Sections A & B (75% of song): Bm pentatonic + Bm blues scale. NOT Bm Aeolian. The chord progression uses no-3rd power chords + F/C and E/B passing chords, which DON'T commit to Aeolian's b6 (G). The lead vocabulary lives in B-D-E-F-F#-A (Bm blues — pentatonic plus the b5 blue note).
Section C (modulation, bars 89-148): D Dorian, not D Aeolian. The natural 6 (B) makes it Dorian. This is the bright modal minor sound — D-E-F-G-A-B-C. If you play Bb here it'll sound wrong. The natural B is what makes Landau's Section C lines sound modal instead of gothic.
What this means: No b6 (G in Bm) as a primary color note for most of the song. The cinematic "Aeolian" passages we discussed earlier are a misread of the song. The song is fundamentally blues-based in Bm with a Dorian modulation, not Aeolian at all.
Now both players, both vocabularies, anchored to the actual song. Landau's space and bends. Henderson's chromatic resolutions. All living inside Bm blues and D Dorian — the real key landscape of Renegade Destruction.
Renegade Destruction has two clear tonal zones. Match your vocabulary to the zone.
B minor pentatonic + the b5 blue note (F). Five notes plus one blue note. Bend the b3 (D) up to the 4 (E). Bend the 5 (F#) up to the b7 (A). Land on root, b3, 5.
D-E-F-G-A-B-C. Natural B is the key. NOT Aeolian — that B natural is the Dorian "bright" character. Land on D, F, A. The C (b7) is the modal color note that signals "this is Dorian."
Slow, vocal, bend-heavy. Lives in pentatonic + blues. The b5 (F) is a PASSING tone — bend INTO it from E, bend OUT of it to F#. Every phrase has SPACE.
Target tones: b3, 5, b7. Bend FROM the 5 TO the b7. Land on the 5 to resolve. The b5 is texture, not destination.
Chromatic, outside, resolution-focused. Adds chromatic approach notes BETWEEN the pentatonic targets. Plays "wrong" notes that resolve to "right" notes. Lots of triplets.
Target tones: chord tones (R, b3, 5). Approach them chromatically from a half-step above or below. The "ugly" resolving is the whole game.
6 notes. Pentatonic plus one passing blue note. The F (b5) is the dirty Albert-King-style note — bend INTO it from E, then up to F#, or down from F# back to E. Never camp on F.
7 notes. The natural B (the 6th) is what makes this Dorian, not Aeolian. Aeolian would be Bb. The natural B brightens the minor sound — that's the modal "lift" you hear in Section C.
Bend the 5 up a whole step to the b7. This is THE Renegade Destruction opening lick — bar 1 of the song. In every Landau solo ever.
e|---------------------------| B|--7-b(9)~~~~~~~~~9-7-------| G|---------------------9-----| D|---------------------------| bend F# to A, hold, release to F#, then E (b3 of Bm) 3 sec hold + 1 sec release
e|---------------------------| B|--10-b(12)~~~~~~12-10------| G|-----------------------12--| D|---------------------------| bend A to C, hold, release to A, then G (4 of D Dorian) Same gesture, modulated
Walk through the Bm blues scale, deliberately passing through the b5 (F) without landing on it. The b5 is the "dirty" note — bend into it from E, then continue up to F#. Pure Albert King / SRV / Landau territory.
e|---------------------------------| B|---------------------------7-8-10-| G|-----------------7-8b(9)----------| D|-----------7-9--------------------| A|--7-8b(9)-------------------------| E|----------------------------------| B Bb→B D E Eb→F F# A B C(no, F#) D R blue b3 4 blue 5 b7 R
The "Eb" and "Bb" are the b5 passing notes (between the b3 and 4, and between the root and b3). Bend HALF a step from the lower fret to nail them, then continue up.
Two-bar phrase: bar 1 ASKS (rising or sustained), bar 2 ANSWERS (descending resolution). 4 beats of silence between. Don't fill them.
CALL (bar 1): B|--7-b(9)~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| G|----------------------------| F# bent to A, sustained, vibrato [4 beats of REST] ANSWER (bar 2): B|--10-7----------------------| G|------9-7-------------------| D|---------9-7----------------| A|-------------9--------------| A-F#-E-D-B-A (descend through Bm pentatonic landing on b7)
Section C move. Descend from the b3 of D Dorian (F) through the scale, landing on the NATURAL B (the 6th). That landing on natural B is the Dorian "lift" — the moment you sound modal instead of bluesy.
e|--13-10----------------------------| B|-------12-10-----------------------| G|-------------12-10-----------------| D|-------------------12-9b(11)~~~~~--| F-D-C-A-G-F#wait NO - F-natural Correct notes: F-D-C-A-G-E-D bent up to ... no. Simpler version: B|--13-10----12------------------| G|--------12----10----12---------| F D A G A [land on B!] Final note: G string fret 4 = B This is the NATURAL 6, Dorian's signature lift.
