How to solo

[flatland69]

Hi guys

I was just wondering, how do you make a solo? which scales/techniques? This has always been a mystery to me...my solos curently are not too great so I'd love some help!

Thanks

 

[Vacant_Planets]

Always depends on the song.

 

[Conti]

Hi guys

I was just wondering, how do you make a solo? which scales/techniques? This has always been a mystery to me...my solos curently are not too great so I'd love some help!

Thanks

any solo will be amazing if you add widle waddles squigly wigglys and swurvy wurvys.

 

[sceloporus]

any solo will be amazing if you add widle waddles squigly wigglys and swurvy wurvys.

wow..
The only way that could of made less sence to me is if it were written in German.

 

[ParsonsMatt]

You play something that sounds good and tasty.

 

[BlackMetalWhiteGuy]

Hi guys

I was just wondering, how do you make a solo? which scales/techniques? This has always been a mystery to me...my solos curently are not too great so I'd love some help!

Thanks

There are no scales or techniques that could be generalized as solo specific. The only real advice I can give you is to learn some basic theory, such as keys, scales, and harmonies. Using this knowledge, you should be able to figure out what key you're playing in before you get to the point where you want to insert a solo. If you're playing a riff in D minor, then your solo should be in D minor as well. After you're more familiar with playing in key, then you'll develop the experience necessary to play something that sounds good without having to stop and look at an instructional reference all the time. Eventually, you may even be comfortable implementing key changes, and who knows what else, while still making it sound inspirational.

 

[demeyed]

Learn some theory if you don't know some already. If its metal you're playing then you'll probably play in minor. 95% of metal solos are written in the minor key of the backing.
Don't try to play fast. A good solo doesn't have to be fast and many people have bad solos because they are struggling to put in phrases they know that are too tough for them to play or that just don't fit. It's esaier to sound good if you're playing slower. Less notes to mess up on! Once your soloing ideas start getting better you'll find it easier to throw the technical stuff in and make it work.
Try and have an effective start to the solo and a noted end. Don't just play. Listen to some of your favoutite solos and analyse how they sound good. Also steal licks and ideas from everyone. Everyone else does it. Its better if you can twist them a bit to make them your own but there are some things I've heard several people use exactly the same way.
My last bit of advice is to practice improvising. Get some backing tracks from the internet and also play over songs you have already. Start soloing over them and you'll get much much better. If you can improvise a solo well then writing them is a breeze.
Good luck with it

 

[Vimana]

Let it come to you naturally, that's how I do it, but I still do scales and riffs so that I can solo smoother and add a little more variety to it.

 

[DarkWinter]

Its very hard to write a good solo. the others are right of course when they say scales and theory are important but ther are other key things you need to keep in mind.one of them is rythm- what kind of feel is you solo gonna have? a slower 8th note feel or a fast 16th not feel(talking about the backing) and according to that, you can decide upon the pace of the solo ie 140 bpm isnt that fast if you use 8th notes on double bass but can be if you use 16 notes and bring the snare in at shorter intervals. Also what is the rythmic subdivision of the song? does it has a 1, 2, 3 feel or a 1, 2, 1, 2 feel. Eg i think playing scales using triplets or sextuplets works well on 4/4 songs but on 3/4 songs using quadruplets sounds better. it might sound a bit complicated so for example what i mean by triplets on the scale is accenting(picking harder) every third note you play when going up or down the scale, and quadruplets are accenting every fourth note etc. i think quintuplets (5) sound great but experiment - using different accents can make a solo much more interesting. lastly keep in mind how the solo fits in with the backing ie the drums, bass etc. also never go on stage and play a solo thats too hard for you. every thing you play in a gig should be stuff you can play perfectly without too much difficulty, always play to your strengths an to what youre good at playing.
good luck

 

[LoboUivante]

where can i find instructional videos on how to play guitar? what's a triplet? :S:S:S i need classes so badly and im so broke...

 

[inhe]

^How about on the internet? Youtube, google, w/e.

 

[Gold]

just play in key and the solo should sound decent.

 

[DeadlySinners]

just play in key and the solo should sound decent.

Yes, Key is always very important.
Personally I just like to fool around in the Pentatonic boxes or C Major Scale while soloing.
Easy and Fun and Sounds good.

 

[Vimana]

In my opinion you have to stay in key and

What you should aim for is being able to imagine riffs and know the notes to be able to play it (while improvising), one person who was very good at this was Jimi Hendrix. He was simply great at it.

The Jimi Hendrix Experience - Jam on Born Under A Bad Sign by Albert King


If you want to do Metal solos try Blues first, then do Rock, trust me, it gives you more time for imagining riffs, and when you do Metal soloing you can do it faster.

The way you know when to move up from Blues to Rock then Rock to Metal is when you can play something good and not stumble.

My soloing style is Blues, and Psychedelic, occasionally Metal. My soloing style has a heavy use of bends, which I think kind of keep it from being Metal.

 

[BlackMetalWhiteGuy]

where can i find instructional videos on how to play guitar? what's a triplet? :S:S:S i need classes so badly and im so broke...

A triplet is when you put three notes in the same time frame that would normally be occupied only by two, without changing the tempo. To get a feel for this, start counting off 1, 2, 3, 4, at a slow, but steady pace. After this, continue counting as usual, but then add in extra beats, 1 2, 2 2, 3 2, 4 2. The original 1, 2, 3, and 4 are the quarter notes, and the added 2s will be eighth notes, meaning that your tempo seems to have doubled. Now, for triplets, instead of counting 1 2, 2 2, etc., you will count 1 2 3, 2 2 3, 3 2 3, 4 2 3. It is imperative when doing this that your original 1, 2, 3, and 4 are still being counted at the same tempo as when you first started without any eighths or triplets.

As for instructional videos, I've found all sorts of great stuff on youtube.

just play in key and the solo should sound decent.

More specifically, I'd recommend becomming proficient with arpeggios and triads, which are more likely to sound organized than just hitting random notes from the correct key. The difference is that there are seven notes in each diatonic scale, and usually three in an arpeggio / triad. The drawback to this is that simply playing argeggios over and over gets to be a bit predictable and boring, so remember that they're just guides, and you shouldn't play them exclusively.

 

[Acey Jendell]

If you want to learn how to solo, you need to be able to actually play first.
I know people who can only play power chords who expect to be able to shred
some Paul Gilbert type shit straight away.

Familiarize yourself with all the notes on the neck, it's not hard, there's only twelve of them. Then learn as many open chords as you can, and learn to name every note in every chord that you have learned, as this will give you an idea of the relationships between different chords and how they relate to other chords that relate to other chords and so on and so forth.

Next, learn as many scale sequences as you can, in every position, and learn to name every note. This is important as it opens up the entire guitar to you to play notes that fit.

The rhythm guitar will be playing in the background of a solo yes? but you can still hear it. Take into account every chord that is played and figure out what scale can be used and in what key. Remember, there's several keys with similar notes so you can pick and choose as to what sounds right to your ears. And depending on where the rhythm is going, you can decide what scale to use in the specific key that you are in.

My advice, go and buy copies of Guitar World, Guitar ONE, and Total Guitar.
Buy every issue, and read every word printed. Attempt every lesson, and keep attempting until you can play it. There's no secrets or magic pills you can take to help you play better. It takes dedication, focus, discipline, and PRACTICE.

If you find yourself only practicing for an hour a week, or only touching your guitar when your mum takes you to your guitar lesson every second wednesday, then PUT IT DOWN AND NEVER PLAY AGAIN!!!