Chords for Eric Johnson Neoclassical Fives
Tempo:
104.1 bpm
Chords used:
E
B
Eb
A
D
Tuning:Standard Tuning (EADGBE)Capo:+0fret
Start Jamming...
[Db] [B]
[Db]
Okay, lick number three.
What we're doing here is taking our engineering knowledge
and using it to do something that goes beyond
Eric Johnson's pentatonic sensibilities
and into more of a rock and metal realm.
And what's cool about this is that we're seeing
the distinction between right-hand mechanics
and left-hand mechanics or harmony.
In other words, once you solve the challenge
of moving across the strings,
then you can just take that same solution
and apply it to different left-hand fingerings
and get all kinds of amazing things.
In this case, what we're doing is kind of an interesting 5 [A]-1.
[E] [Gbm] [E]
[Eb] [Bb]
[E] You can hear that.
Basically, what we're doing is starting on E7
[E] and [B]
[E] moving [B] to B7,
[G] either Bb9 or more of a diminished sonic.
You can think of it as essentially a 5 chord
using a diminished 7th [Eb] arpeggio.
[D]
[E] And that's E at the end.
So we're really just going 1-5-1 in the key of E,
but we're playing around with it by using E7,
then [Bm]
[E] going to the [B] dominant chord,
[Bm] [E] going back to E again.
But what's really neat about this
is that the right-hand pattern necessary to do this
is exactly the same one we've been looking at.
If we take this dominant 7th shape
that I'm doing up here on the top two strings
and you look at how it works,
it's basically the 5 pattern.
[B]
Two notes on the top string,
[Dbm] two notes on the B string,
[B] one note [Dm] on the G.
[B]
[D]
What's also really neat about this dominant 7th fingering
is it fits right over the box there.
[E]
Anytime you're doing blues,
you can then throw [Ab] in dominant 7th.
[Bb] [E]
It adds a lot of color to your blues playing.
But again, the mechanics are just two notes, two notes,
and then that last note, [Ab] the fifth note,
becomes a sweep to the next [B] string.
[E] So that's the descending side of the lick,
and you can play that for you slowly,
actually, under the camera.
[B]
[E] [Gb]
[E] [B]
Once you finish that first segment,
then we move over to diminished 7,
and the great thing about diminished 7
and the reason why I've chosen it
is that the fingering is very similar to pentatonic.
[Eb] [A] [Eb]
[Db] [E] Two notes per string.
Here I'm using my pinky.
Eric is really a ring finger kind of player,
but I tend to switch off.
[A] [Eb]
[Ab] So slowly, again, very similar to the 5-note sequence.
We're just going down up [Gbm] on the top,
and then down on the D.
[Eb] Here I'm [D] actually sweeping after only three notes,
but it's the same concept.
[Eb]
[C] [A] [B] Actually, the second repetition there
is really the 5-note sequence.
[Eb]
Three notes for the next one.
[C] [A] [G]
[Em] Again, same thing, and what's so great about this
is your right hand is already done.
We've already solved that,
and it's exactly the same thing
that we were doing in the pentatonic world.
The only difference here is now the left hand
is just using the pinky and the index finger
and moving over one fret at a time,
which is the classic way of doing diminished type.
[D] [Eb] The 14th and the [D] 11th,
[Ebm] and then the 13th and the 10th.
[C]
[Gb] [Eb]
That [E] is our sharp 7,
or the 7th degree of the major scale
or the sharp 7th degree of the minor scale.
That takes us right back to 1.
So we have this really cool kind of neoclassical rock thing,
very much an 80s [B] kind of thing.
[Eb] [B]
[E] [Ab]
And [F] what's also cool is,
notice we're doing this with more of a 16th-note feel,
whereas Eric usually takes this pattern of 5s
and does it in an arhythmic sense.
It's just kind of this tumbling, free-form thing.
And he plays against the time almost more like a jazz player.
The rock and the metal aesthetic is much more rigid.
It's [B] 16th notes.
