Learning Solos

[lumberjack]

Hey guys,

I need some advice. I'm more or less a rhythm player. I usually leave the solos to someone else. Lately I've been attempting to take on some solos and was wondering what your advice is for learning them? What works best for you? Do you take each measure and learn that before moving to the next? Do you break the solo down into sections and learn that way? Any advice would be appreciated.

Thanks,
Scott

 

[The new guy]

hey dude .

first off you need to know the basic neck configuration
you can acutally play the same solo at many different positions on the neck
i think you need get a book that teaches the "modes"! yonian ,frigian ,ect...
and after you know those suckers, life is much more easyer regarding to solo playing
dont get me worng you can play solo with out knowing jackk s***but you'll get the idea much much faster after knowing what modes are all about including "the circal of fifthes"

hop to the nearest music book store they will help you out i am sure

take care buddy

 

[Spudmurphy]

I have used a Tascam CDGT guitar trainer, where you can loop the whole solo and play along with it, or just sample it in chunks and learn it that way.

A great thing about is that you can slow the solo right down yet retain the pitch.

I bleeb that Tascam have an MP3 version out too.

 

[fogman]

Cool thread Scott.
Some interesting info here.

 

[jagged]

learning solos...

what i've found works is that you break it up into sections. you'll also need to practice the whole sequence together at the same time, so every once in a while, try and play all the small sections together so that you can practice the flow/transition from sequence to sequence. when you link all the small sections together, i would focus more on moving from section to section rather than speed and accuracy.

 

[rlarino]

hey dude .

first off you need to know the basic neck configuration
you can acutally play the same solo at many different positions on the neck
i think you need get a book that teaches the "modes"! yonian ,frigian ,ect...
and after you know those suckers, life is much more easyer regarding to solo playing
dont get me worng you can play solo with out knowing jackk s***but you'll get the idea much much faster after knowing what modes are all about including "the circal of fifthes"

hop to the nearest music book store they will help you out i am sure

take care buddy

LOL... yes Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, etc... (the Diatonic scale [modes])... are VERY USEFUL in general for composing and improvising western music...


One recommendation I would make is in your quest to learn how to play lead guitar I would not limit yourself to learning already written solos by your favorite artists within a particular style of music.

One of the best things you can do for your lead playing is to learn music theory, and learn how to apply it on the guitar. Do a ton of improvising over chord progressions and different style backings. Learn some of the little tricks and motifs that are common in a bunch of different styles of lead playing. LEARN TO IMPROVISE AN ORIGINAL SOLO.

It takes a lot of time and practice but once you are skilled enough to think melodically and realize a melody with your fingers in an improvisation you will have started to build an invaluable toolbox that you can apply all over the place (any type of melody writing, including vocal melody, solo guitar, etc)... Your songwriting ability will make leaps and bounds. You need to be able to make what you hear in your head happen on the guitar.

This will also allow you to transcribe solos and melodies with much more ease. Train your ear so you can play what you can hear. Play along with all sorts of music. Transcribe and play some parts note for note, and in other sections use what you know to improvise and write your own melodies.


This is, IMHO, the best way to learn to play lead guitar and further your melody and songwriting skills in general.


If you simply learn a few popular rock guitar solos you may find yourself with an extremely limited skill set and you may have a very hard time playing any melody that doesn't sound like a copy of the solos you've been learning


It's usually very easy to tell someone who has been playing for a long time from a person who has recently started playing lead simply by the tone of their fingers... don't bite off more than you can chew because a bad solo is a lot worse than when a band simplifies a solo or even skips it completely IMO, nobody wants to hear a song butchered.



my point is... Learn to play guitar melodically in a lead type of situation, don't just learn to play someone else's solos.

 

[TonyEVH5150]

Great thread!!. Lumberjack, I'm in the same boat with my current playing ability. I can play a solo on one or two songs, but they're VERY basic.

I'm considering taking lessons, since I feel like I've learned as much as I can on my own. I know where the notes are on the fretboard, I just can't put them together.

 

[lumberjack]

Thanks so far, guys!!! Helpful tips. Spud, I've actually seen those MP3 trainers for sale. I think that might be a great idea since all of my music has been ripped to MP3.

 

[lumberjack]

Great thread!!. Lumberjack, I'm in the same boat with my current playing ability. I can play a solo on one or two songs, but they're VERY basic.

I'm considering taking lessons, since I feel like I've learned as much as I can on my own. I know where the notes are on the fretboard, I just can't put them together.

Hey Tony,

I'm glad I'm not the only one. Very basic lead solos for me to. I don't need to go on Steve Vai or Satriani shred runs, but I'd like to tackle some more Jimi Page, evh, slash type stuff. It's real funny ya mention lessons. It's never to late to learn. I'm in my 30's and was thinking about taking some lessons again. A buddy of mine that works at one of the local guitar shops has always said to come on over for some lessons and tips.

Thanks,
Scott

 

[knj316]

Learning solos

I've use software called BestPractice and it works quite well. You can play a CD or MP3 and it allows you reduce speed, adjust pitch, loop sections etc... You can download and install for free as it's an open source distribution and I believe it's available for Windows, Linux; no sure about Mac.

 

[lumberjack]

I've use software called BestPractice and it works quite well. You can play a CD or MP3 and it allows you reduce speed, adjust pitch, loop sections etc... You can download and install for free as it's an open source distribution and I believe it's available for Windows, Linux; no sure about Mac.

