The choice Extreme cut had the whole guitar world talking thanks to its hair-raising technique and nods to Eddie Van Halen – and now you can bring that same flair to your solos
(Image credit: David Wolff - Patrick/Redferns)
Nuno Bettencourt’s solo on Extreme’s comeback single Rise is a technical tour de force, 55 seconds of sublime shredding that have taken the guitar world by storm, and, let’s be honest, caused a fair few jaws to drop in sheer excitement.
Earlier this week, Nuno discussed the solo, outlining the writing and recording process and revealing how he took inspiration from an unexpected studio visit from a revered guitar hero.
Here, though, we take a close-up look at five key techniques you’ll hear in Rise, simplified of course, so that us mere mortals can learn a few of Nuno’s blazing solo ideas. If you can’t manage to play our licks straight through, don’t worry! Practise slowly and home in separately on the note choice and the techniques.
Example 1. Extremely fast picking
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Nuno kicks off with rapid-fire alternate picking – his low-slung guitar no doubt helping him keep a loose, relaxed picking arm. It’s the clarity that’s most impressive here.
It’s often said that a firm pick is best for accuracy, but at this speed we’d fear snagging a string. A pick with a little flexibility may be friendlier!
Example 2. Fret-hand tapping aids whammy scoops
(Image credit: Future)
Next up, Nuno’s fierce picking gives way to the more vocal qualities of clean, controlled whammy bar ‘scoops’. He employs fret-hand tapping to sound certain notes, freeing up his pick hand to dip the bar. Use palm- and fret-hand muting to keep the idle strings silent and really make those scoops sing!
Example 3. Get the blues in
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Rise’s solo is based in a D minor tonal centre, but Nuno has fun adding bluesy notes from outside the key for colour – and he has form with this. The solo in 1990’s Get the Funk Out includes similar phrasing.
Play our example using all four fretting fingers, combining downpicks with legato to ape Nuno’s fluid style.
Example 4. Pinched harmonics for awesomeness
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Screaming pinched-harmonics sound amazing. Even more so when delivered in amongst the dry chunk of palm-muted low-string notes.
Use the side of your thumb to dig (ie, pinch) in to the string as you pick with a downstroke, then add fret-hand vibrato to make your harmonic sing.
Example 5. More than 3rds
(Image credit: Future)
The finale features palm-muted hammer-ons with a series of wide-stretch shapes. We’re homing in on one of these shapes where you’ll need to execute a five-fret stretch from the 7th fret to the 12th – a 4th interval. Keep your pick-hand palm locked down on the strings at the bridge for a percussive attack.
Charlie Griffiths plays guitar in acclaimed prog-metal outfit Haken, and has a wealth of experience handling corporate and session gigs for genres as diverse as rock, heavy metal and pop. He has been a regular contributor to Total Guitar, Guitar Techniques, and Guitar World for over a decade, and released his debut solo album Tiktaalika in 2022.
