Chords for Bumblefoot's Guitar Gods Lesson: Yngwie Malmsteen

_ _ _ [G] _ _ _ _ [E] _
_ The next one I want to talk about is someone that I had the pleasure of touring with last
year and someone that I've listened to since I was a young teenager.
Someone that put neoclassical metal on the map.
Yngwie J. _
Malmsteen.
Yes.
So, what makes Yngwie sound like Yngwie?
First, everything is very classical based as far as, you know, classical classical.
Like the real, _ [B] that _ _ _ [Am] _ [G#] kind of stuff.
So, [C#] _ what makes that sound like that? _
It is the harmonic minor scale.
A harmonic minor scale is when we take that minor scale, _ _ [E] we take the seventh note of [G#] that
_ [D] and we lift [F#m] it like that.
_ [C#] _ _ [F#] _ _ [F#] _ _
_ And having that little lift is something that was very popular _ [A] in old classical music.
[C] _ _
[E] _ _ _ [A] _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [D] _ _ [F] So, Yngwie based a lot of what he [D] wrote around that scale.
_ [C#] _ _
_ [F#m] _ _ _ _ [Bm] _ _ _
[E] _ _ _ [D#] _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [C] _ _ Nice.
[D#] What is it about the way he plays?
_ Well, first there's the scale itself.
Let's take a look at that.
You have, _ _ [D] _ _
and then you have in [G#] the next octave.
_ [D] But [F#] before every first starting note, [C#] you add that raised seventh.
[F] _ [F#]
That thing right there.
So, you have, [B] _ _ [F#] _ _
_ _ [Fm] _ [G#] _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ and that's how you get that whole thing.
And what he did is he did a lot of little trills off his third finger with his fourth finger.
So instead of just going, _ [F#m] here we go.
_ _ [B] _ _ _
_ _ [F#m] _ _ _ _ _ _
_ _ [F#] _ _ _ _ _ _
_ [F#m] _ He also did a lot of arpeggios.
What is an arpeggio?
An arpeggio is when you take a chord _ and _ you break [G#] it down into the notes that make up that chord.
The first, [F#m] _
the third, and the fifth note of the scale.
_ [F#m] _ _
_ _ _ [C] So Yngwie would use a lot of arpeggios and a lot of the harmonic minor.
_ [G#] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ A lot of the [G] arpeggios.
_ [C] And a really big vibrato.
His vibrato was a wide one.
It wasn't like, _ [B] here it is. _
_ _ [A#] _ So he would do a lot of _
[D#] _ _ little arpeggiated diminished things.
_ [N] _ _ _ _ _ _
So, [C#] you would do that little trill.
_ _ [F#] _
_ _ [G#] _ _ _ _ [B] _ _
That's good.
[A] _ _ [F#] _ _ [F] _
_ [G] _ So Yngwie also did a lot of one string [G] patterns.
Do things like, [D] _ _ _
_ [F#m] _ _ _ _ _ [B] _ _
_ _ _ [G#] he would [D#] do a lot of things with groups of six notes as well.
_ [E] _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [Em] _ _
Stuff like that.
So let's put it all together.
We'll put together _ the harmonic minor stuff [E] that he's doing. _ _
_ _ _ _ And we'll put together all the _ arpeggiated_
[Am] _ _ [C#] _ _ _
[Am] _ _ [D] _ And we'll put together all the single string stuff.
_ _ _ And he would do these four note patterns going up.
_ _ [A] _ _ _
[D] _ _ That kind of stuff.
[D#] So the end of one of his songs [C#] that [A#] went_ _ _ _
[C#] _ _ _ [C#m] _ _ _ _ _
_ _ _ _ _ [B] _ _ [E] _
_ _ [D#] Something like that. So yeah.
So let's break it down.
So he's doing his_
_ [C#m] You can see it there.
It's [A#] C sharp minor with that lifted seven.
You got [C#] one, two, three, four, five, six, seven.
So, _ [G#] _ _ then he's got his four notes. _ _
And then his one string. _
And then arpeggios. _ _ _ _ _
_ [C#m] _ _ _ _ _ [E] _ _
_ _ _ _ So yeah.
Yngwie Malmsteen.
[A#] The pioneer.
You hear the person who pretty much opened the door for all the neoclassical metal that you hear right now.
Very cool.
[Dm] Nice.
Thanks.
_ Hey everybody.
I am Ron Bumblefoot Thole.
[A] And I want you to subscribe to Louder Noise.
_ [E] _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _