Stevie Ray Vaughan - Pride And Joy Pt.4 - Main Solo - Guitar Lesson

About Pride And Joy Pt.4 - Main Solo

The main solo in "Pride and Joy" is where Stevie Ray Vaughan really digs into his Blues Rock vocabulary, and it rewards close study. Running at 120 BPM, the solo sits in E minor but constantly flirts with the major pentatonic, which is what gives it that tension-and-release feel so central to Vaughan's style. The tuning is Eb Standard, so drop every string one half-step before you start, otherwise nothing will feel right under your fingers. The real challenge here is the phrasing: Vaughan bends behind the beat, and those string bends need to be wide, controlled, and in tune under real pick attack. His heavy-gauge strings in Eb meant he could dig in hard, so resist the temptation to play this lightly. Use the Practice Toolbar to loop any four-bar phrase slowed down until your bends land on pitch and your vibrato feels relaxed. Once each phrase is solid at half-speed, gradually work back up toward 120 BPM before joining the phrases together.

• The solo is played in Eb Standard tuning, so tune every string down one half-step before attempting any of the bends or licks.
• Wide, controlled string bends are the core technique here: each bend must reach pitch cleanly under the kind of firm pick attack Vaughan used.
• Practise each phrase in isolation using the Practice Toolbar slowed down, focusing on landing bends in tune before building back up to 120 BPM.