That's the late 80s.
[Eb] [B]
But that's, again, that's a stylistic choice.
But what's interesting is you can take
this unusual number of notes, 5,
which does not fit a 4-4 time signature,
but you can make it do that
if you design the line that way.
And obviously I've spent a few minutes here
to write this line
so that it specifically ends on E down here.
But this just goes to show you that, again,
mechanical things in the right hand
are really separate from harmonic choices
and really separate from musical choices entirely.
Shred technique, Eric Johnson's technique,
jazz, Django Reinhardt's technique
is very similar to this.
The Gypsy players do this downward-pixelating thing also.
It is an incredibly widespread
and incredibly powerful way to play.
It's not a trick.
It's not a shortcut.
[Db]
Okay, lick number three.
What we're doing here is taking our engineering knowledge
and using it to do something that goes beyond
Eric Johnson's pentatonic sensibilities
and into more of a rock and metal realm.
And what's cool about this is that we're seeing
the distinction between right-hand mechanics
and left-hand mechanics or harmony.
In other words, once you solve the challenge
of moving across the strings,
then you can just take that same solution
and apply it to different left-hand fingerings
and get all kinds of amazing things.
In this case, what we're doing is kind of an interesting 5 [A]-1.
[E] [Gbm] [E]
[Eb] [Bb]
[E] You can hear that.
Basically, what we're doing is starting on E7
[E] and [B]
[E] moving [B] to B7,
[G] either Bb9 or more of a diminished sonic.
You can think of it as essentially a 5 chord
using a diminished 7th [Eb] arpeggio.
[D]
[E] And that's E at the end.
So we're really just going 1-5-1 in the key of E,
but we're playing around with it by using E7,
then [Bm]
[E] going to the [B] dominant chord,
[Bm] [E] going back to E again.
But what's really neat about this
is that the right-hand pattern necessary to do this
is exactly the same one we've been looking at.
If we take this dominant 7th shape
that I'm doing up here on the top two strings
and you look at how it works,
it's basically the 5 pattern.
[B]
Two notes on the top string,
[Dbm] two notes on the B string,
[B] one note [Dm] on the G.
[B]
[D]
What's also really neat about this dominant 7th fingering
is it fits right over the box there.
[E]
Anytime you're doing blues,
you can then throw [Ab] in dominant 7th.
[Bb] [E]
It adds a lot of color to your blues playing.
But again, the mechanics are just two notes, two notes,
and then that last note, [Ab] the fifth note,
becomes a sweep to the next [B] string.
[E] So that's the descending side of the lick,
and you can play that for you slowly,
actually, under the camera.
[B]
[E] [Gb]
[E] [B]
Once you finish that first segment,
then we move over to diminished 7,
and the great thing about diminished 7
and the reason why I've chosen it
is that the fingering is very similar to pentatonic.
[Eb] [A] [Eb]
[Db] [E] Two notes per string.
Here I'm using my pinky.
Eric is really a ring finger kind of player,
but I tend to switch off.
[A] [Eb]
[Ab] So slowly, again, very similar to the 5-note sequence.
We're just going down up [Gbm] on the top,
and then down on the D.
[Eb] Here I'm [D] actually sweeping after only three notes,
but it's the same concept.
[Eb]
[C] [A] [B] Actually, the second repetition there
is really the 5-note sequence.
[Eb]
Three notes for the next one.
[C] [A] [G]
[Em] Again, same thing, and what's so great about this
is your right hand is already done.
We've already solved that,
and it's exactly the same thing
that we were doing in the pentatonic world.
The only difference here is now the left hand
is just using the pinky and the index finger
and moving over one fret at a time,
which is the classic way of doing diminished type.
[D] [Eb] The 14th and the [D] 11th,
[Ebm] and then the 13th and the 10th.
[C]
[Gb] [Eb]
That [E] is our sharp 7,
or the 7th degree of the major scale
or the sharp 7th degree of the minor scale.
That takes us right back to 1.
