Soloing Stratagies

Hey all,

Ive been playing guitar for a year now and i have picked up pretty well how to be able to pick faster and use other techniques in my playing and soloing. But a major problem for me is that when i start to devise a solo i cant seem to be able to play anything that really fits the riff i came up with, and all i can really do to improvise is to use either the major, minor, or blues pentatonic scales to create a solo. But in most cases for me it makes it seem like my playing is restricted to soloing using only those scales. Ive tried to learn different scales but i cant seem to be able to use them in the way i want to and i was wondering if anybody had tips they could give me on how to improve my playing and soloing stratagies.

The major and minor scales are just fine man. Seriously listen to Beethoven's "Organ Fugue in G minor" and you'll appreciate a simple minor scale. Its not so much the scales but how you use them. Listen to a song or backing track, get the key they are in, get the chord progession and it will make everything so much easier. Then i what i do is i use a few notes from the scale to form a very tiny riff, play around witjh that a few times then branch off and cautiously test notes that are in the scale but i wont really veer away from the few notes i started off with.

I've on,ly been playing guitar for a year also but i have been playing piano for about 7 yrs now and thats the method i used. It may be a bit confusing and if you dont understand then i'll try and explain a buit clearer.

:D

You need to get past that headspace rutt that most guitar players get into.
... learning tons of scales and then just using scales all the time when you play.
The purpose of scales is to train your fingers and brain to recognize where the notes are and the most economical way to play them.

Playing melodies and improvising however are done from the heart (as corny as that sounds). You need to play what you feel and hear in your head and just use your knowledge of scales to help guide you there.

One thing you can try doing is playing background music and singing a lead line into a multitrack. You'll be able to sing what comes to you naturally without your fingers automatically jumping to the places you've gotten used to playing.
Then go back and copy your vocals on the guitar.

Listen to some saxophone solos or solos done on synth as well and learn them inside out. They don't use the same overdone riffs and scales that guitarists use so it makes you think outside the box a bit.

Last but not least, slow way down and play melodies that compliment the song, rather than trying to go as fast as you can just to impress people.
The melody and feel behind a lead solo is way more important than shredding a bunch of scales.

nice, thanks for the tips and advice guys. Ill try more and more to incorporate those ideas into my playing as i go along.

Originally Posted by: schmangeYou need to get past that headspace rutt that most guitar players get into.
... learning tons of scales and then just using scales all the time when you play.
The purpose of scales is to train your fingers and brain to recognize where the notes are and the most economical way to play them.

Playing melodies and improvising however are done from the heart (as corny as that sounds). You need to play what you feel and hear in your head and just use your knowledge of scales to help guide you there.

One thing you can try doing is playing background music and singing a lead line into a multitrack. You'll be able to sing what comes to you naturally without your fingers automatically jumping to the places you've gotten used to playing.
Then go back and copy your vocals on the guitar.

Listen to some saxophone solos or solos done on synth as well and learn them inside out. They don't use the same overdone riffs and scales that guitarists use so it makes you think outside the box a bit.

Last but not least, slow way down and play melodies that compliment the song, rather than trying to go as fast as you can just to impress people.
The melody and feel behind a lead solo is way more important than shredding a bunch of scales.

Awesome advice!

Originally Posted by: schmangeYou need to play what you feel and hear in your head and just use your knowledge of scales to help guide you there.

schmange strikes again.
thats exactly wat i was gunna say but he beat me to it.

you gotta feel out the notes- not force your guitar to show you them

yeah, I get a lot of emails from guys saying stuff like 'what scales should I play over this set of chords "E, B, C, Em, D etc..."

... I feel like saying, "none".

Play something melodic that comes from the heart and use your scale knowledge to help guide your fingers into finding the most efficient way to play the notes that sound best in the song.

I can't stand guys who play everything using scales and overused rock runs that have been around for 30 years.
Especially this one:

http://s93744050.onlinehome.us/cheese101.mp3

... it's like arghh..... cheese101... go back to guitar school.

yeah, sounds good man. Thanks for the great advice.