I need some 4-note-per-string patterns.

[Chris]

So I just spent the last hour shredding, and one thing that drives me crazy about my playing is that my "comfort zone" all lies in three note patterns and triplets up the neck. I can play them pretty damn fast, and just about spot-on clean, but I'd like to get out of the rut, so to speak.

I can run scales until my eyes bleed, but I'd really like a few new patterns to toss around instead.

[David]

Usually for 4 note patterns, I just ascend the neck through the scale, w/e it's called... and instead of sliding the notes, I use all 4 fingers. Which is probably what you're doing at the moment so that wasn't much help...

simple C-Major
|-----------------------------------------------------------13-15-17-19-|
|-----------------------------------------------12-13-15-17-------------|
|------------------------------------9-10-12-14-------------------------|
|--------------------------7-9-10-12------------------------------------|
|-----------------5-7-8-10----------------------------------------------|
|---------3-5-7-8-------------------------------------------------------|
|-1-3-5-6---------------------------------------------------------------|

Also, a cool thing to try... picking, non-picking, w/e... Shawn Lane did this, and this is just a quick little run I came up with from watching his video.

|-15p12p9------------------------------------------------------------|
|-----------------17p14p11-------------------------------------------|
|---------15p12p9-------------------15p12p9--------------------------|
|--------------------------17p14p11------------------14p11p8---------|
|-------------------------------------------16p13p10-----------------|
|------------------------------------------------------------15p12p9-|
|--------------------------------------------------------------------|

[MetalMike]

Originally Posted by Chris

So I just spent the last hour shredding, and one thing that drives me crazy about my playing is that my "comfort zone" all lies in three note patterns and triplets up the neck. I can play them pretty damn fast, and just about spot-on clean, but I'd like to get out of the rut, so to speak.

I can run scales until my eyes bleed, but I'd really like a few new patterns to toss around instead.

The easiest way to start using 4 note per string runs in your playing is to not practice the scales but to isolate the possible shapes and make sure you can play them cleanly.

Here are the 3 major fingerings which form the G major scale in 4 note per string groupings.

Adam's Family:
E||-------------------||
B||-------------------||
G||-------------------||
D||-------------------||
A||----------5-7-9-10-||
E||--3-5-7-8----------||

Reverse Spock

E||-----------------------||
B||-----------------------||
G||------------9-11-12-14-||
D||--7-9-10-12------------||
A||-----------------------||
E||-----------------------||

No Witty Name as of Today
E||--------------14-15-17-19-||
B||--12-13-15-17-------------||
G||--------------------------||
D||--------------------------||
A||--------------------------||
E||--------------------------||

These also help you visualize the fretboard much better than 3 note per string licks because the next string is one of the patterns.

The thing about the 4 note per string licks is that they sound mechanical unless you mix in other musical tools along the way. for example I use them in extended arpeggios frequently.

Heres a strict 4 note per string lick.

4-note per string videogamish lick
--12-14-16-19------------------------------------|
--------------12-14-16-19-12-14-16-19------------|
--------------------------------------9-11-13-16-|
-------------------------------------------------|
-------------------------------------------------|
-------------------------------------------------|

----------------------------------------------|
----------------------------------------------|
--9-11-13-16-----------------------9-11-13-16-|
-------------9-11-13-16-9-11-13-16------------|
----------------------------------------------|
----------------------------------------------|


-----------------------------------------------|
-----------------------------------12-14-16-19-|
-------------9-11-13-16-9-11-13-16-------------|
--9-11-13-16-----------------------------------|
-----------------------------------------------|
-----------------------------------------------|


--------------12-14-16-19-12-14-16-19-------|
--12-14-16-19-------------------------------|
--------------------------------------------|
--------------------------------------------|
--------------------------------------------|
--------------------------------------------|

hope this helps.. I'm off to watch supergroup

[Chris]

The thing about the 4 note per string licks is that they sound mechanical unless you mix in other musical tools along the way.

Yeah exactly. Any time I mix them in, I end up in boring_mode_001 and since I practice either with a metronome or with a drum machine, predominantly in 4/4, it just sounds like I'm practicing boring_mode_001. I've tried off-timing the notes so that they hit inbetween beats, but it still doesn't make them any less mechanicial.

Thanks for the runs, I'll definitely give those a shot.

[Chris]

Hm, I don't have the album handy, but isn't the opening of Paradigm Shift off of LTE1 a series of 4-note runs? Or am I senile?

If so I might have to learn that.

[Ken]

[action=Ken Burtch]passes up this opportunity to post the chromatic scale as a smart-ass way of contributing nothing positive to the thread.[/action]

[Chris]

Originally Posted by Ken Burtch

[action=Ken Burtch]passes up this opportunity to post the chromatic scale as a smart-ass way of contributing nothing positive to the thread.[/action]

[action=Chris]notes that it's been way too ....ing long since Ken posted a video, and he still hasn't made one of Chris's 7620, so Ken can go fellate goats. Lovingly.[/action]

[Drew]

Originally Posted by Chris

[action=Chris]notes that it's been way too ....ing long since Ken posted a video, and he still hasn't made one of Chris's 7620, so Ken can go fellate goats. Lovingly.[/action]

Yeah, Ken, get off your ass. It's been a while since you've dedicated a vid to me, too.

Chris, what kind of 4nps stuff are you looking for? One-note-per-finger stretchy stuff, runs where you do slides, what?

I've got my acoustic in my car, I'll step outside with a notebook and work out some stuff for you if you want...

Also, since you're a big 3nps triplet guy, if you move back and forth between triplet 8ths (or 16th) and straight 16ths (or 32nds, respectively) within the context of a single run, it can do a lot to break up that rhythmic boredom - you know, DAH-dah-dah-DAH-dah-dah, DAH-dah-dah-dah-DAH-dah-dah-dah, DAH-dah-dah-DAH-dah-dah, etc. The textural shift from what's basically 6-against-8 to straight 8 and back is pretty damned sick.

Also worth trying - playing 3nps groupings as straight 8ths or 16ths. Sure, they lend themselves easily to triplets, but there's no reason you HAVE to play 'em that way...

  *       *       *       *       *       *       *
|-------------5-7-9-7-5-----------------------5-7-9-|
|-------5-7-9-----------9-7-5-----------5-7-9-------|
|-4-6-7-----------------------7-6-4-6-7-------------|
|---------------------------------------------------|
|---------------------------------------------------|
|---------------------------------------------------|
|---------------------------------------------------|

Accents indicated with *'s. Most of my faster straight 16th or 32nd runs are actually played this way.

[Adam]

Heres some four note per string arpeggios in the key E minor:

E||----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------12-15-17-19-
B||--------------------------------------------------------------------------------12-15-17-19-----
G||----------------------------------------------------------------12-14-16-19---------------------
D||-------------------------------------------------12-14-16-19------------------------------------
A||-----------------------------------12-15-17-19--------------------------------------------------
E||------------------12-15-17-19-------------------------------------------------------------------
B||--12-15-17-19-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------



You can play it using legato as well