Mini Lesson: Into The Arena

Another little mini-lesson I had prepared for the Ibreathe newsletter…

I have mentioned before that I like Michael Schenkers playing. He was an early influence of mine, and I always liked the melodic and emotional content of his soloing, on top of the chops he has.
I remember hearing “Into The Arena” by the MSG the first time, and I loved that tune a lot… not only the riff, but also some of those beautiful melodies in there, and that cool arpeggio-break.
I still teach the main-riff to some of my students, cuz its a great chop-builder when it comes to synchronizing the hands, and playing fast muted (and later, non-muted) single note riffs on the low strings.
So… check it out. Here is the main riff. If you wanna learn it, slow it down to the point where you can play it accurately, in control. Then, once you have done that for a while, try to speed it up a bit. Keep the wrist relaxed, but also, dont pick too softly.

And here is the arpeggio break that is played before the beautiful melody towards the end. I have seen different fingerings for that… one note per string arps, or arps played on two adjacent strings, with one note on the lower and one on the higher string. This is my way of playing that part:

I am not quite sure whether Michael plays it the same way. I know I have watched a video of him playing it live closely a few years ago, but I dont remember whether he played it this way or on two adjacent strings, with two notes on the higher string.
The notes are correct though, and playing it this way feels quite comfortable to me. Oh yeah, I use alternate-picking for that. Even though this might look like something that sweep-picking would work great for, I like to play passages like that with AP, unless I need it at speeds that only sweep-picking will allow.

Anyway, I hope this was of interest for you. Check out some of Michael’s playing, whether its on the early Scorpions-stuff (or on the “Lovedrive” album, when he returned to the band for a little while), UFO (I love the solo of “Only YOu Can Rock Me”, I posted a recording of me playing it in this blog, I think… beautiful, melodic solo, Michael really has a talent for that) or the MSG…

John Mayer

Right now, I am listening to the “Room For Squares” album by John Mayer… I really enjoy listening to his music, for several different reasons:

- Whether its on his newest album (“Continuum”, which I enjoy a lot, too) or the older stuff, I really love his songwriting, the arrangements, the vocals and lyrics. Really great to listen to

- Some of the guitar parts he plays are really really cool… intricate acoustic riffs, like the intro of “Neon”, and also some extremely tasty, melodic playing. He really has a great tone, very mature and lyrical.

- He’s got some really cool chord progressions too. I just picked up an acoustic guitar and figured out some of the progressions in “My Stupid Mouth”, and its fun to just strum those chords, and thats true for many other of his songs too

- To me, he is a “full blood musician”. Thats what I think when I see him perform or hear his albums… and I read some interviews which had me quite surprised, too. There really is quite a lot of substance there. A lot of people seem to have pidgeon-holed forhis early stuff, but he really keeps trying different things, and if you check out the “Try!” live album he did, there’s a lot of music and great playing on that.

- The production (and again, the arrangements) of those albums is really really cool, too. Most of his music works perfectly for the radio, but at the same time, its not “bubblegum” type pop stuff that you forget about right after the song has ended, either.

- I really like the atmosphere and vibe of his albums.

Anyway, if you have only heard his hits, like “Waiting For The World To Change” or “Your Body Is A Wonderland”, I really recommend to check out some of his other stuff, especially the most recent albums, even though I enjoy pretty much all of them…

Friends

Uh oh, a rather philosophical entry coming up =)

Well, I always said that in between listening recommendations and mini lessons and all that, I might post some random thoughts or non-music-related stuff too, and I just wanted to share a few thoughts on todays topic… I guess its what having a blog makes you do. =)

I think one of the really special things in life is… the people around you. And realizing that you have them around you. I consider myself blessed, because there are some absolutely wonderful people around me whom I am happy to call friends… and I often realize how happy I am to have them. I think sometimes one tends to forget to appreciate that, or kinda takes that for granted, I have been there and done that.
But there are many occasions these days when I talk to a friend, or just hang out with some people close to me, and then realize that its so great to have them, and that I must have done something right when people like that spend their time with me. Know what I mean?
And I dont wanna take that for granted. Because apart from everything good that happens career-/music-wise, having such people around you is something extra-special that shouldnt be taken for granted, and telling someone how glad you are to have them around often can mean a lot… and is fun to say too. Of course, you usually dont need to, because they prolly realize that anyway, but you know… sometimes it’s just good to say that.
Same goes for people who write to me, saying thanks for the book or the articles, or commenting on my music. Even though sending an email is easier (and cheaper) than sending a REAL letter, I still do appreciate very much if someone takes the time to write to me, to say thanks or share his opinion. I dont wanna take that for granted either.

Anyway, I hope you didnt mind this little rambling post, its just some thoughts I wanted to share, and I dont wanna preach or anything either… however, if you have good friends and people you like or even admire for what they are around you, consider that a compliment for yourself to, as there must be a reason they’re spending their time with you. And let them know that you are glad to have them every once in a while, too!

UKRuss Guitar Mix Series – #1 Sunshine Glide

iBreatheMusic Forums – UKRuss Guitar Mix Series – #1 Sunshine Glide

The link above will take you to a thread at the ibreathe forums where you can download a guitar-mix (part 1, and I hope he will make way more of those!!) by UKRuss. I really enjoyed listening, and he did a great job with that, so check it out.
A “tracklist” of the songs included plus some further comments can be read in that thread too. Russ chose to put in parts of “You Complete Me”, and commented on the arps, so I figured I’d post a TAB of that passage right here, in PDF-format.

You Complete Me Arps-TAB

And Russ, if you’re reading this, keep more of those remixes coming!!!