Question for guitarists in re Alex

[TheWinslowOfWillowdale]

When Alex runs quickly through scales.....is he "trilling" or actually playing each note once at a time? For instance, in his lighting fast run in La Villa, is he fudging through the scale, flipping his pick up and down as fast as possible, or actually methodically hitting each successive note at extreme velocity?? I'm a guitarist, and have always wondered this.....

[lifeson90]

Not a guitarist so cant answer your question but just to say something i found really interesting once was a recording in MitAs Rush Oddities of Al playing la villa live but unamplified so you can just hear the bare plucks of the strings so to speak.... was amazing to hear the difference, really gives an appreciation what electric guitar play is all about.

[hammerofthor]

He's a fudger.

[GeminiRising79]

He's a fudger.

 

He's bisexual at most. Certainly not gay.

[KennyLee]

Haha. He does a lot of alternate picking (which is hitting each note, down-up-down-up) but he often will use hammer ons.

 

A "Hammer on" is where you will hit a note, say on the 5th fret, and then quickly put your next finger on the 7th fret. You only pick once but the two notes will have a very similar attack because of the speed. You, if quickly enough, could actually pick on the 5th fret and then quickly finger the 7th and then 8th fret and each will sound as well. When you do this and run up the strings through your scales it is called sweeping. Your picking hand will slowly "sweep" over the strings while your fretting hand quickly goes through the scales.

 

Google guitar sweeping and I'm sure someone on youtube has broken it down visually.

 

Alex will almost always go with alternate picking but will utilize sweeping in his faster runs.

 

He actually does "fudge" a bit live but his "sloppiness" is the raw energy sound this band needs. If Alex were as dead on perfect as Geddy and Neil Rush would sound way too mathematical. His "looseness" (better word than sloppy) compliments Geddy and Neil's precision very nicely.

 

Hope that was what you were looking for. :)

[Narps]

He's a fudger.

 

He's bisexual at most. Certainly not gay.

Thanks to both of you..... :laughing guy:

[Mr. Not]

Haha. He does a lot of alternate picking (which is hitting each note, down-up-down-up) but he often will use hammer ons.

 

A "Hammer on" is where you will hit a note, say on the 5th fret, and then quickly put your next finger on the 7th fret. You only pick once but the two notes will have a very similar attack because of the speed. You, if quickly enough, could actually pick on the 5th fret and then quickly finger the 7th and then 8th fret and each will sound as well. When you do this and run up the strings through your scales it is called sweeping. Your picking hand will slowly "sweep" over the strings while your fretting hand quickly goes through the scales.

 

Google guitar sweeping and I'm sure someone on youtube has broken it down visually.

 

Alex will almost always go with alternate picking but will utilize sweeping in his faster runs.

 

He actually does "fudge" a bit live but his "sloppiness" is the raw energy sound this band needs. If Alex were as dead on perfect as Geddy and Neil Rush would sound way too mathematical. His "looseness" (better word than sloppy) compliments Geddy and Neil's precision very nicely.

 

Hope that was what you were looking for. :)

 

Can you link me to an example of Alex sweeping? If he does it he must do it while alternate picking still? I'd imagine that's the only way it could escape me. I didn't know you could mix the two and still have it be considered "sweeping"... As I have always imagined sweeping as sort of like playing the guitar like a violin or cello.

[KennyLee]

He doesn't do it often and not in the classical sense. Player like Steve Vai and Yngwie so it all the time because they basically run up and down scales super fast for their leads... no heart in them like Alex. Alex uses the technique but in a 1-2 second burst just to climb the neck to a new position.

 

It definitely does not sound like a cello or violin. They are still picking, just not every note.

 

Look at 2:48 oy Alex's solo on YYZ. You'll notice (if you look at his right hand) that he picks maybe once or twice but plays way more note. Plus on the climb down into the synth part (sucks this doesn't show his right hand here) he is picking a note and then pulling off (after you fret a string you can "pull off" of it and the open string will sound) to make more notes.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zmrz0_oqe4A

[Janie]

Kenny, you have been a wealth of information.

