Improve soloing?

[caponi14]

Hello fellow guitarists.

I know this kinda thing can take a lifetime, but i want to ask anyway, how do you improve your soloing, and not just a little... I wonna be able to say that ''I can make a solo'', and a good one to say the least!?

I been sitting alot lately with my metronome doing 3 notes per string runs and hammer on pull off drills, and all of that stuff. But the thing is, technically im improving. I know that! But i have a hard time integrating (sorry for my spelling) the new consepts and runs and small tricks and scales and whatever, into the solos i am capable of doing now. when i try do them in my solos, i completely stops after the first new little detail i am not used to, like i can't get both my fingers and my head to improvise any more :confused: . And the ''new'' stuff that i try to put in, does not even seem to fit in soundwise, even though it's notes in the scale? Im so used to the pentatonic and the blues scale that i can hardly solo in other scales. And i have a hard time moving from places to places on the fretboard, can this be fixed?

This will prolly take some years? I quess its' a matter of experience?
Am i wrong? Been playing for a little more than 1 year, (but please don't think that im just a rookie, iv not been doing much else than play this last year!)

[Razbo]

...i completely stops after the first new little detail i am not used to, like i can't get both my fingers and my head to improvise any more :confused: .

I get that, too. For me, I need to practice that transition into the new part, not the individual parts. For example: Even just moving from a hammer on/pull off on the 1st e string to a HO/PO on the B right in a row is something I had to practice. It was easy to do the move on either string, but one after the other was hard. It's all finger memory, whether it's something simple like that, or somethign more difficult. If you need to take time to think, you are lost! (IMO anyway :) )


And the ''new'' stuff that i try to put in, does not even seem to fit in soundwise, even though it's notes in the scale? Im so used to the pentatonic and the blues scale that i can hardly solo in other scales.


LOL I get that, too! I practiced basic pentatonics for so long that when I finally started adding some flat 5th for some basic blues-iness it sounded all wrong! But after a bit, my ears got used to it. Anytime I add something new, it can souond weird until I get used to it. If you play some of those less common scales (mixolydian, etc) they can sound pretty messed up, but they are valid. I think it's just a lot of getting used to a new sound after practicing a single sound for so long.


And i have a hard time moving from places to places on the fretboard, can this be fixed?

When you practice your pentatonics, are you staying in one position? If so, you should try moving from one box to the next, up and down, using different strings (you know, mix it up). These link me all over the place, anywhere I want to go. :) Throw in some hammer on's & pull off's along the way and your pulling wicked solos just getting from one place to another!

[caponi14]

Thanks Raz! Your the man. im the kinda person who needs encuragement (sorry for the spelling again)

I think im way to hard on myself, as always lol... And i have a tendensy to look on the bad things instead of the good... I will prolly get it one day or another, i feel im kinda moving in the right direction, i just need to crack the code!

But thanks alot :)

[guitarplayer196]

Im pretty much in the same boat as you - I know scales but they don't sound as good as other players, but i think its important to start analizing other players solos and see how they use them to understand the why it works. Which is what I have been doing lately. For example, you probably can already play the well known Em Pentatonic scale at the 12th fret, but take the intro to Guns and Roses Sweet Child O'Mine - All it is is the Em Pentatonic. Probably a bit different than you would think to play it.

I think its important to analyze the works of other guitar greats to develop your own sound.

[sixpicker]

Hey everyone,
I've been reading this thread, and IMO most great guitar players don't play solos using scales. They play around a scale of course, and they may also play some parts of it. Great solos are made up of riffs, and licks using a scale, or some of the notes from it. I do play out of the pentatonic scale, but very seldom do I play the scale itself. I know it, but I add hammer ons, pull offs, and a bend or two to make it interesting. I may do some slides too, or maybe play a triplet, or a double stop.

Maybe you have practiced the scale enough, try doing the same thing in a different way using some of the techniques I mentioned. Instead of 3 notes only hit 2 on the top 4 strings, and then a whole step bend on the 3rd string or something.

