Soloing

jpc244 · Post by **jpc244** » Tue Apr 06, 2004 1:29 pm

Whats up everyone....I was wondering if any one could give me a little help on soloing. I know most of my scales looking more for technique and maybe some tricks. I guess anything that could help me play just a little better or make my soloing a little more interesting. Also if you know any good lesson sights for lead guitarest that would be awesome too thanks

Matty Boom · Post by **Matty Boom** » Tue Apr 06, 2004 1:42 pm

i think just jamming with other people who play a lot of lead will help you out quite a bit

MWR · Post by **MWR** » Tue Apr 06, 2004 2:22 pm

Do you know your arpeggios?
When you practice the scales that you know do you play them strictly up and down or do you sequence them?
Can you play a harmonized major or minor scale? Do you know all of the intervals all over the neck? Do you know the notes on the neck? How good are your hammer ons, pull offs? Are you able to bend up a whole step with perfect intonation?
You got to give me a better idea of where your at.

Andrew · Post by **Andrew** » Tue Apr 06, 2004 2:22 pm

Building chops takes practice, and some more practice

......but feel and how to accentuate (spelling?) your solos and fills etc comes with jamming with other or along with any good song at least thats my opinion

Mixing up styles helped me alot, using the basic pentatonic stuff at first and finding the "sweet spots" jam along with some basic blues song etc then adapting some other styles like some jazz, country etc...

after a while you get a natural feel for what notes to play and how to play them to get the sound and feel you want....

MWR · Post by **MWR** » Tue Apr 06, 2004 2:26 pm

Matty Boom wrote:i think just jamming with other people who play a lot of lead will help you out quite a bit

If you can play along with other people great but thats not a very reliable option for everyone.

If you cant learn this BASIC stuff on your own then maybe rhythm is what you should be doing.

MWR · Post by **MWR** » Tue Apr 06, 2004 2:30 pm

Oh I thought of a really good exercise.
Sing a melody, nothing too long or complex at first, and then try to play it. This is the ultimate exercise as it gets right down to the essence of the whole thing, playing what you hear in your head.

Matty Boom · Post by **Matty Boom** » Tue Apr 06, 2004 2:32 pm

MWR wrote:
Matty Boom wrote:i think just jamming with other people who play a lot of lead will help you out quite a bit
If you can play along with other people great but thats not a very reliable option for everyone.

If you cant learn this BASIC stuff on your own then maybe rhythm is what you should be doing.

was that for me?

MWR · Post by **MWR** » Tue Apr 06, 2004 2:35 pm

It was a general stab in everyone's direction. It was also a joke.

Matty Boom · Post by **Matty Boom** » Tue Apr 06, 2004 2:37 pm

sorry, i didn't pick up even with the wink...tired i guess

myxomatosis · Post by **myxomatosis** » Tue Apr 06, 2004 4:06 pm

MWR wrote:Oh I thought of a really good exercise.
Sing a melody, nothing too long or complex at first, and then try to play it. This is the ultimate exercise as it gets right down to the essence of the whole thing, playing what you hear in your head.

I read that the guitarist from Queen constructed his solos by recording himself humming a solo over the song.. then going back and learning to play his hums on guitar....hmmmmmmmm

lyrics101 · Post by **lyrics101** » Tue Apr 06, 2004 5:03 pm

Wes Montgomery used to model his style after a saxophonist he admired (forget which). If you're looking to develop something interesting and original, you could try that; try to follow the sound of a different instrument and transfer it to your guitar.

Oh, and learn your scales and apreggios. Just don't be like Slash and do nothing but scale after scale in your solos. I admire the guy, but that's all it is. Be creative. It's what made Hendrix as big as he is.

acousticwaffle · Post by **acousticwaffle** » Tue Apr 06, 2004 9:16 pm

thepackage0 wrote:
MWR wrote:Oh I thought of a really good exercise.
Sing a melody, nothing too long or complex at first, and then try to play it. This is the ultimate exercise as it gets right down to the essence of the whole thing, playing what you hear in your head.
I read that the guitarist from Queen constructed his solos by recording himself humming a solo over the song.. then going back and learning to play his hums on guitar....hmmmmmmmm

...same with David Gilmour, I believe. You can really tell when someone writes good lead when you can hear a song then hum the solo to yourself afterward. I'd say singing then transfering that melody to guitar enough to where you could do it on command is a really good exercise.

Ani_DiFranco · Post by **Ani_DiFranco** » Thu Apr 08, 2004 2:16 am

hey!!! DON't FORGET YOUR GREEK MODES!! you can't do squat without em. well, you can, but its nothing compared to a lidian scale. mwr knows what i'm talkin about

Dilbert · Post by **Dilbert** » Thu Apr 08, 2004 7:03 am

Other than the obvious practice, practice and yet more practice, the best tip I can give you form years of playing is that "less is more". Some of the best solos are simple to play but have so much feeling you could fill a bucket (or is that a pale!). Listen to players like BB King who plays a lot of 1 note solos, but with feeling. Gilmour has been mentioned and is also worth a listen.

Other "widdly widdly" speed kids just don't cut the mustard as far as I am concerned they jsut seem to play fast to hide the fact they have no soul.

PS I can't believe I'm posting on the the same thread as Ani DiFranco, how cool is that!

Jc · Post by Jc » Thu Apr 08, 2004 11:01 am

BB King has always been big on practicing scales, make sure you really do have them all down.