In my introductory column last month, I discussed a few different approaches to legato phrasing. The term legato means “smooth and connected,” and on the guitar legato articulations include hammer-ons, pull-offs and finger slides.
Legendary fusion guitarist Allan Holdsworth is widely considered as the greatest legato player of all time, and he was certainly a major influence in the development of my own approach to legato-style phrasing.
Last month, we analyzed a legato phrase that I played on the Testament song So Many Lies, which is in the key of E and based on the E Lydian b7 scale, also unknown as the E Lydian-dominant mode (E, F#, G#, A#, B, C#, D). I would now like to take the same melodic and fretboard pattern and apply it to a different mode.
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Figure 1 presents a fast cascading legato phrase that’s based on the B Dorian mode (B, C#, D, E, F#, G#, A), starting in 7th position and then, as the phrase progresses, shifts down to 6th and then 5th positions.
I begin with my index finger on B, 1st string, 7th fret, and then hammer-on to the 10th fret with my pinkie, followed by a double pull-off to the 9th and 7th frets with my ring and index fingers. The pinkie then hammers-on “from nowhere” to the 10th fret on the B string to sound A (the note is not picked).
Similar pull-offs and hammer-ons are then performed on the B string in virtually the same sequence, followed by a move to the G string and a repeat of this melodic “shape,” fretted with the pinkie and middle and index fingers. Beats 3 and 4 continue the crosses to the lower strings, rearticulating the identical melodic pattern while remaining diatonic to (within the scale structure of) B Dorian.
A great way to execute legato phrases like this is to utilize a “three notes per string”’ fingering. As shown in bar 1 of Figure 2, this approach is applied to ascending through the first octave of B Dorian in 7th position. In bar 2, the three-notes-per-string approach is applied to the second octave; the exception is the G string, where only two notes are sounded.
In Figure 3, the same fingerings are illustrated through B Dorian played in a descending manner.
One should practice the scale in as many other positions as possible. Figure 4 illustrates B Dorian as played in a combination of 5th, 6th and 7th positions, once again favoring the three-notes-per-string approach, played ascending and descending.
In Figure 5, I begin by sounding a Bm7 chord first, in order to provide the proper tonal reference for the B Dorian single-note line. When moving the lick to different areas of the fretboard, I suggest playing a Bm7 chord initially, in order to keep that harmonic reference clear.
Keep in mind that B Dorian is the second mode of the A major scale (A, B, C#, D, E, F#, G#), also known as the A Ionian mode. The other six related modes that begin on each scale degree of A major are C# Phrygian, D Lydian, E Mixolydian, F# Aeolian and G# Locrian.
Figure 6 demonstrates the same type of fast, cascading legato run from Figure 1 applied to the A major scale in 5th position.
Now that you have a clear picture of the note sequence, or “melodic shape,” as it descends across the fretboard, try applying it to the six other modes in various positions. This is a fantastic way to sharpen your fret-hand legato technique.
