Hole Notes: Zakk Wylde's "Unplugged" Riffs and Hybrid-Picked, Acoust...

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August 2014 Issue Videos

Hole Notes: Zakk Wylde's "Unplugged" Riffs

and Hybrid-Picked, Acoustic Shred
Posted 06/09/2014 at 1:33pm | by Dale Turner, Photo by Ari Michelson

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As the Black Label Societys leader (and Ozzys

guitarist for more years than anyone else), Zakk
Wylde has become infamous for his brew-tal
riffage and lethal lead style.
Remarkably, though, he also has a soul-stirring
softer side. Numerous acoustic-heavy offerings
populate his catalog, including BLS records like
Hangover Music Vol. VI and solo albums like

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Book of Shadows.
This month's "Hole Notes" looks at Zakk Wylde's
brand of hyrid-picked, acoustic shred.

Many of them are highlighted by Wyldes

perhaps surprising vocal abilities, which include
crooning not unlike Chris Cornell and the late

Layne Staley (a strong contrast to his singing approach in BLS bone-crushingly heavy output).
Whats more, in almost Van Halenlike tradition (think Spanish Fly on Van Halen II), many BLS

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discs feature a fiercely shredded unaccompanied acoustic guitar solo. Add to this the fact that, just
last year, BLS reworked an entire album (Order of the Black) into the all-acoustic The Song
Remains Not the Same, and you may agree that its high time we honor the burly, bearded ones
fine acoustic guitar work.

Darkest Days is one of the standout tracks on The Song Remains Not the Same and features
Wylde engaging in pick-style arpeggiation, not unlike FIGURE 1. Whereas some acoustic players
might opt to go the fingerstyle route in such a setting, Wylde fills the soundscape quite nicely with
pickingnote the successive up/down strokes (a.k.a. economy picking) written above the TAB
staffand hammered-on chord ornaments. (He uses a similar approach in Spoke in the Wheel, on
Sonic Brew.)

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Of course, Wylde is a master at coaxing heavy riffs out of virtually any ax, and he doesnt always
keep it pretty when hes digging into the strings of his Alvarez Yairi, Gibson Dove or Epiphone
Masterbuilt acoustics. In No Other (Hangover Music Vol. VI), which informs FIGURE 2, heavy pick
attacks, open-string drones and the frequent emphasis of the flatted fifth, or Devils interval (Bf in

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the key of E minor), combine to create a dark, moody vibe thats more akin to Wyldes trademark
persona.

Well wrap up this lesson with a look at two of the unaccompanied acoustic guitar solo pieces in the
Wylde discography. FIGURE 3, inspired by portions of Takillya (Estyabon) (Hangover Music Vol.

Eleven Guitar Picks with

Pluck

VI), is a speedy finger-picked passage, featuring a descending line (sounded with the thumb, p)
stated between plucks of higher open strings (using the index and middle fingers, i and m,
respectively). Blistering guitar pieces such as this, as well as Speedball (1919 Eternal) and T.A.Z.
(Sonic Brew), are a tip of the hat to Wyldes influences, such as Al Di Meola, Paco de Lucia, John
McLaughlin and Carlos Montoya.

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the Ages
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"Letters"
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video for "Letters."

FIGURE 4 pays homage to T.A.Z., copping some of the terrifying pick-and-fingers (or hybrid

Fifty Albums That Defined 1984

picking) techniques Wylde wields in the piece. Grip your pick between your thumb and index

From Rush to SRV, here are 50 iconic albums celebrating

their 30th anniversary this...

fingers (use downstrokes only), and pluck with your middle (m) finger. Focus on the first string pair
used in the lick (beats one and two of bar 1) and perfect it. The remainder of this passage is actually
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Part 1

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Related
Topics:
Black Label Society, Hole Notes, May 2012, Musicians
Institute, Ozzy Osbourne, Zakk Wylde, Blogs, Lessons

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Valarien777
January 10, 2013 at 9:25pm

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I'm actually more into Zakk's acoustic stylings than his electric stuff...nice lesson and great playing
Dale.

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