Rikki Don't Lose That Number by Steely Dan (Guitar Solo Lesson with TAB)

One of my all-time favorite Steely Dan songs and a great solo. Jeff "Skunk" Baxter pulls out lots of tricks, including some great blues licks and double-stop slides. Plus, he plays through several key changes.
Here's the TAB: www.dropbox.co...

[@danielsmith7902]

I remember the first time I heard this solo and knew that Mr. Baxter had carved his own niche. All these years later having a chance to learn some of his licks is awesome.

[@arnarne]

One of my absolute favourite solos ever. Thank you very much for such a great lesson. Excellent!

[@MarkZabel]

Glad you liked it!

[@markh.2899]

I didn't think I'd ever be able to play this solo, but after you slowed it down and I got the riffs in my head, it was very doable - thank you very so much!

[@MarkZabel]

Awesome! Glad I could help.

[@tbone2451]

Very good lesson , anyone who takes the time to tab a lesson is tops in my book

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks!!

[@marypetrie930]

Just superbly shown...one of the best.

[@MarkZabel]

Thank you so much! I really appreciate your kind comment!

[@kevinmalone8903]

one of the best at explaining how to play on you tube. I really enjoy and can pick things up and understand quickly

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks Kevin. I really appreciate your comment. Please feel free to let me know what you would like to see!

[@wheatonna]

Showing which chords the solo is played over makes all the difference for me. With Steely Dan songs, you really can't just stick to one scale. I haven't even picked up my guitar yet, but so appreciate the demystification you're doing here. These Dan solos always sound to me like they came from another planet.

[@MarkZabel]

Glad you liked it! I feel the same way about Steely Dan. It's critical to look at the harmony in breaking them down - most of them in any event. Thanks for watching!

[@dahenjo7633]

Rikki lost my number after I begged her not to, and Skunk is now consulting on missle defense, go figure. Beautiful breakdown of another complex SD solo, one of my favs too of all time, thanks for showing us!

[@MarkZabel]

You're welcome. Thanks for watching!

[@cluxseltoot]

Yes, a wonderful solo - it was the first Dan melody I heard while fixing my Triumph motorbike in the street one beautiful summer's day - back in the day. Knowing what's going on vis-à-vis the guitar part makes the song all that much better - Thank you for taking the trouble to make this video and share your knowledge. it is appreciated.

[@MarkZabel]

cluxseltoot You're welcome. Thank you for that great contextual story, and thanks for watching.

[@jrenaud22]

Yesss!! Just heard this song for 1st time in a while and took notice of the solo. So I set out to find a lesson and, OF COURSE, I can count on you to have these lesser taught lessons. And, of course, I love learning songs from you. Thanks!!

[@MarkZabel]

Awesome! Thanks for watching!

[@barryarcher6158]

ah one of the best solos ever. And I forgot to say a wonderful lesson you did as well, many thanks

[@MarkZabel]

No doubt!

[@daniellacroix5086]

Great band, great song, beautiful solo, as many through Steely Dan' s albums. Congrats for your cover ! Thanks for sharing this :)

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks Daniel!

[@Prudoco]

Great work on a great solo. We saw SD a week ago and I was having my daughters read about Skunk and what an amazing story. Thanks again!

[@MarkZabel]

Prudoco Thanks for listening and the kind comment too! Yes, Skunk is an interesting person ... a national defense consultant now even!

[@jimchironna8075]

Do you guys know how he got the nickname 'skunk' ..?

[@gusdogbrownlab435]

Excellent again Mark. This is going to be my next conquest. Thanks.

[@MarkZabel]

Awesome. This one is well worth the effort!

[@mackermaldrill2656]

I met Jeff about three years. I spoke to him for only a short time, but the one thing I specifically mentioned was the solo on Rikki Don't Lose That Number.

[@MarkZabel]

Cool!

[@jsilence418]

Lovely job.The ' Skunk" would be proud I'm sure.

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks!!

[@michaelconvery3840]

Absolutely fantastic this is a very difficult solo and you explained it superbly thank you

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks Michael! You really made my day!

[@imunchienandalusia]

very good one Mark. One thing i like about this one is that this seems like how i would actually construct a solo (just a LOT better) so i can take these things that Baxter does and apply them elsewhere. Like someone speaking my language. I wish i had your ear. Thanks for posting.

[@MarkZabel]

You're very welcome. Thanks for watching and for your kind comment too!

[@MarkZabel]

Liam Keaney Hi Liam. Tab sent! Thanks for listening!!

[@Pablo-ft6un]

Thx so much. There are a bunch of tutorials of Rikki Solo, but I really dig yours because you’re explaining the chords - harmonic background that is. As i play the John Berry big band version in (horn-friendlier) F your background helps me a lot not to lose that numbers while playing halfstep up…

[@MarkZabel]

You're very welcome!

