Electric Guitar: A Hybrid Scale and Picking Exercise

This article involves two seemingly disparate musical objects, but what they have in common is (one) the element of hybridization and (two) I discovered them both after many years of trial and error.

The first is a hybrid scale that combines the best of the Dorian scale with the best of the Blues scale. Why? Because while performing live and using the pentatonic box for solos, I would inevitably add in other notes to make the solo more interesting. After numerous improvisations and hours of practice time, I noticed those added notes always came from either the Dorian "scale" or the Blues scale. Hence, I thought it only made sense to combine the two into one useful combination. Here it is:

High E string: {-8-7-5-} B string: {-8-7-5-} G string: {-8-7-5-} D string: {-7-5-} A string: {-7-6-5-} E string: {-8-7-5-}

Notice the tablature above is in descending fashion, you should work it out ascending as well. The scale is not 100% musically consistent. One or two notes have been left out from the true Dorian scale. (And I very rarely play the B note (7th fret) on the low E string.) The only notes included in the scale are those I use regularly to spice up the old pentatonic box. Yet it is still a very good scale that I eventually play at least, say, ten to twenty times during a gig. Thousands of individuals in various states of intoxication and lucidity have heard this scale played in bars, although they probably had no idea what it was. To me this hybrid scale doesn't sound too terrific if just played up and back repeatedly, it is a scale that needs subtle phrasing, space, soul, attitude, vibrato and bending to bring out its best qualities. It sounds better if NOT every note is played in some type of "order." So try it out and see if it works for you and discover some of the infinite amount of things you can do with it.

Our next musical object is a nice hybridization lick that again involves combining two scales, although this one is a picking exercise and will not feature as many notes as the previous.

To me the following lick has a melodic minor feel to it, except one caveat is that it contains an extra note "outside" of that particular tonality. You can change the positions of where this one is played on the fretboard. Just remember to maintian the basic pattern.

D string: {-6-7-9-} G string: {-6-7-9-10-9-7-} D string: {-10-9-7-6-7-9-} G string: {-6-7-9-10-9-7-} D string: {-10-9-7-}

With this lick, your hand will be switching from 6th position to 7th position, back and forth. The main goal of this exercise is to test out two different types of picking techniques to determine which works best for you. Alternate picking is strictly moving the plectrum up and down without deviation: up, down, up, down, up, down... even if you are changing to other strings, the pattern of the picking will not change. Economy picking however is where you can have two consecutive down strokes or two consecutive up strokes, whatever takes less movement of the plecturm. For me economy picking boils down to doing alternate picking on a single string, but when changing to another string, one performs consecutive up or down strokes so the pick moves in the most efficient manner possible. This is the picking technique I employ the majority of the time, the one with admissability of two consecutive up or down strokes.

Back to alternate picking, it's still good to practice with it for different licks because there may be a time when you'll have to work out a difficult passage and alternate picking may be the best way to execute it. You never know. So try the lick above first using alternate picking, playing the lick repeatedly, and notice your hand shifting positions in a rolling fashion, up and back, forward and reverse on the strings, continuously moving in a smooth gliding fashion (you'll see that this lick is quite fluid and nice from a fretting perspective) and maintain the up, down, up, down, up, down... movement even when changing from string to string. Try that picking technique for as long as you can stand it. Then stop playing that type and next try economy picking on the lick for awhile. Transition from string to string and use the most efficient movement possible. This type is the most natural for me, but of course you may be different. Use whatever feels right for you.

Another thing to take away from this article is a basic philosophical idea. During the course of playing and practicing for many years, if you run into two musical things that you like, see if they can be combined into one thing that will function better than its original components. (This is known as SYNERGISM and it's a powerful concept that I use in writing and playing guitar and for other endeavors as well) But hybridization doesn't have to be with just scales or licks, you could combine various elements of two different chords as well. But don't force anything. Don't stick two musical things together only to create some kind of offensive intertwined miasma. Test the musical ideas out extensively first to see if they are a natural fit, then proceed. Experimentation and "good taste" (whatever that may mean to you) is the key to good hybridization.