I'm assuming you guys are referring to rock, and I've played my share of that too. I still play some AC/DC, Skynyrd, Kansas, Bad Company, Van Halen, or Stevie Ray, and many others whenever it's requested. I know the signatures to these songs, but I don't always play them. I might play the sigs the first time around, and then throw in my licks. My suggestion to you, is to add to, or take away from the scales you practice when you think about solos. Open strings are also a great way to get around the fretboard, and also playing out of chord positions.

If you really want to improvise your own solos, you need to learn more riffs, and licks. Knowing scales is important, because that lets you know which notes will work, and where to put them. However when you practice your scales, don't be afraid to embellish them some with more than just speed. You will end up in the same place, but there's more than 1 way to get there. More playing techniques, and a few licks can go a long way when improvising a solo. Best of luck to you, and I hope you'll give it a try.

[caponi14]

Ofcourse i will try it out when you wise people tell me to! Thanks alot, Really

[CSchlegel]

Ofcourse i will try it out when you wise people tell me to! Thanks alot, Really
I recently redid all my blues licks tutorials in HD. There are lots of great ideas in these lessons you can add to your collection of licks to expand your soloing options:

Major Notes In Minor Pentatonic Series 1
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=217

Major Notes In Minor Pentatonic Series 2
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=232

Major Notes In Minor Pentatonic Series 3
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=826

Major Notes In Minor Pentatonic Series 4
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=244

Have fun!

[GreenAsJade]

For me, what worked wonders was learning solos.

Yes, learning other people's solos.

It's like with scales and riffs and licks you have learned a pile of words in language. Maybe some grammar. But you have no practice putting them together into sentences, expressing yourself. Kids copy their parents learning language. You copy your heros learning to solo.

Doing this for a while, I found that suddenly I was having phrases and expressions "under my fingers" that "just work" when I need them to. I'm still at the beginning of the road, but this was a breakthrough for me.

As a concrete example of how I made it work, a solo I love is Comfortably Numb (the outro). This is a challenging thing to learn (for me) just technically. So that took a while. Once I had that, I then looked for variants of it ... live versions. I learned those. Then I looped a backing track of that chord progression and started mixing up the phrases from the various versions. Suddenly it unlocked... I started being able to mix it up and do my own thing.

There is another important skill that learning someone elses solo gives you. It is the skill of hearing something ... in your head ... and being able to put it onto the guitar.

At first you are doing this with other people's notes. You listen to a fragment of the solo and find where it is on the fretboard. At first that is hard and slow and tedious. But with practice you get faster and faster at this, learning other people's solos.

Suddenly you reach a point where you can hear *in your head* a *new* phrase that you think would go well and you can quickly find it on the keyboard. Absolutely essential skill, this is a way to get it.

HTH.

GaJ

--

Guitar Lesson Guide (http://guitars.greenasjade.net)

[caponi14]

yes, i really really want to be able to learn the art of listening to a solo and practice it without all the tabs and stuff... I wonna get past that stage, but i have big difficulty (sorry for the spelling) doing that. Is there a good way to start out learning that?

Im a big fan of Slash and i would like my playing to go in the direction of his playing style, i quess he aint the easy'est to immitate?

[GreenAsJade]

Is the problem hearing what the notes are, or playing them even if you know what they are?

For hearing what the notes are, get "Transcribe!", a program that slows down music. It is worth it. I use it every day, pretty well (you can loop sections etc etc with it). There are others, but it's the best I've tried.

If you can't hear what the notes are, even with it slowed down, then try a simpler piece of music. Simpler means either just slower (IE the original solo doesn't have so much fast stuff sluring/bluring into itself) or music with less going on at the same time. Solos with one note at a time and not much other music around are obviously easier to hear.

Also, you will start off having to do it one note at a time, but you won't always be able to listen to just that one note. What I mean is in say a three note run, it's really hard to start and stop the playback over just the middle note, and even if you can, your ear doens't have time to "tune in" before it's all over.

So select a short phrase to play back, but deliberately listen to just one of the notes. As it goes past, sing it out loud. "la la". Then find it on your guitar. Then move on to the next. Sounds laborious, but it's the training you are looking for, and it quickly gets easier.

If you are having trouble playing it, when you know what it is, the first most most most important thing is play it slower. NEVER EVER practice it fast and wrongly, because you just learn the mistake. Instead, play the phrase at the speed you can... even one note per second or slower, till your fingers start to know where the notes are.

