Lesson
Notes from Jeff
I took a head on approach to this lesson.
Dokken in general is probably one of the highest requested style lessons
here at JFRocks.com, second only to Vai and Satriani which I covered earlier in the year
and of course Van Halen...
The George Lynch guitar style is often touted as being a Van Halen rip off,
I don't actually believe that to be true... While it is true that
Lynch obviously has some Van Halen influence, his style rides a touch on the
neo-classical side of Van Halen.. This style is less random than Van
Halen first of all... There are definite intentional uses of modes
with this music, combined with the 2 guitar dynamic, with the second guitar
being used in most cases in a very melodic way. While there are
instances where the 2 guitars play the same riff, as evident on our song
example in spots, the 2nd guitar in this situation often carries a
background melody to act as a filler, yet still leaving room for the
vocalist to shine and the guitar 1 power chord pattern to be the main
force.. These are subtle composing elements that usually go un-noticed
by the listener or fan, but are in the end that certain something that gives
Dokken music a sound all its own But in various forms this composing
style forms the basis for what we know as 80's hair band rock...
Speaking of sound, the Lynch guitar sound is different in many ways from the
Van Halen sound. Although it's obvious to me that Lynch liked the Van
Halen sound, the band dynamic in Dokken is different from Van Halen.
Edward doesn't need to have guitar cut through much of anything, they're a
simple 3 piece unit.. So his rich warm non-mid range tone works out
just fine. Try that tone with a 2 guitar situation on stage and you'll
soon learn that your sound will be lost.. Lynch obviously knew this as
far as I can tell but he managed to still dial in a warm tone despite adding
some serious mid-range contouring...
The Lynch guitar sound is what I call "warm mid-range"..
It's similar to Vito Bratta's sound but it's got more crunch to it and a
little more high end.. What I mean by warm mid-range sound is that it's not as cold as some of the other acts of the time that had 2
guitars and used mids to cut through.. Lynch managed to add some
warmth to his tone by contouring the mids though low and high mid ranges and
adding in just enough low end to keep it from drifting into what Van Halen
called once, "the chainsaw" guitar sound, and just enough high end to give
it some presence..
Admittedly I had to make some adjustments to the sound I recorded with for
our example piece, but
the root of the tone is the same as a typical Dokken type guitar sound...
This is especially heard in the solo of our example track.. Which is
loosely based on a couple Dokken solos, but mainly the "In my dreams" lead..
The sound Lynch gets for that particular solo is a good example of what I mean
by "warm mid-range", it's got some mid-range to it but it's a balanced
mid-range and it doesn't have that nails on a chalkboard effect often heard
when tone deaf individuals start screwing with their mid knob..
Personally I would have liked to have used more distortion crunch on
our example track, but because we mix such a big guitar sound it ended up
sounding mushy so I backed off the distortion a little bit from where Lynch
might put it.. Just something for you to keep in mind as you're trying
to dial in the sound.. Don't go overboard but this sound does have
some crunch to it.
Below are the tabs to our example song "Alone In My Dreams Again"..
Both the sound and the song itself are loosely based on a combination of
Dokken's
"Alone again" and "In my dreams".... The rhythm sound pre-solo is more
of an "Alone again" type sound with a little more low end to it.. The
rhythm sound over the solo and post-solo song sections is more of an "In my
dreams" tone with low-mids taking precedence over the bass eq or low
end tone... So in other words use your low end mids to control almost the
entire low end of the sound spectrum...
On the video lesson I will go over the track tabs with you and also talk
more about the sound, and give you some basic theory as to what's going on
with this song and of course the Lynch guitar style in general....
Admittedly I'm not the end all be all on this style, but I'm familiar with
it enough to give you a good lesson on it and if nothing else teach you a
little about 80's hair band rock in general.. (That, I am an
expert on, because I was there, hair and all...LOL..)
Enjoy the lesson, and please be sure to listen the song example a few times
before you dive into the video...
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________
Alone In My Dreams Again
TAB Transcription
Song Intro
Chorus Optional
**Tabs
are color coded, guitar 1 is Black, and guitar
2 is in Blue.
Special chord symbol meanings
+
= Augmented (sharp 5th)
dim
= Diminished (technically a flat 5 power chord in this case)
___________________________________________________________________________
*Lightly
Em add9
E______________0_______________
B________________0_____________
G________0_________0___________
D______4___4_________4_________
A______________________________
E___0__________________________
Main Theme / Kick in Riff
E5 E+ E5
D5 D dim
C5 D5 E5
E+ E5
E_______________________________________________________________________
B_______________________________________________________________________
G_______________________________________________________________________
D________________9_10_ 9________________7_7_6___________5___7___9_10_9___
A___________5_7__7_ 7__7___________5_7__5_5_5______5_7__3___5___7_ 7_ 7___
E___0_0_3--7_______________0_0_3--7_____________0_7________
x___x__________
*Guitar
2 enters here - See Blue tabs below...
