MELODIC MUSE
by Andy Timmons
SIMONE CECHETTI
STEPPING TONES
Targeting chord tones when soloing over a progression
ONE OF MY favorite techniques to use when soloing is to weave melodic lines while traversing the fretboard on a single string. Some of my favorite players, from Jimi Hendrix to Steve Vai, use this approach to great effect. Guitar players will often refer to moving up and down the board in this way as horizontal playing, as the lines are formed by the horizontal movement of the fret hand. By contrast, when one moves across multiple strings while remaining in one position, this is often referred to as vertical playing, also known as position playing.