last time we looked at George Lynch's solo in Into The Fire. His playing in Into The Fire featured a series of connected phrases that made for a very compelling solo. His playing in In My Dreams features a similar buildup of phrases that take you to a logical conclusion. This is one of George Lynch's hallmarks - the ability to form solos with a series of phrases that all seem to be 'talking' to one another.

Above is the tab for this solo. You can find the complete tab online. Just do a google search on "Dokken In My Dreams". I used tab that I found online as the basis for the tab you see above, but I modified it a bit to suit my playing. It is not note for note, but it is close enough for you to get the idea. Most notably, I play a much different phrase in the 7th and 8th measures.

I personally find the most difficult parts of this solo to be the execution of the artifical harmonics. I highly recommend listening to the studio recording of the song to hear the way George Lynch intersperses the solo with harmonics. You can hear the song on Rhapsody.

I hope you enjoy learning yet another great George Lynch solo!

Later,

Brian

In the previous George Lynch lessons we looked at some solos that featured a variety of techniques. This time we will look at one of my favorite Lynch solos - Sleepless Nights. In Sleepless Nights, Lynch sticks to a more basic style, relying mostly on the Blues Scale, but through vibrato and harmonics he adds a whole new dimension to this seemingly simple solo.

It gets tiring tabbing these solos out, especially since the Powertab files are easily found. You can find the complete tab online - click here. I used the tab from this link but I modified it a bit to suit my playing.

I personally find the most difficult parts of this solo to be the execution of the artifical harmonics. I highly recommend listening to the studio recording of the song to hear the way George Lynch intersperses the solo with harmonics. You can hear the song on Rhapsody.

I hope you enjoy learning yet another great George Lynch solo!

Later,

Brian

Through These Eyes features a variety of techniques. We have ultra precise artificial harmonics (which I just can't nail with any consistency), we have some nice rock pentatonic lines, we have blazing scalar runs, we have legato runs and we have tapping. All blended together to form a very melodic, memorable solo.

You can find the complete tab online - click here. I used the tab from this link but as usual I modified it a bit to suit my playing. So as you listen to my recording don't expect completely note for note.

Like many Lynch solos, I personally find the most difficult parts of this solo to be the execution of the artifical harmonics. I highly recommend listening to the studio recording of the song to hear the way George Lynch uses screaming harmonics. You can hear the song on Rhapsody.

I hope you enjoy learning yet another great George Lynch solo!

Later,

Brian

Heaven Sent is one of many songs from Dokken's Back for the Attack CD that features mind-blowing guitar playing. There is no shortage of techniques being used in this solo. To pull it off you need to have fairly well rounded technique.

You can find the complete tab online - click here. I used the tab from this link but I disagreed with some of tab. If you look at the tab from the link, you will see that measures 10-12 involve tapping. I do not believe Lynch is tapping there and I think it sounds way better to use legato. So as you listen to my recording take note of those measures and compare to Lynch's playing on the studio version. I think you'll agree there is no tapping going on.

From measure 9 on is where Lynch goes into overdrive. In these measures there are a flurry of notes played legato style and at the very end it switches to strict alternate picking - this concluding riff is a scorcher and you will need to have your alternate picking chops in fine working order.

I have said it before - I personally find the most difficult parts of this and many Lynch solos to be the execution of the artifical harmonics. I highly recommend listening to the studio recording of the song to hear the way George Lynch uses screaming harmonics. You can hear the song on Rhapsody.

I hope you enjoy learning yet another great George Lynch solo!

Later,

Brian