Why I Suck.. Series 5, Episode 1 - Satchel (Steel Panther)!

 January sucks. All the fun of winter without Christmas to look forward to, it goes on forever and everyone's skint. But seeing as hibernation isn't an option, you've got to make the best of it – and what better way than glorying in the ridiculous excesses of The Greatest 1980s Hair Metal Band Ever – Steel Panther!

If you're unfamiliar with The Pantheon Of Panther, we're talking massive riffs, massive solos, massive hair, completely over the top, gleefully absurd sexist lyrics.. and it works because we're all in on the joke. It's what we all imagine life on the Sunset Strip in 1987 would have been like, where life was one long non-stop hedonistc party without there ever being a hangover. It's completely daft and utterly glorious because of it!

However, although the personas the band adopt might be a joke, their musicianship most certainly is not, and Satchel (nee Russell John Parrish) is one HELL of a guitar player! So as is customary, a brief potted history and I advise the reader to use this opportunity to limber up, because you're going to need it!

If Steel Panther lore is to be believed, the band originally formed in the early 80s and pioneered the combination of bandanas, Spandex and men wearing makeup that would define an era – and their success would result in them spending the 90s and 00s high (presumably for tax reasons) before finally returning to earth long enough to record their first album, 2009's “Feel The Steel”, and I would dearly love that story to be true.

Further investigation reveals, however, that Parrish graduated the legendary Los Angeles Guitar Institute Of Technology in 1989 and worked there as an instructor and became good friends with the equally legendary Paul Gilbert, frequently house sitting for him when Pablo was out on tour and his first break seems to have come in 1992 when he was introduced to ex-Judas Priest singer Rob Halford and joined his nascent band Fight, recording the War Of Words album in 1993. After Fight, the next major event came in 2002, forming a Van Halen tribute called The Atomic Punks, which introduced him to Ralph Saenz (Michael Starr in Steel Panther), whilst also playing with his own band The Thornbirds which featured Darren Leader on drums who would become Steel Panthers' Stix Zadinia. It was also around this time the Parrish was playing regularly in the musical Rockalypse Now by Dean Cameron (occasional contributing songwriter for Steel Panther). Saenz & Parrish filmed this advert for Discover:

as fictional 80's glam metal band Danger Kitty, and ths seems to have been the catalyst for Steel Panther as the two started the glam metal band “Metal Shop”, soon changing their name to “Metal Skool” and drawing in Steel Panther bass player Travis Haley and his old mate Darren Leader on the drums. The Panther was born. The world drew breath.

Right, I hope you're good and warmed up, because it's time to get to the licks! Parrish cites Yngwie Malmsteen, Eddie Van Halen, RitchieBlackmore, Tony Iommi and Blue Oyster Cult's Buck Dharma as his main influences so you know we are dealing with one SERIOUS guitar player. With all of these examples, be advised to start slowly and focus ontne and clarity to begin with, let the speed come naturally.. but you knew that, right?

We'll jump in with the pedaltone string skipped outro from the solo to “Asian Hooker” (the intro was in a recent One Minute Lick video) – here Satchel outlines the underlying chords of Fm (adding a b2), Am (add2), D(add2) G(add2), C(Add2) and F#(add2) before launching into a tapped B arpeggio figure played against the open B string, outlining B, Bmaj7 and then weirdly a Baddb6 before resolving to the F# note over the E minor chord, giving an Em9 harmony. This harks back to the influence of one Paul Gilbert...

The second example is from “The Shocker” featuring C# Dorian mode with Satchel extending the lateral range of the lick by adding a tapped root note on top of the phrase, which on the final repetition gets slid up to E, before a blistering run down the C# blues scale.

The humble blues scale is most definitely a favourite of Satchel's, as this third example from “Death To All But Metal” shows – check out the soaring minor 3^rd bend that starts it off and the wide interval jump from that note (F) to the root A, and notice how Satchel moves the rhythmic and fingering pattern down across the strings, any “out” notes being swallowed up by his blistering speed.

