I’ve been working on the fills that Jake
Inserts in the pre chorus for a while…
---- 4 4 --------2 2----------5 5------------4 4—
---------2 2 --------2 2 ------------2 2 -----------2 2
It’s a tight double picking riff…
Heavy muting, when I start to build up speed it becomes mushy crossing back and fotrth on the low e/a strings…
Any advice on this lick??
I use upstroke escape motions for that lick. It is pretty tough, especially as the song is fairly fast.
I use up strokes as well, that’s the way to go.
I’m glad I’m not the only one who finds this riff challenging
Jake was great in the 80s…
As I remember, this riff does a string skip, something like this:
------------------------------2 2----------------------
---- 4 4 --------2 2-------------------------5 5—------
---------2 2 --------2 2 ------------2 2 -----------2 2
I can’t imagine trying to do this with pick-slanting without doing a lot of swiping.
Sometimes I just play it as 8th notes 
I need energy for the solo!
The riff is strictly on the E and A strings, no skipping to the d string
Maybe it was later in the song. Or maybe I was reading a poorly transcribed version of it… but I remember seeing it… and thinking… holy crap.
This is a great little exercise! I’ve actually broken this song down into a handful of exercises and it’s been helpful. If I remember correctly, troy mentioned something to the extent that the majority of these guys from the 80’s being downward pick slanters with only a few being exceptions. But to the best of my knowledge, Jake and Randy both played licks that would require both upward and downward pick slanting (2wps)
Put a video of you playing it up.
This one is cool
FYI if you paste the youtube link on its own line, the forum will embed it for easiest playing. Just make sure there are no spaces or other text on the same line. I just edited that. No biggie, just an FYI. Thx.
I don’t know if that’s true, and if I said that, I apologize! It might be true. I’m just not sure if it is or isn’t.
However this type of phrase is indeed a classic “dwps” phrase, especially with a wrist/forearm motion, because of the muting. Ths is basically Doug Aldrich’s forte, and why he’s a great fit for the Whitesnake tunes that have this type of phrase in it:
I think this Bark at the Moon lick is perfect for Troy’s new video Don’t “Work Up” to Picking Speed – Start with It! Put the lick on a loop “up to speed” (147 bpm) and go for it! I try to focus on the right hand picking and let the left hand fall into place. Good luck and have fun!
I’m a primary DSX’er - I’m great with this…over the moon. I’m working on USX currently and really struggling with it…for months - specifically on the E and A strings.
My question is…has anyone been able to pull off the ‘Bark at the Moon’ riff with DSX? The pedal point technique involved has a lot of creative possibilities…it just seems it would work more naturally with USX.
Hey @Thegent, I found a bunch of references to Bark at the Moon in past forum posts, hope you find something useful in them!
Let me know if it makes sense to merge your post in one of these threads, or if the issue is better addressed in its own thread. In any case, a short tab or clip of the section you are interested in could be helpful - I typically enjoy these types of challeneges (finding alternative picking patterns etc.) 
Oh man, that run still gets me, and how my attitude towards CTC has changed!
@Thegent are you talking about the main riff, with the A pedal point?
Yes, the first thread would to merge in, thanks.
Yes, the main riff with pedal point on the A string.
I’m using the riff as a tool to get my USX happening as I’m having string tracking issues on the bass side with USX specifically.
I’m interested to know if anyone has gotten this riff sounding and feeling good with DSX? Mine sounds and feels a little too swipy for my liking.
I might be wrong, but here’s what it sounds like to me.
The first time Jake plays the pre-chorus, it’s
-------4-4------2-2------5-5------2-2
–2-2------2-2------2-2------2-2-----
The second time, it’s:
------------------------------------------------
------------------------------5-5--------------
------------------------------2-2--------------
------------------------------2-2--------------
-------5-5------4-4-----------------5-5-----
–2-2------2-2------2-2------2-2------2-2
The second is like Jimmy Page style, aiming for the sound you want loosely, and a few other strings in there is OK. Takeaway #1.
Takeaway #2 is that they didn’t copy’n’paste from the first one. It’s better played again with a slight variation, as Jake does it.
Bark at the Moon in general is like a white whale for me as a DSX player. I feel like I would be where I need to be as a guitarist if I could play the whole song accurately.
Totally this. I’m a DSX’er that has an USX working…except for some string tracking issues on A and E…so the main riff is my mountain for sure.