Some Theory behind the Art of Soloing

Here are some theoretical concepts towards thinking up a good solo. In no way are these views a standard in soloing, but they are just some of the things that I have found that work. If you want more info, there are books and videos on this. Some may even be by your favorite guitarist so buy those also, but most of us don’t have the money cause most are pretty expensive (In my opinion) for what they are. Although they may teach you really kool tricks, most don’t really teach you the concepts behind them. Here are some good free ideas and the concepts behind them.

Most of the solo’s you hear in today’s music are based on a simple yet catchy part in the song itself. Whether it is the melody (or chord progression, I am going to use the term melody.), or a vocal line or phrase, or just a catchy riff in the song. Whether it’s Metal, Rock, Jazz, Blues, whatever. Most solos are based on this, and then the soloist just plays different variations and crazy stuff off that melody line. Now I’m going to guide you on how it works in this case.

Say this is the melody which you are basing your solo on, in the song. It’s simple (most are more complex) but you can base an entire solo on it. The one you may choose may have more to it or even less, and it may have changes but this is just an example. Let’s just say this is the melody line you want to use.

E:--------------------------------
B:--------------------------------
G:--------------------------------
D:---5---------------------------
A:---------2------0------3------
E:--------------------------------

And say the song is in the key of C Major (it is very important to know the key of the song). Then you figure out the chord structure of each note. I’m going to keep it simple, but the actual chords in your song will most likely be different. You should have these figured out before you attempt to put a solo in. So you can tell what chord you are going soloing off of. Here is just a simple chord structure for the previous melody. For those of you wondering, where’s the solo stuff, I’m getting to that. It’s better that you learn the basics first.

E:---3--------2----------0-------3----
B:---3--------0----------1-------5----
G:---4--------2----------2-------5----
D:---5--------0----------2-------5----
A:------------2----------0-------3---
E:--------------------------------------
Gmaj Bm7 Am Cmaj

If you are still a little unclear about this and you want an example? If you happen to have sheet music of any band, you will notice above the staffs are things like “C, D#m6, Fsus4, whatever it says”. These are the chord structures of that particular part of the music, and right under the Title of the song is a list of all the chords, used in the song, and their diagrams. If you don’t understand this, stop and go learn about all the different chords on the guitar or ask somebody who would know.

Now that you have established the chord structure of the melody you want to use, now you can start thinking about how the solo should go. But before that, you should have the rhythm section play the melody line so you have something to follow and back you up. Ok now to some solo theory. Say the rhythm starts with the chord “Gmaj”. This particular chord is based on three notes (triad), G which is the root, B which is the third, and D which is the fifth. That’s all! There is no other notes, some people think well maybe the E or the F#. No if it was the E it would say Gmaj6, and the F# would be Gmaj7. Only concern yourself with these three notes for right now.

Now how do you want to start your solo off? This is at your own discretion, it all depends on what you want to hear, I’m just going to give you the basic theory on the whole matter. And the example I’m going to use is a basic run up the scale, since this is how a lot of solo’s start out. Now you’re probably wondering, well which scale should you use? This again is at your own discretion, but whatever you choose. It should have some kind of a major sound to it, if it’s played over a major chord. As you probably noticed, each scale has a certain sound to it. You choose which matches the sound you want, there is no right or wrong. The most common I think in this case would be the pentatonic major scale; some others are the harmonic and melodic major scales, and the list goes on and on. Here’s an example starting a solo off with Gmaj then going into Bm7…

Gmaj Bm7
E:--------------------------------
B:---------------------10-12----
G:---------------9-12-----------
D:---------9-12-----------------
A:--10-12-----------------------
E:--------------------------------

You get the idea of how that works, but you’re solo of course is going to be different even though the concepts are the same. Now it may be good to start a solo off with the root of the first chord, you don’t want to do it for every chord. And if you’re always playing off the root, you notice that your solos sound pretty lame and boring. How can you fix this and make your solos more interesting. First, I’d like to say this mostly depends on your technique. But the basic solution to this is simply not to play off the root note all the time. Remember each chord has other notes that construct it, let’s take the Bm7 this time. There are four notes that make up the Bm7 and they are B which is the root, D which is the third, F# which is the 5th, and A which is the 7th. Did you notice that the F# is not a in the key of C? That's because a perfect 5th above B is F#. All power chords are actually 5th chords, so not to complicate things. We're gonna make it a Bm7 instead of a Bm7b5 which would be the case if it was an F. Just don't worry about that right now. Let’s try the same lead, but instead of going to the B, the root note of the Bm7 chord, go on up to the 3rd which is D and bend it. Here it is tabbed.

