Session Decomposition & Practice Plan

Renegade //Destruction

Michael Landau Group · tab by NMV · ~210 bars · standard tuning

A full section map and exact drills per section. The drills below are original practice exercises built to target each part's technique — work them up, then apply to the song bar-by-bar. The tune lives in B minor, with the big middle solo modulating to D minor / Dorian.

P.M. rhythm enginedead-string raking (X)¼ & full bends legato H/Ptriplet runstouch harmonics (TH)high-position shiftsfloating tempo 131–143
Structure Map
1–32
Intro / Head Riff
Bm · main palm-muted riff
~134
33–48
A · Verse
Bm · muted-rake groove
~132
49–56
B · Chorus
B(no5) · 3-note ostinato
~134
57–64
A · Lead Section
Bm · bends, held notes
~133
65–80
A · Verse 2
Bm · muted-rake groove
~132
81–88
B · Chorus 2
B(no5) · ostinato
~134
89–96
C · Lead Section
Dm7 · D Dorian solo
~136
97–104
A · Lead Section
Bm · bends, legato
~138
105–152
Extended Lead
Dm + Bm · triplets, high positions to 19th
137–142
153–168
D · Bridge
Bm · touch / natural harmonics
~134
169–184
A · Riff Return
Bm · head riff + fills
~133
185–208
A · Final Lead Section
Bm · climactic triplet runs
139–143
209–210
Outro
resolves Bm → D5/A
~143
Section Drills
BARS 1–32
Intro / Head Riff
Bm · the palm-muted signature
What's happening

The defining riff: a tight palm-muted low Bm figure peppered with quarter-tone bends and the chromatic chord moves over the top. The whole feel rides on right-hand mute consistency and the lazy, slightly-behind quarter bends.

The challenge: keeping the palm mute even at 16th-note density while the bends stay loose and vocal, not stiff — and holding the groove against the track's floating tempo.
Drill 1 · PM gallop lock
90 → 134 bpm
A|-2-2-2-2--2-2-2-2--2-2-2-2--2-2-2-2-
   > . . .  > . . .  > . . .  > . . .
   B root, palm-muted 16ths, accent each downbeat

Goal: dead-even mutes, clear accents. Add 4 bpm only when a full minute is flawless.

Drill 2 · quarter-bend feel
free, then 110 bpm
G|-7(¼)----7(¼)----7--9-----------
   D push   D push  D  E   ( the bluesy Landau inflection )

Goal: the ¼ bend is a shade sharp, not a half-step. Sing the note first, then match it.

BARS 33–48 · 65–80
A · Verse
Bm · the muted-rake groove
What's happening

Long stretches of dead-string raking (the XXXX figures) punctuated by fretted accents. It's a percussion part as much as a pitch part — the groove is in the muted scratches.

The challenge: making the muted rakes rhythmic and intentional instead of mushy, and snapping cleanly onto the accented fretted notes without losing time.
Drill · rake-to-accent
100 → 132 bpm
e|-x-x-7--x-x-x-9--x-x-7--x-x-x-9-----
   left hand mutes the x's, hit 7 / 9 as accents

Goal: the x's are felt, the numbers are heard. Keep the strumming hand moving in constant 16ths; the left hand decides what rings.

BARS 49–56 · 81–88
B · Chorus
B(no5) · the hypnotic ostinato
What's happening

A repeating three-note + mute ostinato over a B(no5) drone — relentless, hypnotic, and an endurance test. The muted note in the middle is what gives it the pulse.

The challenge: consistency over many bars without the tempo creeping or the mutes blurring into the rung notes. Pure repetition stamina.
Drill · ostinato stamina
loop 3 min @ 134
B|-9----9----x----7----9----9----x----7--
G|-9----9----x----9----9----9----x----9--
   ring  ring mute  hit   ( loop, metronome, no drift )

Goal: set a 3-minute timer and loop without a single dropped mute or rushed beat. This is a focus drill as much as a hands drill.

BARS 57–64 · 97–104
A · Lead Section
Bm · bends, vibrato, phrasing
What's happening

Melodic Bm lead with full and half bends, held notes, and wide vibrato in the 7th–13th-fret region. This is Landau's vocal phrasing — space, dynamics, the volume swell.

