soloing: character/style or boredom/limitation?

Lasse Lammert

Lasse Lammert

HCAF Blitzkrieg
Feb 12, 2009
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www.lasselammert.com
I know, all the good guitarist have got a certain recognizable style...
but how to decide whether someone just has "style" or is just limited to the same licks over and over?

When I played the last Alestorm to my fiancee she'd listen to it and then say "you didn't play this solo, did you?"...funny enough it was the only solo on the record I didn't play...gave me to think...
then yesterday I played a roughmix of a band I'm working on to a buddy of mine (who I used to make music with)...I had a guest solo on that one, but I didn't tell him that...
sure enough he'd look at me and say "those are your fingers".

now I'm thinking...damn, I have to start playing/practicing again, learn some new techniques and broaden my style.

anyone of you in a similar situation?
 
nope .. no one ever knows who I am :D

I'm a bit of a chameleon playing-wise though. I tend to write or play a part based on the context rather than because of any preconceived internal sense pushing me to play a certain way

only things that any solos I've ever done have in common are that I always try to find a melodic hook and base my noodling off of that as opposed to seeing how fast or intricate I can play
 
yeah, I too try to play "with the song", but I suck at memorizing stuff, so I ALWAYS have to improvise...I guess it's harder to hide your personal "trademarks" when you're improvising
 
I pretty much can't imrov to save my life but its also cause I don't like to (or maybe vice versa?) I pretty much write out about 99.5% of any solo I do. I leave that extra .5% open for the accidental harmonic or overtone or whatever
 
I am always getting called out when I guest solo on something, or just play some random stuff for friends. They say I have a very specific style thats a mashup for Vai, Lynch, and Malmsteen thats instantly recognizable, they blame my "perfect" vibrato too. I get comments all the time saying noone controls vibrato as well as I do.... I just shrug it off.

Personally I feel the same way you do, that its the licks that give me away. We all have our signature stuff we play, its just part of our style. I am very pigeon holed in the things I play. Its a cross between minor, blues / pentatonic, and phrygian modes that i am always noodleling around it. I play in odd positions for the keys I am playing in and it lends a real "quirky" sound. Lots of vibrato, lots of pick squeals, and lots of legato cause my right hands sucks ....lol Oh lets not forget the multi octave tapping ...lol

It sucks, but I guess its just me.
 
I also NEVER use a trem bar ...

I've always felt if you can't do it with just your hands its not worth doing but thats a matter of personal opinion and I have nothing but respect for those that can do all the really cool bar tricks
 
for me it's alsmost never legato (almost always picking every single note), I use arp sweeps way too often and should also reduce the amount of harmonized tappings.
95% is aeolic or phrygian (or phrygian dominant sometimes)...
I have to work on my chops I guess
 
one more thing to add ... since I basically know NOTHING about theory & scales ... only the most basic shit ... anything I ever do is ear-based. That being the case, I guess it has helped me avoid getting stuck with playing a specific scale or mode too much. I hear an idea and reproduce it as best I can ... and I tend to approach things melodically from a slightly skewed viewpoint
 
Ughh, I still have some problems with vibrato control :(
You know that bend a string up and then keep shaking it? I cannot do that well at all. Always sound out of tune and it pisses me off, because I really want to incorporate that stuff into recorded stuff more and try to do more guest solos for people, but I just fall flat on my face when I try that. I think it must be easier for the pros because they always have newly refretted instruments, with polished frets and stuff, but I can't afford that, and I've got somewhat worn down frets on my Ibanez (my favorite soloing guitar, my Schecter sounds better for rhythm) that make it a bit harder.
But usually if I just do vibrato from an unbent note, it sounds fine, and I've got a decent sounding wide vibrato for that.

I wrote this solo, years ago, 2006 actually, and my friends really dug it. A friend of mine recorded it, and it was for a joke project mainly, but I decided to just put in one serious guitar solo in there. It was mainly just trills going up and down the neck, but my friends thought it was really memorable and cool.
I'm much more of a legato guy though, but it's cool to have all the tools in the bag.
John Petrucci for example, he's mostly an alternate picking guy at heart, but he's got a mean legato when he wants to use it.
I don't really worry about tapping and sweeping so much (can't remember the last time I bothered to practice tapping to a click, probably 3 years ago now), I think legato and alternate picking should be the major focus as far as speed technique though, because they're the most expression, and it's harder to overdo those techniques, whereas with tapping and sweeping they can quickly just to just become overbearing.
I still practice sweeping to a click, but I don't do it anymore than about 10 notes per second, because it's all about hearing the notes in the arpeggio for the musical effect. Play a sweep too fast, and you can't hear the melodies in it and it just sounds shit.
 
