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Every guitar player recognizes Slash's talent.
He's one of the best guitar players of all time.
Slash doesn't use music to express his guitar
skills. He uses his guitar to express his feelings in his songs. Slash
prefers to play melodic music rather than play
fast stuff (although he can play fast).
How to sound like Slash? If you want to play
like Slash you don't need to be able to read music notation, music theory,
.... You'll only need
to know how to play some scales, chords and
the most difficult part, put all your feelings into your guitar! I can
help you with the first but the second is up
to you. I mean, every guitar player that plays
for 1 year can play Sweet Child O'Mine intro but the hard part is creating
a beautiful intro like that, not to play it!
Slash has also some difficult solos so you'll
have to practice your picking technique and your fingers speed if you want
to play them.
First let's tune up. Slash uses standard
tuning half step down ( 1 - Eb, 2 - Bb, 3 - Gb, 4 - Db, 5 - Ab, 6 -
Eb).
Sometimes Slash uses alternative tunings for
playing slide guitar: the open G tuning
half step down ( 1 - Db, 2 - Bb, 3 - Gb, 4 - Db, 5 - Gb, 6 - Db)
like in Bad Obsession and open
D tuning half step down (1- Db, 2 - Ab, 3 - F, 4 - Db, 5 - Ab, 6 -
Db) like in Beggars & Hangers On, Rusted Heroes, ...
Rhythm parts:
Clean rhythms: Slash supports mainly is rhythm clean parts with major / minor chords. You must be able to play all the following major chords
and minor
chords.
Rather than playing
this chords open, Slash arpeggio them (like Paradise City intro, Sweet
Child O'Mine, Yesterdays, Beggars & Hangers-On, Civil,
War, Serial Killer,
November Rain, Don't Cry, Back And Forth Again, ....)
Ex: Back
And Forth Again - Slash plays this rhythm in skip strings arpeggios
of the D, C and G major chords.
Distorted
rhythms: Slash supports mainly is rhythm distorted parts with power
chords. Power chords are two notes
at an interval of a fifth.
These notes
are more frequently used on the 2 lower strings and produce a real aggressive
sound very common in Hard Rock / Heavy Metal.
Playing power
chords is easy: you just have to memorize their shape (which is the same
for chords played in the 5th or 6th strings) and play them
all over the
neck starting in the key you want (you may use an upper octave note of
the chord you're playing like the next example):
Ex: It's
So Easy main riff:
Bb
G
E
|-------------------
|------------------- |-------------------------------|
|-------------------
|------------------- |-------------------------------|
|------3-----3------|-------------------
|-------------------------------|
|------3-----3------|------5-------5----|-------5-------5-----5----5--
|
|------1-----1------|------5-------5----|-------7-------7-----7----7--
|
|-------------------
|------3-------3----|---0-------0--------------- - -|
Solos:
Playing
solos is harder than playing rhythms. If you're not used to play
solos than don't be to hard to yourself if you can't play some Slash solos
because
they're not
very easy. But with time and lots of practice, you'll be able to play them!
You have to push yourself to play things you've never played so you
can improve
your guitar playing. Slash doesn't know how to read music, music theory,
intervals, ... Than how he comes up with those great solos?
There are scales
you can use for playing solos. A scale is 'a bunch of notes for one specific
key :)' that when you play those notes, they always sound good
to that specific
key! It's the right combination between those notes (and between different
scales) that produces beautiful solos. The hardest part when
you play solos
is to remember the shape of the scale that you're using. With practice
this problem will be solved because you'll memorize all the scales.
Before we start
learning the scales, let's look at some "tools" that Slash (and every guitar
player) uses:
- Let's
start bending notes: to bend a note,
you just pick a fretted string and pull it up or down as you wish. It's
very simple. You just have to be careful
on the 1st string (you have to pull the string up because if you pull it
down, it'll get out of the neck) and on the 6th string (you have to pull
the string down).
