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Issue No.6
Last updated on 4 May, 2023
OCTAVE PLAYING IN THE STYLE OF GEORGE BENSON USING THREE NOTES PER STRING MINOR SCALES
To inject a jazz-funk feel into your improvised lines look no further than the fantastic playing of guitarist and singer Mr George Benson.
Mr Benson has the distinction of being the first signature series artist for Ibanez guitars.
- Click to visit the Ibanez website to see the George Benson signature series guitars
- Click to visit the George Benson website
Watch George Benson on YouTube
George Benson is famous for many things in guitar-circles but he is most noted for his use of OCTAVES in his improvised guitar lines.
The shapes that can be used for this purpose are the FORWARDS OCTAVES - 6Em4 - 5Am3 - 4Dm2 - 3Gm1
In all the forwards octave shapes the string in-between the two notes is muted with
the flesh of the first finger by purposely mis-barreing.
The photographs below show the shapes for A.
The first half of the tablature locates the exact same notes for each of the four forwards octave shapes in turn.
The four forwards octave shapes will now be used to play the 3 notes per string natural minor box shapes (as previously laid out in BLOGoZON No.2 ) using the strummed octave method employed by George Benson.
Click on the bullet points below to move to each CAGED octaves three notes per string shapes played with octaves:-
- Pattern III - 5Cm2 box shape - D natural minor (3 notes per string) octaves
- Pattern IV - 5Am3 box shape - D natural minor (3 notes per string) octaves
- Pattern V - 5Am3Gm1 box shape - D natural minor (3 notes per string) octaves
- Pattern VI - 6Gm3Gm1 box shape - D natural minor (3 notes per string) ocatves
- Pattern VII - 6Em4Em1 shape - D natural minor (3 notes per string) octaves
- Pattern I - 6Em4Dm2 shape - D natural minor (3 notes per string) octaves
- Pattern II - 4Dm2 box shape at fret 12 - D natural minor (3 notes per string) octaves
View pdf of GuitarPro5 printout of 5Cm2 box shape - D natural minor (3 notes per string) octaves
Open GuitarPro5 file for 5Cm2 box shape - D natural minor (3 notes per string) octaves5Cm2
View pdf of GuitarPro5 printout of 5Am3 box shape - D natural minor (3 notes per string) octaves Open GuitarPro5 file for 5Am3 box shape - D natural minor (3 notes per string) octaves5Am3
View pdf of GuitarPro5 printout of 5Am3Gm1 box shape - D natural minor (3 notes per string) octaves Open GuitarPro5 file for 5Am3Gm1 box shape - D natural minor (3 notes per string) octaves5Am3Gm1
View pdf of GuitarPro5 printout of 6Gm3Gm1 box shape - D natural minor (3 notes per string) octaves Open GuitarPro5 file for 6Gm3Gm1 box shape - D natural minor (3 notes per string) octaves6Gm3Gm1
View pdf of GuitarPro5 printout of 6Em4Em1 box shape - D natural minor (3 notes per string) octaves Open GuitarPro5 file for 6Em4Em1 box shape - D natural minor (3 notes per string) octaves6Em4Em1
View pdf of GuitarPro5 printout of 6Em4Dm2 box shape - D natural minor (3 notes per string) octaves Open GuitarPro5 file for 6Em4Dm2 box shape - D natural minor (3 notes per string) octaves6Em4Dm2
View pdf of GuitarPro5 printout of 4Dm2 box shape at fret 12- D natural minor (3 notes per string) octaves Open GuitarPro5 file for 4Dm2 box shape at fret 12 - D natural minor (3 notes per string) octaves4Dm2
So as you can see it is not only the shredders that can get some mileage out of the three notes per string patterns.
Have fun - see you next BLOGoZON.