 

[hem]

Not to be pedantic, but I've never heard Alex sweeping, which is when the pick travels in the same direction (either up and down stoke) across the strings, that is,one hit per string. This is used almost exclusively for arpeggio playing, which Alex does not do much in his solos. People like Malmsteen use this technique a lot. Alex uses a lot of hammer ons and pull offs in his style, more left hand than right hand work. He's not the cleanest of alternate pickers, and outside of a few solos, he rarely employs this technique for more than a few notes if he is going at any speed. The big exception would be La Villa, and also Freewill, the latter being a little bit messy but exciting as hell. Edited January 27, 2014 by hem

[KennyLee]

Not to be pedantic, but I've never heard Alex sweeping, which is when the pick travels in the same direction (either up and down stoke) across the strings, that is,one hit per string. This is used almost exclusively for arpeggio playing, which Alex does not do much in his solos. People like Malmsteen use this technique a lot. Alex uses a lot of hammer ons and pull offs in his style, more left hand than right hand work. He's not the cleanest of alternate pickers, and outside of a few solos, he rarely employs this technique for more than a few notes if he is going at any speed. The big exception would be La Villa, and also Freewill, the latter being a little bit messy but exciting as hell.

 

Not at all. I agree. He uses sweeping in very rare instances. I was trying to make that point clear. The hammer ons and pull offs are used in sweeping so I was using that as more of an example of what the technique offers and how he uses them. Again, he uses the technique in short bursts just for quick climbs or descends.

 

I just don't communicate well. It's easier to show than explain.

[Snaked]

Alex can "cheat" all he wants.. as long as he keeps playing with that 'feel', it's all I really care about.

[TheWinslowOfWillowdale]

What about here?: Go to about 3:05 or 3:06. He's goes into a real fast "scaley" run. Trilling or precise alternate picking??

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHOoS2H1nvU

[KennyLee]

The first part where he climbs sounds like hammer-ons (picking a note and fingering the next fret quickly) and the second repetitive rolls sounds like alternate picking.

 

Keep in mind I am mainly a bass player though. Haha

[hem]

What about here?: Go to about 3:05 or 3:06. He's goes into a real fast "scaley" run. Trilling or precise alternate picking??

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AHOoS2H1nvU

 

The run up and down is pretty much straightforward picking. The repeating section is all pull offs. You can usually hear when Alex is picking because he tends to dig into the strings pretty hard with the plectrum. This is one of my favourite moments from this album, so thanks for posting it.

[TheWinslowOfWillowdale]

I consider Eddie's technique here at 4:28 trilling:

 

Eddie doesn't do this when he runs though scales ... it's just a "speed trick" that he usually employs on one string when he concludes a solo. Obviously here, he's using it as part of his overall showcase.....But keep in mind this trick can be used to entirely run through a scale to give the impression that one is actually proficiently alternate picking.....I know, that's how I tend to run through scales, and to the novice ear, it goes unnoticed.....;)

[RushIslander]

Al is great at fast up~down picking; La Villa is a great example, as mentioned in the op.

 

He also employs chromatic runs in some of those leads, as in playing notes in natural succession that aren't actually in the key of the scale he's basing the solo on.

 

Result = Awesome!

[Xanadoood]

Of the 3, i would say Al has lost the most " chops"..he is still great, but he definitely cant rip like he used to..

 

This clip from '83, from about 1: 45 to 2:00, some serious alternate picking..he just doesnt tear like this anymore..

 

Edited January 28, 2014 by Xanadoood

[GeminiRising79]

Of the 3, i would say Al has lost the most " chops"..he is still great, but he definitely cant rip like he used to..

 

This clip from '83, from about 1: 45 to 2:00, some serious alternate picking..he just doesnt tear like this anymore..

 

 

When your fingers look like stubby little caterpillars, you're going to have speed problems.

 

 

[EagleMoon]

Of the 3, i would say Al has lost the most " chops"..he is still great, but he definitely cant rip like he used to..

 

This clip from '83, from about 1: 45 to 2:00, some serious alternate picking..he just doesnt tear like this anymore..