Slash mainly uses half bends (you bend 1 fret) and full bends (you bend
2 frets). You can also pre-bend a note and then pick that note releasing
the
bend - this is called bend release - and Slash mainly releases a full bend
or a half bend. The last thing you can do is play a note, bend it and then
releasing
it ( bend and bend release). Here's the notation I'll use in my tabs:
B = Full bend
b = Half bend
rB = Full bend release
rb = Half bend release
Br = Full bend and release it
br = Half bend and release it
- The next thing
is doing Hammer On: you just pick a note and
when it's still ringing, you fret an upper note on the same string. In
the opposite
there is the Pull off which
is done by picking one note and when it's still ringing, you take
your finger of the fret. Here's the notation I'll use in my tabs:
h = Hammer On
P = Pull off
- The next thing
is scratch. To do this, you just put any of
your hands over the string without fretting the notes and pick the string.
Here's the notation
I'll use in my tabs:
sc = Scratching
- The next thing
is slide. You just pick a string (fretted
or not) and slide your hand over the frets to the desired note on the same
string.. Here's the
notation I'll use in my tabs:
s = Slide
- At last (but
definitely not least ;) is the vibrato. You
just have to play a fretted note and then pull the string up and down while
the note is still
ringing. Slash uses a lot this technique so I wont assinalate this technique
in the tabs. Use it when you feel like you need to use it.
Scales:
ALL
DIAGRAM SCALES PICTURED HERE ARE IN THE A KEY - To play them in
other keys just apply the scale diagram to the desired key.
The Blue Dots are the key of the scale.
Let's start with the A Scale Major:
There are lot's
of notes so it will be very difficult to memorize all of them right? A
trick you can use is to memorize it by frets, like first memorize all
the notes in
the 4th ,5th, 6th and 7th frets (this is called box positions - Slash uses
this trick), then 8th, 9th, ... and then link them all on the end.
Believe me,
this looks harder than it really is. With practice, you'll be fine! Slash
uses this scale to play major progressions (like Rocket Queen final.
solo, Sweet
Child O'Mine first solos, Used To Love Her, Beggars & Hangers On, Patience,
Knocking On' Heavens Door, ...).
Ex: Sweet
Child O'Mine Intro uses the D Major Scale:
D (repeat this twice)
C (repeat this twice)
G (repeat this twice)
|----------------------15------14-------|----------------------15------14---------|---------------------15-------14-------|
|-------15------------------------------
|-------15-------------------------------- |-------15------------------------------
|
|------------14--12-------14------14--
|------------14--12-------14------14---- |--12-------14--12-------14-------14--|
|--12-----------------------------------
|--14------------------------------------- |-------------------------------------
-- |
|------------------------------------
--- |--------------------------------------- -- |-------------------------------------
-- |
|------------------------------------
--- |-------------------------------------- --- |-------------------------------------
-- |
Let's move on to the scale that Slash uses most: The Blues Scale:
This scale produces
a very bluesy sound. This is the most used scale in Hard Rock. Once again,
memorize this scale by boxes and then link it all. Slash
uses this scale
in almost every solo (or part of the solo) he does. Just listen to every
single Appetite For Destruction song, Reckless Life, Move To The
City, almost
every song from the Illusions albums and Snakepit albums, guest appearances,
...
Ex: The following
part of Welcome To The Jungle solo uses
the C# Blues Scale:
C#
B
C#
B
C#
B .
|-----------------|---------------------|----------------|--------------
---|--b7--------------|-------------------- | ......
|-----------------|---------------------|-----5-----b7--|--7--rb7--5--7--|--b7--rb7--5-
- --|------------5----5--| ......
|-----------------|-------------
--4----|--6-----6--- -- |----------------- |---------- -- --6--|--4----s-6----6----
| ......
|-----2------b4--|--4-
----4-s-6-- --- |----------------|----------------- |------------------
|-------------------- | ......
|--4-----4---- - -|---------------------|----------------|-----------------
|------------------ |-------------------- | ......
|-----------------|---------------------|----------------|-----------------
|------------------ |-------------------- | ......
The next scale is the Minor Relative Scale:
Slash uses a
lot this scale. If you already memorized the Major Scale, it's very easy
to memorize this scale since it's exactly the same as a major scale!
