tab

Guthrie Govan
20 ESSENTIAL
LICKS
LICK 7

JTC SAYS

For this series of measures Guthrie is playing over a C# minor chord. An obvious scale
choice here would be the C# minor pentatonic scale, which is the basis of what he plays
here. However, for most of this he replaces the b7 scale tone with a Major 6th scale tone.
This is a great scale that is a prominent sound with guys like Matt Schofield, Robben Ford,
Larry Carlton and so many other amazing guitar players.

Three things to focus on within these measures filled with brilliance are things we have and
will continue to touch upon ... elements of Guthrie’s playing that really define his sound. The
first is his use of bends ... where he chooses to throw them in ... his command of everything
from subtle bends to extreme and aggressive bends ... and the creative ways he substitutes
a bend in the middle of an arpeggio or a scale run.

Throughout this series of ides Guthrie uses soulful quarter note bends to add a great deal of
tension which really makes a five note pentatonic scale sound so cool!

The second thing to take notice of is Guthries insistence on throwing in chromatic notes
to spice things up. This is another one of those things that he does all the time and it
again, makes a simple 5 note scale or 3 note arpeggio sound like so much more. He
does it several times in this example and each time it’s slightly different. The first time
it’s just a single note thrown in as a passing tone between two scale tones. The second
time he mixes several chromatic notes while ascending up a scale which leads into a
cool descending dominant 7 arpeggio. The third time he walks up a series of 4 notes
chromatically on the B string (again, take notice of how he makes even that just a little
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 tab

slicker by adding in a slide between the last two notes ... this is subtle ... but truly makes
such a difference in sound).

The third thing that sticks out in this example is Guthrie’s phrasing. He has a way of mixing
in ear jarring staccato phrases into his solos that throw the listener off balance just enough
to be drawn in but not too much to where it’s off-putting or strange. This is a great device
to use when soloing. It would be well worthwhile to explore in your own playing ... just be
careful not to use it too often and make sure it has some sense of rhyme and reason or it
could easily come across as random gibberish.

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 LICK 7
As recorded by jamtrackcentral.com
(From the 2014 Album GUTHRIE GOVAN'S 20 ESSENTIAL LICKS)

D
Pb = 85 (P P CP P )
(C m7)

gggg 4 gV V
I 4
c k l
V gV V V V V V V V V gV V V V V VV
V
1
V
M
1/4 M
1/4 M
1/4 M
1/2 MM
1 1/2
2

T 11 9
A 9 8 6 8 6 6 9
8 11 8 8 8 8 6
B 4 7 11 11
sl. H P

gggg VV V V f V V f V V V gV V l V P V V V gV gV V V
3
I V z
3 3 3
3 3 3
7
T 9 8 7 11 9 12
10 9 6 9 6 9 12 9 9
A 8 6 11
B
sl.

8va

g g V V V f V gV f V
3 3
V V V V f V gV
g g l V f V gV V V f V gV V
4
I fV V
3 3 3 3 3
12 13 14 15 12
T 9 14 12 13 14 13
A 9 15 12 15 12 11
14 14 13 12 11
B
sl.

gggg V V V V V f V gV V gV V V V V V V gV V } V V } f V f V V V V V V V
5
I V
3
M
1/4 M
1/4 1/2 M MO
1/2 M
1/4
1/2 M M
1/4

T 9 10 11 12 6 8 8 5
A 9 11 12 9 8 (8) 6 8 6 4 6 x 6 4
9 11 9 8 x 6
B 11
sl. sl. sl.

gg V V
7
Igg V V V P
z u k j

M
1 1/2

T
6 4 6 13
A
B
P sl.

JamTrackCentral Ltd 2014

Generated using the Power Tab Editor by Brad Larsen. http://powertab.guitarnetwork.org