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Lesson notes: GUTHRIE GOVAN, MELODIC SERIES 1
DOOBIE VIBE
Were in the key of F# natural minor here (F# G# A B C# D E) which contains the same notes as A
major, but with the tonal centre of F#.

SPECIFICS
Bars 1-8
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Over the first F#m-C#m-Bm-E progression, Guthrie sticks largely to the 9 fret area. Most of the notes
are from the scale, but theres a couple of chromatic notes (G in bar 4, C in bar 5, C in bar 7) where he
ornaments a main melody note with the note a half-tone higher or lower. This is a common jazz/blues
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trick you hear it frequently when players ornament the 4 with the b5.
Bars 9-16
The D-E/D change at the start of each four-bar chunk hints at a change of key to D Lydian (same notes
as F# natural minor).
Bars 11-12
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This phrase is the most challenging so far in the brief pause before it, make sure your 2 and 4
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fingers are ready to play the first two notes. After that first pattern, the rest follows the 14 fret blues box
position, but you might find it more convenient to use your first three fingers, rather than 1, 3 and 4.
Bars 15-16
At the end of this section, the C# chord suggests a return to F# this chord is native to F# major, not F#
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minor, but its very common to use the dominant 5 chord in a minor key, as it gives a greater pull back
to the tonic (F#m chord). Over the top of the C#, Guthrie plays around a C#7b9 arpeggio.
Bar 17
Take note of that Aadd9/C# chord, because were going to come across the same shape in LA Acoustic,
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too. Its the first inversion of a standard add9 chord (so the 3 is in the bass, not the root) and its a great
chord to use, because it gives that instant Steely Dan sound. Walter Becker and Donald Fagen loved it
so much, they even renamed it, calling it the mu () major chord. Dont be put off by the apparent
complexity its the same principle as Jimmy Page using a G/B to link the C major and A minor chords
in the 12-string section of Stairway to Heaven!
Bar 33
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This is a good example of how Guthrie often likes to land on the 9 (in this case G# over F#m). Also,
listen to how he gets a snappier tone, especially on the high strings, by plucking with his fingers.
Bars 41-48
Over the D Lydian passage, Guthrie uses rests and phrases built from different numbers of notes to
create an unsettled feel. When the C# chord returns at the end, he uses a simpler C#7 arpeggio pattern,
but finishes with a long chromatic line. This time the C# pulls naturally back to the tonic F#m.
Bars 49-57
The final section involves just F#m and C#m chords, but the principle is the same. Guthrie has pared his
note choice down to just the F# minor pentatonic (F# A B C# E) for all but a couple of notes here, but
the phrasing and melodic shape still make it sound melodic, not just like blues-rock licks.

COUNTRY ROAD
This backing takes place in the related keys of G major (G A B C D E F#) and E minor (E F# G A B C
D). Most of Guthries notes are from the G major pentatonic (G A B D E) and E minor pentatonic (E G A
B D) which are also related in the same way.

SPECIFICS
Bar 9
This is the first tricky passage, where youre playing a G6 arpeggio that moves vertically across the
strings. Hit the 6-7 slide with your first finger, and then use one finger per fret.
Bar 11-12
This lick also moves vertically across the strings try using your pick and either one or two fingers to
pluck the notes here.
Bars 17-24
The chords imply a change of key to E minor, but its related to G major, so our notes and chords remain
the same.
Bar 17
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Youll probably have to use your 4 finger to play that bend, so make sure its supported by other
fingers.
Bars 22-23
This passage moves up the fretboard pretty quickly, so take the time to map out your fingering carefully
for the most efficient movement. Again, for best results, use a finger to pluck the E string notes in bar
22.
Bars 25-28
More pick-and-finger stuff for four solid bars! When youre moving quickly between strings like this, its
easy for the strings to ring together, causing a less defined sound, so be careful with damping. The little
10-15-14 move on the third beat of bar 27 is a pattern Guthrie uses a lot reach up to hammer the 15
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with your 4 finger and then slide it down to the 14.
Bars 33-40
This section starts in a similar fashion to the previous section pick/finger lines pairs of strings, but this
time the fingering patterns are a bit more complex. Look at what Guthries doing for the first six beats
hes switching between a five-note pattern and a very similar seven-note pattern.
Bars 42-43
These ascending arpeggio shapes have something of a Mark Knopfler sound, so take a tip from Mark
and use your fingers (or pick and fingers). Sweep-picking them just wont give the notes enough
definition.
Bars 44-45
This long bend is typical of some of the complex compound bends Guthrie has been using recently
(inspired by listening to Derek Truckss slide playing, maybe?). Youll need to dial in your tone carefully
for this sort of thing you need the sustain, but not too much distortion to make the tone inappropriate
for this sort of music.

