1 September 2010

Guitar Solos - 5 Double Stops 3rds Licks

This guitar lesson presents 5 example licks that show how double stops 3rds can be used in guitar solos.

The lesson starts with a quick presentation of the fingerings you can use to play double stop 3rds on the guitar. Then you'll see five example licks that demonstrate these shapes in action.

Double Stop 3rds Fretboard Shapes

Double stop 3rds come in two varieties. Major 3rds intervals separated by four semitones and minor 3rds intervals separated by only three semitones.

Each variety has its own fingering on adjacent strings which conveniently makes it easy to play the two notes together.

Because the interval between the 3rd string and the 2nd string of the guitar is different from the others the fingerings for this pair of strings is different. You therefore have four fingerings to memorize, shown in the figure below.

The five example licks below all use these fingerings over a G major chord with a sixth string root. You can move them up or down the fretboard for other chords with 6th string root forms.

Example 3rds Lick #1

This first example is an easy introduction to the 3rds shape on the 3rd and 4th strings. The double stop is built on the root note of the G chord - notice how it strongly emphasizes the sound of the chord.

Example 3rds Lick #2

This next example uses the minor and major 3rds shapes on the 2nd and 3rd strings. Note too the use of a hammer-on to the 3rd scale degree of the minor double stop. This gives the lick a bluesy feel.

Example 3rds Lick #3

Another example with a bluesy feel with its triplet time and the use of the quarter note bend on the minor 3rd.

Example 3rds Lick #4

This next example gets you moving across strings a little. The first double stop on the 5th scale degree uses the major shape on the top two strings.

Example 3rds Lick #5

The final example introduces some new double stop positions further up the neck. These double stops use the 6th, 7th and 1st scale degrees on the second string before finishing on a G major triad.

Review And Conclusion

Practice these 5 example double stop 3rds licks to get used to the fingerings. As you practice memorize the scale degrees of the bottom note of each interval, this will help you to know if you should play a major or minor double stop.

When you've got these shapes burned into your fingers try making up more licks of your own. Remember, use major 3rds on the root, fourth and fifth scale degrees, and minor 3rds on the other degrees.


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