The final example shows Satchel in more melodic mode, thundering up the B major scale to kick off the solo to “Tiger Woods” and again, notice the way he takes the same melodic “cell” and extrapolates it out across the whole scale to dramatic effect.

This really was SO MUCH FUN and I found myself wishing January was actually longer... and dare I say it, I find myself wondering whether I too could pull off the spandex.... guess that's an extra reason to keep an eye on the YouTube channel then! Back next month with true Rock Royalty...

I'll See Myself Out - Heartbreak For Dummies, The High Noon Cats

Why I Suck... Series 4, Episode 12 - Dave Gilmour!

 As regular readers of this blog (both of them) may recall, back inNovember I posed the question, Have AC/DC Ever Made A Bad Song? And if memory serves, we concluded that, no, they hadn't.. so I'm here to pose a follow up question – Has Dave Gilmour Ever Played A Bad Note? Certainly, I found that while recording “Heartbreak ForDummies”, the best warmup I could do before recording a solo was to spend 10 minutes or so transcribing some of his epic Pink Floyd solos..

Now, before we continue, a spoiler – no, I won't be covering the “Comfortably Numb” first solo. It is undeniably sublime, and an absolute favourite of mine, but I'm planning to give it it's own lesson on a new experimental series for the YouTube Channel.. so another reason (as if one was needed) to go and subscribe!

First, as is customary, a lttle personal history – although given the tangled web of intrigue that surrounds Pink Floyd the band could easily fill a book, I'm not going to be touching on that either. We'll go up to him joining the Floyd and then on with the licks, I invite the reader to do their own research if interested!

Our story begins in Cambridge on March 6 1946 in the immediate aftermath of World War Two and all the attendant privations prevalent across Britatin at that time. Like many British guitar heroes of that time, he quickly became entranced by the glamour of American rock & roll and in 1954 bought his first record, “Rock Around The Clock” by Bill Haley and The Comets. Further inspired by Elvis and the Everly Brothers, he acquired a Pete Seeger book & record kit, borrowed a guitar from a neighbour and never looked back!

Starting secondary school aged 11, Gilmour would meet Syd Barrett and Roger Waters – Pink Floyd's other luminaries – and as their academic careers progressed, Barrett and Gilmour regularly practiced guitar together. Aged 18, in 1962, Gilmour joined his first regularly working band Jokers Wild who built a sizeable local following around Cambridge. They recorded an EP which Gilmour described as “a vanity project. I booked Regend Sound in Denmark Street. We all headed off to London in our van, did five songs, all having absolutely no idea what we were doing. The songs were all covers from our live set Dont Ask Me Why, Thats How Strong My Love, Beautiful Delilah, Why Do Fools Fall In Love, You Don’t Know What I Know. We had 50 five-track albums (RSLP 007) and 50 two-track singles (RSR 0031) made. We had a bit of a following around Cambridge and sold them to friends. Ive still got the original stereo mastertape somewhere in my stores. “ (ref - https://www.pinkfloydz.com/interviews/david-gilmour-record-collector-interview-may-2003/ )

After Jokers Wild went the way of many early bands, Gilmour headed to Europe, describing his time there - “I initially went to Marbella, Spain, for three months in the summer of 66. Then I came back and went to a club in St. Etienne in France. I moved to Paris and did three months residence in a club called the Bilberquay and then spent a period just gigging all over France. “. During this period, Gilmour hooked back up with two former members of Jokers Wild, performing under the name Flowers, but the group had a hard time – club owners frequently refused to pay them and they had their equipment stolen. Despite this, Gilmour was still able to contribute vocals to two tracks recorded for the film “Two Weeks In September” starring Brigitte Bardot – but this didn't help with the band's impoverished status, to the point where they had to push their tour bus off the ferry when they returned to the UK, having completely run out of fuel!

