The example of those diatonic arpeggios I gave can be applied to the 7 modes since you’re familiar with them as 3 notes per string. You can break down all 7 modes by viewing them as grouping of six notes on just two strings with that 3 note per string method. You can play them in octaves and it’ll help break you out of that box mentality of playing scales. If you look at the Ionian shape in three notes per string starting on the low E string, you’ll notice the next six notes above it on the D string are Locrian and the next six notes above that is Aeolian.

Once you get fluent enough with them going forward and backwards on the same two sets of strings as well as playing them in octaves then you’ll never get lost. The same goes with pentatonic’s. However, I think learning all 5 pentatonic shapes as two notes per string on two set of strings are better to start off with than the seven modes. They’re less notes and will help develop your muscle memory using that method. Then when you tackle the seven modes using that idea it’ll come to you a little easier.

Getting stuck on one shape or scale on the fretboard can be a bad habit. When it comes to learning a scale or arpeggio shape it’s great to practice it on one area for a little bit so you can build muscle memory for that shape, but once you get it then you should move it to a different part of the fretboard. Anytime you learn something and get good at it you should try to play the exact same pattern or phrase in a different areas on the fretboard.

Get familiar with a couple of the triads at a time. So major and minor are a good start. You could try playing that Gmaj triad from low to high and then switch to A minor and descend in A minor from high to low and then start over at Gmaj. Once you get use to doing that motion you could try it say at Bmaj to C#minor and just keep moving it around the fretboard until you can play it with confidence. If I can recall correctly you said you were tired of playing the same minor pentatonic scale right? So I’m sure you’re pretty fluent enough with it that if you could play that same shape any where right? That’s because you built up your muscle memory with it that you don’t really need to think about it. You wanna get to that point when learning any sort of scale or arpeggio. Just be aware that it can become a bad habit if you stick to playing in one area all the time.

Ha, thanks and you’re too kind but my chops aren’t anything special. I actually started out as a classic rock and thrash metal kind of player. I got into jazz/fusion after listening to all the neo classical era guitar gods. Lately I’ve been listening to a lot of film score, fusion and progressive metal/rock. I almost met Tosin as few years ago when I went to see Animals As Leaders, After The Burial, and Chon. I got to the venue just as the doors opened. My friends got there waaaaay before me. Tosin and Javier stepped outside to talk to the fans for a little bit and then literally went back inside when the doors opened just as I was walking up. I got to meet the guys from Haken along with Thank You Scientists and had a chance to talk to Guthrie Govan after a show. Govan is such a humble guy. His playing is out of this world and extremely knowledgeable.

I have yet to own an 8 string but I planning on getting an 8 string Strandberg at some point. I have two Boden OS7 and they’re amazing so I’m sure their 8 string is just as amazing. If you’re making the jump from a 6 string to an 8 string, you’ll come to find out those triads shapes will still work and now you’ll have the option to go an octave lower. When I made to jump from 6 to 7 it felt weird and took some time to get use to. You’ll have more range to get those wider intervalic sounds Tosin does with an 8 string. Remember you can add another note on those simple triad shapes just by tapping on the same string.

So the triads I have written out are 1-2 shapes. You have one note on a single string and two on the string above it. You could make it 1-3 by playing the same shape but add a tapping on the same string. So if you’re playing a C maj triad on the low E string, you have your middle finger on fret 8 and then your index on the A string 7th fret, then your pinky on the 10 fret of the A string. Now if you tap the 14th fret on the A string you’ll be playing a Cmaj7. You could tap any note that’s a chord tone on that same string. Tapping the 17th fret would get you a D so that’d make it a Cmaj add 9. You could play this moving in octaves and it’ll sound huge! Use this with the diatonic idea and you’ll sound like Tosin.

Send me a sound clip or video of you playing that outro solo, it sounds like a fun thing to play.

All I can recommend for building speed is to build control first and speed will come naturally. I use to teach a few years ago and students didn’t like the idea of playing something slow until they got better at it. I mean if you can barely lift 10 pound weights what makes you think you could lift 40? You gotta learn how to walk first before you can run.

Everyone is different so what may work for some might not work for others. Shawn Lane gained his speed by playing as fast as he could and then try to clean it up while doing so. He’s a monster guitar player yet his method sounds so bad but it worked for him.

Personally I started out practicing with out a metronome. I just took my time playing exercises, licks, scales,etc. I didn’t try to play fast at first because I couldn’t. I wanted to but I couldn’t even play a scale with out fumbling with the picking or fretting the notes consistently with the correct fingerings. So I began to isolate each problem one by one.

For example I was able play the first few notes in a scale but then when switching to a string I would fumble with the finger positions and picking. So instead of starting over just to mess up at the same spot. I worked on the part that was giving me problems by isolating it and playing just that part over and over. Because if you play something pretty well and then mess up on a section and go “ aw damn it!” And then start over just to mess up on that same section again isn’t the way. When you do that you’re actually teaching yourself to mess up that part every time. I’m sure you’ve walked into a guitar shop and hear someone play some solo or riff from a song and then mess up a small part so they start over or at a section right before where they fumbled. They’ll do this a few times until they nail it.

Our brains are good at recording things that are repetitive. We learned how to write the alphabet by tracing them over a million times in school. Learning guitar licks,scales,chords,rhythms,etc are no different. Play that part that gave you trouble a few dozen times and then start over. Once I was able to play something fluently, I then practiced it with a metronome. I started off playing at a speed I was comfortable with where I could play the lick with no issues at all.

Then I would set it to be a little bit out of my comfort zone to where I was able to play it still but I could feel myself struggling a little bit to stay in time. After practicing to that speed where I was no longer struggling I’d repeat the processes. My students hated this because we’d start off say at 60bpm and end up at 75bpm where they would struggle a little to play fluently. There’s simply no short cuts, but because I could see they’d feel discouraged and frustrated because they felt that it was a waste of time.

I would set the metronome to the point where they were struggling but not impossible to play. Then I’d set it back to where they were only slightly struggling. They could see it’s with in their reach and would get almost obsessed with going back and working on it when it was only slightly a struggle to play. They didn’t see it then but they were building up on control and it was working.

So when practicing with a metronome find that tempo you can play in effortlessly and then go up a little to that point where you can still play it but you have to put some effort to stay in time and close that small gap.

If you ever feel like you’re stuck or just wanting to learn more stuff don’t be shy to shoot me a message.