 

 

When your fingers look like stubby little caterpillars, you're going to have speed problems.

 

I remember him commenting on his fingers being fatter. He needs to get on a fitness routine and lose some weight or get some some wider fretboard guitars.

[Mr. Not]

Not to be pedantic, but I've never heard Alex sweeping, which is when the pick travels in the same direction (either up and down stoke) across the strings, that is,one hit per string. This is used almost exclusively for arpeggio playing, which Alex does not do much in his solos. People like Malmsteen use this technique a lot. Alex uses a lot of hammer ons and pull offs in his style, more left hand than right hand work. He's not the cleanest of alternate pickers, and outside of a few solos, he rarely employs this technique for more than a few notes if he is going at any speed. The big exception would be La Villa, and also Freewill, the latter being a little bit messy but exciting as hell.

 

(thank you for reinforcing my view that Alex isn't a very good shredder) ;)

[Mr. Not]

He doesn't do it often and not in the classical sense. Player like Steve Vai and Yngwie so it all the time because they basically run up and down scales super fast for their leads... no heart in them like Alex. Alex uses the technique but in a 1-2 second burst just to climb the neck to a new position.

 

It definitely does not sound like a cello or violin. They are still picking, just not every note.

 

Look at 2:48 oy Alex's solo on YYZ. You'll notice (if you look at his right hand) that he picks maybe once or twice but plays way more note. Plus on the climb down into the synth part (sucks this doesn't show his right hand here) he is picking a note and then pulling off (after you fret a string you can "pull off" of it and the open string will sound) to make more notes.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zmrz0_oqe4A

 

I tend to prefer Lifeson's solos to Malmsteen or Vai's, but they're still obviously better guitarists. And I don't know so much about Yngwie, but Vai has a lot of heart

[Mr. Not]

This is a prime example of how much heart Vai has :D

 

[KennyLee]

He doesn't do it often and not in the classical sense. Player like Steve Vai and Yngwie so it all the time because they basically run up and down scales super fast for their leads... no heart in them like Alex. Alex uses the technique but in a 1-2 second burst just to climb the neck to a new position.

 

It definitely does not sound like a cello or violin. They are still picking, just not every note.

 

Look at 2:48 oy Alex's solo on YYZ. You'll notice (if you look at his right hand) that he picks maybe once or twice but plays way more note. Plus on the climb down into the synth part (sucks this doesn't show his right hand here) he is picking a note and then pulling off (after you fret a string you can "pull off" of it and the open string will sound) to make more notes.

 

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zmrz0_oqe4A

 

I tend to prefer Lifeson's solos to Malmsteen or Vai's, but they're still obviously better guitarists. And I don't know so much about Yngwie, but Vai has a lot of heart

 

I don't know about better. Just because they can blaze through scales doesn't make them better IMO.

 

Alex's solos make me feel a certain way (happy, sad, exited, etc.). Overflowing with emotion.

 

The only thing I ever think after a Steve Vai or Yngwie solo is, "Wow, that was fast."

 

Shredders do absolutely nothing for me.

[hughes&kettner]

I consider Eddie's technique here at 4:28 trilling: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDOFIttS69I

 

Eddie doesn't do this when he runs though scales ... it's just a "speed trick" that he usually employs on one string when he concludes a solo. Obviously here, he's using it as part of his overall showcase.....But keep in mind this trick can be used to entirely run through a scale to give the impression that one is actually proficiently alternate picking.....I know, that's how I tend to run through scales, and to the novice ear, it goes unnoticed..... ;)

I consider Eddie's technique here at 4:28 trilling: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uDOFIttS69I

 

Eddie doesn't do this when he runs though scales ... it's just a "speed trick" that he usually employs on one string when he concludes a solo. Obviously here, he's using it as part of his overall showcase.....But keep in mind this trick can be used to entirely run through a scale to give the impression that one is actually proficiently alternate picking.....I know, that's how I tend to run through scales, and to the novice ear, it goes unnoticed..... ;)

then u should "consider" learning more about the instrument.....'cause that is not even close to a trill.