[@sillygoose3653]

Excellent lesson showing the relation to scales and chords

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks so much. Glad you liked it!

[@Disharmonikash]

BEAUTIFUL guitar

[@MarkZabel]

It's a Reverend Buckshot. Even more beautiful to play!

[@glassslide]

Wow---that was GREAT! Thank you for posting!!

[@MarkZabel]

+glassslide Thanks for listening and for the kind comment too!

[@vibrolax]

Love your phrasing. Far better than any of the others I have found on YT.

[@MarkZabel]

Wow, thanks a lot!!

[@jimchironna8075]

Mark ..another AWESOME lesson !!! always loved this solo ..but never thought I could pull it off.. THANKS to you I'm getting close with some more practice I'm fuckin there !!! THANK YOU !! for sharing your knowledge and killer chops with all of us !! ROCK ON !!!

[@jbrooks1348]

Many thanks for breaking down this iconic solo! Great playing as always.

[@MarkZabel]

+J Brooks You're welcome. Thanks for listening and for the kind comment!

[@streetbrite7668]

Thanks! Appreciate your skill and generosity!

[@MarkZabel]

Thank you so much!! It's my pleasure.

[@joseramonanadonruizdelafue6252]

Awesome explanation of chords and scales.....really enjoyable...thanks indeed

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks. I really appreciate the kind comment!

[@alexaguado4854]

I'm relearning this this one. I was inspired by a factoid I read this last week about Skunk Baxter's other career as a missile defense consultant for the DoD.

[@MarkZabel]

Enjoy! I really should re-do this video as well as some of my older Steely Dan videos.

[@danf4447]

Nicely done Mark.. clean tone.. good vibrato.

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks Dan!

[@danielsmith7902]

Great song selection , great instruction , Thanks!

[@MarkZabel]

Glad you liked it!

[@The73275]

Great lesson well detailed and taught, thank you for teaching us

[@MarkZabel]

Glad you liked it!

[@0372mr335]

Very nice indeed. Thank you Mark.

[@MarkZabel]

You're welcome. Thanks for the kind words ... Mr335 knows his Steely Dan, so that means something!!

[@0372mr335]

Cool.

[@toddstiff12]

Excellent. Amused myself with this one while I wait for Doobie Wah. ;-)

[@peterpricemusic]

Excellent job on that solo! Your video has helped me immensely!

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks Peter. Glad it was helpful to you!

[@markkindermannart4028]

Great lesson and I'm finally getting closer

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks - and fantastic!

[@alexaguado4854]

Thanks for the lesson.

[@MarkZabel]

My pleasure! Thanks for watching!

[@EnzoFerenczyo]

Best solo ever arguably. Don't Take Me Alive is the other GOAT. Could you do that one next? Nice 👌 job BTW. You got my sub .

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks Michael! I did Don't Take Me Alive a long time ago (2 videos I think). I need to re-do it, but here they are. 1. Intro solo: kzbin.info/www/bejne/nWbPqKx4o694pKM 2. Ending lick: kzbin.info/www/bejne/m33aoJuPgr-nbNE

[@EnzoFerenczyo]

@@MarkZabel Excellent! I'm pouring over your long list of vids right now. Been playing a long time but I lost my tab of Rikki so it was a joy to find yours. Cheers from Canada

[@craignowicke3093]

Thanks so much! Well done, well explained and well demonstrated 👍

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks!

[@nn567]

Wonderful tutorial. Glad I found your channel!

[@MarkZabel]

nn567 Thanks! Hope you subbed and can give me a few suggestions on what else to do a lesson on!

[@budandbean1]

That sounds so great Mark, I have to learn it. The quick part is a bit tough. Thanks!

[@MarkZabel]

Buddy Martin Thanks Buddy! Yes, definitely take it slowly and work up speed over time. Let me know if you'd like the tab.

[@jakewaldman6243]

0:06 0:11 0:28

[@bellerive7018]

great way of teaching mate - well done

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks a ton! I appreciate the positive feedback!

[@johnmcdonagh1607]

Thanks Mark 👍.

[@MarkZabel]

You're welcome. Thanks for watching!

[@BarryFence]

Such an awesome solo. Walter Becker has just passed away yesterday. So sad.

[@MarkZabel]

Yes, sad. This solo is Skunk Baxter's, but Walter Becker's solo on Bad Sneakers is sublime!

[@BarryFence]

I'm definitely going to check out "Bad Sneakers". Thanks. :^)

[@vanderkerkov]

Uma aula completa. Parabéns pelo trabalho.

[@danielsmith7902]

Those country bends from the lessons help in bar 7

[@MarkZabel]

Yep.

[@brendanbehan2289]

Very good lesson

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks Brendan!

