Originally Posted by: JeffS65The song is telling a story. A solo only matters if it helps tell that story. Identify what you want to communicate and build it from there. You have to tinker with the emotion of the song and not the mechanical parts (like bridges etc). All those sections such as verses, choruses and solos are is a suite of tools to use to communicate what you feel. You don't use every tool you have when you fix the car, only the ones you need.

The 'job' your doing will tell you what you need.

Hmm... Good point you've got there. If I understand it correctly, it's like when you're trying to cook a meal. You may love chili or tabasco or whatever, but if the meal ends up tasting wrong, you shouldn't add it, or at least not too much of it. Same goes for songs as you said. If a song sounds great until I add that bridge or solo, the solo probably doesn't belong there (and besides, there are lots of great rock-songs that don't even have either the bridge nor the solo).

I've also personally (after attending a quick course on goal-setting yesterday), decided to alter my approach a bit. Instead of focusing too much on the result (writing a Rock Ballad), I've decided to focus more on the small steps leading up to the final goal. Instead of being result-oriented, it'll probably be more enjoyable to try being process-oriented. It's not like anyone would ever work on a big project and just look forward to getting it done, if they have the option of getting the most, either knowledge or fun, out of the process. That will just make it a lot less interesting in the long run.