8/27/2007 at 00:18Can anyone give me some tips on coming up with good solos? I am a self
taught guitarist and every time i try to come up with a solo it really
sucks. If you can teach me how to actually make a good one please post
here.
8/27/2007 at 12:29Sometimes when I first write the song, I'll just improvise over it with
some pentatonic/Dorian or whatever and after many takes, I find that I'll
repeat some parts of a solo from a previous take, so I'll just go with that
one. That way, the solo comes naturally and it's easier to remember because
it's your own style.
8/27/2007 at 17:26
Its tough to teach how to solo however I will try my best to help.
Not sure if you want to shred or something however my shredding days are
over and now i just try and find something thats unique and sounds
different...also it takes to much energy to shred.
Some tips on playing lead guitar.
# 1 Sometimes I make a whole different rhythm part for the solo...meaning i
dont play a solo over the chords of the song...instead I break off with
some different chords for the solo and then try and bring it back to the
song again...Eddie Van Halen is very good at doing this and I think thats
what makes him such a good lead guitar player.
Example of me trying to write a van halenish type of solo...solo comes in
the middle of the song.
Song is called "Tomorrow Is A Brand New day"
http://travtale.dmusic.com/music/
Another example is the song "Ocean Blue"...I did a little solo at the end
however i used different riffs to back the solo up and broke away from the
song slightly...solo isnt anything spectacular but I like it.
http://travtale.dmusic.com/music/
# 2 Maybe the song doesnt really need a solo...You dont always have to use
that same old formula...instead of having a solo why not just have some
cool riffs in the song at certain spots that can make the song sound
better...I think its ok not to have a solo as long as there are some cool
riffs in there.
Example
Song is called "across the great divide"
http://travtale.dmusic.com/music/
I tried a solo in this song however it sounded forced so I just went with
some riffs here and there instead...I think its more interesting than a
straight out solo.
# 3 When I solo I keep the rhythm somewhat simple and try not to use to
many chords or chord changes in the solo rhythm part.
Example
Song is called casualty
http://travtale.dmusic.com/music/
All I did was use 2 chords and then made a simple riff that I
harmonized...not saying its great or anything however it was good enough
for what i was looking for.
# 4 Effects..effects can help me come up with a good solo sometimes...a
certain sound will inspire something in me for some reason and out comes
this weird stuff...If you use the same sound/tone and effects all the time
its hard to come up with something that sounds different...for me effects
help.
# 5 Emotion...try and find some sort of emotion in your playing...I would
rather hear someone play a few notes that have some meaning or emotion than
to hear a 1000 notes that say absolutley nothing and sound so generic its
hard to listen to.
# 6 Pause...people forget to pause when they play solos...pauses can create
emotion...the blues for example creates emotion with pauses in the guitar
lead.
# 7 I think the moderator already mention vocals however if you atually
sing over the part you want a guitar solo to be you can get a better idea
of where and what notes you might want to play if you can copy what you
sing and apply it to the guitar.
Ok I think I pimped my song samples out enough for 1 post... 
Hope that helps a bit.
8/27/2007 at 17:35Practice Practic Practice.....
I always tell my students to hum or sing along with the chord progression
to get some good ideas. Borrow some of your favorite guitarist licks. Learn
as many solos as possible starting out with the easy ones then work your
way up from there.
It always helps to know your Modes and Pentatonics forms and how to connect
them. Check out the scales and modes section of Files
http://www.theguitarfiles.com/guitarfile-newtopic-23.html
8/28/2007 at 01:59sometimes I find a part in the vocals that really stands out, and I use
those notes in a solo. In other words mimic the notes of the vocals, but
change them from there to fit. Its a good place to build from.
8/30/2007 at 09:10I agree with Brian. Knowing your modes is very useful. It opens up the
fretboard. Your able to understand where you can start without thinking
about it.
Quick simple example: say you wrote a song in C. Well the Ionian mode would
be a good place to start doodling. You also have the relative minor of C
which you could doodle a bit with. In this case 'A'.
The Ionian is the first mode, it begins on the first note of the Major
scale. The Ionian is truly just the Major scale. The formula looks like
this: (W-W-H-W-W-W-H) W=Whole step H= half step.
So Ionian is C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C. Use that formula and you will see how the
notes fall.
The sixth position is your Relative Minor. Start at C and count six notes.
Where did you end up? 'A' of course. So the relative minor of C is A.
M m m M M m
dim.
The chords in C Major look like this: I - ii - iii -IV -V - vi -vii
That equals Major - minor - minor - Major - Major - minor - dim.
So what chords do we have in the key of C?
C major - D minor - E minor - F major - G major - A minor - B dim.
Play the Ionian over this and you cant miss.
How about Dorian? Dorian is made up of the notes in the Major scale
starting on the second degree. (C-D-E-F-G-A-B-C)
So what is the second degree? Count + 2 answer D.
So Dorian = D-E-F-G-A-B-C-D we can say Dorian = 1-2-3b-4-5-6-7b
Why the two flatted notes?
We must compare Dorian to the D major scale which has an F# and a C#. To
make the Dorian mode we need to flat these sharps. The D major scale looks
like this. D-E-F#-G-A-B-C#-D
How do we know this? Use the first formula I gave you to get the answer.
We know what the Dorian needs to look like.
D-E-F-G-A-B-C-D
You can figure all your modes out like this.
Confusing you say...
It really isnt.
If you love music you will be inspired to learn all you can and it will be
fun.
Now on to Chord buliding... LOL!!
I dont have the energy to explain all this right now but if you search this
site or pick up a good book it will all become clear.
Email me if you need help. I only charge 50.00 for half hour lessons on
theory!! hehehehehe :giggly:
Just kidding. Im more than happy to share what I know. 
[ :rocknroll:
[Edited on 8/30/2007 by ricoboc]
8/30/2007 at 10:15HEY!!
My last post started out as a simple paragraph. I dont know what happened!
8/30/2007 at 19:16
My post was really long as well...to bad I didnt have as much to offer as
you did ricoboc...when it comes to scales and theory Im not the guy to turn
to...i pretty much play by ear and go by feeling and what sounds good.
[Edited on 8/30/2007 by Spidercents]
8/30/2007 at 21:58Learning scales,chords is just learning the language of music. Playing with
feel depends on the player.
8/31/2007 at 05:22Spidy,
Playing by ear is very important. having an ear for music is the true
key.
I dont completley agree with Brians last post. Playing with 'feel' can be
misconstrued.
Understanding how your fretboard is layed-out just makes playing a bit
easier, it also can open up a whole new world of music for the individual.
Knowledge is important, applied knowledge is key.
If you ever have any questions about theory feel free to ask. I would be
more than willing to help in anyway I can. Just keep in mind that my
knowledge of theory is not vast. I would rate it about a 5 or 6 out of
10.
Just keep playing and have fun.
[Edited on 8/31/2007 by ricoboc]