[@teodelfuego]

Excellent

[@MarkZabel]

Thank you so much 😀

[@tjbvillar]

thank you. you made my hobby easier!

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks for watching!!

[@jakewaldman6243]

7:50

[@jakewaldman6243]

3:35 4:12 5:50 Like so

[@jakewaldman6243]

5:54

[@kimholland9316]

Pretty good

[@sland67]

Mark, Thanks for this one! Can't wait to start. One of my favorite solo's. Did you ever do a lesson on black magic woman? Thanks Sean

[@MarkZabel]

+sland67 No, never did. That's a great one. It's officially on the list!! Thanks!

[@baselinesweb]

Thanks for this. What thickness strings are you using? Also, it would be great to see how they played the very first lick about a minute into the song. I almost have it but the ending of it just doesn't sound right yet.

[@MarkZabel]

You're welcome. Thanks for watching. I probably used 10s back then, but it may have been 09s. Keep at it. Playing guitar is so much more than simply the notes played. It's worth the extra time getting it down. You got this!

[@Keninoz1]

Great lesson. It's helped me a lot :)

[@MarkZabel]

Glad to hear that!

[@daviscanturia4783]

Nicely done sir!

[@MarkZabel]

Thank you! Cheers!

[@illysigelman1264]

thank you great lesson i learned it its one of my favorite solos

[@MarkZabel]

+illy sigelman Glad you found it helpful. Thanks for the listen and the kind comment too!!

[@ArikShahar]

Hey Thanks for the helpful lesson I learned a lot from it

[@MarkZabel]

My pleasure Arik. Thanks for watching!

[@ArikShahar]

Thank you

[@raymonddixon5162]

Thanks Mark. Been to see a band here, Aja seem to have nailed Steely to the spot. They're on youtube.

[@MarkZabel]

Sure, any time. Aja ... I'll check them out, thanks!

[@Daytripper51]

Sweet and right on as usual...Great job!!! How long did it take to figure all that out??? How did you approach it??

[@MarkZabel]

brpbrpbrpbrp Thanks! It only took me a little while ... this time! :) When I first learned it many moons ago it gave me fits. I think back then I just plunged in and it took days. One thing to keep in mind is that I love this song and solo, so I pretty much had it memorized. (I could "sing" the solo, which helps a great deal.) This time I figured out the basic chords first, which helped. For the very beginning of the solo I just found the notes. The phrases on the two-bar E and on the two-bar G sounded bluesy, so I thought "blues box" for each of those licks. The transition to the Fmaj7/Gmaj7/Em7 ... those chords are diatonic in C ... so I tried thinking "C-pentatonic" and it all fit. I found a couple of the phrases at the end to be the toughest. (The double stops.) For those I had to improvise a few minutes over those chords at the end (D-A-E-E), but really in the end it's just playing very directly over the chords. For the final E phrase ... it reminded me of a phrase from Steve Howe's solo in Roundabout where he hits the root on a first string note and walks up the scale on the 2nd string. Here the scale is E-major. It worked ... I was lucky. It's a great solo. Skunk may have improvised the whole thing, which is really humbling to me! BTW, let me know if you'd like the tab.

[@winkfinkerstien1957]

Wow! Spot on! I feel like I owe you some big $$ for this!

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks a ton Duane!

[@jakewaldman6243]

2:12

[@nickclube295]

great lesson - thank you

[@MarkZabel]

Glad it helped!

[@ketigunia]

Well done that was an amazing job you earned yourself a new subscriber

[@MarkZabel]

Epic Tammy.s Thanks. Really appreciate the sub!!

[@RealSoundNow]

Really well done ..

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks!

[@jzf128]

Thanks for Your tutorial. Wel explaned.

[@MarkZabel]

Glad it was helpful!

[@MrSwanny66]

Great stuff, thanks

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks for watching and for the nice comment too!

[@stanhorton9056]

You ought to check out RICK RUSKIN'S version of this tune. He does an entire arrangement of it. It's on yt... in various forms...

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks. That's a really nice arrangement!

[@ArikShahar]

Great man

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks!

[@GreatWaterCircus]

Hey thanks very good...Mark

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks for listening and for the kind comment!

[@PKriger]

I see that’s a Reverend Guitar you’re playing on this one. I think it sounds good, and I love my Reverend Stu D Baker. How do you like yours?

[@MarkZabel]

Love it! This is a Buckshot. I also have a Revrend PA-1. Great guitars.

[@davecaerbert730]

thanks also for putting this out there, I love this community. a little beyond my abilities but I've been at it diligently for a while and were coming along. been doing Don't take me alive also as my taste will prevail and abilities will gain. that said, where can I get the backing track your rockin there? it's time to play along. again thanks a bajillion

[@davecaerbert730]

never mind, found them!

