Guitar Solo Tips

Even though most modern guitar solos are typically just simple contextual musical interludes with little relation to the classic masterpieces of the past, there are still some basic principles to follow when soling in todays pop and rock tunes.

I will break things down to 3 basic elements in your soloing to think about as you record or perform some lead guitar.

SIMPLE MELODY

 Let a simple 3 or 4 note melody or motif be a good starting point 

to your solo. It can be something inspired by the song's melody or just

a line that adds to the existing material in the parts of the song.

CHORD NOTES OR TRIADS

Try to follow some of the outlines of the chord tones

throughout your soloing. Sometimes it's just a targeting the

first or last chord of the progression and highlighting those notes

to create resolution and musical poetry.

CLASSIC PENTATONIC SCALE RUNS

One can really tie things together with classic blues

and pentatonic runs. They seem to fit in almost any occasion

and give soling that classic element that everyone knows

and loves about the guitar. 

Put these three elements together next time you get to solo, and you will be pleased at the outcome. You'll have to work a bit to become quick at hearing and making melodies, know the locations of some basic triad (chords) shapes, and memorise some classic bluesy runs to begin playing like a pro.

UNTIL NEXT TIME....

Rockband Class at Fort Langley Guitar Lessons+

I am starting a Rockband Class in the Fall 2016 for guitar and bass students in my studio here in 

Fort Langley. It will be a weekly one hour class in forming a Rockband and rehearsing and performing in that context. With the lack of opportunities for kids and adults to play and perform 

this will be a great class to be involved in and a good test to see if you have the knack for performance and working with other musicians in a band. 

Tips for Great Guitar Solos

Here are some tools to use and strategize with when your trying to come up with ideas for guitar solos and nice lead lines in the context of modern music. None of these are mysterious or unreachable for even beginner guitar players. We use other similar and related templates to help us in other areas of our work, school, sports, and lives; so this can be considered the guitar-solo template.

Music as conversation:

My favourite soloists in music always seem to have an inate sense of what the other 

instruments in a song are doing and how to converse with them in a meaningful way. 

Even though they (guitarist) might be the prominent soloist in the band, they seem to be looking to play off something the bassist, drummer or keyboardist is doing underneath or to the side of them.   

Melody playback:

Great guitarists always use the songs melodies and themes to help come up with

solos and lines. I like to learn some of the vocal melody lines at different locations on the

fretboard and sneak them into my solos, lines and riffs. Sometimes it helps to use melodic content

as your start the solo or as your move up higher on the neck and build to a high point in the solo.

  

Rhythmic changes:

Many beginning guitar players make the mistake of being too predictable. Lead lines that 

always start at the top of the bar or always on the on-beat can often sound uninteresting

and unimaginative and leave the audience unmoved. It's important to mix things up with 

lines of unequal length, starting on the off-beats and playing over the bar-line. Adding 

triplets, rhythmic hick-ups and space between lines can add a fantastic amount of

dynamics, tension and excitement to your playing.  

Linear vs. Positional:

If positional playing (in one scale form) is putting me in a musical rut or not working in a 

specific song I will try a linear approach (playing on one or two strings). Sometimes

a small adjustment of that type will put you on a fresh path to new inspiration or

just on the path to what the song really needs. 

Chord or Target tones:

Just as horn players and piano players love to play lines that include arpeggios, triads and 

chord tones, many guitarist avoid this approach because it takes a fair amount of fretboard and

theory knowledge. A solution is to start with simple small triadic shapes on the 1st 3 strings and

highlight those in lead lines. A perfect example of this is the solo in 'Comfortably Numb'.

Phrases and sentences:

Way to many guitarist solo with musical run-on sentences. Try to leave some blank space

at the end a lick or phrase, like a period at the end of a sentence. I might try to play 4

phrases for an 8 bar solo or think of a solo as a musical poem. It will help create those

wonderful story lines we hear in classic solos. 

Space or "Air":

Don't be afraid to leave space and air in your solos. Sometimes the best thing to do 

when you want to play is to be silent and listen to what's going on around you in the

music. Try for 25% less notes in your solos. 

I hope this helps you to at least begin to strategize and think about soloing in different ways.