Runs

Hey guys!

Not sure if this belongs in "Basics" forum, but here we go. I've been playing for 4 years now, and things are getting quite fast (i can hit a lot of notes/min). Im using economy picking, as it just seems to be the fastest way to pick the fast runs.

What I would like to hear is, if you guys have some good sounding "runs" (you know picking notes very fast from E to e and opposite). If you got them on tabs it would be nice. :cool:

Ohh! And what tone (if any) their in would be nice to know also.

- Kronborg

By the way. I'm new to write on this board, but you guys are fantastic. Seriusly! :D
Sorry for the bad, bad english.. I'm danish you know... :rolleyes:

I've get some pretty good runs, but only when I drink too much coffee...
Seriously though, if you want some good stuff for getting even faster, try running permutations. find a 4 fret position that is easy on your hand, and play every combination of notes, on every string. Start with 1234, and go all the way through to 4321. Then try it skipping strings. I've been doing this for about a year now, and I'm getting pretty fast. Another year, and It'll just be a blur.

http://www.guitartricks.com/lesson.php?input=8334

Oh thanks Doc!

I was getting quite tired of that boring pengon-scale run.
I will just be checking the tricks out.

I was just wondering myself about how to create runs. I have read many a book, website or tab example of nice ways to play runs just like you say at the start of your thread, running from low E to high E 12th fret, ascend/descend etc, but I don't know about anyone else it's nice to be able to play a few tricks like that in front of some mates or even at a gig, though I feel personally this gives me no satisifaction in terms of knowing the best way to implement the technique during a given chord progression. For example I might have the chords G D Amin constantantly revolving over and over but its going to sound like a bag of spanners if all I do is start on G in the Key of Emin pentantonic ( yes I undesrstand what I'm describing is technically a mode) from the lower end of the fretboard and rattle through till I'm playing G at the higher end of the fretboard. My question is when playing a fast run how do other people approach this in terms of getting something with a melodic, or even blues rock context that sounds fitting over any given chord sequence? I feel if I could understand this, it would help me interms of creating my own runs over other people records and for my own musics sake. :confused:

An example of an ascending sextuplet (groups of 6 notes) run I'd do is: three fingers per string pattern of, say, Amin starting from 6th string 3rd fret (g), but when you reach 5th string 5th fret (d), go back to 6th string 7th fret (b). That is a six note pattern (5 steps up, one double step down), which, when applied to other string pairs, produces a run. I guess it's Paul Gilbert inspired, though it's not neccessarily alternate picked.
Use runs a lot while practicing and they will fall into place. Start from any of the current_chord tones, go crazy, and try landing on one of the new_current_chord tones, even if it isn't the highest you can reach with the run.

cheers crazy guy, I guess sometimes it just takes someone else saying it to validate what you already thought you knew, being completly self taught sometimes thnking and analysing how things are done can just drive you nuts, but cheers. I see from your example you chose a different chord tone from G which is the B note to end the run on I guess this gives me ideas to play with to see how this affects any runs I play. Good man!

-----------------------------------------------------------5-7---
----------------------------------------------5-6---5-6-8------8-
--------------------------------4-5----4-5-7------7--------------
-------------------3-5---3-5-7------7----------------------------
------3-5---3-5-7------7-----------------------------------------
3-5-7-----7------------------------------------------------------

Thanks man! Got a bit confused by the last part of your message, so just to make sure. The tab above is the basic form of what I meant. It's pretty flexable in terms of picking, I sometimes play it alternate, sometimes hybrid with hammer-ons and all, didn't really analyze until just now. The end of the run above is an option only if you're taking it elsewhere, otherwise you make up an end strating,for example, at the end of the third sextuplet (group of 6 ... count 666). No Satan was summoned this way yet, so keep trying and spread the word and the Dark Lord is bound to come soon. HA!!! HA!!! ["Angel of Death" intro scream inserted]

thats really cool, basically what i meant was as you started on G it was interesting that you chose a b note to end the run on, as this is one of the chord tones/notes that make up the g chord, leaving the run sounding here against your chord progression gives this a dynamic of tension in the sound, thats why i think it is interesting. Lots of folk just learn to do a run from say a low E in the pentatonic scale to a high E, which I find pretty boring, cause most peoles examples have no melodic content or relationship specific to any progressions but your run does mate so well done.oh and thanks for the advice.