[@MarkZabel]

Okay, great. Have at it!!

[@ieldepiel]

Wow mark!!! I could do this for 90%....... Hopefully this takes me to a 100

[@MarkZabel]

ieldepiel I've got my fingers crossed for you!

[@EBrian-wb4vi]

Fantastic tutorial, great pace for a pro player, your interpretation 100% spot on IMHO, can't say that for all the lesson out there. I'm subscribing to your Channel. Many thanks from Eric, Peachland, British Columbia, Canada

[@RDYC]

The amount of "guitar knowledge" contained in this solo is pretty impressive. It really stood out as the high point on that record and with a totally new blend of country, rock, and unusual chord progressions. How do you come up with a solo like this?

[@MarkZabel]

Yes, I agree. Baxter had a good grounding in lots of styles of music, and they come together nicely here.

[@RDYC]

So he starts by playing E over a D chord and proceeds to go various distances "outside". I like the fact that you mention the chords. Another Baxter solo that I'm struggling (and there are no videos) is the solo in Wheels of Fortune. Virtually insurmountable, to me, but I think he's just wigging it out over the Dm7 and not even thinking about it. I could add that it kinda sounds like a miniature version of the Do It Again solo (by Denny Dias).

[@dr.know-it-all5148]

Skunk is bathing now, he can afford it working for the Fed.

[@MarkZabel]

LOL, yep!

[@gmg7750]

genio! haces sonar muy bien esa guitarra_!

[@MarkZabel]

Thank you!!

[@BedeLaplume]

Great tuto thanks :)

[@MarkZabel]

Bertrand Dugas You're welcome. Thanks for watching.

[@BedeLaplume]

Thanks for making such great tutos.. Currently struggling on the "Yes" "Round about" one ..lol!

[@lutzgalinat7555]

Du hast es voll drauf!

[@MarkZabel]

!!! Danke

[@michaelflacco4303]

Thanks!

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks Michael!

[@jennC8797]

What are you playing through? Sounds awesome!

[@MarkZabel]

I don't remember what I used at that time. A Fender Twin amp model probably. I think it was just a Zoom G3X pedal (with Fender Twin amp model) through an inexpensive solid state amp - ZT Lunchbox Jr. Sometimes simple is best. Thanks for the listen!

[@wvClifton]

Sweet!

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks!

[@raymonddixon5162]

Very helpful, but I feel you rushed the second part. Time and space I suppose. Great when I slowed down the solo, like a map. Thanks. Ray, Dublin ROI

[@ColFrankFitz]

Could you do a lesson for the SD Peg solo?

[@MarkZabel]

Sure thing. It's on my to do list! Thanks for watching.

[@waynejohnson6594]

Great job! What kind of guitar is that?

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks Wayne! This, my friend, is a Reverend Buckshot. One of my favorites of all the guitars I've had. Amazingly solid build. The neck is just perfect. Very versatile too. It can't do heavy metal, but it can do almost everything else. If you see one near you, try it out. The only thing I don't like is that the bottom has a weird curve so it falls over when I lean it against the couch!

[@waynejohnson6594]

Mark Zabel I have the same problem with my Explorer.

[@Loud6788]

Great job...No one ever shows the 2 riffs after the solo...lol

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks!

[@danielsmith7902]

On my way to Robert Cray .... I got distracted.... Not completely a bad thing I would say😏

[@MarkZabel]

LOL! all good.

[@jakewaldman6243]

14:00

[@jakewaldman6243]

11:49

[@trueworld3857]

Good but the clean sound doesn't work.Couple of bits not quite right the double stops don't return back just the one slide up on both of them .

[@MarkZabel]

Okay

[@jakewaldman6243]

0:23

[@jakewaldman6243]

9:23

[@stevenmarkhicks]

I thought you said note by note doesn't help anybody.

[@MarkZabel]

I said, "Note for note doesn't help anybody?" When did I say that? It's not great to *only* play note for note, but doing it sometimes can be helpful. But yes, in the opening I spend a while going through the chords so that the student understands *why* the phrases work. If you're actually trying to say I'm not going over each note, you're mistaken - I am. If it's too fast for you, I've provided the TAB in the description of the video. You can also slow down the KZbin video by clicking on the gear icon and selecting 0.5 or 0.75 speed.

[@jakewaldman6243]

10:12

[@miked3669]

8

[@MarkZabel]

ok

[@mkii1964]

Excellent

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks!

[@raymonddixon5162]

Very helpful, but I feel you rushed the second part. Time and space I suppose. Great when I slowed down the solo, like a map. Thanks. Ray, Dublin ROI.

[@MarkZabel]

Thanks for the feedback Ray!

[@jakewaldman6243]

15:21

[@jakewaldman6243]

9:43