Want to make your guitar licks sound tastier than ever?
I’ve got something really interesting to show you today.
It’s a unique way to put together your own guitar phrases using:
The #4/b5 — a.k.a the tritone. This used to be called the devil in music.
You can find this by moving a flat fifth/sharp fourth away from any note.
Guitar players use it all the time to create intense licks and phrases.
You’re going to learn how to use this right now (don’t worry: little to no music theory knowledge is needed here).
How are you going to learn it?
Watch this video:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=367i8Y0wmxc
So, do there exits other methods for using this powerful note to play killer licks?
Of course!
Find more ways to do it by reading these ideas:
Tritone Guitar Lick Idea #1. Bend Up From The Tritone To The Next Highest Note.
I first learned of this playing approach by listening to the solos of all-time great guitarist Marty Friedman.
So how do you use this idea?
The basic idea revolves around bending from a note outside of the scale to one the is in the scale.
This video demonstrates how to do it:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pFtePrgcC0w&feature=emb_title
Use bends to raise the pitch from the flat fifth to the normal fifth. This is powerful because it creates tension and quickly resolves it.
(Bonus: This isn’t restricted to just the flat fifth. You can do this starting from any note outside of the scale.)
Question: “Tom Hess, what if my bends sound like they are out of tune?”
Answer: Play the fret containing the note you want to bend up to and use this as a reference point.
Now bend the string up to match the reference note from below. Try to match it faster and faster over time (this gets easier as you improve).
Bonus tip: more drama is created when you add more time to the bend itself. Like this:
Tritone Guitar Lick Idea #2. Use Double Stops To Enhance The Drama Of The Tritone
Not familiar with double stops?
Double stops simply mean you are playing two notes at the same time. Blues and rock guitarists use them a lot.
Using tritone double stops really makes your licks scream no matter what genre you play in.
For instance, listen to this example:
Tip: double stops become incredibly intense when you play them with vibrato technique. If you need help perfecting your vibrato technique, definitely watch this guitar vibrato video (by one of my top guitar students).
Here is another idea to consider while we are discussing double stops:
Learn how to play double stops with tons of aggression and intensity:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBkYMlZX3HA&feature=emb_title
Tritone Guitar Lick Idea #3. Combine The Tritone With Unique Scales
The more scales you discover, the more uses you find for the tritone.
A great example of this is the #4 that happens in the Lydian scale.
The tritone in the Lydian is an awesome note to focus on in order to create tons of drama and tension in your playing.
Use what you learned from the video at the start of the page to squeeze tons of drama out of this note.
And you know what? There are even more ways to play killer licks using Lydian:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3IVI5BGVYgo&feature=emb_title
Want to learn even more ways to play killer guitar solos?
You’ve got it.
Study the ideas in this free lead guitar eGuide and learn the secret to adding fire and emotion to any guitar phrase.
About The Author:
Tom Hess is a professional guitarist, composer, and an online guitar teacher. He is a trainer and mentor to guitar players from around the world in his guitar lessons online. Follow Tom Hess on Twitter for free guitar playing tips, guitar playing resources and more guitar playing articles.