Also, if you are having trouble with technique, then practice excercises for technique...

HTH

GaJ

[GreenAsJade]

Oh, for Slash, the first little solo in sweet child of mine should be perfect.

Nice slow clear notes.

The first section of the second solo is also very doable.

If you can play the second part of that solo you're fricking awesome already, what are you doing in this place!? ;)

GaJ

[K2BT]

I also use a computer program to slow the song down and it works great
I use a Mac and the program for that is called " I Reherse". My hearing isn't what it used to be so anything that helps me digest what the guitarist is playing is aces in my book!

[caponi14]

Hello again, iv been following your advises and im in progress learning solos from some of my favorite songs, and i feel im doing progress with my playing. But i still have some questions?

If i want to do a fast part in a solo, how do i learn it properly? cause i think it's hard to hit 100% corect notes if it's a crazy run?

And one more thing, (relating a bit to question one...)
im currently giving the solo from Give into me by Michael Jackson and Slash a try. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XAe7nRYzzJI The first one i can do.

Is there a lesson for me to take on the site that can help me to do that run at the end 4:24? As i said before, i can do the fast stuff by doing something similar, but I feel im missing some off those Slash phrases which i love! and i really want to learn them, any ideas?

Last thing, do anyone have a suggestion on amp settings to get Slash sound, i want to try it out? And yes, i know alot of it is in your fingers, but since my style of playing is also sounding similar to his. I would like to know the amp settings?

Thanks :)

[GreenAsJade]

It is "hard to hit 100% the right notes in a crazy run", but you can eventually do it.

Once again, it depends whether your problem is figuring out what the notes should be, or playing them once you know what they are.

I think there may be not a lot more to add than already suggested. Take the run to pieces, note by note. Also, studying scales can help, because knowing the key the piece is in and the scales the guitarist tends to use can also help suggest the notes.

If you know what the notes are, then two things are good

1) Playing the phrase at the speed you can, and working up
2) Playing a tiny piece of the phrase very fast, and stitching these together.

GaJ

[JeffS65]

Key to learning someone else's solos, play them over and over and over and over. I would get a program that allows you to loop sections. I have a Stealthplug that came with Amplitube Live amp sims (good sounding too) and the interface has a feature that allows you to play along to music files selected from your computer. It also allows you to loop a specific section of a song to infinitely repeat that section. I haven't actually used the feature but it seem really cool.

I remember learning Randy Rhoades' solo for 'I Don't Know' and it has this quick ascending run that I just could not get. It was '89 and I had a tape player that I had to rewind a million times but I did that so many times with that run until I got it.

It's really about getting the notes imprinted in your brain. You can't naturally 'flow out' someone else's stuff necessarily right off the bat.

In breaking down a solo, don't do it 'beginning to end' but break the solo in to sections. In most instances, the original artist of the solo wrote the solo that way so it makes sense to learn it that way.

[CSchlegel]

If i want to do a fast part in a solo, how do i learn it properly? cause i think it's hard to hit 100% corect notes if it's a crazy run?

Play it right slowly at first. Then gradually increase the speed.

Doing it right at slower speeds has two components.

1. Play it right rhythmically, space the notes properly just slower. For example, play it exactly at half-speed to start with. If you can get it right, move the tempo up. This will help you isolate problem spots to work harder on.

2. Play it cleanly, technically. The mechanics of it, the physical process is crucial to get right smoothly and effortlessly at a slow speed, or it will never sound right up to speed. Use this time to focus on playing with a light touch, not squeezing the neck too hard, etc.
im currently giving the solo from Give into me by Michael Jackson and Slash ... Is there a lesson for me to take on the site that can help me to do that run at the end 4:24?

Sounds like he's doing an ascending E minor scale in various groupings of 3s, 4s and 6s.

Try these exercises:

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=419
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=213
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=661
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=612
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=253

Last thing, do anyone have a suggestion on amp settings to get Slash sound, i want to try it out?

Sounds like a Les Paul (listen to that PAF humbucker! probably the bridge pickup) maxed out through an overdrive/distortion unit (rack or pedal) into a hot-modded Marshall. The bass is up (8-10), the mids are present but not too high (5-6), the treble is not too biting, so probably down a bit also (4-6). All that is just an educated guess, I don't know Slash's rig or actual settings.

