Hello. This is my first column at Chops From Hell. I hope that you enjoy it.

To start, I'd like to discuss an excellent musical alternative for the pentatonic scale. When moving the standard fingering for 3 notes per string a new horizon of musical possibilities opens. I explored this new fingering in lick 1, also adding string skipping, tapping and legato techniques.

In lick 2, I kept the fingering of 3 notes per string, but without string skipping and with repeated notes, generating a different and fantastic musical effect. You can also execute this lick using legato technique.

Try creating your own licks using the ideas above.

César Garcia is a brazilian guitarist. Visit his band's website at www.cabineprimaria.com.