Slash "Sweet child of mine" guitar lesson
-> Go to part 2
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It is hard to say something about this solo that has not already been mentioned. It contains everything you can expect from a good solo, melody, dynamics, orgininal licks/phrasing, speed, unpredictability and last but not least: fantastic sound and tone. If you nail some of the licks from this solo, you will undoubtedly gain a lot as a guitarist, no matter your level. Analysed in this lesson is the first half of the solo.
Important note: Slash tunes down to Eb in the song, but the backing track for this video is raised a half step instead, this way we do not have to tune down. This also means that if you want to play with the original song you will have to tune down your guitar.
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| Scale and chord theory |
| The backing chords are: | Em | C | B7 | Am | |
The key being E minor, Slash mainly plays E minor scale (= aeolian mode ), E-F#-G- A-B-C-D. In the beginning, as well as in the fast section, Slash also relies on E harmonic minor (E-F#-G-A-B-C-D#) for his licks. If you are unsure which note to reach to when bending, just pick the next note in the scale, as a rule of thumb. |
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The phrasing of these harmonic minor licks are interesting, notice how fluidly Slash plays them on the original recording. Be careful with the second half here, listen many times to get the rhythm tight:
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e|-17b--15-14h15p14-----15-14h15p14-------|
b|------------------17--------------17-16-|
g|----------------------------------------|
d|----------------------------------------|
a|----------------------------------------|
e|----------------------------------------|
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The next challenge is to get these pre bends ("pb") up to tempo. Both are whole step (= two frets) pre bends. If you are having problems "feeling" the right pitch of the pre bends, the remedy is doing them over and over until you get a feel for the string pressure:
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e|--12-14-----------------------------|
b|--------pb15r-12--------------------|
g|-----------------pb14r-12-11h12-----|
d|--------------------------------14--|
a|------------------------------------|
e|------------------------------------|
pb = pre bend
r = release |
Next comes the first and only triplet phrase in the solo, making a nice contrast:
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e|---------------------------------------|
b|----------13-12h13p12\10-13b--13-12-12-|
g|-11-12-14------------------------------|
d|---------------------------------------|
a|---------------------------------------|
e|---------------------------------------|
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This unpredictable, yet strong lick, can be used in any scale or key. Learn it and make it your own:
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e|----------15br-----------|
b|-12br------------7br-----|
g|------14-------------9-9-|
d|-------------------------|
a|-------------------------|
e|-------------------------|
br = first bend, then release |
Continue here
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