GUEST COLUMNIST:

ANDY GARRETT

One-Note-Per-String Over and Out


Welcome to my seventh column at the world's greatest guitar site, “Chops From Hell”!!!! Watch for my first CFH Advanced Shred Instructional CD-ROM coming out, soon!!!!

Today, I would like to discuss a scale approach that I like to use a lot called “One-note-per-string”. You have already heard this for years in arpeggios, but not so much in regular lead playing with scales. Those of you who are familiar with the late Shawn Lane and Australia's Brett Garsed have heard this style in a huge part of their playing. However, where they would tend to use hybrid-picking (pick and fingers), I tend to use my own legato-picking approach.

Lick #1 starts out with a regular modal style one-note-per-string ascending/descending riff, and then does a little position shift back and forth. This shows you how you could move in and out of this lick to keep it going up or down the neck. Pay close attention to my picking strokes and try to make the picked notes blend evenly with the non-picked notes to create smooth legato.


Lick #2 shows you another diagonal one-note-per-string approach that I like to use a lot to get people's attention if I am soloing because it twist's your ear a little bit when you first hear it. It opens up a lot of possibilities around the neck; just experiment with it and you'll see what I mean. Once again, the picking strokes are the whole key to making this work the way I do it. Feel free to use hybrid-picking if you are more comfortable with that.


Email me with any questions you have about my playing or any guitar related subjects at all. I love to discuss different techniques.

Andy Garrett (nicknamed “StringMaster” by his friends) has played guitar and bass for 30 years, performed 100's of shows, and has worked professionally testing strings for Dean Markley/American Winding Company. He continues to release his instrumental guitar music independently through his own label “GBM Records” in Ocala, Florida; and is putting the finishing touches on material for his first instructional CD-ROM explaining his advanced shred techniques. You can contact Andy by email at pag1111@prodigy.net and also download and burn your own CD-R of his free MP3 shred demos at http://www.soundclick.com/bands/9/andygarrettmusic.htm and music.download.com. Also, check out Andy's current official homepage at http://members.tripod.com/~Andrew_Garrett.