hey people.
kinda need some tips and advice on something.
u see i started creating my own riffs for songs for my band.
but i do not know the thoery part in adding guitar solos in the songs.
i do not know where on the fretboards should i start...and where should it end.
wat i wanna know is...does it have to follow the chords of the sonds..or is there a pattern or some sort?

pls advise.

There are many different ways of playing a solo, but if you know what key your in it makes it easier.

I once saw a improvisation video done by George Duke (a great piano player) and he said to construct a 'classic' sounding solo to follow these steps.

Lets say that you start your solo on the letter A and end on the letter D, in that you have A, B, C and D to work with.

the letter A may be a simple riff and after you play that a few times move to A1, a variation of A, then on to A2 which is a different variation on A.
After that it will need a change and so move to B which sounds different to A, then move to B1 which is a variation of B then move to C which might be somthing totaly different, e.g. A and B might be melodic so make C rythymic.
After C the solo might sound complete so move to D, where your solo ends.

This way means that you have developed your solo and kept it interesting and flowing.

The main thing to remember is that there is no wrong way to play a solo, but i Hope this helped

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hey thanks fer the reply...but goin about makin the solo is kinda easy coz there is no rules as to where u may play...but in order to make it ermm...in tune wif the rythm of the song? should i follow the chords of the song or..?

issit like if the song goes into the chord A sholud my solo be at A? or can it be anywhere? if it is anywhere..it may sound a liitle out of line u get wat i mean?


so how bout it?

try out a few different things and see what sounds best, i find it alot easier to solo, when just focusing on the key signiture. But many people (jazz players especialy) like to solo over each chord seperalty, they often do this when there are alot of key changes in one song, but the easiest way of going about it is to find the key and solo over it.

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"You know, we do more than just sing and dance. We've got a brain, too."
Backstreet Boys

Knowing what key you're in is a big help most of the time, but I think the best thing for you to do, especially if your band is willing, is just to jam and experiment. My band can go for an hour or more just bouncing ideas off of eachother and in the six months we've been playing, I've seen huge improvments in all of us. My guitarist went from having almost no idea on how to solo to being able to pull one out of his heiny at a moment's notice. I still don't think he knows much about keys or scales, but he knows what to play and how to play it, and best of all, he sounds really unique.

Some other ideas:
-Usually people make the solo climax at the end by having that the highest notes and fastest part of the solo, but this is where it should be the most intense.
-You could always try a Larry LaLonde and spit a mouthful of beer into air as the lights go off at the end of your solo- always charming.
-Try integrating chordy stuff, ie double bends, double stops, fifths, forths, octaves, etc. Hardly anybody out side of country or the blues does that any more.

Just remember, practice, experiment, and you'll get the hang of this soon enough.

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Definately listen to what everyone above you said, they've got good advice. Helped me out some too. When soloing, keep in mind that sometimes the most basic, easy-looking riff or "trick" will work best, it will really help give unity to your solos. Another thing is, learn when to use speed! Use speed to show feeling, intensity, tension, etc. And learn what to play fast. The last part is difficult, heck I'm still trying to get it right. Keep at it, and you'll see marked improvement.

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<b><i><u>SixStringShredder</b></i></u>

Try thinking of your "solo" as if your guitar was a singing vocalist. Most solos are constructed over either the verse or chorus of a song (less often over bridges). Try phrasing your solo as if it were singing another verse (or chorus or bridge) in the song. This will help your solo sound as if it belongs in the song and will give you a foundation for building future solos as well.