Shred
Licks
By
Mike Campese
This
lesson we are going to learn some shred licks. The licks I’m going
to show you will be great for your technique. Remember to alternate
pick these examples. Lets get started……
Ex.1 is a
linear style lick in Em (E,F#,G,A,B,C,D). It’s great for your
alternate picking and it’s challenging to play cleanly. The lick
uses strict 16th note triplets and incorporates a melodic phrase
moving through the scale across the neck very quickly. Make sure
you follow the fingerings on this one. Start very slow and precise
and build up speed without missing notes.
Ex.2. Another
great challenging picking lick, with string skipping. This is
from my "Total Freedom" CD, from a track called "Freedom",which
is full of fast passages like this one. Also in Em, like Ex.1.
Also, there is a classical, violin type phrase moving through
the scale in 16th note triplets. For the first bar and a half
we are playing only on the E and B strings, then we jump from
the E to the G. Make sure your left and right hands are in sync
or else it will sound sloppy – you should pull out your metronome
or drum machine for this one. Try moving this idea on other strings
and in other scales.
Ex.3 is an
excert from a song called "Prelude" from my "Vibe"
CD. This example uses the B Harmonic minor scale (B,C#,D,E,F#,G,A#).
This lick has a very Classical sound to it. Bar one kicks off
with a B minor arpeggio (B,D,F#), I’m using the sweep picking
technique to play this arpeggio. Hammer the first two notes B,and
D and rake across the strings with all down strokes, except the
high B is played with an upstroke. Make sure you lift off each
finger as you ascend up the arpeggio and you must not let the
notes run together like a chord. This lick also incorporates a
4 note scale sequence and pedal points common in Classical music.
Remember, don’t forget to follow the fingerings for this.
Ex.4 Here
we have a crazy string skipping legato lick, with some wide left
hand stretches. Be carefull of your left hand on this one. The
phrase consists entirely of Hammer-ons and pull-offs. Just pick
each string once and let your left hand do all the work. Basically,
it’s just 2 arpeggios played together, Em13th without the 9th
and the 11th (E,G,B,C#D,) and Fdim7th (F,Ab,B,D). Experiment moving
this one around the neck.
OK, this wraps
up our lesson! If you have any questions, feel free to email me
at mike@mikecampese.com.
