Groups Of 5

Welcome back! In this lesson I will be showing you some odd note groupings you can incorporate into your playing that will add interest to your solos or riffs. In previous lessons, I covered some 3 or 4 note patterns. In the first part of this lesson the examples will be based off of 5 note patterns, but not in the typical way you may be used to. These examples will be based off of the patterns 1-2, 1-2-3 or 1-2-3, 1-2, using all 16th notes. Accent the downbeat of each group of 5 notes. You will notice that the 5 note patterns are less predictable than 3 or 4 note patterns.

Example 1a shows the 5 note 1-2, 1-2-3 ostinato pattern with just 3 notes. Be sure to start slowly, and gradually build up speed, and be sure to accent the first beat of each 5 note grouping.

Example 1b is the same concept as the previous example, but with the pattern 1-2-3, 1-2.

MP3 - Example 1a
MP3 - Example 1b

Example 2 is the 5 note 1-2, 1-2-3 pattern on 2 strings moving up the neck in the key of E major (E, F#, G#, A, B, C#, D#), which has the same notes as the G# phrygian scale. If you play the G#m chord over this example it will have a Phrygian flavor. Try moving this pattern around the neck.

MP3 - Example 2

Example 3 is a scale sequence using the 1-2. 1-2-3 pattern moving down the neck off of each scale step within the C#m scale (C#, D#, E, F#, G#, A, B). This example goes down to the 4th string. When you play it, continue down to the 6th string, and try this pattern with different scales.

MP3 - Example 3

Example 4 is the same idea as the previous example, but this uses the 1-2-3, 1-2 pattern.

MP3 - Example 4

OK, that is it for this lesson! Be sure to make up your own patterns, and please check out my CDs and order them right off this site. Visit mikecampese.com for more information.