.

Thanks for that. I'll look into it.

 

[beej]

Lots of good software tools for slowing down/looping mp3s. I use one called "The Amazing Slow Downer". Find the passage, get the pitch right, loop it, slow it down, learn it.

We all learn in vastly different ways and that's going to dictate your approach. Some are more visual (need to look at the music/tab), some have to learn by ear (hear it/play it until it sticks), some have to write it down themselves to "get it" and some just get elements of the solos and fill in the blanks.

I hate playing solos note-for-note and generally don't. But when you're in a learning phase it's useful to work through one section at a time, SLOWLY, and then move on to the next.

Last bit of advice ... the metronome is your friend. Learn things very slowly and then gradually speed up the tempo - making sure you're hitting everything cleanly - until you get where you need to go.

 

[lumberjack]

Another thing I wondered about was finger placement as well. Do you guys break the fretboard down into sections for finger placement. And say I'm in this region of the fretboard so I should be using these fingers for these fret numbers.

If you look at tab for a song and the solo calls for your index finger to be on 16th fret, then the next two notes will be on the 18th and 20th fret, should I use my middle finger for the 18th and ring finger for the 20th or use my pinky for the 20th. I'm sure you have to take into consideration what the next section of the solo will be and which strings will be used, etc. Is there a general rule of thumb for finger placement or do you just have to do what is most comfortable.

Thanks

 

[beej]

Depends.

If you're learning something from tab then you'll likely follow their lead until you know it well enough to translate into your own fingering.

If you're learning it from ear, you can usually find out roughly where on the neck you should be by the tone (you can usually tell open strings and low strings vs. high) and you can go from there.

I find we've each got our strengths & weaknesses with respect to finger dexterity and picking ability (are you better picking at the outsides of strings vs inside picking, etc). So that usually determines where you're comfortable playing a solo up to tempo, how to structure a run, etc.

I try and work at things the "right" way to work my fingers, but often to play difficult things up to tempo I have to find a fingering that works. (And that's half the battle.)

 

[wagnerite]

modes are kinda interesting if you are into composing 15th century stuff...

my advice.. buy a metronome (or some kind of onlline equivalent) and learn how to use it.

 

[wired]

When I was 1st starting out, I used to just learn albums from beginning to end, every song & all guitar parts. For leads, it always helped me to break them into sections & then string them together & play them over and over until you can play them smoothly at the song's tempo.

I would suggest choosing lead work that's more basic & working your way up to the more technical stuff later. I started out learning early Kiss & AC/DC leads, which were easier to pick up by ear & didn't have a million notes. Once you start building some chops, you can move on to more complex stuff. The key for me was repetition. It's amazing how your fingers can memorize patterns.

Most important thing is to have fun with it & enjoy the learning process.

 

[knj316]

No problem. I originally was looking into one those TASCAM devices. They're great, my guitar teacher has one and uses it all the time and swears by it. I went the BestPractice route as I keep alot of music stored on my computer and it was free. It's not exactly the prettiest of user interfaces, but, it gets the job done. You can slow stuff down with Windows Media Player 11, but, you cannot loop and it doesn't exactly retain the best clarity.

Definately break the material into smaller phrases, learn those, then piece the phrases together and practice until you can play it clearly and consistently at the right speed.

 

[candid_x]

I think it depends on what you really want out of the guitar playing experience, and that depends a lot on your own nature. For some, it's all about learning theory, because that is the way their mind works. For others, it's about learning note-for-note solos of other players and songs. For yet others, it's about originality, intuition and feeling. It's great when all those things are possessed by one single player, but I don't think that's the case for most of us mere mortals.

I just don't have the desire to shred, nor do I care to invest that much in learning. Lazy? I guess, but that's just how it is. Learning theory is torturous for me; a swimming upriver thing. My aptitude is more suited to learning through experimenting and taking risks. Mistakes are my friends, and that's how I learn to improvise and solo. I'm a slow hand, and I'm ok with that.

As for what makes a good solo... to me, it is one with a memorable theme or hook, one that builds gradually upon the theme, and returns to the theme frequently enough to keep it as the solo core. That's what I don't hear in so many guitar solos today. Now it seems to be about how many notes a soloist can cram into a measure, which does absolutely nothing for me. But that's just me.

 

[rlarino]

modes are kinda interesting if you are into composing 15th century stuff...

my advice.. buy a metronome (or some kind of onlline equivalent) and learn how to use it.

Eh??

Whether you're playing modern rock or classical music, chances are you're playing modally (although, you're much more likely to use some exotic scales when playing classical music than you are playing modern rock/metal/pop/whatever.

So, I don't know what you're talking about... just because we're talking about music theory doesn't mean we're talking about playing old classical music.

Are you just one of those guys who refuses to learn music theory and take lessons because you don't think it's cool? Even though you probably play modally anyway even though you're in denial (because if you don't then your music is probably just horrible to listen to for anybody who is accustomed to modern western music).

 

[Spudmurphy]

Hey Lumberjack thanks for the PM's and I'm glad that those links were useful to ya!

The Tascam is great insofar as it does it in real time - the Computer software applications mentioned by other knuckleheads are good but when I used them the computer needed some time to do all it's calculations - but mine is old !!

Let us know how you get on.