Pink Floyd, meanwhile, featuring Gilmour's previous schoolmates Roger Waters & Syd Barrett along with drummer Nick Mason, were becoming progressively more successful, releasing their debut album “The Piper At The Gates Of Dawn” in 1967 – however, success was taking a toll on Barrett's mental health (a sadly too common occurrence), and as Barrett became increasingly erratic, Gilmour was brought in to replace him. Gilmour recalls the moment as “we were on the way to the gig and someone said, shall we go pick up said? And someone else just said “oh, let's not” “.

And with that, let's start playing some guitar! Before we look at Gilmour's tastiest licks, it's worth noting his signature technique – his absolutely exquisite string bending. He counts his influences as “Pete Seeger, Lead Belly, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, Jimi Hendrix, Joni Mitchell, John Fahey, Roy Buchanan, and Hank Marvin of the Shadows” as well as “all the blues guys” which I'm told includes Albert King (thanks George Groove for that nugget!)

And with potted history thus complete, let's turn our attention to his playing – and we'll begin by looking at Gilmour's signature technique, his absolutely exquisite string bending control. In this first exercise (which we can consider a primer for the licks to follow), I'm demonstrating a variety of bends – first playing the target note and then bending up to pitch, similar to what I demonstrated in the recent FAQ video. For those of you with a floating tremolo, don't be afraid to pull back on the bar to get a bit of additional lift, Gilmour has been known to do this himself so it's not cheating!

OK, so fingers warmed up and hopefully no broken strings – on to the licks!
We'll start with an absolute classic – the opening lick from “Another Brick In The Wall” using the D minor pentatonic. Note the use of doublestops – another Gilmour signature move to help fill up sonic space – and the super wide bend on the 13^th fret B.

The second lick is drawn from the end solo on – of course - “Comfortably Numb”, but this one comes from the “Live In Pompeii” version – although it is present in “Another Brick In The Wall” but in D minor pentatonic as opposed to B minor which we're in here. You can draw a line back to the Magic Three Notes here – even Dave Gilmour bases his style on them!

Staying with “Comfortably Numb” in it's “Live In Pompeii” iteration, here's a high register lick based around position 4 of B minor pentatonic before morphing into a diatonic run down the B natural minor scale and featuring a rare instance of Gilmour using three note per string scale fingerings. Note the sneaky bit of chromaticism on the position shift – Bb over any of the chords in this progression (Bm / A / G Em / Bm) ought to be an absolute HOWLER but Dave makes it work through what I can only assume is sheer force of will!

The final example is taken from the climax to the “Money” guitar solo, again featuring the B minor pentatonic scale but here Gilmour is in position 1 right up at the dusty end of the fretboard, starting at the 19^th fret. There's nothing particularly technical here but really try and make a statement with each note, and ensure that your bends are in tune and the vibrato is smooth and even.

PS - don't forget to keep an eye on the YouTube channel for the demo video...

That concludes this peek at the style of one of the world's greatest guitarists, but I'm left with a question – there is nothing here that a guitarist of intermediate technical ability can't play and indeed Gilmour rarely plays anything quick, rarely goes outside the minor pentatonic... what is it that makes him so great? I can only surmise that it's the care and quality he puts into every note, the perfect grasp of when to play and when not, how to let each phrase breathe... I think that without a doubt, ANY aspiring lead player needs to sit and study Gilmour's solos to grasp just how you can make an immensely powerful impact from a relatively straightforward technical base. Certainly, I've absolutely loved this time studying his playing and have learned a huge amount about that most elusive and intangible of qualities – feel.

Of course, all this goes out the window next month as we tackle Steel Panther's Shred God Extraordinaire, Satchel! See you then, and Happy New Year to you all!

Why I Suck... Series 5! The Plan for 2024....

 The votes have been cast, the polls have have been tabulated and the results are in! After what has been a quite startling year for the YouTube channel with the Style Guide videos now regularly racking up view counts in the thousands as opposed to around 70, allow me to reveal the plan for 2024!