E___________________________________________________________________________
B___________________________________________________________________________
G___________________________________________________________________________
D________________9_10_ 9________________7_7_6___________5___7___7___________
A___________5_7__7_ 7__7___________5_7__5_5_5______5_7__3___5___5__7_7______
E___0_0_3--7_______________0_0_3--7_____________0_7________ x___x___
5_5______
*Guitar 2 -
comes in on line 2 of tab above..
E_____12_____12_____12_____12_______14_____14_____14_____14______15__15___12_
12__ 14________
B___________________________________________________________________________________________
G_x_x_9__x_x_9__x_x_9__x_x_9____x_x_11_x_x_11_x_x_11_x_x_11__x_x_12__12___9___9___11__2_2___
D_____________________________________________________________________________________2_2___
A_____________________________________________________________________________________0_0___
E___________________________________________________________________________________________
Verse Riffing
This is a mix of things,
it's taken from a couple Lynch songs, but it's based on In
my dreams slightly...
Chorus Optional
D5/A
E5/B
C5 C dim D5 D dim D5/A E5/B
C5 C dim D5 D dim
E_________________________________________________________
B_________________________________________________________
G_________________________________________________________
D__0_2____________5_4___7_6___0_2___________5_4___7_6_____
A__0_2____________3_3___5_5___0_2___________3_3___5_5_____
E______0_0_0_0_0__________________0_0_0_0_0_______________
*You
can also do this in the 2nd and open positions if you like.. I preferred
the sound where I did this riff..
E5 E+ E5 A5/E
D5/A A5/E
E__________________________________________
B__________________________________________
G____________________7~___________________
D__9_10_9____7_______7~_____7~____________
A__7_ 7_ 7____7______________7~____________
E_________0x___0x_0x_____0x________________
E5 E+ E5 A/E
D5/A A5
E__________________________________________________
B__________________________________________________
G____________________7~___2_2_2____________________
D__9_10_9____7_______7~___2_2_2____>into chorus
part____
A__7_ 7_ 7____7____________0_0_0____________________
E_________0x___0x_0x_______________________________
Chorus
The lesson with this chorus which is loosely based on the chorus from "In my
dreams" is how guitar 2 is playing off of the diminished (flat 5th) chords that
set the mood in the verse, while guitar 1 is doing a power chord pattern similar
to our verse. So guitar 2 is a melodious accent for lack of a better way
to phrase it...
Chorus Optional
Guitar 1
E5
C5 C dim D5
E5
C5 C dim D5 B5
E____________________________________________________
B____________________________________________________
G____________________________________________________
D______5_4_____7_____9_____________5_4_____7__4~_____
A__2___3_3_____5_____7_________2___3_3_____5__2~_____
E__0_________0_____0___0_0_0___0_________0____________
E5 C5 C dim
D5 E5
C5 C dim D5
E________________________________________________________________________
B________________________________________________________________________
G________________________________________________________________________
D______5_4_____7_____9_____________5_4_____7~____________________________
A__2___3_3_____5_____7_________2___3_3_____5~____>into
pre-solo main theme riffing___
E__0_________0_____0___0_0_0___0_________0________________________________
Guitar 2: Accent melody - Pick lightly with a
lighter sound setting.
Em add9/B
E_____________________________________________
B_____________________________________________
G_______0________0__________0_________________
D_____4___4____4___4______4___4___4___________
A___2___________________2____________2~_______
E______________________________________________
D5
E_________________________________________________
B_________________________________________________
G_______0________0__________0_______7_____________
D_____4___4____4___4______4___4_____7_*let chord ring out___
A___2___________________2_________x_5_____________
E_________________________________________________
From here
it's back to main theme riffing, then go into the solo.
SOLO
The solo to this track is tricky in spots,
Lynch is a very good guitarist and it's tough to
transform his lead style into a lesson for varied skill levels... This
solo is based loosely on a couple Lynch solos with the primary being "In my
dreams".. The actual solo is very cool and usually horribly transcribed,
so maybe at the very least some of my licks in this embellished Lynch style solo
will help you.. I tried to stay true to the style as far as positioning
goes, however I do always alter positions to suit the sound of my guitar..
