String skipping
Encyclopedia
String skipping is a guitar
-playing technique that is used mainly for solos
and complex riff
s in rock
and heavy metal
songs.
linear manner. In string skipping (as the name implies), a string is often skipped during the riff. Essentially, this technique is used to introduce larger intervals than are usually common in guitar melodies, thereby creating melodic interest.
Notice that not every note played represents a string-skip; it is usually the case that string skipping is interwoven with traditional adjacent riffing. Playing the above example, one can hear the difference; the string skipping makes the solo stand out.
One example of string skipping involves string bending on the 7th fret of the G string, then jumping to the 8th fret of the E string (skipping the B string). Another way to achieve the desired aesthetic is when playing a thrash
riff while chugging open E's, to pick strings E, B, G, or D to play extra notes in the riff.
" by Guns N' Roses
. Guitarist Shawn Lane
utilized string skipping throughout the instrumental pieces "Get You Back" and "Not Again", among others on the Powers of Ten
album.
Another specific example of string skipping can be heard in the instrumental piece "Cliffs of Dover" by Eric Johnson
, during the intro (measures 6 and 7). Johnson, who has built his guitar style "combining the music of many influences with his own ideas" has said that string skipping is an important part of his soloing
. Johnson refers to executing "wider intervals" with the method, and also says with skipping, you're sometimes "replacing certain notes into another octave
." He mentions it "gets a little more interesting" when the guitarist comes across a note normally fretted, that can be replaced with the open string version (played instead on a "skipped" string).
Guitarist Paul Gilbert
(of Mr. Big
, Racer X, and G3
) often employs string skipping. A video example of string skipping is provided below in the external links.
Guitar
The guitar is a plucked string instrument, usually played with fingers or a pick. The guitar consists of a body with a rigid neck to which the strings, generally six in number, are attached. Guitars are traditionally constructed of various woods and strung with animal gut or, more recently, with...
-playing technique that is used mainly for solos
Guitar solo
In popular music, a guitar solo is a melodic passage, section, or entire piece of music written for an electric guitar or an acoustic guitar. Guitar solos, which often contain varying degrees of improvisation, are used in many styles of popular music such as blues, jazz, rock and metal styles such...
and complex riff
RIFF
The Resource Interchange File Format is a generic file container format for storing data in tagged chunks. It is primarily used to store multimedia such as sound and video, though it may also be used to store any arbitrary data....
s in rock
Rock music
Rock music is a genre of popular music that developed during and after the 1960s, particularly in the United Kingdom and the United States. It has its roots in 1940s and 1950s rock and roll, itself heavily influenced by rhythm and blues and country music...
and heavy metal
Heavy metal music
Heavy metal is a genre of rock music that developed in the late 1960s and early 1970s, largely in the Midlands of the United Kingdom and the United States...
songs.
Explanation of technique
String skipping is a method of achieving a guitar sound that is different from more traditional solo riff styles. In more traditional styles, the guitarist will often play several notes on one string, then move to the adjacent one, improvising on the fretboard in a melodicallyMelody
A melody , also tune, voice, or line, is a linear succession of musical tones which is perceived as a single entity...
linear manner. In string skipping (as the name implies), a string is often skipped during the riff. Essentially, this technique is used to introduce larger intervals than are usually common in guitar melodies, thereby creating melodic interest.
Example of "traditional" solo riff style
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
e|-|-------------3---|---------------2-|-----------3-2---|-----------------|
B|-|---------3-5---3-|-------------3---|---------------5-|-5---------------|
G|4|---2-4-5---------|-----------4-----|---------------^^^^^HOLD-----------|
D|4|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
A|-|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
E|-|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|-----------------|
Example of string skipping style
---------------|--------------7--|
------------5--|------7^8--10----|
---------2-----|-----------------|
---------------|----9------------|
------3--------|-5---------------|
---------------|-----------------|
Notice that not every note played represents a string-skip; it is usually the case that string skipping is interwoven with traditional adjacent riffing. Playing the above example, one can hear the difference; the string skipping makes the solo stand out.