January – Satchel (Steel Panther)

February – Brian May 

March – Nuno Bettencourt

April – Gary Moore

May – Albert Lee

June – SRV (Soul to Soul)

July – Hendrix (Electric Ladyland)

August – Allan Holdsworth (sharp intake of breath...)

September – Jeff Healey

October – Justin & Dan Hawkins (The Darkness)

November – Steve Lukather (Toto)

December – Randy Rhoads

So there we go, quite the classic rock slant this year but seasoned with a little country & blues and continuing with my attempt to transcribe every note Jimi & SRV ever committed to tape!

Meanwhile I am now in possession of a new PC with far more powerful video editing capability which should mean I'll be able to actually edit videos.. hopefully some clever stuff like multiple cameras, colour balancing etc., all courtesy of my long-suffering good friend (and ferociously takented keyboard player) Leigh of Dave The Rock Band & Guilty Pleasures fame!

So as well as the One Minute Licks (which haven't really been One Minute for quite some time but no one seems to be complaining...) and the Style Guides, there will be actual lessons and performances going up and I'm planning a few "Five Minute Lessons" to be a slightly more in depth but still easily digestible guide to various techniques and solos.. but I want this channel to be reactive and a genuine resource for all you  guys out there in internet-land, so I'm very open to suggestions!

So roll on 2024, let's do this! Happy New Year to everyone out there :-)

Why I Suck.. Series 4, Episode 11 - Zakk Wylde!

 The 1980s were an amazing decade for guitar playing – pioneered (arguably) by the incredible virtuosity of one Edward Van Halen, a guitarist capable of absolutely blistering fretboard gymnastics became the absolute must-have accessory for any self-respecting rock and metal act. Amidst the blizzard of 3 note per string legato and swept arpeggios however, one man stood tall, with pinch harmonics that made wolves howl and vibrato that could choke a dinosaur – and that man is longtime Ozzy Osbourne cohort and Black Label Society frontman, Zakk Wylde!

I've always had a fondness for Zakk's playing – rootsy pentatonics cranked up beyond 11 with insane speed, attitude and that aforementioned vibrato just resonated with me even if I've never been much of a metal fan. In interviews Zakk has often stated that when he got serious about playing he made a conscious decision about sticking to the pentatonic as a way of differentiating him from his peers, using chromaticism where necessary to season this basic framework. He also credits an instructional video by country legend Albert Lee with influencing much of his hybrid picking and double stop techniques.

So, as is now customary, let's start with a little potted history while warming up the fingers...

Born Jeffery Phillip Wielandt on January 14^th 1967 in Bayonne, New Jersey, Zakk initially began playing aged 8 but didn't really get serious about it until around age 14, when he would regularly practice all night after getting home from school, catching up with sleep during school time (disclaimer – for parents and kids reading this, JM Guitar Tuition does not endorse this as a sustainable approach) – Zakk himself has described the following day often being “rough”...

There doesn't seem to be much information surrounding Zakk's early playing career pre-Ozzy, and he credits a side-interest in powerlifting as being instrumental in how the pair met – Zakk claimed that he met Ozzy around 1987 at a weightlifting meet and offering to cut him a deal on some steroids in return for a job with his band, as things had recently gone bad with guitarist Jake E. Lee (which is a complex story in its' own right) – Zakk put together a demo tape and the rest is history! He has gone on to be Ozzy's longest serving sideman despite stints away focusing on his own bands Black Label Society and Pride & Glory and the two have a close longstanding relationship. In terms of influences, Zakk has consistently referenced Frank Marino from Mahogany Rush, Jimmy Page, Randy Rhoads, Al Di Meola and John McLaughlin, and a passing nod to Elton John – in addition to his guitar skills, Zakk is a fine singer and pianist (and I bet he never brings his lyrics on stage.. just saying ;-) ).

