This rings with something I could have been sure I read in an interview with Shawn. He said something like when he was learning a new lick he would play it fast, but sloppy, and then gradually dial it back until he could play it fast and clean. Quite the opposite of the start slow and build speed strategy, which we now know isn’t helpful because of different mechanics used at higher speeds.
1 Like
That’s right on, and I would suggest it’s even more fundamental than the techniques simply being different. It’s that when you’re learning, especially if you’re self-taught, you don’t even know what the correct technique is, so how can you do it slowly? Playing fast is how you discover which movements are able to be done fast, and slowing them down is how you make them accurate.
3 Likes
Sad thing for me is that I never really took notice of this advice until you mentioned something similar on the forum here. If only I had of known all of this earlier!! 
Thanks Troy for chiming in and including the links. I think part of Shawn’s magic was his fingerings. If you ask 100 guitarists how they finger an ascending pentatonic scale like that, they might all do it a little differently. In Shawn’s case he found using the second finger instead of the first was more efficient or faster for his body to execute. I sure wish he was still around because a lot of these pick angle movements or angling of the hand are so subtle yet different it’s amazing it took Cracking the Code to kind of bring it out into the light as a topic of discussion amongst musicians and guitarists. I’m sure if Shawn was asked he’d actually be able to give a lot of insight. Sadly there’s no HD footage of him doing his work that I’m aware of so we just have to watch what does exist in whatever format it is in.
1 Like
Re: those pentatonic fingerings, that individual note that begins the phrase is actually the second note of the box fingering, not the first, so Shawn using the second finger (or perhaps the third) is the standard way to do it. I’m not even sure you can play the line if you start on the index. I’m also not sure if I’m explaining this clearly, my coffee is wearing off!
But yes, totally, Shawn seems like he was a super nice guy and would have been an obvious choice for many reasons, musical and mechanical, for the kinds of interviews we do. I would like to think he would have been up for doing such a meeting.
The instructions that Shawn provides on Power Solos regarding pentatonic fingerings is primarily to avoid fretting sequential notes with the same finger, via the finger rolling technique. If this is ensured, the exact sequence of fingers used is really not so critical.
The example described in Power Solos is this ascending pentatonic 5s sequence:
-----------|-----------|-----------|-------3-5-|
-----------|-----------|-------3-5-|---3-5-----|
-----------|-------2-5-|---2-5-----|-5---------|
-------2-5-|---2-5-----|-5---------|-----------|
---3-5-----|-5---------|-----------|-----------|
-5---------|-----------|-----------|-----------|
Shawn advocates the following fingering sequence
2, 1, 3, 1, 3
for each 5 note grouping, as opposed to
3, 1, 3, 1, 3
as this fingering requires you to use the 3rd finger for last note of each group and the first note of the next group, via finger rolling. It’s awkward and difficult to coordinate. Shawn’s method requires a significant stretch between the 1st and 2nd fingers. He mentions that the hand needs to be angled to facilitate the stretch between these two fingers.
An alternative fingering, which I believe to be equally effective is
3, 1, 4, 1, 4
for each grouping. This avoids the finger rolling issue and reduces the difficulty of the stretch for those with smaller or less flexible hands.
For most, Shawn’s method is a little stretchy in the lower registers but comfortable in the higher registers. For most, my alternative I’ve shown is comfortable in the lower registers but a little cramped in the higher registers.
I actually prefer Shawn’s method and use it more frequently. I’ve taught this pattern to some players who were simply not able to make those reaches in the lower registers, so I devised the alternative.
Both solve the crucial issue, which is the avoidance of repeated finger-rolling.
This is not to downplay the importance of effective fingering solutions in Shawn’s fast playing.
6 Likes
I’m trying this lick, I like this fingering, but like you say, might not work for me in higher register. I’ll check it out. Thanks for sharing!
Edit: Nah man, Shawn’s way all the way! 2, 1, 3, 1, 3
Dude, this lick f****** shreds! 
Inspired by this thread, I rewatched “Power Licks” for the first time post-CTC, and what immediately struck me is just how much he uses “hammer-ons from nowhere” in his playing.
In his version of descending fours over a three-note per string scale, he’s picking 5/12 notes.
When he plays one-note per string triads, he’s picking 1 note out of 3(!).
What’s amazing to me is how consistent his sound is, even when he’s not picking. I remember an interview from not too long before he died, where the interviewer examined his guitar and found he had very light strings with super-low action. That’s certainly going to help.
The other guy that comes to mind that uses a lot of hammer-ons from nowhere in his fast playing is Pat Metheny. They’re very different players, of course, but both guys valued legato-smoothness in their phrasing over machine-gun alternate picked lines.
As a picker, Shawn was DWPS, and he had his lines that worked really well for that (the pentatonic stuff, it seems). But for the lines that didn’t work well for that, he used a completely different approach. Between Shawn’s pick-less hammer ons and the hybrid picking approaches of guys like Marshall Harrison and Scotty Anderson, you start to see how a heterogenous approach can let you play lines that would be impossible with strict DWPS.
And if it sounds good, who really cares if you’re picking every note?
8 Likes