The breakthrough album by one of today’s most versatile guitarists covers everything from funky rhythms to emotive ballads.
Advanced
Intermediate
- Learn how to use “slap” and “pop” techniques.
- Create bebop-inspired solos.
- Understand how to play over 5/4 and 7/4 time signatures.
Guthrie Govan has the technical and musical abilities that make him one of the most sought-after players in the industry, and he just keeps getting better! Whether rocking out with Dizzee Rascal, writing prog records with Steven Wilson, collaborating on soundtracks with the great Hans Zimmer, or touring with the Aristocrats, Guthrie raises the bar every time he straps on his guitar.
In this lesson, we’ll touch a bit on all those styles and delve deep into Guthrie’s breakthrough solo album, Erotic Cakes. Before releasing Erotic Cakes in 2006, he submitted a demo to a guitar magazine and ended up winning a contest. (That demo eventually turned into “Wonderful Slippery Thing.”) The attention landed him a position as a music transcriber before he began to tour with Asia in the late 1990s. When not touring, Guthrie would play gigs around town with the Fellowship, a funk/fusion band that still occasionally performs in the U.K. Over the years, Guthrie’s riveting YouTube videos have brought him exposure to a wide international audience.
For this lesson, I’ve gone digital and used Positive Grid’s Bias FX for the guitar sounds. The overdriven amps are models of a plexi Marshall with the gain quite high and plenty of midrange, and I’ve used various room and hall reverbs to create space. For the clean lead moments, I used a tweed Fender model with an MXR-inspired compressor in front of it with a bit of studio room reverb. I’m playing a guitar made by Eternal Guitars with two low-output ’60s-style single-coils and a PAF-style humbucker in the bridge.
I’ve written a few unique examples that feature some of what I feel are key elements of the guitar playing on the Erotic Cakes album, and, of course, Guthrie’s own style. Each example has lots of different ideas, approaches, and concepts to take away, play with, and explore further. I’d strongly suggest taking these ideas and doing some deeper research into Guthrie’s music for subtle variations on the core ideas.
Slippery Things
One of the tunes on Erotic Cakes that guitarists talk most about is “Waves.” It first appeared on a compilation album called Guitar on the Edge back in the early ’90s. The song features a 16th-note motif that works as a main theme throughout the song. Guthrie has said the melody was inspired by the portamento, or glide effect, on a keyboard. The melody was quad tracked for an ultra-expansive sound that really does sound like, well, waves.
Upon studying Guthrie’s tune, I discovered that the melody highlights arpeggios from the underlying chord progression. The arpeggios feature quite large intervallic jumps, and the use of lots of slides and legato keeps the melody sounding smooth. My melody outlines F#m, B, and A using some linear arpeggio fingerings and sliding sixths (Ex. 1).
It can be tricky to find one particular fingering that works for everyone. In fact, my choice of fingerings changed several times while writing this lesson. My advice would be to make sure that when you’re sliding up on a string, you have a finger behind the one you’re sliding with ready to grab the next note. Most of the ascending phrases on one string are often followed by a descending phrase. See if you can find other patterns in the other arpeggios for this progression to use in your own composition and playing. I’ve found this style of riffing is common in lots of modern tech metal bands, such as Periphery and Sikth. In Ex. 2 you can see an isolated example of one of the arpeggios.
Funk-Bop
Maybe my example song names aren’t as creative as Guthrie’s, but it’s not the easiest job breaking down his exceptionally versatile guitar style into bite-sized chunks! Based on moments from “Wonderful Slippery Thing,” Ex. 3 features some of Guthrie’s funky rhythm work, slap guitar, and even some jazzy bebop-inspired licks. I’ve tried my best to demonstrate some key ideas in a few measures. Let’s go!
The first measure features a slap guitar riff. It uses a moving octave pattern that travels with the use of the open 6th string in groups of four. (Scott Mishoe is well known for his incredible slap guitar skills, and Guthrie has mentioned his name at many master classes as the inspiration for using this technique.)
A “slap” is when the thumb comes down on the guitar string near the neck, and a “pop” is executed by bringing the strumming hand’s index or middle finger under the string and plucking upwards. The pattern starts with a slap on the open string followed by a hammered-on note on the same string, followed by a muted slap, which is executed by muting with the fretting hand and slapping with the fretting hand. The last of the four notes is a pop on the note that’s an octave above the second note in the pattern.
The example then breaks into some funky syncopated strumming based around an Em9 chord that moves up a half-step to Fm9. This rhythmic motif continues with the addition of a quick 16th-note-triplet muted strum. The key to getting this sounding smooth and funky is to lighten up on the pick attack for the faster strumming and focus on the strong accents instead.
