Dimebag Darrel’s Style

Here’s an example solo in the style of Dimebag Darrel from the heavy metal band “Pantera”. Dime liked to use plenty of legato in his soloing, and his phrases would often be a mixture of pentatonic and chromatic lines.

The solo starts with a chromatic idea based on the E minor pentatonic scale at the 12th fret. Each short motif ends on a note one fret lower than the previous repetition- giving a descending, chromatic feel to a bluesy, pentatonic phrase. Examples of this kind of playing can be found in the solos to “Cemetery Gates” (first solo) or “Immortally Insane”. This is followed by a legato section based on the blues scale in E, similar to what Dime plays at the beginning of the solo to “Domination” or “Walk”. Then the two licks are repeated with a modified ending (still based on the E blues scale, with an added major 6th for good measure) leading up to the 15th fret on the high E.

The next lick is taken right out of country music, or the blues (just done in a minor key). Bend the 15th fret on the B string, hit the 15th fret on the high E, and then re-play the 15th on the B string. Country music?! You don’t believe me? Play exactly the same thing in a major key and you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about (either play it over an E, but move it to the 12th fret, or play it at the 15th fret over a G bass note). Then, I move up to the 17th and 18th frets and play a very similar lick, but this time using a flat fifth (known as the “devil’s interval” or simply a “tritone” because it’s three tones wide). Both of these phrases can be heard in the solo to “Cowboys from Hell”, as can the next lick, which is essentially an ascending, atonal run (i.e. not in a particular key).

I end the solo with an ascending, chromatic idea (similar to how Dime uses in countless solos- including: “Cowboys from Hell”, “Walk”, and “I’m Broken” to name but a few…). The last bend on the 22nd fret may be a bit tricky. You need to bend up the 22nd fret on the E string and just catch the B string with your finger- which’ll give the bend that “dirty” sound, rather than just a clean, one-note bend.

For more about Dime’s style of playing, check out my blog post, “How to Play like Dime”.

June 11, 2011 at 3:00 pm | How to, In the Style of... | No comments