[Ryan’s Ibanez FR custom shop guitar is tuned down 2 whole steps to C Standard: C F Bb Eb G C]
The following lick is based on an Emin7 arpeggio. Thought of in the key of D major and played over an A7 chord, the resulting sound has an A7sus4 flavor. The lick could also be played over an Emin6 chord for a Dorian sound.
In this variation on the above lick, Ryan more explicitly resolves the Emin7 line to an A dominant sound. Starting on the fourth beat of the second measure, he shifts to an A minor blues scale, making sure to also include a C#, the third degree of A7.
[Special thanks to Ben Mayer for his excellent camera work and last minute help, Peter Boyle for his impeccable transcription work, and Josh Hofmann for his assistance with this video shoot.]

About Ivan Chopik
Ivan Chopik founded Guitar Messenger in the Fall of 2007 and is currently running the online magazine as Editor-in-Chief, webmaster, and writer. He is also a guitarist, composer, and audio engineer who graduated from Berklee College of Music in May 2012 with a Bachelor of Music degree in Guitar Performance, Music Business & Management, and Music Production/Engineering.
View other posts by Ivan Chopik
Visit Ivan Chopik's Website: http://www.ivanchopik.com
Courses
Articles

Over the last few years Dragonforce have established themselves as one of the premier bands in today’s metal scene. Their latest release, Inhuman Rampage, is...
This year at NAMM we had the pleasure of running into Leonardo Guzman, the fleet-fingered Colombian guitarist whose entry in our Guitar Solo Competition earned...

Hailing from the depths of Glendale, Arizona, Job For A Cowboy have been stirring up a storm within the metal community ever since the release...
Lessons

In the last column, we talked about harmonizing the Major Scale in 3rds so that we could find all diatonic chords for that scale from...

Welcome to my lesson at Guitar Messenger! Today, I’m going to talk about my approaches to songwriting and arrangements. I’ve taken a few examples from...

Welcome to my second column/lesson! This month I’d like to talk about one of my favorite players of all time – Allan Holdsworth. He’s been...