Hope that helps!

[caponi14]

Hey Chris thanks alot, i wonna know something. How experienced should i be before i try to tackle this? iv been playing a little over a year?

And im not done with the Rock courses yet? I quess i should finish them first right?

[Jeff001]

Here is my two cents,

I have been playing for 25 years on and off but I am constantly learning as guitar has many diferent approaches.

The key to a great solo for me has been to build up an arsenal of modes/scales and riffs. Practice them so they are committed to memory.

And then when playing shut your brain off, listen and feel the music.

This is where the magic happens at least for me.

Thinking is the death of music, therefore learn as much as you can so you do not have to think while playing.

The links for the lessons from Chris S that are in the body of this post are some of the best lessons here and are great to study. I find myself going back and rehearsing along with these fundamental lessons. Not to mention he has some really incredible speed and great teaching technique.

Cheers,

Jeff

[wa1dealer]

Hi there one good tip for you is stop practising your scales in scale order and also don't practise your scales one pattern at a time play a few notes in one box and slide up or down to the next play a few notes there and move up or down again this should get you into playing diagonally rather than vertically and soon you'll be getting some pretty cool sounds. One other thing is standard licks are great but use them wisely don't just jump from one lick to the next give some thought to your phrasing. Hope this helps a bit. Happy soloing. Wayne

[Jakobbouton]

I had exactly the same problem as caponi. Thanks for all the good tips, but can you name me some great solo's I should try playing?

[CSchlegel]

Hey Chris thanks alot, i wonna know something. How experienced should i be before i try to tackle this? iv been playing a little over a year?

And im not done with the Rock courses yet? I quess i should finish them first right?
Missed these questions earlier!

It differs for every person. I would go through the Rock courses, then do the tutorials I mentioned. The whole time, you should use the Slash solo as a reference point to measure your progress. As you improve you should be able to hear and play more and more of what he is doing in that solo over the course of time.

[chrisweyers]

I see a lot of talk about analyzing other player's solos, which is certainly great. But to understand why their solos are so great, you need to be familiar with the concepts of consonance and dissonance. Now this is a huge subject, but I'll try to keep this as brief as I can.

We're gonna keep it simple. Let's say we're in G major. We want a simple I-IV-V chord progression which, in G, is G, C, and D (all major, of course). To solo, we will use the G major scale.

Now this next part will be internalized over time, and you won't even have to think about it. But at first, it will help to break things down. The key of G major contains the notes GABCDE and F#, and the G major scale is GABCDEF#G. These are the notes we want to stick to for the most part. But just playing them mostly at random over the progression isn't likely to turn out something outstanding.

We next need to look at the notes in each chord of the progression. They are: GBD for G, CEG for C, and DF#A for D. Here's where consonance and dissonance come in. The notes in each chord are consonant for that chord, and all other notes are dissonant. Consonant means that it sounds very nice and relaxed over the chord, while dissonant means that there is some level of tension. Every note not in the chord, whether they are in the key or not, has some level of dissonance.

I'm certainly not saying that the only note you can play over a G major chord are G, B, and D. What makes great solos is how they manipulate this dissonance to create and resolve tension. And this is the sort of thing you want to pay attention to when analyzing music.

So to make your solo really lock into and fit the progression, try starting your phrases on consonant notes. When the progression changes to the next chord, play a note that's consonant with that new chord and continue your phrase. This sort of thing will really make your solo part of the overall song.

[Chris_Basener]

basically echoing what chrisweyers is saying, another strategy is to familiarize yourself with the location of the chord tones and use these as anchors.
Learn the arpeggio fingerings (but don't fall into the sweep picking trap yet... this is just to visualize the chord tones) and make sure you can start and end a phrase on those notes.

That will lock the solo to the chords.

If you can play a solo even without backing chords and the listener can still hear the chord changes through the clever use of chord tones, that's when you know you've got is worked out.

Combine this with rhythm and phrasing and you should be sorted.

hope that helps a bit

[chrisweyers]

Wow, thats a great tip! I'd never thought to use arpeggios like that before!