Potted history thus complete, let's take a look at some licks! We'll dive in with an absolute classic – the blistering end part of “No More Tears”. Here Zakk is using D minor pentatonic with a sextuplet picking pattern moving through positions 1, 2 and 3 of the scale before moving to arpeggios on the Bb and C chords of the underlying progression using 1^st inversion shapes before finishing on a howling D root note right up on the 22^nd fret. I'll demonstrate Zakk's uncompromising pick attack and vibrato on the demo video so stay subscribed to the YouTube channel for that one!

For this second example, we'll take a look at Zakk's solo work on the Book of Shadows album with a lick taken from “Sold My Soul” in E minor. Zakk starts off with a trademark soaring harmony bend using position 4 of E minor pentatonic, before trilling his way up the E minor scale along the G string before a massive overbend on the D note at the 19^th fret sold with some of his signature wide vibrato – as ever, it's the articulation, the sheer fire with which he plays which makes this line stand out.

Like many players, Zakk has a few signature patterns that he gravitates towards when he puts pedal to the metal and gets into serious shred territory – this third example is drawn from “Farewell Ballad”, a solo recorded for Guitarist magazine back in 2006, using the D blues scale – notice that Zakk is using the exact same fingering pattern on both string groups and you can even trace a line here back to the Magic Three Notes (a concept students of mine will be familiar with), simply extending out to include both positions 1 and 2 of the scale.

For our final example, I've drawn from the solo to “Crazy Babies”, based in B and then E minor pentatonic – Zakk sets up a “call” hook in B minor pentatonic with signature savage vibrato, before bending the 9^th fret G and pulling off to the 7^th before tapping with the pick hand on the 21^st fret G, bending up and pulling off to the 9^th and then the 7^th, back to the E root on the 9^th before a blistering run grouped in fives through positions 4, 5, 1 & 2 of the E minor pentatonic!

This has been an absolute blast, Zakk has long been one of my absolute favourite guitar players and working through his stuff has been a joy.. and I do think I can feel my vibrato getting wider by the day! Keep an eye out for the demo video and see you soon, happy practicing!

Why I Suck.... Series 4, Episode 10 - Angus Young!

Have AC/DC ever actually done a bad song? This was amongst the questions I set out to answeer this month... and while many detractors would simply say they've been making the same album since 1976, I would counter with the idea that if they got it right first time, why mess?

Since their inception in 1973, AC/DC have come to define rock and roll - “Whole Lotta Rosie”, “Highway To Hell”, “You Shook Me All Night Long”... the list of anthems is endless. And frankly, I defy anyone not to find the absolute and utter joy in a good AC/DC track cranked up high! But their path hasn't been wothout it's share of tragedy – original singer Bon Scott died of alcohol poisoning in 1979 and rhythm guitarist Malcolm succumbet to dementia in 2017, the band replacing Bon with flat-cap toting Geordie Brian Johnson and Stevie Young, Malcolm's nephew, stepping in to replace him. Their last album, “Power Up” was released in 2020, marking 45 years of pounding rock & roll antherms – quite the feat, never mind the fact that it debuted at No. 1 in the US!

Throughout all of this, their most recognisable image has always been the diminutive Gibson SG-wielding, school uniform-wearing figure of Angus Young, responsible for the searing blues-based solos that are a hallmark of AC/DC's sound. I've been a fan ever since as a nipper I first heard “Thunderstruck” as a nipper and even though I wasn't entirely sure what it was I was hearing, I knew it sounded like FUN! So, before we tackle his licks, a quick potted history (as is customary).

Born 31 March 1955 as one of seven siblings in the Cranhill district of Glasgow, the young (sorry) Angus began playing the guitar at age 5 or 6 nder the tutelage of his brother Alexander and when the family moved to Australia in 1963 after suffering through what was at that point the worst winter on record, he kept with it, practicing solidly through his teenage years even as he dropped out of school and worked a variety of jobs including apprenticeships as a butcher and typesetter. Initially he began on a banjo, restrung with six strings (although details on how this was done are beyond my Google Fu), before graduating to a cheap acoustic that his mum got him. His signature Gibson SG career began with a second hand model bought in 1967, and Angus has often stated that being a shortish chap made the SG a good fit – certainly the excellent top fret access the SG affords has stood him in good stead, as we'll see further on!