EMOTIVE BALLAD
Were in the key of G major here, so Guthrie uses notes from the G major scale (G A B C D E F#) but he
also works around the notes of each underlying chord and adds a few chromatic flavour notes. The
slower tempo means youve got more time to explore the possibilities of each chord.

SPECIFICS
Bars 1-8
The first thing to notice here is the range of bends that Guthrie uses half-tone, whole-tone, larger
bends, pre-bends, quick bends with slow releases, slow bends with quick releases
Powertab can show quite a variety of shapes, but for the full story you really need to listen carefully to
the mp3, trying to match the shape of Guthries playing. The more you focus on these tiny details, the
more youll be in control of your own playing.
Bars 14-17
This is the perfect demonstration of how Guthrie varies his phrasing in this solo. Hes using a lot of licks
that sound more like a singer or saxophone player, so when youre jamming, try not to play too many
steady streams of typical rock guitar licks. Think like a saxophonist you cant play while youre
breathing in, so stay silent and play only as much as you could say in one breath!
Bars 22-23
The little phrase that straddles these two bars is another example of how he plays licks from outside the
usual guitar clichs. The hardest thing here is to get that large slide and bend into one smooth
movement.
Bar 26
One of Guthries favourite tricks is to use double octaves. Take care with your picking-hand damping, to
keep the notes well defined.

GOOD ENOUGH
Guthries using a slide for about half of this solo. Mostly, he uses the slide for one section and then
standard technique for the next, but theres a couple of little exceptions. The backing is in the key of C
major (C D E F G A B) and Guthrie spends a lot of time using the C major pentatonic (C D E G A). The
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most common added note is the minor 3 (Eb) which adds a bluesy element to the sound.

SPECIFICS
Bar 7
Quick half-tone ornaments like the one on beat 2 can also be found in the playing of Derek Trucks. Work
slowly at first, until youve gauged just how much you need to move the slide, and then speed up,
incorporating the movement into longer phrases.
Bar 10
Youll get the best sound for those quick arpeggio-type moves if you use pick and fingers together, or
even better, just fingers.
Bar 15
You might only read the Tab line, but theres a lot you can learn from the standard notation. When you
see a note, like the first one in this bar, thats written smaller than the rest, and with a line through its
stem, thats called a grace note, and should be played as quickly as possible. It has no actual rhythmic
value; it just borrows a tiny bit of time from the following note.
Bar 21
Notice how Guthrie applies that same ornamented slide style (see bar 7) to his bends!
Bar 25
The trick here is to move from non-slide to slide as smoothly as possible, so dont be tempted to put
down the slide. You also need to be in control with your slide playing, so that when you quickly apply the
slide to the string, you dont get a sudden clunk.

LA ACOUSTIC
Once again, Guthrie shows how you can use the pentatonic scale and still get a sophisticated fusion
sound if you use it right. Were in the key of E minor here (E F# G A B C D) so Guthries mostly using
the E minor pentatonic (E G A B D) and adding lots of b5 notes (Bb) for a bluesy edge. The key to the
sophisticated sound lies in the way he chooses target notes over the underlying chords, often 7ths and
9ths.

SPECIFICS
Bars 13-14
You dont have to just bend the scale notes! On the last note of bar 13, Guthrie bends a non-scale-note
(F) into a scale note (F#). The F# also happens to be present in the underlying Bm7 chord. In releasing
the bend, he then follows through with a nice little chromatic pull-off from the F to the E. Try it for
yourself bend into scale notes from completely unexpected places. As long as the target note is in the
scale (or the underlying chord) itll sound good.
Bars 15-16
The long line here is a great example of why you should learn scales in multiple positions and then learn
how to move between positions on any string. Guthrie is using small box patterns in each position,
connecting them with slides.
Bar 21
This bend lick is reminiscent of Jimi Hendrix. Bend the B string, and as youre releasing it, hit the G
string while its still partially bent. What you hear (if you do it right) is the upward movement on the B
string, and the downward movement on the G string.
Bar 36
Instead of using the E minor pentatonic as he mostly has been up to now, Guthrie plays a line here
which outlines a D7 arpeggio (D F# A C). Notice how he approaches the F# (the 19 on the B string)
chromatically from below and then the C (17 on the G string) chromatically from above.