So we have this really cool kind of neoclassical rock thing,
very much an 80s [B] kind of thing.
[Eb] [B]
[E] [Ab]
And [F] what's also cool is,
notice we're doing this with more of a 16th-note feel,
whereas Eric usually takes this pattern of 5s
and does it in an arhythmic sense.
It's just kind of this tumbling, free-form thing.
And he plays against the time almost more like a jazz player.
The rock and the metal aesthetic is much more rigid.
It's [B] 16th notes.
That's the late 80s.
[Eb] [B]
But that's, again, that's a stylistic choice.
But what's interesting is you can take
this unusual number of notes, 5,
which does not fit a 4-4 time signature,
but you can make it do that
if you design the line that way.
And obviously I've spent a few minutes here
to write this line
so that it specifically ends on E down here.
But this just goes to show you that, again,
mechanical things in the right hand
are really separate from harmonic choices
and really separate from musical choices entirely.
Shred technique, Eric Johnson's technique,
jazz, Django Reinhardt's technique
is very similar to this.
The Gypsy players do this downward-pixelating thing also.
It is an incredibly widespread
and incredibly powerful way to play.
It's not a trick.
It's not a shortcut.
Key:
E
B
Eb
A
D
E
B
Eb
_ _ _ [Db] _ _ [B] _ _ _
_ [Db] _ _ _ _ _ _
Okay, lick number three.
What we're doing here is taking our engineering knowledge
and using it to do something that goes beyond
Eric Johnson's pentatonic sensibilities
and into more of a rock and metal realm.
And what's cool about this is that we're seeing
the distinction between right-hand mechanics
_ and left-hand mechanics or harmony.
In other words, once you solve the challenge
of moving across the strings,
then you can just take that same solution
and apply it to different left-hand fingerings
and get all kinds of amazing things.
In this case, what we're doing is kind of an interesting 5 [A]-1. _
_ [E] _ _ [Gbm] _ _ _ _ [E] _
_ _ _ _ [Eb] _ _ _ [Bb] _
_ [E] _ _ You can hear that.
Basically, what we're doing is starting on E7
[E] and _ _ _ [B] _ _
_ _ _ _ [E] _ moving [B] to B7,
_ _ [G] _ _ _ either Bb9 or more of a diminished sonic.
You can think of it as essentially a 5 chord
using a diminished 7th [Eb] arpeggio.
_ _ _ [D] _ _
[E] _ _ _ And that's E at the end.
So we're really just going 1-5-1 in the key of E,
but we're playing around with it by using E7,
then [Bm] _
_ _ _ _ [E] _ going to the [B] dominant chord,
_ [Bm] _ [E] going back to E again.
_ But what's really neat about this
is that the right-hand pattern necessary to do this
is exactly the same one we've been looking at.
If we take this dominant 7th shape
that I'm doing up here on the top two strings
and you look at how it works,
it's basically the 5 pattern.
[B] _ _ _ _
Two notes on the top string,
[Dbm] _ _ two notes on the B string,
[B] _ one note [Dm] on the G.
_ _ _ [B] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [D] _
What's also really neat about this dominant 7th fingering
is it fits right over the box there.
_ [E] _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ Anytime you're doing blues,
you can then throw [Ab] in dominant 7th.
_ _ [Bb] _ _ [E] _
It adds a lot of color to your blues playing.
But again, the mechanics are just two notes, two notes,
and then that last note, [Ab] the fifth note,
becomes a sweep to the next [B] string. _
_ _ _ _ [E] So that's the descending side of the lick,
and you can _ play that for you slowly,
actually, under the camera.
[B] _
_ _ _ _ [E] _ _ _ [Gb] _
_ _ _ [E] _ _ _ [B] _ _
_ _ Once you finish that first segment,
then we move over to diminished 7,
and the great thing about diminished 7
and the reason why I've chosen it
is that the fingering is very similar to pentatonic.
[Eb] _ _ [A] _ [Eb] _ _ _
[Db] _ [E] Two notes per string.