[Douglas Showalter]

Chord tone use is key to keeping your solos sounding authentic and like the aforementioned comment, you want the listener to hear the changes even if you don't have any backing tracks. Great tips.

Would anyone be interested in a "Use of Chord Tones in Soloing for Beginners" tutorial?

[caponi14]

Yes i would be interested in everything, im so frustrated at the moment...

I keep asking the same question to myself, ''when am i gonna be satisfied with my improvisation''.... I want to learn stuff like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WOUEIxKxc0

He has the exact style that im looking for! But i can't seem to get it nomatter what the **** i do? :(

How can i learn it! That thing he plays!

[Douglas Showalter]

Remember; he is he, and you are you. Slash is Slash. Eddie is Eddie. No matter what you do, you will always sound like yourself. That is not a bad thing and honestly, that is what you should be focusing on. I see so many posts by you that have this resounding ambition to sound like Slash. I feel Slash is a defining guitar player in our generation,. but you should also work to broaden your scope and let other players, styles, and sounds influence you as well. Where as I am certain you listen to more than just Slash, you simply cannot expect to play like him or at that ability right away. Let your playing develop with patience and age as at this rate, I am afraid you might frustrate yourself to a pretty severe point. It takes time, patience and a love for the process of learning. You will get there, but please relax and let the process take it's course. I have been playing for nearly 13 years of my life and do it as a living, as well as teaching for this site. I can tell you even through that, I am still very unsatisfied with my playing and work all the time to better myself and my voice on the instrument.

Have patience young grasshopper.

[caponi14]

Yeah, your right. Im a bit stupid i quess.

Sorry, i don't want to waste anybodys time.

Thanks anyway though

[Douglas Showalter]

Yeah, your right. Im a bit stupid i quess.

Sorry, i don't want to waste anybodys time.

Thanks anyway though

Not true at all! You are simply on the journey like the rest of us. It never hurts to take a break every once and while either. Another thing I would advise is to set goals for yourself, make lists, and other things that commonly help you to organize yourself and ideas. Again, work to be you and to ahve patience. If you build it, they will come.

[caponi14]

What kind of goals?

Goals like, learning a song within a timeframe or something?

It's actually really strange, my soloing has gone up big time within the last 2 days... Im very happy right now actually!


:)

[Douglas Showalter]

LOL. It's funny that way, when you literally start to see it all settling into place. Keep doing what your doing man, you are on the way to something great. Again, the frustration rarely let's up as all of us are always trying to better ourselves musically (and hopefully personally.)

As far as goals, try making lists for 2010. Have daily goals, weekly goals, monthly goals, and goals for the whole year. Make these things very feasible and don't over do it. You will set your self up for disappoint if you try and take on too much. Trust me, the betterment will come my friend. I am going to post a GOALS for 2010 post either for today or tomorrow; pending on time and energy. You should take a look at it and contribute.

Best of luck sir into the new year!

[CSchlegel]

... I want to learn stuff like this http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2WOUEIxKxc0

Most of the stuff in that vid is just goofing around with the pentatonic minor boxes. Probably the single hardest aspect of free improvisation is implying and staying in some rhythmic time.

This one thing is the difference between sounding like you are "just practicing scales" and sounding like you are "playing music on the guitar". You have to phrase things so they sound like complete, self-contained coherent musical statements. And not just a string of notes which could start and stop anywhere.

It's the difference between just a bunch of words strung together:

"dog, cat, jump, run, black, quickly, brown, porch, very, skittish, etc."

And a series of words placed together with a purpose, skill and intelligence:

"The black, stealthy dog jumped up on the wooden porch very quickly. It was extremely intent on catching it's prey. The intended victim was a brown, skittish cat which had been sleepily minding it's own business; but now was frantically running for it's life!"

Make sense?

Have you seen these tutorials on using all the pentatonic boxes?

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=185
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=722

Can you do all that in time?

Have you seen these tutorials on connecting the pentatonic boxes? Because they guy in that vid is doing a whole lot of that type of thing. :)

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=737
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=843

Finally, as Douglas said, set goals for yourself. Set them in a manageable way. Don't just do this:

1. Here's my goal: Be a competent guitarist that can improvise.

And that's it. This is a great goal. But it is just one huge, "top of the list" lifetime goal. You have to break it down into manageable, realistic steps that will help you get there. Do it like this:

Overall lifetime goal
1. Be a competent guitarist that can improvise.