Pick ONE note. Hold it for 8 seconds with developing vibrato. Works in both zones — F# (5 of Bm) for Zone A, A (5 of D) for Zone C.
B|--7~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Seconds 1-2: pure tone, no vibrato Seconds 3-5: slow narrow vibrato Seconds 6-8: wider, slightly faster Pick ONCE. Don't re-pick.
B|--10~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~| Same approach, 5th of D. The 5th is the most stable note in any key. Holding it with developing vibrato = pure singing.
Same musical zones, different vocabulary. Where Landau leaves space, Henderson fills it with chromatic resolution. Insert these into the EXACT same bar structures of Renegade Destruction — Section A blues territory, Section C Dorian territory.
Hit a "wrong" note one fret below a chord tone, then immediately resolve UP to the chord tone. Insert this where Landau would just play a chord tone. The split-second dissonance makes the resolution feel earned.
e|-----------------------------|
B|--6-7--9-10--11-12-----------|
G|-------------------8-9-------|
Approaches to chord tones:
F→F# (b5 approach to 5)
A→Bb wait B chord tones in Bm are B, D, F#
C→D (chromatic→b3)
A→B wait, A is b7 of Bm so...
Actual chord-tone approaches for Bm:
Eb→E (approach to scale 4)
A→B (b7→R, half-step UP to root)
D#→E (chromatic approach to 4)
C→D (half-step UP to b3)
Pattern over Bm vamp:
Use Eb-E-F-F# repeatedly to nail F#
Use A-B repeatedly to nail B
Six notes per beat (sextuplets) using ONLY Bm chord tones across two strings. Sounds like a "run" but every note is harmonically meaningful — chord tones only.
e|----------7-----------------| B|--10---7-----7--10---7------| G|-----9---9------9-9---------| 1 a e & a e 2 6 notes per beat: D-F#-B-D-F#-D Chord tones: b3-5-R-b3-5-b3 All Bm chord tones. Reverse direction next beat: D-F#-B-D-F#-B (ascending)
Play a phrase entirely in the WRONG key (a half-step away), then resolve back to Bm on the last note. Sounds avant-garde but always lands on home. Henderson does this constantly on his "Tore Down House" record.
OUTSIDE (Bb minor pentatonic): e|--6-9----------------------| B|------6-9------------------| G|----------6-8--------------| INSIDE resolution (Bm): G|--------------9------------| "Wrong" notes: Bb-Db-Eb-F-Ab-Bb (Bbm pent) resolve to D (b3 of Bm) or resolve to B (root of Bm) Out for 6 notes, in on 1.
"Enclose" a target chord tone with chromatic notes from above AND below. Borrowed from bebop horn players. Adds jazz sophistication to your blues.
e|---------------------------|
B|--8-6-7--------------------|
G|----------11---------------|
Pattern: G - F - F# (target)
half-step above
+ half-step below
+ target
The target is squeezed
between approaches.
e|---------------------------|
B|--11-9-10------------------|
G|-----------14--------------|
Pattern: Bb - Ab - A (target)
half-step above
+ half-step below
+ target
Same enclosure pattern, Zone C.
Henderson's foundational drill, but specifically for Section C. Improvise using ONLY chord tones of Dm + the Dorian color note (natural B). Brutally restrictive. Brutally educational.
The notes you can use:
D (root) - frets 10E, 5A, 12D, 7G, 15B, 10e
F (b3) - frets 13E, 8A, 15D, 10G, 6B, 13e
A (5) - frets 5E, 12A, 7D, 2G+14G, 10B, 5e
B (6!) - frets 7E, 14A, 9D, 4G, 12B, 7e
↑ Dorian color note
Improvise using ONLY these.
8 bars over Section C vamp.
Once you've drilled them separately, mix them. Take a Landau phrase and inject a Henderson chromatic approach in the middle. Take a Henderson sextuplet and end it with a Landau bend. This is where the magic happens.
e|--------------------------------| B|--10-12-13-12-10----7b(9)~~~~~~| G|-----------------12-------------| A-B-C-B-A F# bent to A First half (Henderson): A-B-C-B-A — chromatic enclosure around B (the b7 area) Second half (Landau): F#→A bend with vibrato ONE phrase. Both vocabularies.
Pick ONE zone (A or C) per session. Stick with it. Don't try all 10 exercises in one day.