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Help with The Spirit of Radio intro riff


Colashop
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Hey guys so I'm learning the intro riff for The Spirit of Radio and I'm wondering if I can get some help. I'm starting to get the speed down but i can't seem to fix this issure I'm having. Basically I'm having a hard time muting the open B string after playing the D on the thrid fret. I don't think that open B is supposed to be in there and it rings out after every time I lift my finger off after playing the D. Does anyone have any ideas on how to fix this?

 

Thanks

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I'm no super guitarist but isn't the whole thing pull offs?

 

It's a combination of picking and pulloffs, but yeah, a lot of pulloffs.

 

Colashop, when you play that D on the B string 3rd fret, be careful to not pull your finger off sideways, as you would do when doing pulloffs for the other notes on the E string. After playing that D, lift your finger straight up off the string. That should eliminate most of that open B ringing out. It'll take some practice but you'll get it.

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I just tried playing the riff to see what advice I could offer.

 

One thing I notice is that when I play that D note, the next note I always play is the open E on the on the first string. As I'm releasing the D and picking the E, the side of my thumb naturally mutes to open B string, and my middle finger that was just fretting the D note doesn't pull off the string so much as just release the note from the fret. So there is double muting going on, if you will.

 

You should only need the middle finger for the D note, so there is no real need for it to be moved around too much, anyway.

 

Hope this helps.

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I just tried playing the riff to see what advice I could offer.

 

One thing I notice is that when I play that D note, the next note I always play is the open E on the on the first string. As I'm releasing the D and picking the E, the side of my thumb naturally mutes to open B string, and my middle finger that was just fretting the D note doesn't pull off the string so much as just release the note from the fret. So there is double muting going on, if you will.

 

You should only need the middle finger for the D note, so there is no real need for it to be moved around too much, anyway.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Your picking hand thumb is muting the string? That's pretty cool. I just played it and my right hand isn't doing any muting at all. I'd make a mess of it if I tried to do that. :LOL:

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I just tried playing the riff to see what advice I could offer.

 

One thing I notice is that when I play that D note, the next note I always play is the open E on the on the first string. As I'm releasing the D and picking the E, the side of my thumb naturally mutes to open B string, and my middle finger that was just fretting the D note doesn't pull off the string so much as just release the note from the fret. So there is double muting going on, if you will.

 

You should only need the middle finger for the D note, so there is no real need for it to be moved around too much, anyway.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Your picking hand thumb is muting the string? That's pretty cool. I just played it and my right hand isn't doing any muting at all. I'd make a mess of it if I tried to do that. :LOL:

 

Believe me, I was pretty surprised by it, too. And like JARG said above, I am probably doing some light palm muting on the B and G strings.

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Looks like I start with a down stroke on the F#, pull off to the E, while continuing the down stroke to the D followed by an up stroke to the open E. Repeat that pattern for the next three sequences. Down pick the A followed by the pull off to E, then the D. Then repeat the first set (from F#) and then down pick the G#, pull off to F# then E, then down pick the D.

 

Basically, the only up strokes I'm using are for the open E coming up from the D.

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Looks like I start with a down stroke on the F#, pull off to the E, while continuing the down stroke to the D followed by an up stroke to the open E. Repeat that pattern for the next three sequences. Down pick the A followed by the pull off to E, then the D. Then repeat the first set (from F#) and then down pick the G#, pull off to F# then E, then down pick the D.

 

Basically, the only up strokes I'm using are for the open E coming up from the D.

 

Thanks for your help man I appreciate it!

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Looks like I start with a down stroke on the F#, pull off to the E, while continuing the down stroke to the D followed by an up stroke to the open E. Repeat that pattern for the next three sequences. Down pick the A followed by the pull off to E, then the D. Then repeat the first set (from F#) and then down pick the G#, pull off to F# then E, then down pick the D.

 

Basically, the only up strokes I'm using are for the open E coming up from the D.

 

Same here. The right hand should have a nice and steady up-and-down alternate picking motion, as if you were picking every note (which you're not in this case).

