I took a trip over to the Lick Library/Guitar Interactive Magazine HQ in Romford, Essex for the first video recording session earlier this month, special thanks to Levi Clay, Kim, James and Rich for making me feel welcome. Great studio and camera/recording gear, a little more elaborate than what i’m used to in my own environment! I decided to take my Axe FX II and Ibanez J CRG-2 TB,  which I’ve just had a set of Bare Knuckle VH IIs and a 63 Veneer Board installed and which sounded great, although i used the bridge pick up only for the session to get a more cutting Vai-ish legato tone! After a full day session I managed to finish the solo study along with the first three legato lessons. Rock! The first article should be published in a month or so, stay tuned for news!

The first solo 1 is based around the A harmonic minor/E Phrygian dominant sound, with Yngwie showcasing his trademark classically-influenced vocabulary of sweep arpeggios, alternate picked scale passages and screaming vibrato. The second solo 2 is played over a twelve bar progression in E, and is based around a Jimi Hendrix inspired vibe which Yngwie enjoys improvising over, often playing Spanish Castle Magic at his shows. This solo features some great E minor pentatonic playing, combined with some E Dorian and chromatic ideas, and demonstrates Yngwie’s hot rodded approach to the blues.

I’m pleased to present the un-edited video improvs for solos 1 and 2, along with solo transcriptions in Guitar Pro and PDF format, as well as the same backings Yngwie himself played over! (transposed down to E for convenience). Follow this link to go to the Special Features page, where you can see the lessons and download the whole package for free! Please remember to subscribe to my YouTube channel while you’re watching the videos! Rock!

This solo takes influence from the Thrash metal style, which gained popularity from the early-mid 1980s with bands like Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax. Based around an uptempo 8th note feel with a choppy down-stroke riff, the solo combines some blues-based E minor pentatonic ideas, with some more modern sounding E Dorian 3-notes-per-string scalar runs. Throughout the solo there is an emphasis on accurate bending and wide vibrato, along with a focus on alternate picking, rapid fire pentatonic repetitions and legato. Gear wise, i used my Ibanez J Custom, which can be seen as the first guitar here on the gear page, going into the Axe-FX II and set up with a Brit Super (Marshall AFD100)/Tubescreamer type sound, with the Matrix GT1000FX poweramp and CFR12′s for monitoring. The sound also output from the Axe into an Apogee Ensemble soundcard straight to a mac running Logic. All video done with a Canon 60D and then into FCPX.

The solo study can be seen here on the marketplace for free with the option to buy the package which includes full and slower speed HD video demonstrations, along with a 10 minute video breakdown and a batch of extended backing tracks at various different speeds. Tabs are provided in Guitar Pro format with additional PDF copies. There is also a free lick which is available for download here! The solo tries to capture the feel and phrasing of the mid to late 1980′s, built around sextuplet-orientated legato and tapping phrases reminiscent of players like Reb Beach and with an emphasis on accurate bending and vibrato following in the tradition of the post-Van Halen modern rock players. Gear wise, i used my customised Ibanez RG550 Ltd which can be seen as the second guitar down here on the gear page, going into the Axe FX II set up with a Marshall JCM800/Tubescreamer type sound, with the Matrix GT1000FX and CFR12′s for monitoring. The sound also output from teh Axe into an Apogee Ensemble soundcard straight to a mac running Logic. All video done with a Canon 60D and then into FCPX.