Yearly goals
1. Map out entire fretboard for major scales.
2. Map out entire fretboard for minor scales.
3. Map out entire fretboard for major chords.
4. Map out entire fretboard for minor chords.

Monthly goals
January: learn to play and hear 3 major scales (C major, G major, D major) in multiple fretboard places.
February: learn to play and use all chords in those scales.
March: learn to play and hear 3 minor scales (A minor, E minor, B minor) in multiple fretboard places.
April: learn to play and use all chords in those scales.
May: learn to play and hear 3 different major scales (A major, E major B major) in multiple fretboard places.

And so on until you get to the nitty, gritty, fine details of what you can everyday to actually work toward those huge goals.

Weekly goals:
Learn, play and memorize the C major scale across the fretboard.

Daily goals:
Mon: Play and memorize C major scale in frets 0-5.
Tues: Learn 3 melodies in C major scale in first five frets. Invent 3 licks using C major scale in first five frets.
Wed: Play and memorize C major scale in frets 5-10.
Thurs: Learn 3 melodies in C major scale in frets 5-10. Invent 3 licks using C major scale in frets 5-10.

And so on.

This is just an example. But do you see how this creates a manageable, systematic heirarchy of goals that are realistic and build from one simple thing into the larger overall goal?

Hope this helps. Best of success!

[caponi14]

Thanks people :)

But i must say, it's a pretty big step for me to do it like this. I don't know if i can pull it all off...

But i actually think that it would be a good way for me!

I am forever thankful for your help!

[CSchlegel]

Thanks people :)
Welcome. :)

Can you do all this stuff I asked about? Have you already done it?

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=185
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=722

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=737
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=843

[frankht]

Chris, I have a question.

I looked at the lessons you linked below and I noticed that some of them are not part of a particular course. Even though I'm still in GF2 I will be progressing soon and am curious, if these lessons aren't part of a course where can we find them, and how do we know when to incorporate them into our studies?

I'm sorry if I'm getting ahead of myself but curiosity got the best of me.

Thanks in advance.

[Douglas Showalter]

Not speaking on Christopher's behalf, but one of the ongoing questions at GT is whether or not we should make more and more levels of course work or not. That honestly depends on the demand. There are Guitar Fundamentals 1 and 2, Rock Guitar 1 and 2, Blues 1 and 2, and Country 1 and 2. It is after doing those courses that is somewhat assumed that you go through the site and further find tutorials that resonate within your interests and further work to develop your skills.

If you feel it would be better to have more courses, than that can be considered. We really take what everyone says in this forum very seriously and if the demand is there; we will work to meet it. What courses would you like to see continued?

[CSchlegel]

I looked at the lessons you linked below and I noticed that some of them are not part of a particular course.
There are three categories of lessons on the site.

1. Course lessons (GF1&2, Blues, Rock, Country)
2. Songs
3. Catalog

Essentially, everything that doesn't fit into a course or a song is in the catalog category. You can find a list of of all the tutorials, including the catalog material here:

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorials.php

... how do we know when to incorporate them into our studies?

This is a great question. :)

The search function on the site works pretty well, and the page with all the tutorials shows everything available. But that assumes you already know what you are looking for. And if you are a student, that is obviously not always the case.

For now the best thing to do is simply ask an instructor where to find something once you have some specific skill, knowledge or goal in mind to learn. For example, the lessons I linked are related to a list of mine that broadly deal with Learning To Play Lead Guitar.

Hope that helps. Best of success!

[caponi14]

No i have not done them yet, Chris (those lessons) only the first 2 you linked.

Iv made it to the 3 one, it's strange, my right hand seems to have some problems on that particular lick, normally i learn that kind of stuff pretty easy :confused:

But i will keep at it untill i get it down.

When should i consider myself done with those lessons anyway? When i get the concept or when i both get the concept and speed?

I got the concept down, but the speed and confidence is not there just yet...

[frankht]

If you feel it would be better to have more courses, than that can be considered. We really take what everyone says in this forum very seriously and if the demand is there; we will work to meet it. What courses would you like to see continued?