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I learned the song from a slowed-pitch reel-to-reel long before there were any videos of Alex doing it and I could have sworn that after the D, he hammers on the E on the 5th fret of the second string instead of picking the open first string (from the lack of pick attack). This also fixed the problem of the ringing open B string. Turns out he picks the E on the open first string, which I find makes it harder to execute in a nice flowing motion. Sheldon's got it right. I know that's how he plays it live now, but I still find the studio version sounds like alternating picks with hammer/pull-off.
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Looks like I start with a down stroke on the F#, pull off to the E, while continuing the down stroke to the D followed by an up stroke to the open E. Repeat that pattern for the next three sequences. Down pick the A followed by the pull off to E, then the D. Then repeat the first set (from F#) and then down pick the G#, pull off to F# then E, then down pick the D.

 

Basically, the only up strokes I'm using are for the open E coming up from the D.

 

Same here. The right hand should have a nice and steady up-and-down alternate picking motion, as if you were picking every note (which you're not in this case).

 

This is key.

when you are in that grove you will know it and it comes together and when your not it really does sound like you are struggling. .

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I like how this guy teaches TSOR

 

That guy is adding notes that Alex doesn't play. I'm guilty of this too. This guy shows how to play it as Alex himself demonstrated in his video lesson.

http://youtu.be/bq1LOUtabCw

 

Well shit, I've been playing it like in the first video.

 

Me too. It's always made a sort of mathematical sense to me to play it that way.

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I like how this guy teaches TSOR

 

That guy is adding notes that Alex doesn't play. I'm guilty of this too. This guy shows how to play it as Alex himself demonstrated in his video lesson.

http://youtu.be/bq1LOUtabCw

 

Well shit, I've been playing it like in the first video.

 

Me too. It's always made a sort of mathematical sense to me to play it that way.

 

Yeah. The extra open E makes it more of a 16th note pattern of four notes, with the exception of the extra pull off of G# to F# to open E. Now, I'm thinking it should have a triplet feel when I play it. I'm actually looking forward to working on it.

 

But now it makes sense why, whenever I saw Lifeson play it, it just didn't look like what I was doing.

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I like how this guy teaches TSOR

 

That guy is adding notes that Alex doesn't play. I'm guilty of this too. This guy shows how to play it as Alex himself demonstrated in his video lesson.

http://youtu.be/bq1LOUtabCw

 

Well shit, I've been playing it like in the first video.

 

Me too. It's always made a sort of mathematical sense to me to play it that way.

 

Yeah. The extra open E makes it more of a 16th note pattern of four notes, with the exception of the extra pull off of G# to F# to open E. Now, I'm thinking it should have a triplet feel when I play it.

 

Triplet in the sense that it's groupings of three notes, I don't think any of of the note duration values should change except for the D, which is now doubled (from 16th to 8th), which is slightly different than how this guy is playing it.

Edited by JARG
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I like how this guy teaches TSOR

 

That guy is adding notes that Alex doesn't play. I'm guilty of this too. This guy shows how to play it as Alex himself demonstrated in his video lesson.

http://youtu.be/bq1LOUtabCw

 

Well shit, I've been playing it like in the first video.

 

Me too. It's always made a sort of mathematical sense to me to play it that way.

 

Yeah. The extra open E makes it more of a 16th note pattern of four notes, with the exception of the extra pull off of G# to F# to open E. Now, I'm thinking it should have a triplet feel when I play it.

 

Triplet in the sense that it's groupings of three notes, I don't think any of of the note duration values should change except for the D, which is now doubled (from 16th to 8th), which is slightly different than how this guy is playing it.

 

http://i1141.photobucket.com/albums/n600/saltwatershakers/fascinating.gif

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I've been messing around with it this morning, using my DAW to isolate and repeat one note at a time, and Alex played it differently than how he demonstrates in that video (I suspect that that's probably how he plays it these days, but we all know his skill as a player has waned in recent years).

 

The way he originally plays it is a bit of a hybrid between the those two guys' videos.

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