Tommo's progress on the Erotomania final solo - including analysis

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#61

This thread brings back a ton of memories for me. I learned the shit out of this entire album, even going so far as to de-tune my 6 string so I could play the 7-string songs. And that guitar had a floating trem… The week that the guitar book for this album came out was the same week that Megadeth was playing. I bought the tickets to that show the day they went on sale. I didn’t go because I wanted to learn this album.

This song demands so much from your hands that I think it was subconsciously written with that in mind. There are so many “breaks” that precede the more difficult sections. And thank freaking goodness for that… This is not a small hands, stubby fingers kinda song lol Some of the stretches in it I won’t even do now for fear that my hand will lock in that position permanently, haha.

Amazing job Tommo! It’s fun to revisit this song after seeing this thread. Bars 9, 11 and a couple of other spots I have to steer clear of, but I’m enjoying looking at it and playing it after all of the things I’ve learned from this site. I used to just bully it out, but we don’t have to do that kind of thing anymore.

EDIT: Also, the Eric Johnson’y bit in the 2nd solo… Full circle… Hahaha.

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#62

I decided to “re-learn” this solo (or at least dabble with it) and I don’t remember what the most difficult part for me was back when it came out (probably the ending 5s) but I’m noticing that bars 9-12 are WAY more difficult for me than the ending 5s are now. I can at least make it through the 5s, but those 4 bars are tough at even a fraction of the speed. With 11 and 12, it’s just a matter of reacquainting myself with that kind of pattern, but 9 and 10 I can’t seem to wrap my brain around for some reason…

#63

Try starting the licks on an upstroke instead of a downstroke, and / or use additional techniques like pulloffs, hybrid picking etc. to see if you can find an easier way to do it.

The absolute priority IMO is to find at least one way to play the part at tempo in a way that sounds good, even if it’s not the exact same as what JP did. After you have that you’ll either:

  • decide it’s good enough and not bother with the “correct” way
  • keep the “correct” way as a side project, with the reassurance that you always have your own version to fall back to.
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