Douglas, one of the things that really sold me on GT was the manner in which the lessons were structured. The lesson plans are professionally laid out and very well presented. I was also impressed with the way there were the basics for everyone then different genres to advance to, that way you get what you need to start then are able to move into what interest you without getting bogged down with lessons of no interest.

So far I haven't seen anything that I would want to change or add. My problem was where to find certain lessons I've seen that weren't part of a particular course, I think I just need to educate myself more on navigating the site.

I appreciate your willingness to help though. That's one of the things that sets this site apart from all the rest.

Have a Good New Years.

[frankht]

For now the best thing to do is simply ask an instructor where to find something once you have some specific skill, knowledge or goal in mind to learn. For example, the lessons I linked are related to a list of mine that broadly deal with Learning To Play Lead Guitar.

Hope that helps. Best of success!

Thanks Chris that helps a lot.

I think for now the best thing for me to do is to finish GF2 then move on to the Blues Course. If I do have any specific questions there are no doubts in my mind I can find an answer on this site.

Have a safe New Years.

[CSchlegel]

Iv made it to the 3 one, it's strange, my right hand seems to have some problems on that particular lick, normally i learn that kind of stuff pretty easy :confused:

That's called a "hole in your technique". That is a problem area you should work on.

When should i consider myself done with those lessons anyway? When i get the concept or when i both get the concept and speed?
You are never done with those lessons. You learn the technique, understand the idea and then you practice it and use it for as long as you play the guitar. :)

[caponi14]

Arghh, damn it! :( (Hole in the technique)

Well , i quess i gotta work more on picking in future.... Even though i think iv done plenty of that.

Well don't mind me, All these reoccouring problems are just a lack of confidence i think.

Forget it, ill work on things!

Thanks Chris

[Douglas Showalter]

Iv made it to the 3 one, it's strange, my right hand seems to have some problems on that particular lick, normally i learn that kind of stuff pretty easy :confused:


Can you please post a link to the video that plays the "lick" in question? I would like to take a look at it and see if I can provide some insight to help this hole in your technique.

Believe me, we all have them; even the highest echelon of players have areas they would like to work on. The journey NEVER ends, and you are never done being a student of the instrument. That is simply the case. Welcome.

[caponi14]

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=737

Hey doug, it's the lick in this course. Normally i use to get the feel of it fairly quick when i do stuff like that. And it's not like i can't do it at all, i just think it's a little coordination failure between my right and left hand.

It's just the speed that im not satisfied with i quess.

But i think that my alternate picking should improove if i wanted to focus on something, any exercises for that?

[Douglas Showalter]

Douglas, one of the things that really sold me on GT was the manner in which the lessons were structured. The lesson plans are professionally laid out and very well presented. I was also impressed with the way there were the basics for everyone then different genres to advance to, that way you get what you need to start then are able to move into what interest you without getting bogged down with lessons of no interest.

So far I haven't seen anything that I would want to change or add. My problem was where to find certain lessons I've seen that weren't part of a particular course, I think I just need to educate myself more on navigating the site.

I appreciate your willingness to help though. That's one of the things that sets this site apart from all the rest.

Have a Good New Years.
Sounds good. My question was regarding what courses you would like to see continued. That meaning moving beyond simply 1 and 2 (i.e. Guitar Fundamentals, Rock Guitar, Blues, Country.) There has been talk in the past of developing Level 3, 4, etc.

Thanks for the kind words, and an extended Happy New Year to you as well. :D

[Douglas Showalter]

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=737

Hey doug, it's the lick in this course. Normally i use to get the feel of it fairly quick when i do stuff like that. And it's not like i can't do it at all, i just think it's a little coordination failure between my right and left hand.

It's just the speed that im not satisfied with i quess.

But i think that my alternate picking should improove if i wanted to focus on something, any exercises for that?
Honestly, your alternate picking can always be developed by practicing your scale patterns. If you truly want to make it better and more developed, set up a practice routine that heavily revolves around that. This can mean working your scale patterns up to speed with a metronome, as that will help you quite a bit with the licks from the video you posted. Take it slow, and make sure your playing is clean before you move on. I have found in my practicing I try and kill two birds with one stone by practicing new scale patterns while also intertwining working on my picking along with it. That way my left and right hands are getting a good work out. A player to seek some great advice from would be Paul Gilbert, as he is an alternate picking machine and offers much great insight into this concept. Here are some links to some YOUTUBE videos that clearly demonstrates that;

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CpJNUGHxC3M
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hJDV7brqkfk

[ixo2010]

Thought I'd chime about using the chord tones again. I started practicing that way a while back and it really improved my soloing and phrase construction.