This equipment tip "know your rig" is the topic of a popular Mailbag video on
the JFRocks.com website... I know my guitars and you should know yours..
This is a key tip in you getting the sounds you want at home... If such
and such a player did something on the 2nd string and it sounds way better on
the 3rd string on YOUR setup, then play it on the 3rd string...
However you slice it this should be a good workout.. Please read my notes
above the tabs, and watch the video lesson for help with some of the sections..
Take special note of the chords above the tabs as always. And also take
note of the scales in use here.. We're in the key of "E minor", but we are
not just using the "E Minor" scale.. There is clever use of "Harmonic
minor" in here as well as the "Phrygian mode".. If you don't know your
modes or how to use them I highly recommend
JFRocks.com's
"Soloing 101 part Deux"..
Now on with the solo..
Chorus Optional
*Solo is tabbed out in its
individual phrasing sections for ease of reading...
E5 C5
B5
E5
E_________________________________________
B_________________________________________
G__2^1___4^1/2~~_____7h(14)___9h(14)_______
D_________________________________________
A_________________________________________
E_________________________________________
*Note the use of Harmonic
minor below.,. It starts with E minor then E harmonic minor.
E5
C5
B5
E5
E__________________________________________________________________
B__________________________________________________________________
G________12____12____11a.h~~___________12-9_______11-8____9a.h~~______
D__2---9____9_9___9_9____________5---10_____10_10______9_9___________
A__________________________________________________________________
E__________________________________________________________________
E5
C5
B5
E5
E________________________________________________________________________________________
B________10__12__13___10__12__13___10__12___10_12_12_10-12-10--8__10-11-10-8__8_10_10a.h~~____
G__2---9____9___9___9____9___9___9____9___9___________________ _9_________
9_______________
D________________________________________________________________________________________
A________________________________________________________________________________________
E________________________________________________________________________________________
E5
C5
D5
E________________________________________________________
B________________________________________________________
G__2^1___4__4^1/2~~_____7h(14)__9h(14)>w.b
down slowly>>______
D________________________________________________________
A________________________________________________________
E________________________________________________________
*Solo
part 2
The section below is NOT Tapped... You
can tap it if you want to, but the Lynch technique covered here is similar to a
technique that Van Halen did in the opening of the "Ice Cream Man" solo..
This is a repeating hammer on pull off pattern.. Your best bet if sitting
is to put the guitar on your left knee, or if standing try to put the guitar in
a vertical position for the best reach and strength... Practice this
slow... If you have to tap it, then tap the 19th and 20th frets...
E____________________________
B____________________________
G____________________________
D____________________________
A____________________________
E__17---random hand slide down--_________
E5
D5
E__12-15-12-19-12-15-12-19-12-15-12-19-12-15-12-19-12-15-12-19-12-15-12-20-12-15-12-20-12-15-12____
B__________________________________________________________________________________
G__________________________________________________________________________________
D__________________________________________________________________________________
A__________________________________________________________________________________
E__________________________________________________________________________________
A5
E5
E_-20-12-15-12-20-12-15-12-20-12-15-12-20-12-15-12-19-12-15-12-19-12-15-12-19-12-15-12-19-12-15-12_____
B_____________________________________________________________________________________
G_____________________________________________________________________________________
D_____________________________________________________________________________________
A_____________________________________________________________________________________
E_____________________________________________________________________________________
*The scale run at the end of this
section is in bold because it is both picked notes and hammer ons and pull
offs...
D5
A5
E5
E__-19-12-15-12-19-15-12__17_20_17_20-19-17_19-20-19-17_____________________________________
B__________________________________________________20-19-17_19-20-17_19-20-17____________
G___________________________________________________________________________19~~~_____
D______________________________________________________________________________________
A______________________________________________________________________________________
E______________________________________________________________________________________
D5
A5
D5
D5 A5
E________________________________________________________________
B__20^1*steady bend________20^1__20^1~~_______17^1~_____17^1.5_17~____
G__20^1*steady bend________20^1__20^1~~_______________________________
D________________________________________________________________
A________________________________________________________________
E________________________________________________________________
From here the song main theme riffs out to the end. Guitar 2 switches
back and forth from octave riffing as a follow along to playing the main theme
riff with guitar 1.. The final ending is the same pretty much as how the
song started..
Be sure to watch the video lesson for peformance tips, theory, and various other
explanations... The tab notes are to help guide you through the video
lesson and help you learn the song example. Ideally keep this page open as
you watch the video lesson. There is a link to open this tabs page in a
new window on the video lesson page.
End
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