John Norum Style

by Ben Higgins

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  • Hi and welcome to my new lesson. This time we are looking at John Norum, famous for the lead guitar slot in Swedish rockers, Europe.

    Europe rose to international fame in the 1980s with its third album The Final Countdown (1986), which became a substantial commercial success and sold over three million copies in the United States. Europe was one of the most successful rock acts of the 1980s and sold over 20 million albums worldwide - Wikipedia

    Of course, everybody knows the song The Final Countdown which has a really tasty and restrained guitar solo but looking further at Norum's playing style, you'll discover he really ripped it up when he wanted to and had a picking technique which was a match for any speed demon of the 80's. His bending, vibrato and phrasing are very much influenced by blues & rock players like Gary Moore and Michael Schenker. You can definitely hear the Schenker in the wide vibrato and pentatonic phrasing. Norum also uses blues phrasing in a more sophisticated manner than many 'metal guys' which suggests a real passionate study of the music.

    Not only has John worked with Europe but he's maintained a steady solo career as well.

    This lesson will improve:

    -Vibrato
    -Bending
    -Picking

    So if you want to check out the awesome guitar work of another Swedish (well, strictly Norwegian actually) guitar master then dive on into this lesson and then check out Norum's work for yourself.

    Tuning:
    E A D G B E - Standard Tuning
    Tempo:
    110bpm
    Key:
    Em
    Gear:
    Marshall JVM, OD1 Channel, Orange setting.
    Scales:
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