tab

Guthrie Govan
20 ESSENTIAL
LICKS
LICK 4

JTC SAYS

This idea is just an insane barrage of notes. It’s pretty straight forward in moving through
scales that complement the chords that are being played underneath.

If you simplify things you can view everything in terms of pentatonic scales with some
additional notes thrown in. So over the C#m chord you can clearly see the C# minor
pentatonic scale but starting on a note outside the scale (B natural note ... the major 7th of
C#) hammering on to the C# note (the root note). It continues from there playing C# minor
pentatonic throwing in a b5 (blues note) and a minor 6th (from the dorian scale).

But with all that said ... again ... it can been seen simply as a pentatonic scale with a few
added “colors”.

Then we move to the F#m chord where ... you guessed it ... we have what can be viewed as
F# minor pentatonic stuff with a few extra notes added (the b5 and the minor 6th again). He
also adds a 9th before coming down what can be seen as an F#m9 arpeggio.

Analyzing the notes and scales is all well and good, however sometimes the bigger
takeaway is looking at shapes and contour as opposed to theoretical jargon. This is a
perfect case in point!

Take notice of the wave like motion of this fast and furious series of notes. If you look at
the standard notation, you see the wave of notes go up then down ... then up a lot more
... then down again ... an so on. All leading to a final higher note bend. Guthrie doesn’t
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 tab

just sequence a bunch of notes together in a strict order (1-2-3-4-5-6 ... 1-2-3-4-5-6 ... and
then move up to the next set of 6 notes) ... he’s always phrasing things slightly differently
and turning things upside down and back again. His lines never sound like pre rehearsed
patterns.

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 LICK 4
As recorded by jamtrackcentral.com
(From the 2014 Album GUTHRIE GOVAN'S 20 ESSENTIAL LICKS)

Fm bP = 80
ggg 4 V V V V V P V V fV V V
1
I 4 z V V V V
3
M O
1/2 1/2 M O
T 9 (9) (9)
A 11 9 7 9 10 9 7 9 7
B 9
sl. H sl. sl. P H P

b
V V V V f V gV f V V V
Bm Cm

ggg j k f V gV V f V gV V V V V V V
2
I
T 9 12 9 10 9 9
A 9 9 11 12 12 11 9 11 9
10 11 10 11 11
B
H H H H P H P P P P

b
V V V V V V V f V gV V f V gV f V V V V V V V V V
Fm

g g V V V
3
Ig V V V V V V V V

T 14 15 14
A 11 14 11 14 16 17 17 17 16 14 14 13 13
11 9 11 14 14 14 11 14 16 16 16 14
B 16 12 11 12
P sl. H P P sl. H H H H P P sl. P sl. H

Bm Cm b
V
8va

g g V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V V
4
Ig V f V gV V V
FullM
14 12 14 16 19 14 16 19 22
T 12 14 14 12 14 17
A 11 14 12 13
11 14 12 11 12 14
B
H P P H H H sl. H P P sl. H H H P H H T

JamTrackCentral Ltd 2014

Generated using the Power Tab Editor by Brad Larsen. http://powertab.guitarnetwork.org
LICK 4 - jamtrackcentral.com Page 2 of 2
Fb m Bm

V
8va 8va 8va 8va

ggg V V V V V V V V V
1
I l l l V V j
FullM M
Full M
Full M O
1/2

(22) 19 19 19 19 19 19 17 17 16 (16)
T
A
B
P

Generated using the Power Tab Editor by Brad Larsen. http://powertab.guitarnetwork.org