Here I'm using my pinky.
Eric is really a ring finger kind of player,
but I tend to switch off.
_ [A] _ _ [Eb] _ _
[Ab] So slowly, again, very similar to the 5-note sequence.
We're just going down up [Gbm] on the top,
_ and then down on the D.
[Eb] _ Here I'm [D] actually sweeping after only three notes,
but it's the same concept.
_ [Eb] _ _ _
_ [C] _ _ [A] _ [B] Actually, the second repetition there
is really the 5-note sequence.
_ [Eb] _
Three notes for the next one.
_ [C] _ [A] _ _ [G] _
_ _ [Em] _ Again, same thing, and what's so great about this
is your right hand is already done.
We've already solved that,
and it's exactly the same thing
that we were doing in the pentatonic world.
The only difference here is now the left hand
is just using the pinky and the index finger
and moving over one fret at a time,
which is the classic way of doing diminished type.
[D] _ _ _ _ [Eb] The 14th and the [D] 11th,
_ [Ebm] and then the 13th and the 10th.
[C] _
_ _ _ _ [Gb] _ _ [Eb] _ _
_ That [E] is our sharp 7,
or the 7th degree of the major scale
or the sharp 7th degree of the minor scale. _ _ _ _
_ That takes us right back to 1.
So we have this really cool kind of neoclassical rock thing,
very much an 80s [B] kind of thing. _
_ _ _ [Eb] _ _ _ [B] _ _
_ _ [E] _ _ _ _ [Ab] _
And [F] what's also cool is,
notice we're doing this with more of a 16th-note feel,
whereas Eric usually takes this pattern of 5s
and does it in an arhythmic sense.
It's just kind of this tumbling, free-form thing.
And he plays against the time almost more like a jazz player.
The rock and the metal aesthetic is much more rigid.
It's [B] 16th notes.
That's the late 80s.
_ _ _ [Eb] _ _ [B] _ _ _
_ But that's, again, that's a stylistic choice.
But what's interesting is you can take
this unusual number of notes, 5,
which does not fit a 4-4 time signature,
but you can make it do that
if you design the line that way.
And obviously I've spent a few minutes here
to write this line
so that it specifically ends on E down here.
But _ this just goes to show you that, again,
mechanical things in the right hand
are really separate from harmonic choices
and really separate from musical choices entirely.
Shred technique, Eric Johnson's technique,
jazz, Django Reinhardt's technique
is very similar to this.
The Gypsy players do this downward-pixelating thing also.
It is an incredibly widespread
and incredibly powerful way to play.
It's not a trick.
It's not a shortcut.
_ [Db] _ _ _ _ _ _
Okay, lick number three.
What we're doing here is taking our engineering knowledge
and using it to do something that goes beyond
Eric Johnson's pentatonic sensibilities
and into more of a rock and metal realm.
And what's cool about this is that we're seeing
the distinction between right-hand mechanics
_ and left-hand mechanics or harmony.
In other words, once you solve the challenge
of moving across the strings,
then you can just take that same solution
and apply it to different left-hand fingerings
and get all kinds of amazing things.
In this case, what we're doing is kind of an interesting 5 [A]-1. _
_ [E] _ _ [Gbm] _ _ _ _ [E] _
_ _ _ _ [Eb] _ _ _ [Bb] _
_ [E] _ _ You can hear that.
Basically, what we're doing is starting on E7
[E] and _ _ _ [B] _ _
_ _ _ _ [E] _ moving [B] to B7,
_ _ [G] _ _ _ either Bb9 or more of a diminished sonic.
You can think of it as essentially a 5 chord
using a diminished 7th [Eb] arpeggio.
_ _ _ [D] _ _
[E] _ _ _ And that's E at the end.
So we're really just going 1-5-1 in the key of E,
but we're playing around with it by using E7,
then [Bm] _
_ _ _ _ [E] _ going to the [B] dominant chord,
_ [Bm] _ [E] going back to E again.