The challenge: bend pitch accuracy and vibrato that's even and musical, not nervous. The notes are easy; the expression is the work.
Drill 1 · bend tuning
free
B|-10b(full)~~~~--12------------------
   bend A up a WHOLE step, then play the 12 to check it hit B

Goal: the bent note and the reference note are the same pitch. Then add slow, even vibrato at the top of the bend.

Drill 2 · vibrato metronome
60 bpm pulses
B|-10~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
   vibrato in time: two oscillations per click, perfectly even

Goal: control the speed and width of vibrato to the click. Random vibrato is the giveaway of an amateur; metered vibrato sings.

BARS 89–96 · 105–144
C · Lead Section
Dm7 · D Dorian — the fusion solo
What's happening

The tune modulates to Dm7 and Landau opens up: fast triplet legato runs, big position shifts up to the 17th–19th fret, hammer/pull cascades — all in D Dorian. This is the section your fusion-runs work feeds directly into.

The challenge: even triplet legato at speed, clean shifts across the neck without fluffing the landing, and keeping the line modal — targeting the natural 6 (B) that makes it Dorian, not plain D minor.
Drill 1 · D Dorian triplet legato
80 → 138 bpm
e|-10h12h13---13p12p10---10h12h13-----
   3    3        3   3      3    3   ( D E F, even triplets )

Goal: one pick attack per group, the hammers/pulls equal in volume to the picked note. Triplets dead even.

Drill 2 · position-shift slide
90 bpm
B|-10-12-13--/--15-17-----------------
   A  B  C  slide D  E   ( D Dorian, two boxes joined )

Goal: the slide lands exactly on 15 every time. Lean on the B (the 6th) — it's the Dorian colour Landau hangs on here.

BARS 153–168
D · Bridge
Bm · touch & natural harmonics
What's happening

A change of texture: touch harmonics (TH) and bracketed natural harmonics over a low fretted figure. Chiming, bell-like, sparse — the calm before the final solo.

The challenge: getting touch harmonics to ring cleanly and in tune — the picking hand has to tap exactly 12 frets above the fretted note while the fretting hand holds.
Drill · touch-harmonic accuracy
free
e|-7<19>------9<21>-------------------
   fret 7, tap the string over fret 19 (octave up) & release
   fret 9, tap over 21 — chime, in tune, every time

Goal: the harmonic speaks instantly and clearly. Tap-and-lift fast; if it's dull, your tap finger is staying on too long.

BARS 185–208
A · Final Lead Section
Bm · the climax
What's happening

The payoff: fast descending triplet sequences, repeated-note trill figures, and runs climbing to the 13th fret, building intensity before the outro resolves Bm → D5/A.

The challenge: descending triplet sequences cleanly at speed (the hardest direction for most players), and pacing the intensity so it actually peaks rather than starting flat-out.
Drill · descending triplet sequence
80 → 142 bpm
e|-14p12--12p10--10p9-----------------
B|--------------------10p8-7----------
   3       3       3      3
   F# E    E  D    D  C#   A  G F#  ( B Aeolian, descending )

Goal: pull-offs as loud as picked notes; no slowing on the string changes. Start at 80, and only move up when it's clean — descending legato exposes weak fingers.

How to attack the whole thing
  1. Don't start at bar 1 and grind. Learn the head riff (1–32) and one chorus ostinato first — they repeat the most, so you bank the biggest return early.
  2. Isolate the two lead worlds. Drill the D Dorian C-section and the Bm final solo as separate skills — they're the hardest and they don't transfer to each other.
  3. Tempo ladder everything. Every drill starts slow on the metronome and climbs 4 bpm at a time. The song floats 131–143, so once you own it at 145 you've got headroom for the live feel.
  4. Bends and vibrato off the clock. Spend five minutes a day just tuning bends and metering vibrato — that expression work is what makes it sound like Landau and not like tab.
  5. Then assemble. Chain sections only once each is solid alone: Intro → Verse → Chorus, then drop in the leads. Play along to a metronome before you ever play along to the record.