HOW TO PLAY THIS MONTH'S SONGS

ALTHOUGH HE'S MAINLY revered for his fiery fretwork and technical precision, Paul Gilbert puts as much dedication and thought into crafting musically appealing, memorable themes as he does being able to cleanly execute fast single-note lines.

- BY JIMMY BROWN

PAUL GILBERT

“Fuzz Universe”

This gloriously rocking instrumental title track from the guitarist's 2010 album showcases the long-fingered axman's talents and brilliance as both a guitarist and composer, and serves as a fun masterclass for aspiring shredder-songwriters.

When playing the song's looping intro riff, which formally begins in bar 1 (the pickup notes during the quick fade-in are the last seven notes of bar 4), the first challenges you'll encounter are frequent string skips and a five-fret span between the two notes played on the G string, which requires a wide reach and stretch. Allow your fret hand to twist and shift as needed to reach each note, and don't feel obligated to keep a finger hovering over a previously fretted note. Focus instead on what's coming next.

We've indicated the specific pick strokes Gilbert uses during this challenging opening passage, which, along with the hammer-ons and pull-offs, facilitate the numerous string crosses. Notice that he begins his repeating G#m7♭5 arpeggio in bar 13 on the B and high E strings then switches to playing the same notes on the G and B strings in bar 14. This is a prime example of how the guitarist thoughtfully considers how and where to play every note and how to articulate it.

One of the most technically demanding passages is the section-D theme, beginning in bar 44. Here, Gilbert performs a machine-gun-like pedal-tone figure across two strings, for which he alternate picks an unbroken stream of 16ths notes that periodically requires the arduous movement of picking an upstroke followed by a downstroke on a higher string — and, even harder, picking a downstroke followed by an upstroke on a lower string. Try to keep your picking movements as small, efficient, precise and relaxed as possible.