What should I do to become a great guitar soloist?

[Pig17]

This thread is for all of those guitar players who just can't seem to get a great solo down no matter how hard they try. I have been playing guitar for 4 year and for the last 2 years have been studying theory. I studied scales, keys, and have worked on the fretboard extreamely hard and still my solos sound flat, boring, and repetitve. I would greatly appreciate it if someone could tell me where I am going wrong and what I should do to correct it. Thanks for any help!

[chr35919]

how long have you been playing?

[Pig17]

how long have you been playing?

4 years and my solos still sound flat. :(

[PilotC150]

What kind of music do you listen to? Do you play with a band, or other people very often?

[onemanguitarban]

4 years and my solos still sound flat. :(

4 years is still in the beginner phase....keep playing you will get there eventually.

[TheMakerDMB17]

learn the scales, from there branch off and do your own thing

[nakedguydmb]

how long have you been playing?
yeah, that's something he should've mentioned in the first post, for sure. i can't believe he didn't do that.

[jmkratt]

yeah, that's something he should've mentioned in the first post, for sure. i can't believe he didn't do that.

:lol

In all seriousness though what my guitar instructor had me do when I was about your experience level was get into jazz guitar, which is really tough but helped with my finger strength, knowledge of the fretboard, etc. He also told me to pick up my guitar and turn on the radio and solo over everything I heard. That helped because I started playing over songs I would never have before and helped develop my ear and comfort. But the best thing I would recommend is practice, practice, practice....that's the only way it's going to come.

[Rob]

The biggest thing is to "visualize" your solo while playing it. You need to link what you want to do in your head with where your hand is going. Come up with something based on what the music is making you feel, and express it.

Whistling can help as well, then reproduce your whistle solo.

[Haiku Jimi]

The biggest thing is to "visualize" your solo while playing it. You need to link what you want to do in your head with where your hand is going. Come up with something based on what the music is making you feel, and express it.

Whistling can help as well, then reproduce your whistle solo.

That's one of my goals with guitar...but its hard to do. To completely recreate what you have in your head on a guitar, without stopping to think about it. I mean once you reach that level, provided you have a good ear and are good with melody, you're pretty much bound to be a good improvisor.

[alnoor]

I'm at this point too in my life however I've been playing for 7 years but mostly rhythm guitar I usually played by myself or if I was performing with one of my friends and I would just play different rhythm parts. However 6 months ago I started playing lead guitar in a band.

Keys, Scales, and Fretboards I've found are good starting places but the real ability lies within your visualization of the solo you want and being able know what the fretboard sounds like all over. But it seems you have practiced that extensively for 2 years.

I like to listen to my favorite guitar soloists and pick up on their technique...just how they make their guitar sound like they want it to. I wish I could do this.

My solos are very beginner-esque. It drives me insane for how long I've been playing. But I've found learning solos from several different bands helps my technique I find bits that I like and can change for my own music improvisation.

A jazz approach is my next step to get my finger strength down (like what was said above). Which will also greatly help with technique and fingering ability.

I can't express to you how much I struggle with this too.

[jester29]

:lol

In all seriousness though what my guitar instructor had me do when I was about your experience level was get into jazz guitar, which is really tough but helped with my finger strength, knowledge of the fretboard, etc. He also told me to pick up my guitar and turn on the radio and solo over everything I heard. That helped because I started playing over songs I would never have before and helped develop my ear and comfort. But the best thing I would recommend is practice, practice, practice....that's the only way it's going to come.

Two big things to help:

1. The whistling/singing trick. Sing your solos, then learn to play them. This will force you to focus on the melody/composition of the solo rather than the fingering/positioning/technique.

2. Learn a different genre. Learn jazz. Play country. Play blues. Then learn some soloing techniques for each of these. Simply broadening your base will open you up to new ideas.

Don't be afraid to try. Don't be afraid to screw up.

[Pig17]

yeah, that's something he should've mentioned in the first post, for sure. i can't believe he didn't do that.

Thanks guys for all of the help and advice. I truly appreciate it! :thumbsup


And by the way, I did! :)

[malarks26]

Started playing guitar when you were 10 or 12 years old.

[PilotC150]

Thanks guys for all of the help and advice. I truly appreciate it! :thumbsup


And by the way, I did! :)
He was being sarcastic.

[earl]

Learn theory, train your ear, and learn other people's solos.

GW: Is there any specific advice you would give to a young guitarist?

ANASTASIO: Having taught guitar and spoken with so many players for years, I've narrowed it down to one piece of advice: Forget about learning scales and theory, but try to play the melody to everything you hear: every song on the radio, every commercial, every nursery rhyme, the theme song to your favorite TV show. And don't just play guitar lines: try to play horn lines, vocal melodies, piano parts. Develop your ear. Guitar players are the most notoriously scale-oriented instrumentalists. I'm amazed how many guitar players I've met who can't play a C major scale up the neck-from C to C, not as part of a pattern. That's the first thing that you learn on any other instrument, but guitar players learn the blues scale as a pattern, so they end up playing stuff with their fingers instead of their ears.

http://www.phish.net/archives/interviews/1996/199612.html

[Pig17]

He was being sarcastic.

