I've been playing for about 3 years now, and just recently (about 6-8 months ago) I was playing in a band with someone I consider the best guitarist in the world (not a joke).

Anyways, what I noticed was that, after about 3 months of jamming with him, my own playing improved tenfold, even though I was just playing rhythm - nothing at all complex. I guess it was just watching his technique and some of his talent rubbing off.

So, my problem now is that I can play at a pretty decent speed, and I know my pentatonic and a couple other scales, but I can't seem to come up with original and interesting solos. I just play completely random notes. My guitar hero is David Gilmour, and I admire his ability to play solos that really move you, with out necessariliy blowing you away with technique.

How do you guys recommend improving one's compositional skills with regards to solos? I try to immerse myself in Pink Floyd music, in hopes that one day I'll have an epiphany and be able to compose solos just like Gilmour, or at least play in his style.

Thanks for your input.