BM 20MelodicFusionLicks
BM 20MelodicFusionLicks
BM 20MelodicFusionLicks
GUIDE
Brian Maillard
20 Melodic
Fusion Licks
JTCGUITAR.COM
Brian Maillard / 20 Melodic Fusion Licks 2
INTRODUCTION
The backing has a simple repeating chord progression: Em7 Am7 B7. This
means you can stretch out in E minor if you like, or experiment with some
more advanced dominant or altered dominant ideas over the B7.
Brian Maillard / 20 Melodic Fusion Licks 3
CHAPTER 1
LICK BREAKDOWNS
LICK 1: Our primary scale for these licks is E natural minor, or Aeolian (E F#
G A B C D) and that’s what we see in the first legato passage here. Over B7 I
switch to B minor pentatonic (B D E F# A) but I’m also adding A# and D# as
chromatic passing notes. I then switch to E minor pentatonic (E G A B D) for
the final Em line.
LICK 2: I alternate-picked this initial E minor arpeggio with added 2nd (F#).
Then there are some little chromatic ornamentations in bar 2. For the B7
chord, I hybrid-picked the B octaves in order to get a different tone.
LICK 4: This lick is based on E minor pentatonic (E G A B D) but there are lots
of chromatic notes here. First of all, you’ll see the flat 5th “blue note” (Bb) in
bar 1. Check out the Esus2 arpeggio at the end!
LICK 6: This lick starts with a mostly legato sequence that then descends
through the strings. I played a series of sliding 5th intervals over Am and
then the B7 line is built largely around the whole-tone scale (B C# D# F G A).
The lick closes with the E minor pentatonic played diagonally.
Brian Maillard / 20 Melodic Fusion Licks
CHAPTER 1 4
LICK 7: A very funk-rock sound here, knitting tightly into the drum groove,
this lick is one of my favourites. With the ascending line over a B pedal tone
in bar 2, you’ll need quite a wide stretch, so take your time if it feels tough.
The ending of the lick very bluesy, based on the E minor pentatonic with the
added flat 5th (Bb).
LICK 8: In this one, I’ve tried to blend elements of blues and neoclassical
melodies. We start by ascending through E Aeolian (E F# G A B C D) and
then descending through the E blues scale (E G A Bb B D). We have that
neoclassical staple, the harmonic minor (E F# G A B C D#) over B7 and then
a pedal tone idea over the last Em chord. The high B is the pedal point.
LICK 9: We start with three bars of minor pentatonic here. Notice the bend
at the end of bar 2 – I’m playing a regular E note, then a D->E bend. At the
end we have a sliding string-skipping idea, and the final descent is mostly B
minor pentatonic (B D E F# A) over the Em chord.
LICK 10: The first phrase is E minor pentatonic, all on the G string, using the
open string as a pedal tone. The Em passage then ends with an Em arpeggio.
There’s another pedal-tone idea over the B7 chord, and then notice the
chromatic passing notes in bar 5, making it all bluesy again.
LICK 11: The ascending scale passage uses slides to make it sound more
fluid, and then we have a string-skipping idea with chromatic notes. I did
something different over the B7 here, playing chromatic enclosures around
the three notes of the B major triad.
Brian Maillard / 20 Melodic Fusion Licks
CHAPTER 1 5
LICK 12: This lick starts out sounding very funk rock, but when we arrive on
the B7 chord, the sound becomes firmly fusion due to the harmonic minor.
LICK 13: The big arpeggio in bar 1 is basically an enhanced Em, adding the
9th (F#) and then briefly the minor 7th (D) and 11th (A). A little chromatic
descent takes us into a B major triad over B7, which leads into a descending
sequence of quick legato cells in E harmonic minor (E F# G A B C D#).
LICK 14: We start out funky, but then switch to a tricky descending E minor
sequence on the top two strings. The final phrase is a long line of ascending
pull-offs to the open B string.
LICK 15: Make sure you play those repeating bends in time, and be careful to
mute any unwanted open string noises.
LICK 17: A generous dose of harmonic minor in this one, both over Em in bar
3 and over B7 in bar 5. We finish with another dramatic stream of pull-offs to
an open string.
LICK 18: We’ll start with a classic blues-rock bending lick (note that I use
alternate picking here) and then continue the steady 16th-note rhythm as
we climb diagonally through E minor pentatonic. The climax is the bend-tap-
pulloff move in bar 4, and then we descend through a sequence of 6th and
5th intervals.
Brian Maillard / 20 Melodic Fusion Licks
CHAPTER 1 6
LICK 19: The main thing to notice in bars 1-2 is the range of chromatic
notes I used – passing notes and approach notes. The final phrase is all
harmonics, so work on getting the clearest sound possible, especially at the
3rd fret.
LICK 20: We start with an ascending sequence in 16th notes on the top two
strings, culminating in that high bend phrase. We then have a double-picked
harmonic minor line over B7, and we end with an ascending harmonic minor
line with chromatic passing notes.
A
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Brian Maillard
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