I do practice scales and other peoples solos for technique, but concentrate on the chord tones to create my phrasing.

[Douglas Showalter]

Thought I'd chime about using the chord tones again. I started practicing that way a while back and it really improved my soloing and phrase construction.

I do practice scales and other peoples solos for technique, but concentrate on the chord tones to create my phrasing.

Sounds like you have a great grasp on this concept. I am developing a tutorial on Chord Tone soloing for the site as we speak which should be up by mid- February. I will keep you posted when it is up and running. Would love to have some feedback.

[CSchlegel]

Normally i use to get the feel of it fairly quick when i do stuff like that. And it's not like i can't do it at all, i just think it's a little coordination failure between my right and left hand.
Two things here. I just redid my first building speed with alternate picking tutorial:

Speedy Ideas Series 1 - Building Speed
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=287

And from earlier, I just posted a new tutorial on Connecting Pentatonic Boxes. This time it involves a very widely used lick in those vids you were asking about. It's a hammer-on, pull-off lick that guys like Slash, etc. use all the time; absolutely basic to rock soloing. Give it try!

Connecting Pentatonic Patterns Series 3
http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=914

[ixo2010]

Sounds like you have a great grasp on this concept. I am developing a tutorial on Chord Tone soloing for the site as we speak which should be up by mid- February. I will keep you posted when it is up and running. Would love to have some feedback.
I'll be looking for it. Any new info/tips is always helpful.

[Douglas Showalter]

I just wrapped up the taping for the tutorial and it should be up very soon. I will send you a direct message once it's up.
;)

[caseyconatser]

try this. start with identifying the key of the song. If the key is A major, you would solo with the pentatonic starting on the 5th fret of the low E string. You get a bluesy feel and sound, right? but most songs dont need that feel, it just doesnt fit. Find the note of the key on the A string and move two steps up. this is your new position. If they key is A major, then use the F# pentatonic scale. Try it.

[owenvaughan]

This is one of those how long is a piece of string q's - the simple answer is that there is no one guaranteed way that will work for everyone.

However, based on my own experiences I would say that the following will give you a good basic level for most styles:

Intermediate Level Targets

Scale/Arpeggio Knowledge

Minor, Major Pentatonic 5 positions
Minor Blues in 5 positions
Major (Ionian) Position 1 + 4 plus 3 note per string Root 6th and 5th
Minor (Aeolian Ionian) Position 1 + 4 plus 3 note per string Root 6th and 5th
Dorian Mode Position 1 + 4 plus 3 note per string Root 6th and 5th
Mixolydian Mode Major (Ionian) Position 1 + 4 plus 3 note per string Root 6th and 5th

More exotic stuff like Lydian, Phrygian, Harmonic Minor etc arent as commonly used as the above so deal with them later!

Major, Minor, dim triads 2 string root 2nd (a la Hotel California/Final Countdown/Sultans Of The ) and 3 string root 3rd
Major 7, Min7, Dom 7, m7b5 - ideally root 5th and root 6th spanning two octaves.

All of this will give you the core basic knowledge - then you need to be able to apply them.

A basic technical facility should include:

Being able to alternate pick these ascending and descending in 1/8th notes to approx 170 BPM, triplets to 140 sixteenths to 100, sextuplets to 80.

Phrasing ability to include:

Bending Vibrato sliding legato hammer ons pull offs tapping pick harmonics

A core knowledge of a couple of dozen classic rock/blues licks in position one.

Armed with all of this you should then aim to learn a couple of dozen classic solos (and all the rest of the song of course!) as the best way to gain an insight is to study the masters...

Then you simply combine all the above and gradually you will develop your own style.

Cheers

Owen

http://www.harpercollins.com/authors/35834/Mr_Owen_Edwards/index.aspx