Guitar Techniques

Soloing with 4th Intervals

Building on last month’s study of 4ths, where we looked at the harmonic possibilities, we turn our attention to the soloing potential of this simple but hugely effective device. As we’ve seen, 4ths are a powerful cornerstone of harmony, if you continue around this pattern from a fixed root in an unbroken cycle of 12, you’ll both return to exactly where you started and you’ll have visited every note in the process, following a sequence that has huge transpositional value. From a single-note perspective, 4ths can be considered as a gateway to chromaticism, with their distinctively angular and modern sound.

The six examples that follow outline a specific musical application for 4ths. We’ll explore diatonic and non-diatonic options here, along with the benefits of moving an idea intervallically to produce lines that have more in common

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