Hey GMC'ers! In this session I composed this song called “Meet me in Holdsworthland” that will go on my second album. It has reminiscence of Allan Holdsworth's use of harmony. It's a very simple melodic line in Eb, with a variety of chords, in which some fall outside the key.

One of the most important things while re-harmonizing a tune is to use chords which give a nice harmonic color. To achieve this I used chords with 9, 11, and 13th extensions as well as hybrids. What exactly are hybrid chords? Well, a good exercise for hybrid chords is to take a simple triad and move the bass chromatically. You will notice the different qualities of hybrid chords, for example: if you play C/D which is a minor or 7th chord and then move the bass to C# you will end up with a dominant chord: A7 chord with it's third on the bass but still keeping the high note of the triad as the main note in your melody.

This is the first section of the tune. In the following lessons I´ll show you some solos over these chords. Keep in mind that many of these chords require some intense stretching of the hand. Utilizing Allan Holdsworth's characteristic vibrato is also essential. A small trick to get this right is to rest the thumb on the back of the neck which allows your fingers to move more freely

Chord Sequence:
Bb13/G – F7sus4 – Ebmaj9 – D5 – Db6/9 – Cm9 – Cm11 – Db6/9 – Db6/9b – Cm9 – Abmaj7 – Am11 – Abmaj7 – Abmaj7#11 – Asus4 – Am9 – G/A – Cm11 – Db/Eb – Dm11 – Fm11 – Bb13/G

Techniques:
* Chords
* Vibrato
* Hybrid Picking

Suggested Scales:
* Eb Major-Dd Lydian Mixolidian (4th Mode of Ab Melodic Minor)

Enjoy! Feel free to ask me any questions.

Db Lydian/Mixolydian

Eb Major

Eb Major