Aged 18 he founded AC/DC with his brother Malcolm founded after both having played in a variety of bands – taking their name from the letters on their sister Margaret's sewing machine - and recorded their first single “Can I Sit Next To You Girl” for Albert Productions with their first singer Dave Evans. Meanwhile Angus was working on his stage outfit, working through gorilla costumes, Spiderman and even his own superhero “Super-Ang” - and there are some amazing what-if moments there – before finally settling on the schoolboy look at Margaret's suggestion. She would actually concoct his first uniform before it fell apart from overuse and he reverted to his Ashfield Boy's School uniform, and (hilariously) they fed the public the notion that Angus had been born in 1959 not 1955 and was therefore 14...

The band quickly established themselves as a popular blues and hard rock act before recording 1975's High Voltage album – which was where I got started transcribing Angus's solos. The idea being, of course, that I can go back and do some more another time! No reason SRV, Jimi, EC and the Kings should be the only ones to get multiple blog posts, right? And this was a LOT of fun!

So, to business – we begin with something my teenage self would have chewed his own arm off to learn (but never thought to try and work out), something I term the Angus Young Lick. I've tabbed it in E, but this is a pattern that I noticed cropping up – with variations – across pretty much any solo where Angus wanted to put pedal to metal and do something widdly. This is based around the 3 Magic Notes, and you can see a repeating 4 note cell extrapolated across the strings. Play this slowly to begin with and across all keys, as the accuracy builds you'll be able to crank to Angus-level speed before you know it!

And of course it wouldn't be my blog if I didn't get all OCD and figure out a way to play it backwards, right? So there you are, that one's on the house.

The next example is taken from “Can I Sit Next To You Girl” which as best I can figure is in A but detuned a full tone – however it modulates to E for the end solo and here we see a variation on the Angus Young Lick as he blasts through E minor pentatonic in first position at the 12^th fret – notice that as well as the signature pull-off pattern, there's a bend in there as well as the classic perfect 4^th finger roll on the 14^th fret D & G strings – this is a nod to Angus's roots in blues players like Freddie King.

As well as being able to burn through the minor pentatonic like a man possessed, Angus is also a master of string bending, as this next excerpt taken from the outro solo to “Back In Black”. Here you'll find a harmony bend and then a whole tone bend first milked with absolutely stinging vibrato, and then notice the way he alternates between the bent versus straight note before closing with another classic E minor pentatonic blues lick featuring perfect 4^th rolls this time on the first finger and bending the minor 3^rd (G) a quarter tone sharp so it nestles in between major and minor. You don't tend to associate AC/DC with subtlety, but there's plenty to be found in Angus' playing!

It's not all minor pentatonic though – in this final example, taken from “The Jack”, Angus pulls out a glorious run that mixes minor and major pentatonics with some chromaticism in there too, just to keep you on your toes! Note the major 3^rd and 2^nd in there, along with a nifty 12th fret whole tone bend performed with the index finger before rolling back to cover the 12^th fret E and B – subtly counter-intuitive and Angus makes it flow beautifully. It's a very neat trick to get under the fingers.

So that wraps up this month – it's been a blast going through the early AC/DC stuff and I'm very much looking forward to revisiting Angus & co again soon. Brace tourself for next month though, as Zakk Wylde is up next! See you then and keep yourself subscribed to the YouTube channel (now over 500 subscribers!) for the demo video.

Why I Suck.... Series 4, Episode 9 - John Mayer!

