Unit 5: Brian Taps?

Lick 1

First up, let's just establish that we are working in the key of G minor, or G blues. As we are predominantly using power-chords and a riff, we can be a little loose with the definition, but we are mainly working with G minor. This therefore means that we are using the G blues scale for the majority of the solo, which you can see in the fretboard diagrams. We are also using tapping notes form this scale, as well as some cool chromatic ideas, which Dion walks you through in the video.

Getting used to tapping...

The most important thing to remember with tapping is that you treat it like a hammer on and then a pull off. In the same way you would perform a pull-off from one finger to another, making sure to still pluck the string with your pull off you apply the same principle to the tapped note. This can be very hard at first, but this is a fun track to practice it on!

Lick 2

For the next lick, we are back on the cool tapping ideas, but this time starting up in the 2nd blues scale box (see the fretboard diagrams). We actually deliberately use the flat 5th from the blues scale as our bend, which adds an extremely dissonant sound to the whole thing. This is then wonderfully resolved as the lick continues. Before moving onto the next link in the next lesson, try to piece these first two together. Good luck!

Lick 3

For the third lick we are back in the root position blues box, but we are using some really cool chromatic ideas as we play through the lick. Chromatic ideas are there to deliberately add some interest, dissonance and tension that likes to be resolved. In this instance we are using the out notes (notes outside of the scale) around the G minor pentatonic or blues scale. This is a fairly easy way to apply chromatics as all of the notes in the G minor pentatonic scale are pretty safe and satisfying when you land on them! So, refer to the tab again to get this lick in the bag, and we'll be doing the last lick and putting it all together next time!

Lick 4

For our final lick, we have a really cool harmonised part. For this part, we very much switch to a G major tonality, which immediately adds a more euphoric sound to the end of this track, due to the shift from minor to major. We are using a simple G major scale shape, which you can see in the fretboard diagrams, and should familiarise yourself with! As for the harmonised parts, Dion doesn't specifically go through those in these videos, but use the tab below to have a bit of fun and try and get them together! Use everything you learnt in the previous lesson to understand exactly how they work! Good luck 😃