The first bebop-inspired phrase of the solo in Ex. 4 outlines notes from the E Dorian mode (E–F#–G–A–B–C#–D) along with some chromatic enclosures. On beat 3 of the second measure, we slip into an Fm7 (F–Ab–C–Eb) arpeggio before heading back to our E minor tonality. Guthrie frequently uses this kind of staggered phrasing with arpeggios to create interest and build upon memorable motifs and themes in his solos.
In the fourth measure, we have a 16th-note-triplet line that highlights notes from the E minor pentatonic scale (E–G–A–B–D) with an added 9 (F#). However, we’re including some chromatic enclosures between the scale notes to create a longer, smoother line. Guthrie is known for his relentless picking technique, and I’m quite sure he doesn’t think about it too much. He will go between various sequences and picking techniques in one phrase. It’s all about the musicality of the line for him, the technique is just there to execute the idea he hears in his head at the time.
Perhaps one of my personal favorite things about Guthrie’s playing is his use of slides that seem to add a whole new life to what could be quite a mechanical line. The phrase in the seventh measure uses notes from the E minor pentatonic scale, but in groups of five. The line moves in a reverse linear-style fashion with a slide before the first note of each quintuplet. For this line, I’m picking all the notes, but you can choose your own way of playing it to suit your style.
This final phrase is an ode to how “Wonderful Slippery Thing” finishes, yet not as advanced as Guthrie might play it. This is an E minor pentatonic scale played legato with string skipping and tapping. To build up speed over time, practice slowly and stay relaxed. Once you can handle this phrase, you’ll be ready for some of the lines in our next example.
Snake Bite
Ex. 5 references “Hangover,” the final track on Erotic Cakes. Guthrie wrote the tune to musically express the feeling of being hungover. (I’ve named my tune after a U.K. drink that’s mostly cider topped off with beer.) By mixing a slow tempo with long legato slurs and gravity-defying bends, Guthrie has brilliantly depicted the effects of a hangover with his solo phrasing.
This line that starts in the fifth measure might look terrifying in tab, but try to break it apart into small segments. The first two groups of seven make a slurred blues lick that’s great for slipping into any guitar jam. The rest of the phrase plays around a two-octave Bm7 arpeggio (B–D–F#–A). Guthrie does a lot of this with his faster legato lines, as it creates rhythmic interest and gives the phrase a vocal or sax-like dynamic shape. The rhythmic subdivisions shouldn’t be followed too closely, just take the underlying pattern and mess around with it. The subdivisions will probably happen naturally due to the line’s structure.
More gravity-defying bends start in the 11th measure, this time with a more gospel or blues flavor. The tonality of the backing track has now gone back to Bm and highlights the G and A chords. I’m visualizing B minor pentatonic (B–D–E–F#–A) notes for this phrasing, as well as going for a bluesy sound by adding some slides and slurs to the scale’s b5 (F).
The final phrase of this solo is actually a reference to Guthrie’s song “Eric,” which features an eerie and beautiful melody that uses what I can only describe as pick tapping. Use the pick to tap the higher note and let it bounce off the string for an ultra-fast trill between two notes. This phrase outlines notes from an F#7#5 tonality. In this case, I’m using notes from the F# Phrygian dominant (F#–G–A#–B–C#–D–E) scale over the F# altered chord. The phrase uses a rhythmic motif that moves down through the positions before landing on the 9 (C#) of Bm.
You may notice there are lots of squeaks and pops during this solo. These are deliberately left in to give more of a human vibe to the sound. Guthrie’s playing is technically amazing, but it’s also very human—it sounds like he is really playing the guitar and sometimes these details and sonic artefacts are part of what makes the guitar such an appealing instrument. It’s real and it’s alive, enjoy it!
Odd Meter Peter
Guthrie is no stranger to progressive rock, and there are a couple of tunes on Erotic Cakes that feature odd time signatures. His tune “Fives” was inspired by a melody he heard a bird singing in a park while on a walk to refresh his creativity. This melody happened to be in 5/4 and the rest is history. There’s also a tune on the album called “Sevens.” Written in 7/4, it features a cascading tapping arpeggio section that sounds like a piano. I have attempted to create a short piece that pushes 5/4 and 7/4 together with all the traits from both songs. It’s named “Odd Meter Peter” after Pete Riley, who played drums on the album.
Ex. 6 starts off in 5/4, which means we have five quarter-notes per measure, or 10 eighth-notes. Before writing the riff, I set out a chord sequence for the riff to follow. The riff uses a mixture of minor and major 7 arpeggios with the addition of some Andy Summers-like add9 arpeggios in measures five and six. To keep this piece interesting, yet accessible for the listener, I employed a bit of repetition with some subtle turnarounds.
