Fool around on your guitar as you listen to the song 2 or 3 times. This may give you some early ideas for key tones or short licks that sound good.
The Minor Pentatonic Scale is a versatile scale used in rock, blues, and pop songs, as well as some jazz music. For a song in E minor, you would play:E|———————0-3-|B|—————–0-3—–|G|————-0-2———|D|———0-2————-|A|—–0-2—————–|E|-0-3———————| The Major Pentatonic Scale is happier and brighter than the minor pentatonic scale and can be used in similarly bright songs. For a song in E major, you would play:e|————————————-9–12–|B|——————————9–12———|G|———————–9–11—————-|D|—————-9–11———————–|A|———9–11——————————|E|–9–12————————————-|
At this stage, you’re just playing around. Don’t put too much pressure on yourself to come up with the perfect solo on the spot. Just make a note of particular phrases you find that you really like.
These whole notes will become the basic rhythm of your solo. From this framework you can branch out and improvise a little in between, knowing you have these notes to return to.
Keep your motif distinct from the main thread of your solo. For example, if you’re using a phrase from the melody layered with a minor pentatonic scale, you might use a motif of 3 or 4 notes from the major pentatonic scale.
Gradually changing the notes balances the new with the old, taking your listeners on a journey with your solo and then bringing them back to where they started. Consider how the mood changes as you alter notes. For example, if you drop a couple of notes to minor tones, the phrase starts to sound ominous and you build tension before bringing it back around.
Typically you want to end triumphantly, with the best phrase of the solo or a particularly fast set of notes. Then the other musicians will come back in to play the rest of the song where they left off.
When done correctly, the 2 notes slur together, creating a smoother sound. And since you don’t have to strum each note separately, you can play much faster. Combine the techniques and go back and forth between 2 notes for several beats to create a sort of trill in your solo. This works well at the end of phrases.
For example, if you used whole notes to build the basic outline of the structure of your solo, you could play some or all of those notes as chords, then fill in with single notes in between.
Don’t try to bend a string if it’s not in tune. You could break the string. If you’ve never bent strings before, it’s a technique that will take some practice to get right. Play the note you want to bend, then the note you want to bend the string to. That way you’ll know when you’ve bent it far enough.
Vibrato is more difficult on the outside strings, since you don’t want to pull the strings off the side of the neck. Experiment with your vibrato, doing it at different speeds and bending the string at different distances. A small, slow vibrato is typically more appropriate for ballads while bending the string further and faster works well with rock songs.
Simply copying others won’t make you a great guitarist. Once you’ve learned how to emulate someone else’s idea, play around with it and try to make it your own. All guitarists have influences, but the greatest have a signature style that builds on their influences rather than mimicking them.
To make the pick scrape sound best, start below your pickups and run your pick up the 2 lowest strings. Leave some space between your fingers and the edge of your pick so your pick maintains flexibility.
Playing a phrase from the melody a couple of octaves lower can give your solo a more ominous tone while raising it a couple of octaves produces a brighter tone. If you start with a phrase from the melody, you might also want to use a few notes from that same phrase as a motif running throughout your solo.
Practice with different rhythms to make this simple opening more interesting for your listeners. [17] X Expert Source Ron BautistaProfessional Guitarist & Guitar Instructor Expert Interview. 5 November 2019.
For example, you might start with a string bend, then pick scrape and move into a few bass notes of a phrase from the melody. Listen to acclaimed professional guitarists as much as you can to get ideas for what combinations work well together.