 OK, I'll admit to not being too jazzed about this one. When I thought of John Mayer, I couldn't shake this image:

But this was a student suggestion, and I am a river unto my people so here we are! And I'm happy to report that I wound up enjoying the experience much more than I thought I would – so, as is now customary, let's begin with a short potted history before tackling some licks.
Now, this is a little uncanny – John Mayer not only shares my initials, he damn near shares my exact birthday – October 16 1977 – and his seminal guitar inspiration moment was Marty McFly's performance of “Johnny B. Goode” in Back To The Future... good man. I'm already sold on the guy. However, whereas I had a few false starts before finally getting into guitar in a big way at 17, Mayer was straight there, his dad renting him a guitar at age 13 and a neighbour giving him a Stevie Ray Vaughan cassette. This led to the young John becoming fascinated with the blues and starting to delve back into history, discovering the Kings, Otis Rush and Buddy Guy – again, very relatable, I started doing something similar after catching Rory Gallagher's Old Grey Whistle Test performance when the BBC screened it following his untimely death.

He would play and practice the guitar with singular focus throughout his teenage years – to the point where his parents began to worry and took him to see a child psychiatrist – and in 1997 enrolled in the famous Berklee College of Music in Boston (the same year I enrolled in the rather less famous Access To Music in Leicester...) but left after two semesters to form a duo with a friend, Clay Cook. The two would find some success locally around Boston but eventually split citing musical differences (I win! I FINISHED my course!)

The next stage in his career was to record the EP “Inside Wants Out” whilst living in Georgia, produced by Glenn Matullo and with the help of David LaBruyere, featuring several songs co-written with Cook, and released on his own label Mayer Music. Reception was warm and Mayer and LaBruyere used this momentum to begin touring through Georgia and surrounding states. The follow up, 2001's “Room For Squares” we now consider the breakthrough record, with several hit singles including “Why Georgia” And “Your Body Is A Wonderland”. This was followed by a tour with Counting Crows, and followed by 2003's “Heavier Things” and 2006's “Continuum” establishing him firmly as a pop-star singer songwriter... who also just happens to be a proper, bad-ass guitar player on the side!
So let's take a look at a few licks.

This first is from “Belief” on the “Continuum” album, and is just a flat out Clapton/ SRV/ Hendrix style D minor pentatonic run (proper guitar playing), but notice the finger roll and quirky 4^th interval jump between the D and the A, and the slightly unusual repeated finger slides between the A and the G. There's a neat little twist at the end when instead of finishing with the root D, Mayer pulls off to the C (b7th), lending the line a moodier, bluesier feel.

Speaking of bluesy feel, this second example is taken from Mayer's epic solo on “Covered In Rain” from the album “Any Given Thursday” using Bb minor pentatonic – interestingly in a Bb major context - and students of mine will recognise the Magic 3 Notes principle underpinning this one, but developed many steps beyond the basics! Mayer also colours the pentatonic with the 2^nd (C) as well as the 6^th (G), blending major and minor pentatonics in a similar manner to Clapton and his hero SRV.

A similar approach is at work in the third example, taken from “Slow Dancing In A Burning Room”, again from “Continuum”, this time sing C# minor pentatonic. Note the use of quarter tone as well as full tone bends, and the stinging vibrato. The phrases ending on the G#, E and C# also spell out a C# minor arpeggio – a neat coincidence, and the kind of thing that a player of Mayer's calibre will gravitate towards unconsciously.

Our final example comes from the clearly Mark Knopfler- inspired solo from "Wild Blue" using A minor pentatonic. Note the assertive way it starts off – bending the 7^th fret G and alternating between the G on the 8^th fret B string (b7) and A on the 5^th fret E string (root), the kind of idea that a player like Albert King would have milked. Again, you can just about see the Magic 3 Notes at the core of this lick with several layers of development laid on top of them – proving once again that it's not what you use, it's how you use it!

And with that, we'll wrap things up – I've enjoyed this far more than I thought I would and it's great to see someone almost smuggling classic blues/rock guitar playing into the pop mainstream, so good on John Mayer for that! Check back next month as we drink deep from the well of Rock & Roll as we tackle... Angus Young!