In the ninth measure we move to 7/4 and explore some unique arpeggio-tapping ideas inspired by the main section of “Sevens.” This time we’re using a 16th-note subdivision and a “cookie-cutter” approach to the arpeggios that can easily be applied in other contexts. The best way to visualize these patterns is in two-string fragments. First, practice moving between the first two beats. You’ll notice that a portion of the measure repeats in beats 3 and 4 before dropping down an octave. This is similar to a section of “Sevens.” For the tapping, I’m using my middle and ring fingers. The top string of each phrase is tapped with the ring finger, followed by the middle finger on the string below. In each arpeggio there’s a symmetry between the left- and right-hand fingerings that makes this a lot easier to see on the guitar than it is to read from the tab.
I hope my examples have inspired you to look for new things in your own playing. As a fan of Guthrie, I know his playing has always inspired me to be more creative and push past my own limitations. I hope this lesson inspires you to do the same.
A thick, varied take on the silicon Fuzz Face that spans punky, sparkling, and full-spectrum heavy.
Dimensional, thick variations on the silicon Fuzz Face voice. Surprisingly responsive to dynamics at most tube amp’s natural clean/dirty divide. Bass control lends range.
Thins out considerably at lower amp volumes.
$185
McGregor Pedals Classic Fuzz
mcgregorpedals.com
Compared to the dynamic germanium Fuzz Face, silicon versions sometimes come off as brutish. And even though they can be sonorously vicious, if dirty-to-clean range and sensitivity to guitar volume attenuation are top priorities, germanium is probably the way to go. The McGregor Classic Fuzz, however, offers ample reminders about the many ways silicon Fuzz Faces can be beastly, sensitive, and sound supreme.
Even though the two BC107B top hat transistors will look familiar to many who have poked around other SFF-style circuits, the Classic Fuzz is not precisely a silicon Fuzz Face clone. It’s distinguished by a low-pass filter “bass” control that true SFFs lack, but which widens its vocabulary extensively. In an A/B test with a solid, archetypal-sounding BC108 Fuzz Face clone, the Classic Fuzz sounded roughly equivalent at the 60-percent mark of the bass control’s range. But the Classic Fuzz was more dimensional, and on either side of the bass control I heard many intriguing tone variations spanning garage-punk snot and corpulent, almost triangle-Big Muff thickness.
Like most SFFs, the Classic Fuzz sounds best with a generous spoonful of amp volume. I ran it with a Fender Vibrolux just on the clean side of breakup. At amp volumes much lower than that, the fuzz voice thinned, the nuanced responsiveness to guitar volume attenuation dropped off, and the range of clean tones became much narrower. In its happy places, though, the Classic Fuzz rips—lending sparkling overdrive colors and banshee-scream aggression to Stratocasters and sounding especially sweet and terrifyingly mammoth with humbuckers
With internally adjustable midrange boost and versatile Voice 2, these pickups are designed to capture the killer tones of 80s & 90s high performance Strats.
Amid the screaming success of the Gristle-Tone signature Telecaster and P90 pickup sets, it was no surprise that Greg wanted to contribute to the Fluence single width line next.
Unlike the Gristle-Tone for Tele and P90, the Greg Koch Gristle-Tone Signature Series Single Width set represents a modern approach, extracting a wide variety of clean to high gain tones, from the pure, wide-open Voice 1, through the mid-forward vocabulary in Voice 2 with broad control over the midrange qualities to meet all of Greg’s single width needs.
For this set, Greg wanted to capture the killer tones of 80s & 90s high performance Strats, which deliver a wide-band Hi-Fi sound, with more dynamics and versatility. A resonant shift in the 2 & 4 positions can bring out those glassy, toothy in-between tones.
An internally adjustable set-and-forget midrange boost in Voice 2 offers everything from mild added “fatness” to full blown searing leads. Pull up on the Reactive Tone Control for a fat and sassy boost.
Greg Koch says, “These pickups provide the slice and the sinew without the razor blades on the high end and the flabbiness on the low end….Voice 2 brings the heat when you need to go in for the win!"
The pickups are available as a 6-string set and come in white or black. Street price in the U.S. is $269.95 for the set.+`
For more information, please visit fishman.com.
Greg Koch Single Width Pickups | Feature Highlight - YouTube
Nile Rodgers Put Rhythm Up Front (and Cory Wong Listened)
Funk-guitar wiz and Wong Notes host Cory Wong flips the script and sits in the 100 Guitarists guest chair.
