guthrie govan

funky blues
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 G U T H R I E G O VA N - F U N K Y B L U E S

General Notes
The backing is a basic 12-bar blues in E, using the standard E7, A7 and B7 chords. This gives you the usual choice of scales...

E minor pentatonic (E G A B D)
E blues scale (E G A Bb B D)
E major pentatonic (E F# G# B C#)
E Mixolydian (E F# G# A B C# D)
E Dorian (E F# G A B C# D)

With the minor scales (pentatonic, blues, dorian) you might find you have to bend the G notes to G# over the E7 chords. Alternatively, you can
bend them part-way, giving the familiar ‘blues curl’ sound.

Bars 1-12
Guthrie starts out with four bars of E Mixolydian, moving to the Dorian and minor pentatonic in bars 5/6.

In bar 7, he plays one of many lines with additional chromatic notes. These lines are never just random streams of notes; Guthrie uses the
chromatic notes to connect regular scale notes or to provide ‘outside’ tension. Look at bar 8. The first four notes are from the blues scale (B Bb
A G) and then he resolves to the G# from the underlying chord. Later, he plays 9-10-11-12 on the B string, connecting the G# and B from the
Mixolydian scale.

At the end of bar 12, there are some very quick slides (10-11-12 and 12-13-14). Practise these slowly at first, aiming for clean accuracy.

Bars 13-24
For the line in bars 13-14, you’ll need to keep your 2nd and 4th fingers at the 12th and 15th frets, gradually moving your 1st finger lower for
each pattern. By the end of bar 14, you’re stretching quite a long way, so be careful!

The little mini-chord in bar 23 initially includes both the minor 3rd (G) and the major 3rd (G#) but Guthrie bends the G to G#. This combination of
major and minor 3rd is what you get in an E7#9 chord, except the minor 3rd is called the #9 in this case.

Bars 25-36
In bar 29, Guthrie mixes the scale lines with some three-note arpeggios. You can either sweep through them with your pick, or use your pick for
the first note and then your 2nd and 3rd fingers.

In bar 32, he makes frequent use of the major 7th (D#) on the 16th fret of the B string... this is another use of chromatic notes. Later in bar 32,
there’s a huge 12-15-16-19 stretch on the E string, and Guthrie then taps the 22nd fret in the following bar... this pattern is very difficult to play
quickly, so work carefully. Bar 34 might look complex, but it’s a simple five-note pattern played at gradually descending positions.

Bars 37-48
The fast passage in bars 37-40 involves a lot of chromatic notes. Look for the minor pentatonic and Mixolydian notes, and you’ll understand the
logic behind these patterns. The G#-A-G# bends in bar 43 sound a bit like Jeff Beck; try to play them quickly and crisply.

Bars 49-60
The little chord at the end of bar 49 contains the notes F#, D and C#, which makes it a kind of E13. In bar 57, the first six notes form a B9
arpeggio
 FUNKY BLUES
As recorded by jamtrackcentral.com
(From the 2010 Album GUTHRIE GOVAN CUSTOM SHOP)

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BluesJamTracks Ltd 2010

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 FUNKY BLUES - jamtrackcentral.com Page 2 of 8

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