Full Version: Help With Soloing!
GMC Forum > Discussion Boards > Community Activities and Tutorials > Ask an Instructor > Kristofer Dahl
hey kris, how's it going? My situation right now is now writing solo's but I can't find any good lessons on how to build a solo. I really admire your solo's like "curious coincidence" which got me started in really trying to play guitar and i was wondering how you made the whole solo guitar song? thanks!!!!!!
The best way to learn to construct a solo - is to listen to other solos that you like and try to analyze how they do it. If you were to do that with one of my solos you would find that they follow this scheme (hey am I getting predictable or what?!):
1 start on a lower note and maybe grab the listeners attention through a weird bend or note choice
2 remain in the slower (and lower) register for a while, so that you save the good stuff for the climax
3 starting building towards climax: maybe add some more advanced rhythm figures, and start going towards the higher register
4 BOOM - I like when something drastic in the arrangement happens here - so that when you finally go fast the arrangement is there to support you for a very powerful effect to the listener
5 ending - what you do here depends on what comes next in the song, the idea is to find something which gives a smooth transition to the next part!
This is of course just an example - I'll usually do this kind of thing for my metal tunes. Because all songs are different the best rules is [as usual] to listen to the arrangement and try to hear in your head how you would like the solo to sound.
It would be great to hear what others think as well - we've probably got more skilled soloists here than anywhere else!
1 start on a lower note and maybe grab the listeners attention through a weird bend or note choice
2 remain in the slower (and lower) register for a while, so that you save the good stuff for the climax
3 starting building towards climax: maybe add some more advanced rhythm figures, and start going towards the higher register
4 BOOM - I like when something drastic in the arrangement happens here - so that when you finally go fast the arrangement is there to support you for a very powerful effect to the listener
5 ending - what you do here depends on what comes next in the song, the idea is to find something which gives a smooth transition to the next part!
This is of course just an example - I'll usually do this kind of thing for my metal tunes. Because all songs are different the best rules is [as usual] to listen to the arrangement and try to hear in your head how you would like the solo to sound.
It would be great to hear what others think as well - we've probably got more skilled soloists here than anywhere else!
Hmmm, interesting topic. Since I'm a former jazz musician, I tend to not composing solos - I rather just improvise, but I've learned that today it's a common technique to do so, and I have slowly getting into the progress of writing solos.
To me, the following points of interests applies:
- The beginning and the ending are the most important parts - the beginning shall catch the listeners attention, and a bad ending can really spoil whatever You have played before.
- Building the solo towards a climax is really essential, since noone wants to hear the "baddest" lick at first and then some slow phrases.. it's just an anticlimax.
- In my opinion a "theme" or repetive pattern is a good starting point. It can be a simple little melody just changing slightly rhytmically, from there can the solo be expanded to incoorporate other things.
- Things like "mistakes" eg. string noise, when You move Your hand over the strings when muting them with the right hand, "ghost" notes etc. really adds flavour to a solo when done properly and in time with the music. Also switching pick-ups, postition of the right hand and use of the volume knob are other good things.
- Use of blues-licks. Even that the song maybe isn't a blues song, a blues-lick somewhere in the solo appeals to the listener since it feels like something common.
- Rhytmic variation, use of syncopation. Nothing is more boring than a solo that starts on the first beat and just contains even notes.....
- Dynamics, great players tends to put the accents on the high notes - eg. when playing a phrase that lands on a high note, that note shall be emphasized. Of course, there are exceptions from these rule but mixing strong & weak notes is really essential if the solo should sound "alive".
- A strong rhytmic approach shall be used from the first note to the last - eg. it shall be in "time", otherwise it will sound sloppy. It's better to play something easier that You can manage than things that are a bit beyond Your level.
Building a solo isn't really a so hard task, I use to start out with some improvisation, pick up some parts I like and the develop from there... Just my thoughts....
//Staffay
To me, the following points of interests applies:
- The beginning and the ending are the most important parts - the beginning shall catch the listeners attention, and a bad ending can really spoil whatever You have played before.
- Building the solo towards a climax is really essential, since noone wants to hear the "baddest" lick at first and then some slow phrases.. it's just an anticlimax.
- In my opinion a "theme" or repetive pattern is a good starting point. It can be a simple little melody just changing slightly rhytmically, from there can the solo be expanded to incoorporate other things.
- Things like "mistakes" eg. string noise, when You move Your hand over the strings when muting them with the right hand, "ghost" notes etc. really adds flavour to a solo when done properly and in time with the music. Also switching pick-ups, postition of the right hand and use of the volume knob are other good things.
- Use of blues-licks. Even that the song maybe isn't a blues song, a blues-lick somewhere in the solo appeals to the listener since it feels like something common.
- Rhytmic variation, use of syncopation. Nothing is more boring than a solo that starts on the first beat and just contains even notes.....
- Dynamics, great players tends to put the accents on the high notes - eg. when playing a phrase that lands on a high note, that note shall be emphasized. Of course, there are exceptions from these rule but mixing strong & weak notes is really essential if the solo should sound "alive".
- A strong rhytmic approach shall be used from the first note to the last - eg. it shall be in "time", otherwise it will sound sloppy. It's better to play something easier that You can manage than things that are a bit beyond Your level.
Building a solo isn't really a so hard task, I use to start out with some improvisation, pick up some parts I like and the develop from there... Just my thoughts....
//Staffay
how do i use different scales and connect them together to follow a Chord progression!!
That is a HUGE topic, but in general - when You switch tonality/scale You want to land on a chord tone of the new tonality, or simply make a pause and then start to play after the new tonality has been established. There's a lotof lessons on this topic, though....
//Staffay
//Staffay
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