Andy from NailGuitar.com has come up with a cool video lesson on Mr. Fastfinger's slide techniques. It's based on the Ninja slide lessons that can be found here on this blog. The slide ideas are very well explained in this video. Thanks Andy, this is truely an honour!

To celebrate the 5 YEARS of Guitar Shred Show I'm giving you this present. I've recieved sooo many request to do the transcription to this solo during the past five years. This is the album version. The original Guitar Shred Show.com version is slightly different. Anyways this solo is indeed a demanding one. Don't try to master it all at once. Hope you enjoy the two pages of terror techniques...
Click the small images to download high resolution jpg.

Here's the tapping version of the same Zing Zing pre-chorus. Based on the same chord progression of C- Dm - Bb - F as the riff. On the song the riff changes into this tapping pattern on the second (and third) round.

To save the space the repeating tapping patterns are only written once. Always repeat 4 times except for the last bar.

On this recording you can hear a magical phaser effect, it's from TC G-system. The tapping line was also doubled with a synthesizer. The rhythm guitars are playing power chords.

Oh Yeah. Tap on!

...Well, for a while maybe:) Happy to let you know that Mika wrote a guest column for Guitar9.com. It's about mind game methods for creating the right solo for the song...
http://www.guitar9.com/columnist698.html
Includes transcription, audio and analysis on "Creatures of the Midnigt" solo.

And here's a special backing loop for jamming, just for MrFastfinger.net users


Download backingtrack

Here's a nice little excercise for tapping. Came up with this lick during a guitar lesson I was giving. It has those hammer-ons from nowhere happening (you don't always need to start now string with a tapped note). Found out it is a good excercise. Practice with a metronome. Begin with slow tempo. Pay attention to the flow of your notes. Make sure you got nice even rhythm going with the line. Later speed up the tempo just a little bit.
Also try playing this one octave lower on 3rd and 4th strings.

Enjoy the holidays. Thanks to all our friends and supporters. This year was very good. Next one will be better. Hope to see you soon!

LESS TALK, MORE EXCERCISES!

Ex.4



4a Grace notes following a pulled note.


4b Grace note folloing a double pull off. Gets more interesting!

Ex.5



5a Grace note and hammer on


5b Grace note and double hammer

Ex.6


Here a musical idea, utilising serious grace notes and double pulls. This kind of use of grace note makes a simle melodic line sound fun!

Put the metronome on. It's time for rehearsing!

Grace note is an ornament of a note. A quick passing note played in front of an actual note. Grace note can be performed using various techniques: hammers / pulls, slides, bends, or even taps. In notation / tablatures it's written on a smaller font. It's decoration of the note and not counted as part of the rhythm of the measure. You just SQUEEZE it there!

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Here's something that came out after thinking of those glissando slides. A short calm down improvisation. Enjoy!



Download

How to find fresh ideas? Here's one way.

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This time we take a look at one simple idea that is very useful in guitar playing. Group of four notes, two notes per string approach!

THE BASIC PATTERN
We begin with simple idea such as this:



In the first bar you see a simple idea. I pick this with down up down up strokes. I use palm muting to make it sound cool. Always experiment with muting!
If you 're new to this kind picking, or feel that you need some excercise. I suggest that you take a metronome and start repeating the first bar first slow and then go slightly faster and faster. Read my blog "How to Build up speed" for more ideas. On the second and third bar you see the same idea but played octave and two octaves higher. Practice and repeat. Important: practice with amp with little overdrive. Keep overdrive reasonable, if you only have little overdrive, you will hear your mistakes and problems easier. Play clean.

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