Here we have a stylised solo excerpt which demonstrates aspects of Michael Romeo’s improvisational style. The first bar is a fast fluid diminished arpeggio that utilises the right hand Tapping technique. You’ll notice that the shapes are, on the whole, symmetrically based so after some initial hardship it should be fairly straightforward to execute. Watch out and be aware of the various muting techniques needed to play through this idea cleanly.
In bar 2, the same fluid sound is carried on with a whole-tone scalar run which uses left and right handed Tapping. Aim to wack down on the left hand Taps whilst landing on the string and muting the string above the one you are playing. Try to get all the notes even in velocity. After some bluesy bend phrasing in bars 5 and 6, its Alternate picking to the finish line! The run is in E Natural Minor or Aeolian mode (R 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7). Move from the wrist and try to pick using the tip of the pick at a slight angle. The motion should be light but focussed, be aware of any tension in the right forearm and practice slowly at first building the individual elements of the solo before linking all the sections and increasing speed.
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