Emotional solos?

Hello guys, love you all!

I wonna ask something, and it's about solos

My style of soloing is based around the blues and the pentatonic scales (ala Slash soloing, since he is my big idol!)

My problem is that i simply have a problem playing slow emotional improvisation solos (the slow ones with alot of bends and vibrato)
I run out of ideas so fast, and then it affects my timing !!! and it's pretty damn annoying and frustrating.

Do any of you have any advises or lessons i could watch to help me with this, that would help me alot.

Greetings Casper

Hi Caponi14,

This seems like kindov a tough one because emotion is a feeling and not as easy to describe as a specific riff but I'll chime in with what comes to my mind when I think about this...I would maybe try holding one note over chord changes to help slow yourself down and see the effect that it gets. When the chord changes underneath your note it's almost like the note itself is changing but it's not. This adds an emotional element. Try it with a sloow vibrato.
Also, when you're soloing over chord changes think about the notes in the chord being played (1,3,5, etc.) If you're on a note that's also in the chord underneath it, that really enhances the sound of the solo and it sounds like you know what you're doing.
The best notes to add emotion in a solo (to me) are the 3rd and the 7th, both very bend-able notes, try messin' around with those, Slash uses 'em alot! If you're in the key of 'E' they would be the 'G' and the 'D', 3 great notes to focus on in that key!
If a chord is changing from an 'A' to a 'G' lets say, you could bend up from the 'g' note to an 'a' and hold it. As the chord changes down to the 'G' gradually release the note down to the 'g'. Alot of emotional soloing is kinda lazy, behind the beat..almost drunk sounding so don't be too concerned about being on the beat but a little after it...like pouring molassas over a solid structure.
Here's an excercise for ya: play along to the verse of 'Sweet Child of Mine' only using 2 notes (individually). d flat on the g string, 6th fret AND f on the b string, 6th fret (normal tuning). Just let the song play and bend the d flat up a whole step and back down whenever you feel like it..also bend the f up a half step and back down whenever you feel like it. Try different variations..bend up first, then strike the string and release, bend up and down in succession, etc. this will give you an idea of how playing the same note over a chord change will make your solo sound like it's changing even though it's not.

Mimicing the song's melody in the solo is a good idea and I remember Santana saying he would imagine his guitar was talking as he played, he would think of something to say and make the guitar sound like it was saying it (as much as he could).
Let me know if this opens any doors (or windows) for you. :D

Originally Posted by: caponi14Hello guys, love you all!

I wonna ask something, and it's about solos

My style of soloing is based around the blues and the pentatonic scales (ala Slash soloing, since he is my big idol!)

My problem is that i simply have a problem playing slow emotional improvisation solos (the slow ones with alot of bends and vibrato)
I run out of ideas so fast, and then it affects my timing !!! and it's pretty damn annoying and frustrating.

Do any of you have any advises or lessons i could watch to help me with this, that would help me alot.

Greetings Casper

I've mentioned this before but I think it's important to mention. Blues is a vocabulary of licks. It's not just tasty, slower string bending although that is a part of it.

You'd mentioned that you run out of ideas. Learning the blues lick vocabulary is very important. Below is a link to Chris's intro to Blues licks:

http://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=723

A very good place to start to learn them.

You don't talk unless you have a vocabulary to do so. Slash has that vocabulary anduses it extensively and with his own (excellent) signature to it. If you want to get in to the realm of Slash's playing it is very important to know this stuff.

I'd also suggest listening to lots of Southern Rock from the 70's (Allman Bros, Lynyrd Skynyrd, Molly Hatchet). Those guys could play these licks for forever and a day and are a great point to see how it all loops together.

Once you get this background, you will understand why Slash plays the way he does. You can't work towards his style unless you go down the same roads.

What the other guys said above plus my own 2c's... to get an 'emotional' sounding pice of lead out you real have to be 'feeling' the music. This is difficult to do and usually only comes after you've mastered the technical end of things. Try playing any lick robotically, get it exactly as it should be as per meter etc. Then, close your eyes and inject feeling into the same lick as you play it - no comparison - regarldess of the style (blues or shred etc), it will sound a lot different. If you break it down scientificaly it all comes down to minute subtleties in pinch harmonics, slides, bends an picking attack etc. It's a tough thing to do but once you are comfortable with the instrument you can 'let go' to a certain extent and stop thinking about where you're fingers are supposed go and what runs are coming next and you start playing with feel - this is when a solos start to get that emotional sound.
Hope that helps...

