The following content is related to the July 2013 issue of Guitar World. For the full range of interviews, features, tabs and more, pick up the new issue on newsstands now, or in our online store.
One of the things I enjoy about metal lead guitar is that most of the time I’m soloing over power chords, which consist of a root note and a perfect fifth above it (for example, an E5 power chord is comprised of the notes E and B above it). With no thirds, sevenths or other notes included in the backing power chords, I have the freedom as a soloist to inject minor or major thirds and sixth and sevenths into my solo lines without them clashing with the chords. In this month’s column, I’d like to focus on two of my favorite scales for soloing that include the above-mentioned intervals: harmonic minor and its fifth mode, Phrygian dominant.
The harmonic minor scale comes from the classical music tradition, and its interval formula is spelled 1 2 f3 4 5 f6 7. FIGURE 1a illustrates the A harmonic minor scale (A B C D E F Gs) played in one octave in fifth position, with each note’s function, or scale degree, indicated below the tab. FIGURE 1b shows the scale played up and down through two and a half octaves, starting in fifth position and gradually moving up to seventh position and back. Practice this scale pattern repeatedly, striving for clear articulation, while memorizing the note sequence and fingering pattern.