_ But what's really neat about this
is that the right-hand pattern necessary to do this
is exactly the same one we've been looking at.
If we take this dominant 7th shape
that I'm doing up here on the top two strings
and you look at how it works,
it's basically the 5 pattern.
[B] _ _ _ _
Two notes on the top string,
[Dbm] _ _ two notes on the B string,
[B] _ one note [Dm] on the G.
_ _ _ [B] _
_ _ _ _ _ _ [D] _
What's also really neat about this dominant 7th fingering
is it fits right over the box there.
_ [E] _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ Anytime you're doing blues,
you can then throw [Ab] in dominant 7th.
_ _ [Bb] _ _ [E] _
It adds a lot of color to your blues playing.
But again, the mechanics are just two notes, two notes,
and then that last note, [Ab] the fifth note,
becomes a sweep to the next [B] string. _
_ _ _ _ [E] So that's the descending side of the lick,
and you can _ play that for you slowly,
actually, under the camera.
[B] _
_ _ _ _ [E] _ _ _ [Gb] _
_ _ _ [E] _ _ _ [B] _ _
_ _ Once you finish that first segment,
then we move over to diminished 7,
and the great thing about diminished 7
and the reason why I've chosen it
is that the fingering is very similar to pentatonic.
[Eb] _ _ [A] _ [Eb] _ _ _
[Db] _ [E] Two notes per string.
Here I'm using my pinky.
Eric is really a ring finger kind of player,
but I tend to switch off.
_ [A] _ _ [Eb] _ _
[Ab] So slowly, again, very similar to the 5-note sequence.
We're just going down up [Gbm] on the top,
_ and then down on the D.
[Eb] _ Here I'm [D] actually sweeping after only three notes,
but it's the same concept.
_ [Eb] _ _ _
_ [C] _ _ [A] _ [B] Actually, the second repetition there
is really the 5-note sequence.
_ [Eb] _
Three notes for the next one.
_ [C] _ [A] _ _ [G] _
_ _ [Em] _ Again, same thing, and what's so great about this
is your right hand is already done.
We've already solved that,
and it's exactly the same thing
that we were doing in the pentatonic world.
The only difference here is now the left hand
is just using the pinky and the index finger
and moving over one fret at a time,
which is the classic way of doing diminished type.
[D] _ _ _ _ [Eb] The 14th and the [D] 11th,
_ [Ebm] and then the 13th and the 10th.
[C] _
_ _ _ _ [Gb] _ _ [Eb] _ _
_ That [E] is our sharp 7,
or the 7th degree of the major scale
or the sharp 7th degree of the minor scale. _ _ _ _
_ That takes us right back to 1.
So we have this really cool kind of neoclassical rock thing,
very much an 80s [B] kind of thing. _
_ _ _ [Eb] _ _ _ [B] _ _
_ _ [E] _ _ _ _ [Ab] _
And [F] what's also cool is,
notice we're doing this with more of a 16th-note feel,
whereas Eric usually takes this pattern of 5s
and does it in an arhythmic sense.
It's just kind of this tumbling, free-form thing.
And he plays against the time almost more like a jazz player.
The rock and the metal aesthetic is much more rigid.
It's [B] 16th notes.
That's the late 80s.
_ _ _ [Eb] _ _ [B] _ _ _
_ But that's, again, that's a stylistic choice.
But what's interesting is you can take
this unusual number of notes, 5,
which does not fit a 4-4 time signature,
but you can make it do that
if you design the line that way.
And obviously I've spent a few minutes here
to write this line
so that it specifically ends on E down here.
But _ this just goes to show you that, again,
mechanical things in the right hand
are really separate from harmonic choices
and really separate from musical choices entirely.
Shred technique, Eric Johnson's technique,
jazz, Django Reinhardt's technique
is very similar to this.
The Gypsy players do this downward-pixelating thing also.
It is an incredibly widespread
and incredibly powerful way to play.
It's not a trick.
It's not a shortcut.