Q & A
Lead Guitar - Questions And Answers
Question
I have committed myself to learning the entire Major and Pentatonic scales. However, when I get the opportunity to solo over various chord progressions, I find that my solos are very dull and plain. I try to apply different methods and techniques yet they do very little to add variety to my solos. I find myself just blindly going up and down different modes. I know that speed and coordination are crucial but I also find that solos don't have to be fast to sound "interesting". Please send your recommendations. - Eric
Answer
Scales can be useful for soloing, but as you've found out just running up and down scales is not very musical. Here are few things you can try:
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Limit yourself to just three or four notes: Try to come up with a solo using only a few notes.
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Leave lots of space between phrases: Play a few notes, pause, then play a few more.
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Play on the beat. Just blazing away without any regard for the tempo of the song can be very uninspiring. Stay on the beat and groove in time with the music.
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Try some short fills: Play along with a vocal track and add fills between the lyrics. When the singer pauses between verses, add some fills. This will force you to be brief and interesting.
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Vibrato, vibrato, vibrato: Hold out notes and add vibrato. Listen to singers. They sing a note and then bring in the vibrato. This one technique will definitely improve your soloing by giving your solos a vocal quality.
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Add dynamics and change speed: Play some parts softer then get louder and more aggressive. Start a solo slow and gradually increase the speed. Then go back to a slow pace.
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Above all, experiment: Try anything and everything. Remember there are no "rules" when it comes to lead guitar. If it sounds good, it is good.
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