Shred Riffing Lesson

Jose Mena

Shred Riffing

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Feedback

- Jose Mena16th June 2009
  Thanks guys
- kjutte8th May 2009
  Lol that was crazy
- Alexiaden9330th April 2009
  You play faster than lightning, Jose ! You should go for a world record attempt !
- Jose Mena4th March 2009
  QUOTE (Aleksander Sukovic @ Mar 3 2009, 07:41 PM)
  Impressive speed! Very precise.
  
  Thanks Aleksander
- Aleksander Sukovic4th March 2009
  Impressive speed! Very precise.
- Jose Mena28th February 2009
  cheers q8gust
- q8gust28th February 2009
  wow!
- Jose Mena18th February 2009
  Thanks Alejandro
- Alejandro Pinero18th February 2009
  Incredible!!!
- Jose Mena18th February 2009
  Thanks Ramiro and Sinisa, Glad you Liked it
- Sinisa Cekic18th February 2009
  Great riffing Jose,i like it !!
- Ramiro Delforte18th February 2009
  Wow, Jose, really nice stuff you've got there
- Jose Mena16th February 2009
  Thanks guys
- Nazgul15th February 2009
  Fingers flying around the fretboard. The second riff was awesome!
- Ryan15th February 2009
  Hahaha, that was great!! Good job
- inertia15th February 2009
  Great to see another lesson from you Jose, your playing is blistering fast but very clean at the same style, it very much has a paul gilbert quality, terrific!
- Jose Mena15th February 2009
  Thanks Jab, Thanks Marcus. Glad you liked the lesson
- Marcus Siepen15th February 2009
  awesome riff, great lesson
- Jad Diab15th February 2009
  Wow Jose! Nice tune man, love you picking, really accurate
- Jose Mena15th February 2009
  Thanks guys
- Carlos Carrillo15th February 2009
  Killer stuff Jose and nice playing
- berko14th February 2009
  Really liked this! Your precision and speed with very little gain and such a "dry" sound... it amazes me .
  
  This was killer, thanks man!
- Sergio Dorado14th February 2009
  Impressive performing. Amazing!
- Jose Mena14th February 2009
  Thanks Hisham and Toni
- Toni Suominen14th February 2009
  Great riffing there Jose!
- Hisham Al-Sanea13th February 2009
  Excellent Joe.nice riffing
- Jose Mena13th February 2009
  QUOTE (Ivan Milenkovic @ Feb 13 2009, 11:57 AM)
  Very precise and interesting riffing Jose. Excellent AP technique, really sounds cool.
  
  Thanks Ivan
  
  QUOTE (JohnInSoCal @ Feb 13 2009, 12:31 PM)
  great sounding riff, reminds me a bit of gilberts scarified riff. I love the syncopation in yours.
  
  I have to go back and listen to scarified, I've seen the video on you tube with the astronaut suits, but don't quite remember the tune.
  
  QUOTE (Fran @ Feb 13 2009, 01:19 PM)
  Way cool Jose, maybe I can play that in 10 years time
  
  Better start now, Thanks Fran
  
  QUOTE (Wilska @ Feb 13 2009, 02:12 PM)
  Wow, for a huge Gilbert-fan like me this is just awesome! Best lesson yet for my taste =) Thanks you very very much, awesome indeed
  
  You are welcome, glad you liked it.
- Wilska13th February 2009
  Wow, for a huge Gilbert-fan like me this is just awesome! Best lesson yet for my taste =) Thanks you very very much, awesome indeed
- Fran13th February 2009
  Way cool Jose, maybe I can play that in 10 years time
- John In Socal13th February 2009
  great sounding riff, reminds me a bit of gilberts scarified riff. I love the syncopation in yours.
- Ivan Milenkovic13th February 2009
  Very precise and interesting riffing Jose. Excellent AP technique, really sounds cool.
- Jose Mena13th February 2009
  QUOTE (Pedja Simovic @ Feb 13 2009, 11:51 AM)
  Jose your alternate picking is beyond this world man. Excellent riffing lesson !
  
  Thanks Pedja
- Pedja Simovic13th February 2009
  Jose your alternate picking is beyond this world man. Excellent riffing lesson !
- Jose Mena13th February 2009
  QUOTE (kaznie @ Feb 13 2009, 10:34 AM)
  Nice, but to hard for me
  
  Hey Kaznie, it is all about patience, if this is something you would like to do of course, for some this type of playing is not appealing, or are simply not willing to spend the time learning it. But if you would like to explore this style, you should give this a try.
  
  QUOTE (Maccie @ Feb 13 2009, 10:46 AM)
  Thats awesome! The precision and timing is impeccable.
  
  Thanks Trond
- Trond Vold13th February 2009
  Thats awesome! The precision and timing is impeccable.
- kaznie_NL13th February 2009
  Nice, but to hard for me
- Jose Mena13th February 2009
  QUOTE (Kuba Szafran @ Feb 13 2009, 06:34 AM)
  Tight and precise picking, really cool stuff Jose !
  
