Solos that just seem to slow down over time

[Ermz]

I'm speaking to all you guitarists who have played for a number of years. Have you noticed that when you really bust your balls and learn a really challenging solo at one point, you go back to that same solo or piece of music and just think to yourself 'goddamn, was it really this slow/easy?'.

It seems really strange but during my early years of playing I had an on-going thing happening with the Forest of October solo. I'd keep at it and at it day after day until I finally got how to play it without too many blemishes. I just went back to the same solo a few minutes ago to play along just for the sake of old times only to be surprised at how slow this solo seems. It appears that when I messed around on guitar and learned it in my own time, I was playing it alot faster than it was recorded.

Anyhow, does this sort of thing happen to any of you?

 

[BurningSky]

Thank you moonlapse for continually showing me how much I suck at guitar... thanks a lot...

 

[Ermz]

Sorry dude, but that's exactly why I geared my post towards people 'who have played for a number of years'.

 

[AbsentFriend]

yeah yeah you're great Moonlapse....isn't this really off-topic though?

 

[Don Corleone]

no it isnt off topic. see he related it to forest of october.


GOD, DOES SOMEONE ALWAYS HAVE TO POINT OUT THAT A GOOD THREAD IS OFF-TOPIC?

it's off topic, big deal!

 

[Arnold Layne]

Ive been trying to learn the ghostly bit in the middle of a fair judgement (that moonlapse covered on here a while ago) and its really fucking hard, it will take me a while, it made me realise how good a guitarist you are.

Back to the topic i learnt closure a while ago, and came back to it and it was alot slower. When I used to play alot of Metallica the same thing happened, the shortest straw used to be fast, now it seems slow as. Practice, style and time I suppose.

 

[BurningSky]

Hahaha i have been playing for a while, but I don't take time to learn other people's stuff. I was just kidding around anyhow. I pretty much learned the when solo, except I'm still getting down the arpeggio parts of it. Can you perhaps give some insight as to a good technique for playing arpeggios quickly? That sweep picking thread was just absurd as to how people were answering, I'm just wondering a good technique for playing an arpeggio. I don't know if you play the solo from When, but it goes into basically a G# minor arpeggio. Would you move your hand to form the chord or would you just individually pick out the notes? I hope that made sense.

 

[Ermz]

Ive been trying to learn the ghostly bit in the middle of a fair judgement (that moonlapse covered on here a while ago) and its really fucking hard, it will take me a while, it made me realise how good a guitarist you are.

Back to the topic i learnt closure a while ago, and came back to it and it was alot slower. When I used to play alot of Metallica the same thing happened, the shortest straw used to be fast, now it seems slow as. Practice, style and time I suppose.

Cool, nice to know it happens to others. I'm sure you'll master the Fair Judgement interlude in time.

@BurningSky: When you play distorted guitar and do arpeggios they are most commonly played note-by-note, taking care not to let any ring out. Unless of course you want that big muddy dissonant sound that Emperor liked to use. So you basically just get to the notes in what ever way is most comfortable to you... it's kind of hard to give any advice beyond that. I suppose to try stopping the notes in an upward run (as in low note to high note) from ringing out you can try to bring the part of your palm that mutes gradually down as you pick downwards (I've only tried this with sweeping, not sure if it works alternate). It just takes time really, over anything else.

 

[BurningSky]

I'll test out that advice definitely. Thanks for the info. (please say "No problem, mate" please say "No problem, mate" please say "No problem, mate" please say "No problem, mate" please say "No problem, mate" )

 

[Ermz]

How about I go the extra mile and say 'Fair dinkum, mate'.

 

[B Crouch]

I play drums (and consider myself to be very good) and I never try and copy people, like Lopez for example. I just play what I'm comfortable with, and most of the time jamming with my mates I find that I can drum to whatever song they choose (that's probably because it's easy stuff like Black Sabbath!).

 

[Justin S.]

Funny that you mention the Forest of October solo; its the main example for me as well. While I havent been playing as long as you (coming up on 2 years), ive noticed a big difference in my ability since taking classical instruction. About 8 months or so ago i started to learn the Forest solo and it took me a good week to get down and then a few months of more general improvement to get it smooth. I remember having some difficulty with the opening little salvo sounding smooth (seemed fast) as well as the arpeggiated part at the end (i alternate pick).
Same goes for the leads in Godheads.

 

[murderedbysound]

that would make alot of sense for the first solos you to learn to be fast or hard to play, but the more you play them, the slower they get for some reason. just play the forest solo and then go and do a dragonforce solo

 

[OGM]

It took me about a week to play the Forest solo without any fuck-ups. The hardest part for me was the ending because I tried to sweep pick it and I'm horrible at sweep picking. I just can't get the hang of it...so I just alternate pick that part.

 

[Kenneth R.]

i've actually noticed this phenomenon in all my playing, not just solos.

what i used to think was fast, now isn't. its like when i pick up the guitar to play those songs i enter the matrix and everything is freakin slow. still can't shred though, but my other playing seems this way

 

[cthulufhtagn]

i totally know what you mean...i remember a couple years ago i was trying to nail the first solo in "fade to black" but i couldn't get the fast part down. i randomly started playing it the other day and i thought "damn, this is easy..."

also, have you noticed that when you record and listen back you sound WAY better than you think you are?

 

[BurningSky]

How about I go the extra mile and say 'Fair dinkum, mate'.

haha YES!!!!

 

[Kenneth R.]

also, have you noticed that when you record and listen back you sound WAY better than you think you are?

actually i think i hate my recordings when i play them back because it makes me think of what i could have done better each time

 

[sands of the seas]

I'm a really lazy guitarist. If i don't get a solo in a couple of days i quit trying. As a result i'm a mediocre lead player. I really should crack down on it though. Five years of playing guitar and i can't play a Metallica solo. It's not a good feeling. I kick ass at rhythm though
Anyway, that's happened to me with the Stairway To Heaven solo, and the solo in Hotel California. The reason it happened with those other two is because i first tried them a few years ago, and since my skill has developed i'm now able to play them without much practise. I didn't build them up or anything.
I can't think of any Opeth solos it's happened with because like i said, if i can't play it straight away i usually don't bother putting any effort in unless i want it real bad.

 

[Ermz]

Interesting to hear that so many people experience this. It's a pretty gratifying sensation, hehe.

@Silent Song: Likewise. Usually when I record myself on guitar all I can think of is how much smoother it could/should have been done etc. But it's a good sort of feedback system to tell you how fluidly you play guitar. All the quirks really come out when you pen down a recording.