I will try it out!
Because i really want this!
Everyone say that you should practice hard and have fun, sometimes it's not fun for me to play. I get almost sad, because im not playing as i would like to. I press myself to hard sometimes i guess :confused:

I have been told that this exact thing that im wondering about, will happen to all who plays, someday or another? I just hope i will get through it with flying colours.

So what you mean about the vocabulary is that i should learn alot of rock and blues licks, and integrate them in my improvised playing? I am sorry if im wrong, but thats how i understood it?
If im wrong please let me know?

And one more thing? I still quite really don't understand, how i can get my playing not to get repetivive and sound all the same?

Sorry if im just too stupid to understand the advises that all you great folks give me, please don't let me waste your time if so. :(

But thanks for helping me, THANKS ALOT!

Casper

Originally Posted by: caponi14So what you mean about the vocabulary is that i should learn alot of rock and blues licks, and integrate them in my improvised playing? I am sorry if im wrong, but thats how i understood it?
If im wrong please let me know?[/QUOTE]

You are exactly right. Blues and Rock are really built on a foundation of mostly standard licks. These licks aren't magical or anything but they are what really makes the base of rock and why I think Chris made the series. If you know them, you will really see how much they are used in rock music. Knowing them make improvising much easier too because you have a catalog of things like licks and runs that you know. That's really kind of key to improvising is to know common licks.

Originally Posted by: caponi14And one more thing? I still quite really don't understand, how i can get my playing not to get repetivive and sound all the same?

That's an issue for lots of guys. I suffer from that once in a while. It's kind of a phase I'm going through now and have been pushing some new style stuff. It's really part of why I came here. When I picked up the guitar again, I found out that I played the same junk I always did. Time to look around. I think that's my point about Slash. He listened to other guys to get where he is.

Also, that's why I mentioned the Southern Rock players. They take those licks and really use them. They may be the same batch of licks but the change them up as they play.

I'd suggest to play with something like the Jam Station on this site. Pick a cool groove and play along. Playing by yourself can lead to a rut. The Jam Station is cool because you can play along and build stuff with it. It gives you a background to play to and build ideas.

[QUOTE=caponi14]Sorry if im just too stupid to understand the advises that all you great folks give me, please don't let me waste your time if so. :(

Stupid? No way brother! It's only stupid if you don't ask. You have some folks here with lots of experience and primarily some great instructors with lots of wisdom. Get that wisdom while you can.

You build a growing list of things you know. Then you simply put them together in different ways, and add your own slant where it fits.

I like the jam tracks myself. I play what licks I have learned so far and try doing them in different ways, maybe not exactly as I've heard. Sometimes try adding in new bits that I make up. Some don't work, so I wait until the part comes around again and try it differently.

That's really when I have some of my most fun is just jamming to the tracks and letting loose.

I can definitely relate to what you are saying. Sometimes I have an off day and I'm almost angry when I shut off my amp. I know I'm must having an off day, but knowing doesn't leave me less frustrated. On the other hand, some days I am "in the zone". Not all my combos are coming out great, but I'm starting to have periods when I'm just feeling relaxed and everything is just where it's supposed to be and it feels effortless.

Don't get me wrong: I'm just learning so this is a pretty random thing and doesn't last long, but it gives me great hope!

Hang in there, dude. I keep remembering what somebody posted about the jazz master that only had 2 fingers. Inspiration for sure!

Originally Posted by: caponi14My problem is that i simply have a problem playing slow emotional improvisation solos (the slow ones with alot of bends and vibrato)
I run out of ideas so fast, and then it affects my timing !!! and it's pretty damn annoying and frustrating.

Slow solos can be a challenge, but I agree that focusing on the chord tones of a progression can help a lot. Less can certainly be more, as long as you're hitting the right notes at the right times.

Fast soloing can be a "cover up" for some players, as it doesn't expose poor note selection as much when executing a solo. Limiting your note choices, as someone else said, can help with this.

Some well-known players also have a solution for this problem: compose the whole solo. It's kind of like writing your own melody for the chord progression.

I like songs with slow drumbeats
I find i can play the pentatonic slow or fast

most of what i focus on these days is improvisational lead guitar. lately i've been really trying to get the tone right. a little bit of chorus or reverb plus a good wah (zakk wylde crybaby is my current fave) and years of just piddling around can go a long way in terms of getting some good stuff out there.

i'm pretty sloppy but lately kicking out good stuff howling with emotion hasn't been much of a problem. my big issue is creating compositions that have the same kind of emotional power.

soloing is easy once you have a few techniques down, its just one part of a much more important machine.