Lamb’s Chops Part 2: Exclusive Lesson Series With Archspire’s Dean Lamb

Hey guys! Welcome to the second installment of Lamb’s Chops – my exclusive GearGods.net video series.

Download tabs for all examples here.

Let’s get into the examples in this video:

Example 1

This first example is from the track “Lucid Collective Somnambulation,” and it utilizes three finger tapping on the right hand. The shapes in the first part of this progression outline a harmonic minor scale, and the second portion has some chord suspension, finally resolving with the last chord. The main thing you’ll need to focus on with this pattern is keeping your other strings muted throughout, otherwise you’ll get a very messy sound, especially playing a 7 or 8 string guitar.

Example 2

This sweep pattern I find is quite melodically interesting. It goes from a minor sweep with an added 7th, to an augmented sweep based on the leading tone, creating harmonic minor. I love augmented stuff, you can find tons of augmented tonality all over my playing, I just love how symmetrical it is.When we are looking at scale degrees like I mentioned above, we think about what note in the scale we are in, by counting 1 through 7. Most scales you’ll encounter have 7 notes, although there are many exceptions. In the first sweep we are playing – in order – the 1st (tonic), 3rd, 5th, octave (8th), 3rd, 5th, and finally ending on the 7th note of the natural minor scale. With the augmented sweep things are a bit different. Because of its nature, the augmented triad has no real tonic, since it can be inverted three ways with no real change in the tonality. However, because of the function of it in this example, the first note creates pull to the tonic of the minor scale, changing the parent scale to something we know as “Harmonic Minor,” which is just the natural minor scale, with a sharped (or natural) 7th note. If you don’t know the natural major and minor scales, get to work! Those are very important first steps into the world of thinking intervalically.

Example 3

This next example is from the instrumental track “Kairos Chamber,” from our latest album. I initially wrote it as a practice piece to work on my hybrid picking, and it eventually made its way onto the album. Hybrid picking is the technique of using more than just your pick on your picking hand to grab notes. In this example, I roll from my pick to my middle, then ring, then pinky fingers. This creates a quick arpeggiated chord, which I found made its way to all kinds of aspects of my playing in general. Once you start hybrid picking, you won’t stop, and you’ll eventually add it to everything you do with the instrument.

Thanks for joining me on this two part video series. Did you like Lamb’s Chops? Would you like to see more? Email me at deanlamb9(at)gmail.com, add me on facebook, and check out the Archspire facebook page for any and all upcoming guitar related ventures.I also recently did some work on a project with my good friend and incredible composer/drummer Sean Lang, called Seven Year Storm. You can check out the newest video released here.

Also be sure to check out the first installment of Lamb’s Chops here if you haven’t already.

Stay Tech!!!

Dean
Archspire