Uploaded August 2024 | Updated September 2026, 2 weeks ago
No idea if this is what was really played! I've been asked about this before, and the original is one of those awesome in-the-moment things where it's hard to tell even from the isolated tracks what's going on. So this just a guess based on convenient 12th position (mostly) E minor fingering. However from a learning perspective, if you're looking to play this, I wouldn't worry too much about the actual pitches. If you want to cop the Sykes vibe, I think the most important component is a picking motion that goes substantially over 200bpm sixteenth notes with good hand synchronization. Get that first, even if only on a single string. Don't spend forever trying to "work up to speed" on the line itself. If picking a single note isn't this fast, then it's likely a technique issue and those don't generally respond to metronome grinding. Instead, look to adjust the technique (or choose a better one) to get high performance right away. Once that's in place, almost any scalar line you can concoct will work for Still Of the Night if you can go fast on the neck pickup and land on the melody notes at the end. The technique is the sound in this case. If you have trouble reaching those speeds, reach out to Cracking the Code instead — we're happy to take a look at your playing and provide personalized feedback ( troygrady.com/help/technique-critique ).
No idea if this is what was really played! I've been asked about this before, and the original is one of those awesome in-the-moment things where it's hard to tell even from the isolated tracks what's going on. So this just a guess based on convenient 12th position (mostly) E minor fingering. However from a learning perspective, if you're looking to play this, I wouldn't worry too much about the actual pitches. If you want to cop the Sykes vibe, I think the most important component is a picking motion that goes substantially over 200bpm sixteenth notes with good hand synchronization. Get that first, even if only on a single string. Don't spend forever trying to "work up to speed" on the line itself. If picking a single note isn't this fast, then it's likely a technique issue and those don't generally respond to metronome grinding. Instead, look to adjust the technique (or choose a better one) to get high performance right away. Once that's in place, almost any scalar line you can concoct will work for Still Of the Night if you can go fast on the neck pickup and land on the melody notes at the end. The technique is the sound in this case. If you have trouble reaching those speeds, reach out to Cracking the Code instead — we're happy to take a look at your playing and provide personalized feedback ( troygrady.com/help/technique-critique ).