haha, for said Alestorm album I had to record all 13 (or something) solos in 1 day...so by the end of the day I was really running out of ideas....
I had one solo left to do though, so my friend took the guitar and said "finish this bottle of red first" (it was a slower bluesy style solo and I'd noodled like crazy on all the other solos)...so I played that one solo completely bollicks'd...
sent the Cd out to JAmes for the mastering and James said "dude, I really like this one solo you did, nice vibrato, tasteful choice of notes"....I was like dammit, wanker, that's the solo I played completely twatted, lol

yeah, I guess it it more about the feel than the technique :D
 
Lasse Lammert said:
haha, for said Alestorm album I had to record all 13 (or something) solos in 1 day...so by the end of the day I was really running out of ideas....
I had one solo left to do though, so my friend took the guitar and said "finish this bottle of red first" (it was a slower bluesy style solo and I'd noodled like crazy on all the other solos)...so I played that one solo completely bollicks'd...
sent the Cd out to JAmes for the mastering and James said "dude, I really like this one solo you did, nice vibrato, tasteful choice of notes"....I was like dammit, wanker, that's the solo I played completely twatted, lol

yeah, I guess it it more about the feel than the technique :D
Click to expand...

I can't separate feel from technique.
The two just go hand in hand. Without technique, there is no feel.
Bending, sliding, vibrato..........that's all technique too.
If you have more technique, you'll be able to express a wider variety of emotions.
If the song is super aggressive and calls for warp speed shred, and that shred enhances the song, why not, you know?
But if it's a slower, more bluesy, old school prog rock thing, then something more David Gilmour-ish with huge bends may be what the doctor ordered :)
 
Harry Hughes said:
I can't separate feel from technique.
The two just go hand in hand. Without technique, there is no feel.
Bending, sliding, vibrato..........that's all technique too.
If you have more technique, you'll be able to express a wider variety of emotions.
If the song is super aggressive and calls for warp speed shred, and that shred enhances the song, why not, you know?
But if it's a slower, more bluesy, old school prog rock thing, then something more David Gilmour-ish with huge bends may be what the doctor ordered :)
Click to expand...

you're right about that.
if you BREATH the basics like vibrato, bendings etc they add to your feel naturally, no matter how plastered you are....then it doesn't feel like "technique" to me anymore
 
Oh I can totally relate to that Lasse

There is a song a frind of mine recorded years ago and he asked me to guest solo on it. He thinks its the best solo I have ever done. Its unbelievable melodic and has almost no "technical prowess" behind it at all.

Harry,

The vibrato thing just takes time. I learned everything by ear the 1st 10 years of my playing and didnt get into any of the technical stuff at all. I have some vibrato exercises I can give you that will help out in a big way. Shoot me your email address in a PM and I can send them over.

As for technical vs feel. I can go both ways. i am not a big arpeggio sweeping guy cause my right hand sucks. But I do play a shit ton of tapping licks and do a fair amount of "bar" work. The player I really respect the most are Satch, Lynch, Vai, Dime, and Zakk and I think there are leaps and bounds in playing styles between all of them. I can also emulate a lot of styles but playing pentatonics at blistering speed is always really FUN for me. Its the Dime / Zakk thing someing out of me ....lol

One other thing that always gives my playing away I think i the way I use harmonized lines. I LOVE BIG HARMONIES, thats just the Vai in me coming out ...lol

Oh ... here is that solo I referenced in the first part of the post
http://www.jasoncohenitservices.com/down.mp3
 
Whenever I play, I almost always sound like "me". Which is actually a blend of Lynch (the most obvious influence), MacAlpine, and Satch. It doesn't matter if I play on my music (no matter what style I do), or someone else's.

@Carlos - I LOVE having a trem. It's not a crutch for me, and DEFINITELY not a replacement for vibrato or any other lack of technique. It's just a different flavor to add from time to time. On one note, I'll use finger vibrato. But maybe on the next note, trem vibrato...because they sound a little different. It's just a feel thing. And for those loooooong sustaining feedback notes...trem vibrato works the best, because you don't get fret noise changing the harmonic content of the note. (sorry...Brad Gillis is another huge, early influence of mine :D) I'm not even talking about the trem flutter and harmonic pull ups and stuff. Of course, I love doing that too. :)
 
Lasse Lammert said:
you're right about that.
if you BREATH the basics like vibrato, bendings etc they add to your feel naturally, no matter how plastered you are....then it doesn't feel like "technique" to me anymore
Click to expand...