The only difference
is the key where this scale starts which is a minor third down of the major
scale. For example, playing the C Major Scale it's the same
as playing the
A Minor Relative Scale. Anyway, what you need to know is if you want to
use this scale, use de Major Scale starting in the key located 3
frets up the
key you're using (A Minor Relative Scale = C Major Scale, ... , E Minor
Relative scale = G Major Scale, ....).
This scale is
used to produce bluesy sounds with a kind of a dramatic sound. Slash uses
this scale in most of his solos (or in parts of the solos).
Ex: The following
part of Sweet Child O'Mine Solo
uses the E Minor Relative Scale:
A
|-----12-h-14-h-15-p-14-p-12-------14------12--h--14--p--12-------12---------------------|
|----------------------------------15------15-----------------------15-------Br15--12--B15--|
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
The last scale I'll present here is the Minor Harmonic Scale:
This Scale produces
a very exotic sound and isn't much used by Slash but you can find some
examples of Slash using this scale like part of Neither
Can I Solo,
part of Sweet Child O'Mine, Obsession / Confession and one another song
that I'll tell you later.
Ex: Sweet
Child O'Mine - part of the solo that uses the Minor Harmonic Scale of E:
A
|-----------------------------------7-h8-p7-h11--7-h8-h11-s-12--11-h-12-h14-s-15--12-h-14-h-15-p14-12--|
|----------7-h-8-p-7-----7--b11---------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|---8--9---------------8------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
|------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------|
Do you know
were else Slash uses this scale? When he plays the Double Talkin' Jive
Solo. If you want this scale to have a spanish sound it's very easy:
the process
is very similar to the Melodic Minor Scale <=> Major Scale. You just
have to use the Minor Melodic scale starting in the Key 5 frets up
the key you're
using. For example, if you're playing
in the E key, you should use the Scale Minor Harmonic of A (like in Double
Talkin Jive).
Well, this is pretty much it. Take some
time practicing (or jamming with records like Slash did) all this chords
and scales and you'll be using the same
'tools' Slash uses when he plays guitar.
Don't forget that as important as your technique is the feeling you put
to your playing. That's the big difference between
Slash and most of other guitar players.
Playing guitar is not a race or an acrobatic show of your fingers! It's
not as fast as you can play that matters, it's the
quality of the expression that makes
the difference!
Some Slash quotes:
"I don't practice. The way I learned
was playing with other musicians that played 10 times better than
me."
"Guitar.com: When you’re not working on something
specific do you have a practice regimen?
Slash: No. I’m fucking terrible. I’m
really disciplined when I’m focused on something, when I know what I’m
doing but… Here’s a classic scenario: I’ll be
sitting there watching TV and there’s
not fuck-all to do, and I won’t hang out with anybody and I’m just watching
the food network and I’ll keep looking at the
guitar case. So I’ll open it, and take
the guitar out and sit it standing up. I have to go through this whole
ritual -- and then once I have it with me I don’t put it
down and maybe I’ll write something…
I make myself play because I have to do it, but when it comes to just practicing,
the best thing for me is to go out and
do a fuckin’ physical full-out
rehearsal. That’s when the whole physical thing comes into it and you realize
that ten hours a day of practicing doesn’t mean shit
because the whole thing is completely
different. I learned that a long time ago. No venue is the same, and playing
in your bedroom is not the same as playing in
front of people. Playing at rehearsal
is not the same as playing in front of people and playing with [one group
of] people is not the same as playing with some
other different people.
Guitar.com: So you play every day?
Slash: Either that or I don’t play at
all."
"Sweet Child O' Mine was a joke. It was a fluke.
I was sitting around making funny faces and acting like an idiot and played
that riff. Izzy started playing the
chords that I was playing, strumming
them, and all of a sudden Axl really liked it. I hated that song because
it was so stupid at first (laughs). I hated the guitar
part. Now I really like it because I've gotten
it to the point where it sounds really good when I play it live, and I'm
so used to the song so I like it a lot more.
But it definitely wasn't something I hummed
out of my head. It was more like me f***ing around with the guitar."