MASTERCLASS BOOKLET

Ignazio Di Salvo
SYMPHONIC ROCK
MASTERCLASS

Welcome! Thanks for buying my masterclass! 

We are going to examine a range of ideas for developing original and catchy solos over
some epic melodic rock. In the first part there are 10 licks in which I cover several tech-
niques and melodic approaches. In the second part we have 10 exercises which give you
the opportunity to focus on specific techniques and patterns. All of this comes together in a
full solo. 

The backing track is inspired by bands like Epica, Within Temptation and Kamelot. 
It contains very powerful, driving drums which contrast with the synths and orchestral
sounds. It’s a simple progression in B minor and gives us the freedom to explore loads of
interesting ideas, both technically and melodically.

PART ONE: 10 LICKS

LICK 1: We start with a long alternate picking run in 16th note triplets. Although the 4/4 drum
pattern seems to indicate a tempo of 66 bpm, we’ve interpreted this as half-time at 132
bpm. This only changes the rhythmic subdivisions (16th notes instead of 32nd notes) so it’s
easier for you to read! Pay attention to the end of each phrase and most importantly to the
timing and expression of the bends.

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LICK 2: This lick contains some arpeggio madness inspired by Jason Becker, a player who influ-
enced me a lot in this style. Start by practising with a metronome at a very low speed. 

LICK 3: This phrase starts with four-note arpeggios, tapping with both hands, and then moves to full
melodic eight-finger tapping.

LICK 4: Here I used an arpeggio progression played with sweep and hybrid picking at the same
time. I ended the lick with some melodic bending and an intervallic pattern moving through the B
minor scale (B C# D E F# G A). 

LICK 5: This is mostly based around arpeggios following the chord progression, but I’m using eight-
finger tapping and adding lots of scale notes in between the chord tones. Pay attention the dynam-
ics while playing; it’s important for every note to have the right volume. Again practice it very slowly!

LICK 6: I started this lick with a long legato run based on a repeating six-note pattern moving
through the B natural minor (Aeolian) scale. In bar 6 we have a Dmaj7 arpeggio with some tricky
tapping moves. At the end of bar 7 you’re hammering on (with your fretboard hand) ABOVE the
tapped note. Take care to aim for the right note!

LICK 7: Here’s an even more varied range of tapping techniques. The first arpeggio involves pulling
off from the upper (tapped) shape to the lower shape, and then we move into a flowing eight-finger
tapping line. This is still built around the underlying chord progression, but with more melodic notes.
Again be very careful to correctly aim each note and give the right expression to the flow of each
phrase.

LICK 8: In this phrase I returned to alternate picking runs but with a more open fingering. The effect
can be quite unusual because some notes are repeated on different strings. 

LICK 9: In this lick I played mostly arpeggios, using eight finger tapping. Every phrase contains an
interesting arpeggio and I used the tapping to extend each shape over the neck. The arpeggios I
played are Emadd9, Bmadd9, Dmaj7 (with a brief added 11th) and then a more scale-based line for
the A chord. Again practice it very slow!

LICK 10: The first line over Em is similar to something we’ve done before, but I added a hint of be-
bop, connecting the shapes with chromatic notes. There’s also some hybrid picking, which is no-
tated under the Tab.

PART TWO: 10 EXERCISES & FULL SOLO

In each case, I’ve played the exercises at full- and half-speed. It’s important that you try both ver-
sions, because playing stuff slower doesn’t necessarily make it easier. All licks have an ideal tempo
range, and it can sometimes be harder to play a lick slowly and deliberately.

EX1: This is the B minor arpeggio (B D F#) played with tapping in a four-note-per-string patterns.
Careful with the string skipping!

EX2: An E minor arpeggio with extra notes from the B minor scale (B C# D E F# G A) played with a
mixture of sweep picking and hybrid picking. The picking directions are shown below the tab, if you
want to copy what I do.

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EX3: Now here’s a B minor arpeggio played in a 3-1-3 fingering pattern, with some added melodic
notes. This time I’m using sweep and economy picking.

EX4: Time for an alternate picking workout. This is all three-notes-per-string, using B minor penta-
tonic (B D E F# A). Paul Gilbert is great at this kind of lick.

EX5: B natural minor scale (B C# D E F# G A) played with eight-finger tapping, using a six-note-per-
string fingering. Try to keep the dynamics even.

EX6: Back to the 3nps alternate picking, but this time using the repeating six-note phrase we used
(with legato) in Lick 6.

EX7: Here’s another interesting way to spread a big arpeggio across the fretboard using a mixture
of techniques (see also Ex1). This time we’re working on Bm7.

EX8: Here’s another approach to tapping that’s a big part of my playing. It’s basically a B minor
scale in simple 3nps fingering, but we’re displacing the top note in each pattern onto the next string.
This means you have to be accurate with the 3rd or 4th finger of your tapping/picking hand. I like
the effect, it’s less predictable as it gives wider intervals. 

EX9: Another nice run for alternate picking. Apart from the first pattern, it’s all B minor pentatonic (B
D E F# A).

EX10: There’s no tapping in this exercise, but every note is played legato. Even when I play the first
note on a new string, I don’t pick it – I start the vibration with a hammer-on (a “hammer-on from
nowhere”).

FULL SOLO: This gives you a chance to hear how I use all these techniques in a real musical con-
text. You can either learn the whole solo (good luck!), steal a few licks or try your own ideas over the
backing track.

For the first half of the solo, I’m playing over the same B minor progression that we used for the
licks, but the second half shifts to C# minor (C# D# E F# G# A# B). The G# chord gives you the op-
portunity to experiment with harmonic minor (C# D# E F# G# A B#) or melodic minor (C# D# E F#
G# A# B#).

I hope you enjoyed this masterclass – see you soon!

Ignazio Di Salvo

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