Funk-guitar wiz and Wong Noteshost Cory Wong flips the script and sits in the 100 Guitarists guest chair. Wong cleared his schedule to talk about one Nile Rodgers’ work on the Halo 2 soundtrack. We were lucky that got him to return our call, but we did move on quickly.
Wong is a scholar of all things rhythm guitar—and that means all things Nile. We talk about how the Hitmaker voices his progressions—“You hear Nile play a chord progression … and it’s that song”—and the role of rhythm guitar in general. Cory delivers his list of best Nile performances, tips for direct guitar sounds, and most surprising Nile collabs.
Ever wonder what it would sound like if Nile Rodgers produced David Lee Roth covering Willie Nelson? Give a listen and drop us a know when you check it out for yourself.
This episode is sponsored by JAM Pedals.
More info: https://www.jampedals.com.
Joe Satriani and Steve Vai unite to form the SATCHVAI Band.
Kicking off on June 13, 2025, this monumental musical journey will feature stops in major cities like London, Paris, Copenhagen, and Amsterdam, and will also include performances at major European summer festivals including Hellfest, Umbria Jazz Festival and Guitares en Scene Fest. The tour is set to conclude in late July, with more dates to be announced soon.
The duo, along with each of their respective bands, initially joined forces for their first-ever tour together, outside of the G3 format, the past spring (2024) across select U.S. cities, and decided it was finally time to actually form a band together and bring that winning formula to the live stage, beginning in Europe.
Celebrating nearly five decades of musical friendship, Joe Satriani and Steve Vai made their first musical collaboration debut in March 2024. “The Sea of Emotion, Pt. 1” showcases the unmatched synergy between these two legendary guitarists as they seamlessly trade solo sections throughout the nearly six-minute opus. Their second collaboration is set to be released just before the European tour, adding even more anticipation for this epic run.
Pre-sale tickets for “The SATCHVAI Band Tour” will be available starting Wednesday and Thursday December 11 and 12, with general sales opening on Friday, December 13.
Satch and Vai’s musical careers have been intertwined since their very early days. Satriani served as Vai’s guitar teacher during their teenage years on Long Island, New York. Their connection has continued to evolve over the years, even sharing record labels, starting at Relativity Records in the late 80’s, to both calling Sony/Epic Records home for a significant portion of the 90’s. Together, they have also frequently teamed up with a third guitarist on multiple occasions throughout the span of three decades, participating in the semi-annual G3 Tours, both in the U.S. and abroad.
“The SATCHVAI Band Tour is happening! I’m so looking forward to sharing the stage with Steve again,” Satriani said. “Every time we play together, it takes me back to when we were teenagers, eating and breathing music every second of the day, pushing, challenging, and helping each other to be the best we could be. I guess we’ve never stopped!”
Vai added, “Touring with Joe is always a pleasure and an honor. He is my favorite guitarist to jam with, and now we have another opportunity to take it to the stage. I feel as though we are both at the top of our game, and the show will be a powerful celebration of the coolest instrument in the world, the electric guitar!”
Joe Satriani has had a packed schedule having recently concluded the Sammy Hagar-led Best of All Worlds Tour, which was met with much fanfare and critical acclaim. While Steve Vai has been playing shows across the U.S. as part of the BEAT tour following the conclusion of the Satch/Vai tour earlier this year.
Surfing with the Hydra Tour 2025 Itinerary:
June 13 York, UK Barbican
June 14 London, UK Eventim Apollo
June 17 Glasgow, SC Glasgow Royal Concert Hall
June 18 Wolverhampton, UK Civic Hall
June 19 Manchester, UK O2 Apollo
June 21 Clisson, FR Helfest
June 22 Paris, FR Palais Des Congres
June 23 Antwerp, BE Lotto Arena
June 24 Amsterdam, NL Amsterdam Afas
June 26 Copenhagen, DK Amager Bio
June 29 Helsinki, FI House of Culture
June 30 Tampere, FI Tampere Hall
July 2 Uppsala, SE Parksnackan
July 3 Oslo, NO Sentrum Scene
July 5 Warsaw, PL Torwar
July 8 Munich, DE Tollwood Festival
July 10 Dusseldorf, DE Mitsubishi Electric Hall
July 11 Frankfurt, DE Jahrhunderthalle
July 12 Zurich, CH Volkshaus Zürich
July 13 Milan, IT Comfort Festival @ Villa Casati Stampa
July 15 Pordenone, IT Parco San Valentino
July 16 Perugia, IT Umbria Jazz
July 17 Bologna, IT Sequoie Music Park
July 18 Saint-Julien, FR Guitares en Scene Festival
July 20 Prague, CZ Forum Karlin
July 22 Sofia, BG National Palace of Culture
More dates TBA