Yeah, definitely.
I originally came from a more blues rock style of playing (Hendrix-y blues licks, Jimmy Page, Clapton etc)
Even though I've learnt more theory and can play more "advanced" stuff now, I've still got that blues rock roots I go back to in my playing.
It's not necessary, but I think it's cool to have that blues-rock foundation, so you know the roots of where many of the licks come from.
I mean, hell, it's 2010 and you'll still hear those late 60s blues rock style licks being played in virtually every style of metal to some extent.
If not perhaps that blues rock style, you'll definitely hear a pentatonic-y kinda thing in many bands.
 
grywolf627 said:
Whenever I play, I almost always sound like "me". Which is actually a blend of Lynch (the most obvious influence), MacAlpine, and Satch. It doesn't matter if I play on my music (no matter what style I do), or someone else's.

@Carlos - I LOVE having a trem. It's not a crutch for me, and DEFINITELY not a replacement for vibrato or any other lack of technique. It's just a different flavor to add from time to time. On one note, I'll use finger vibrato. But maybe on the next note, trem vibrato...because they sound a little different. It's just a feel thing. And for those loooooong sustaining feedback notes...trem vibrato works the best, because you don't get fret noise changing the harmonic content of the note. (sorry...Brad Gillis is another huge, early influence of mine :D) I'm not even talking about the trem flutter and harmonic pull ups and stuff. Of course, I love doing that too. :)
Click to expand...

Ya man, I totally hear ya on the "bar" thing. I swap it up all the time, and of course I do all the cool bar tricks like flutters, and the screaming dime harmonics ....lol
 
guitarguru777 said:
Oh I can totally relate to that Lasse

There is a song a frind of mine recorded years ago and he asked me to guest solo on it. He thinks its the best solo I have ever done. Its unbelievable melodic and has almost no "technical prowess" behind it at all.

Harry,

The vibrato thing just takes time. I learned everything by ear the 1st 10 years of my playing and didnt get into any of the technical stuff at all. I have some vibrato exercises I can give you that will help out in a big way. Shoot me your email address in a PM and I can send them over.

As for technical vs feel. I can go both ways. i am not a big arpeggio sweeping guy cause my right hand sucks. But I do play a shit ton of tapping licks and do a fair amount of "bar" work. The player I really respect the most are Satch, Lynch, Vai, Dime, and Zakk and I think there are leaps and bounds in playing styles between all of them. I can also emulate a lot of styles but playing pentatonics at blistering speed is always really FUN for me. Its the Dime / Zakk thing someing out of me ....lol

One other thing that always gives my playing away I think i the way I use harmonized lines. I LOVE BIG HARMONIES, thats just the Vai in me coming out ...lol

Oh ... here is that solo I referenced in the first part of the post
http://www.jasoncohenitservices.com/down.mp3
Click to expand...

Haha, Satch is my favorite lead player ever honestly. His phrasing is so immaculate with both his composed melodies/solos and improvisation.
I don't really listen to instrumental virtuoso guitar stuff anymore, but Joe is the man.
I'll send the email address a bit later, off to bed soon.

guitarguru777 said:
I think most guitar players equate "shred" with technique vs feel. I don't know why, but i find it much more difficult to play something slow and extremely clean then warp speed and "shreddy"
Click to expand...

Hmm, I've always been of the opinion that no speed is more or less forgiving than the other. Both have their easy and difficult points.
Playing guitar in general is just a challenging thing to do really.

grywolf627 said:
Whenever I play, I almost always sound like "me". Which is actually a blend of Lynch (the most obvious influence), MacAlpine, and Satch. It doesn't matter if I play on my music (no matter what style I do), or someone else's.

@Carlos - I LOVE having a trem. It's not a crutch for me, and DEFINITELY not a replacement for vibrato or any other lack of technique. It's just a different flavor to add from time to time. On one note, I'll use finger vibrato. But maybe on the next note, trem vibrato...because they sound a little different. It's just a feel thing. And for those loooooong sustaining feedback notes...trem vibrato works the best, because you don't get fret noise changing the harmonic content of the note. (sorry...Brad Gillis is another huge, early influence of mine :D)
Click to expand...

Man, I've always wanted to love the trem arm but I just can't jive with it :(
It can work extremely well for some players. Jeff Beck is the undisputed master of the whammy bar from me.
Watching his performances from the last few years or so, and the stuff he does with the whammy bar is just UNREAL. His accuracy and musicality with it is just astounding. It's like he was seriously born with this gift of just being able to just truly understand it in a way no one else does.
Makes everybody else (Satch, Vai, etc) look like absolute hacks with the whammy bar.
 
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