The Guitar Player's Resource
Rather than having another lesson on how to use the pentatonic scale to play blues, today we will see something completely different.
You will find below a video where I explain how to use a simple scale and some phrasing to create an exotic effect. The scale is called "Hirajoshi", but it's much simpler to play than the name suggests.
The phrasing is inspired to instruments like the Japanese Koto or the Chinese Guzheng.
Once you learn how to do this - and it will take but a minute - you can use it:
* At a jam session (other musicians will be surprised at this!)
* As an intro or bridge in your next song
* Simply to have fun!
As you can see, there's nothing difficult and it takes but a minute to 'get' the phrasing. Of course you can change anything (use a different scale, change the phrasing) and make it your own or create different effect: anything goes.
If you do something interesting with it or have any questions, feel free to comment, I want to hear from you.
Tommaso Zillio is a professional prog rock/metal guitarist and composer based in Edmonton, AB, Canada.
Tommaso is currently working on an instrumental CD, and an instructional series on fretboard visualization and exotic scales. He is your go-to guy for any and all music theory-related questions.