One example of string skipping involves string bending on the 7th fret of the G string, then jumping to the 8th fret of the E string (skipping the B string). Another way to achieve the desired aesthetic is when playing a thrash
Thrash metal
Thrash metal is a subgenre of heavy metal that is characterized usually by its fast tempo and aggression. Songs of the genre typically use fast percussive and low-register guitar riffs, overlaid with shredding-style lead work...
riff while chugging open E's, to pick strings E, B, G, or D to play extra notes in the riff.
Songs and instrumentals featuring string skipping
A famous example of string skipping is the intro riff to "Sweet Child o' MineSweet Child O' Mine
"Sweet Child o' Mine" is the third single by American rock band Guns N' Roses, and the third from their 1987 debut studio album, Appetite for Destruction. Released on August 17, 1988, the song topped the Billboard Hot 100 chart, becoming the band's first and only number-one single in the U.S...
" by Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses
Guns N' Roses is an American hard rock band, formed in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California, in 1985. The band has released six studio albums, three EPs, and one live album...
. Guitarist Shawn Lane
Shawn Lane
Shawn Lane was an American musician. Although piano was his first instrument, he quickly became a noted player in underground guitar circles and joined Black Oak Arkansas when he was just fourteen years old....
utilized string skipping throughout the instrumental pieces "Get You Back" and "Not Again", among others on the Powers of Ten
Powers of Ten (album)
-Personnel:*Shawn Lane – electric guitar, keyboard, drum programming , bass guitar , arrangement, engineering, mixing, production*Sean Rickman – drums *Barry Bays – bass guitar...
album.
Another specific example of string skipping can be heard in the instrumental piece "Cliffs of Dover" by Eric Johnson
Eric Johnson
Eric Johnson is an American guitarist. Though he is best known for his success in the instrumental rock format, Johnson regularly incorporates jazz, fusion, gospel and country and western music into his recordings...
, during the intro (measures 6 and 7). Johnson, who has built his guitar style "combining the music of many influences with his own ideas" has said that string skipping is an important part of his soloing
Guitar solo
In popular music, a guitar solo is a melodic passage, section, or entire piece of music written for an electric guitar or an acoustic guitar. Guitar solos, which often contain varying degrees of improvisation, are used in many styles of popular music such as blues, jazz, rock and metal styles such...
. Johnson refers to executing "wider intervals" with the method, and also says with skipping, you're sometimes "replacing certain notes into another octave
Octave
In music, an octave is the interval between one musical pitch and another with half or double its frequency. The octave relationship is a natural phenomenon that has been referred to as the "basic miracle of music", the use of which is "common in most musical systems"...
." He mentions it "gets a little more interesting" when the guitarist comes across a note normally fretted, that can be replaced with the open string version (played instead on a "skipped" string).
Guitarist Paul Gilbert
Paul Gilbert
Paul Brandon Gilbert is an American guitarist. He is well known for his technical guitar work with Racer X and Mr...
(of Mr. Big
Mr. Big (band)
Mr. Big is an American rock supergroup, formed in Los Angeles, California in 1988. The band is a quartet composed of Eric Martin , Paul Gilbert , Billy Sheehan , and Pat Torpey ; Mr. Big also included Richie Kotzen, a reputable blues-based guitarist who replaced Gilbert in 1999...
, Racer X, and G3
G3 (tour)
G3 is a concert tour organized by guitarist Joe Satriani featuring him alongside two other guitarists. Since its inception in 1996, G3 has toured most years and has featured many guitarists, including Steve Vai , Eric Johnson, Kenny Wayne Shepherd, Yngwie Malmsteen, John Petrucci, Robert Fripp,...
) often employs string skipping. A video example of string skipping is provided below in the external links.