I am sorry, I never can tell when people are using sarcasm on here. :o

[nakedguydmb]

I am sorry, I never can tell when people are using sarcasm on here. :o
i thought it was layed on thick enough. apparently not.

[windsurf83]

transcribe solos.

[jdub104]

Get a copy of the album Kind of Blue, by Miles Davis and learn to play the solos on that album note for note. Those solos will give you some great ideas, riffs, and phrasing that you can incorporate into your own solos.

[Haiku Jimi]

Get a copy of the album Kind of Blue, by Miles Davis and learn to play the solos on that album note for note.

:ugh

[Screbin]

k your gonna need to take a left then drive 5 minutes till you get to a texico, there they'll be a man in a poncho named frank, he will bring you to the lair.

then you will be good

[darbini]

k your gonna need to take a left then drive 5 minutes till you get to a texico, there they'll be a man in a poncho named frank, he will bring you to the lair.

then you will be good


it's 5 miles
a yellow poncho
the whopper lair

[jdub104]

:ugh
what?
Seriously, If you have ever taken lessons or classes, or even talked with an accomplished soloist, he/she will tell you to get a copy of Kind Of Blue.

[Haiku Jimi]

what?
Seriously, If you have ever taken lessons or classes, or even talked with an accomplished soloist, he/she will tell you to get a copy of Kind Of Blue.

I'm not doubting that it's good advice...it's just...wow...talk about getting serious :)

btw...I can hit gypsy with rock from 15 meter...if chained...if no, 10 meter.

[Dancing Ants]

what?
Seriously, If you have ever taken lessons or classes, or even talked with an accomplished soloist, he/she will tell you to get a copy of Kind Of Blue.

maybe, but it sounds like the guy can barely solo, much less string together a melodious event such as KoB.

i say just jump in. you'll sound bad, but eventually you'll learn enough to start sounding good. i finally stopped being hesitant when presented with a soloing opportunity, and just fell into it. i sound much better now.

[jdub104]

I'm not doubting that it's good advice...it's just...wow...talk about getting serious :)

btw...I can hit gypsy with rock from 15 meter...if chained...if no, 10 meter.
I guess if you are just starting to solo it may be a little intense to do, but any soloist once he or she is somewhat proficient in improvising should listen to and learn solos from recordings of jazz standards.

BTW, have you heard of the new Borat movie that is coming out in November? It's supposed to be hilarious...some classic Borat

[Haiku Jimi]

I guess if you are just starting to solo it may be a little intense to do, but any soloist once he or she is somewhat proficient in improvising should listen to and learn solos from recordings of jazz standards.

BTW, have you heard of the new Borat movie that is coming out in November? It's supposed to be hilarious...some classic Borat

I consider myself proficient...but I've never considered trying to learn a Miles Davis (or any of his bandmates) solo, let alone a whole record of them. Guess I'm too lazy. But I haven't heard Kind of Blue...only Sketches of Spain and Bitches Brew but if its anything like those albums, then learning all those solos wont be easy. But...who said being good was easy, right?

Yeah I've seen the preview for the movie...dont know if they'll pull it off well or not. I'm definitely seeing it.

[Dancing Ants]

i learned parts of 'Trane's solo from A Love Supreme: Acknowledgement a while back. that was tough.

[socceraces19]

Start out basic, i have learned to play trombone in a jazz band and improvization is the same thing is talking. Think about it, when you talk your improvising on the spot right then and there, its just going to take some time on ur guitar because you havent been using it your whole life. You have to have what you hear in your head, and whats coming out on the guitar all flowing through the same motion. When dave scats, hes saying words and telling a story but he is improvising over what hes saying. You have to be thinking a story in your head that you can make words with your hands. Take the scales you already know and say a phrase, or a persons name, we used "thats the way the cookie crumbles" once in jazz band. You can make infinate ways to play that using different notes and rythems, soon youll be able to develop a whole story out of it. Just practice, and have fun with it.

[Screbin]

it's 5 miles
a yellow poncho
the whopper lair

well this is my version

so you are WRONG

[VanHorneDog]

i think people shoudl record what they have done then up them and give tips that way. :D it would be cool to hear somebody progress and get better or showing techniques and giving a clip of what they sound like.

for example playing a simple walkdown, or playing a complex blues passage. then tabbing em out and posting a clip so people can learn how to play that technique or style.

that way people can keep coming here for reference, encouragment and help.

:D

btw. ive been playing for 6 years, got into soloing/lead guitar about a year ago now when is started jamming with some buddies i met at college.

i have a couple songs up on a myspace

www.myspace.com/dh1987

the first one is an accoustic
the second is a electric solo/thingy i put together :D

i did that about 4-5 months ago, i would venture a statement that i am better now.

also, playing with pedals is fun. a wah pedal is too cool to mess with. :D