  Thanks Kuba, glad you liked it
  
  QUOTE (Kristofer Dahl @ Feb 13 2009, 06:51 AM)
  Some really cool Mena/Gilbertish riffs here - wow!
  
  This is one of the greatest compliments ever, thank you Kris.
  
  QUOTE (Bogdan Radovic @ Feb 13 2009, 06:59 AM)
  Wow what a great tune you composed for this lesson! Love the precision !
  
  Thank you Bodgan, I like this tune, soon will let everyone listen to the whole thing.
  
  QUOTE (Piotr Kaczor @ Feb 13 2009, 07:07 AM)
  Awesome riffing, Jose!
  
  Thanks Piotr.
  
  QUOTE (OrganisedConfusion @ Feb 13 2009, 07:08 AM)
  Brilliant playing as always Jose. Good lesson but way beyond me
  
  Thank you OC, believe me you can, everyone can, patience is the key.
  
  QUOTE (Eat-Sleep-andJam @ Feb 13 2009, 07:14 AM)
  It didnt remind me of Gilbert, it reminded me alot of that amazing alternate picker Jose Mena
  
  Very Sick Lesson ( Also very impressive ! )
  
  The same I said to Kris, on of the greatest compliments ever, if people start saying this sounds like Jose Mena, then I've accomplished a great deal.
  
  I know you guys are probably joking, but it made me think of that possibility.
  
  QUOTE (AlexLion @ Feb 13 2009, 07:15 AM)
  Some extra cool riffing here! I wonder what is time signature here? Like 74 or what?
  
  It is actually 4/4. Only one bar has an extra quarter note (5/4), but it feels odd because of the pattern maybe.
  
  QUOTE (Emir Hot @ Feb 13 2009, 08:05 AM)
  Great playing Jose. It's nice to see your lesson again
  
  Thanks Emir, will try to keep up this month
  
  QUOTE (David Wallimann @ Feb 13 2009, 08:37 AM)
  Wow, this is an awesome lesson Jose.
  You are really good!!!
  
  Thanks David
  
  QUOTE (Muris Varajic @ Feb 13 2009, 09:07 AM)
  Killer stuff Jose, like always
  
  Thank you Muris.
  
  I couldn't quote everyone in one post, hopefully I am not forgetting anyone, I felt like replying to everyone.
  
  @Gibsonmate
  Technical Difficulties is one of my favorite shred tunes, thanks for the comparison.
  
  @Outlaw
  Thanks Outlaw, glad you like it
- Muris Varajic13th February 2009
  Killer stuff Jose, like always
- Outlaw211213th February 2009
  great lesson... nice clean playing
- David Wallimann13th February 2009
  Wow, this is an awesome lesson Jose.
  You are really good!!!
- gibsonmatte13th February 2009
  Awesome playing man! I can feel the "technical difficulties" in this one
- Emir Hot13th February 2009
  Great playing Jose. It's nice to see your lesson again
- AlexLion13th February 2009
  Some extra cool riffing here! I wonder what is time signature here? Like 7\4 or what?
- Eat-Sleep-andJam13th February 2009
  It didnt remind me of Gilbert, it reminded me alot of that amazing alternate picker Jose Mena
  
  Very Sick Lesson ( Also very impressive ! )
- OrganisedConfusion13th February 2009
  Brilliant playing as always Jose. Good lesson but way beyond me
- Piotr Kaczor13th February 2009
  Awesome riffing, Jose!
- Bogdan Radovic13th February 2009
  Wow what a great tune you composed for this lesson! Love the precision !
- Kristofer Dahl13th February 2009
  Some really cool Mena/Gilbertish riffs here - wow!
- Kuba Szafran13th February 2009
  Tight and precise picking, really cool stuff Jose !

Practicing Peers

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Lesson
My notes

- Tags: Shred, Alternate, Picking, 16th note triplets, Paul Gilbert, E minor, Palm muting, Shredding, Fast playing, Fast licks, Percussive guitar riffs
Hello GMCers, welcome to my shred riffing lessons. This is the intro of a tune I wrote some time ago, heavily based on my Prog Metal influences.

Sometimes when I write rhythm guitar lines I decide to simply do that follow the rhythm very closely with almost percussive guitar riffs. To accomplish this I use palm muting with alternate picking to give it that aggressive Paul Gilbert sound.

An advice here would be to go easy on the distortion, too much of it makes the riffs sound muddy and unclear, giving you an exact setting on the gain or drive of your amp would be impossible since every guitar has a different output, if it sounds to muddy and you can't distinguish the notes very well, bring it down a little until it does.

The whole riff is in the key of E minor with a few passing notes, nothing complicated as far as theory.

Hope you enjoy the lesson

Good luck and have fun

Jose

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