Gmaj Bm7
E:--------------------------------
B:---------------------9-15b----
G:---------------9-12-----------
D:---------9-12-----------------
A:--10-12-----------------------
E:--------------------------------

You may have noticed that doesn’t sound as plain as going to the root B, especially if you have a backing rhythm playing B. The D gives it sort of a harmonious lift, which is good if that’s what you’re looking for. Maybe it isn’t, maybe you want to go to the B, or maybe that isn’t the right note you want, well if not try the other ones. Again, there is no right or wrong. It’s all in what you want to hear, and these concepts are in only theory.

So why concern yourself with them? Cause it is better to have a basic understanding of how music is constructed. Even the most artistic minds go back to the basics, and if you check for these in your favorite music. Everything you hear is based upon it. Some of you may have noticed that this is all Relative Harmony; yeah that is what all music is built on, right? Well it’s the same thing with solos. Well here’s another question you may have. What if the note I want to go to isn’t a note in the chord? Well then, you named your chord wrong. Here’s an example with the same part as before but say you wanted to go to an E instead of a D. Then the chord would become a Bm7add4. Here it is tabbed.

Gmaj Bm7add4
E:--------------------------------
B:---------------------10-17b----
G:---------------9-12-----------
D:---------9-12-----------------
A:--10-12-----------------------
E:--------------------------------

This is ok; any chord with an addition interval is fine as long as the interval is a part of the original spelled chord (in this case Bm7) that is being played.

Here is an example of what would be theoretically incorrect.

Gmaj Bm7
E:--------------------------------
B:---------------------9-11b----
G:---------------9-12-----------
D:---------9-12-----------------
A:--10-12-----------------------
E:--------------------------------

Why? Well there is no A# in the chord Bm7, and there is no variation of that note being in that chord. The A# automatically changes the Bm7 to a Bm/maj7, you can see that is not the same chord in that melody, and it is going to sound wrong. You would want to try to stay away from this, for one it is only used in VERY extreme cases and two most important it would change the spelling of that chord to a Bm/maj7. Here is why this is not a good idea, people like to hear that familiar repetition of these chords. It gives it a sense of being structured and it sucks your audience into the music, now if you change it, it will lose that quality. Yeah, sometimes you do want to throw in changes, but you want to keep the repetition sounding as familiar as possible. Maybe you do a chord progression like: Gmaj, Bm7, Am, Cmaj, repeat, (then to change it up) Gmaj, Bm7, Fmaj7, Cmaj, then back to Gmaj, Bm7, Am, Cmaj. That Fmaj7 gives it a little twist but it is relatively similar, plus it will give you and chance to mix up your solo a bit. Maybe that’s not what you want; maybe you want more of a dramatic change or more changes. Just make sure your soloing over the right chords. But if you are basing your solo off a simple melody like this, you don’t want to change all the chords like this. Gmaj, Bm7b5, Amaj, Cdim7…you get the idea, cause this may sound good, but you have completely forgot about the very thing you started to base this solo on.

What about other cases where you wouldn’t want the solo to be based on chords in the song? Well then, yeah this is ok as long as you follow the same concepts. I would suggest taking some Relative Theory, if you want to get into more advanced harmony. I just gave the basics, which I think is the most important and most over-looked. People, who are in a hurry to go onto greater things, tend to have a hard time developing their skills if they skip the basics. I have noticed this a lot on this forum, and that’s why I am taking the time to write these extremely long posts cause I know how important it is. Plus I just want to help; cause I know how frustrating some things can be, and it shouldn’t be that way. So I hoped I helped you if you needed it.

Now that you have read this, you probably have a better understanding of how solo’s work with the song, if you didn’t before. Again, this was all just theory and no artist should limit himself/herself to these concepts and only these concepts. Just use it intelligently but with an open mind. Thanx.

I may seem paranoid, but I'm just playing dumb.

[Edited by noticingthemistake on 08-10-2002 at 01:24 PM]

Thanks for the post, noticingthemistake.
Because a lot of people could miss this as a post, a good idea would be to publish it as a guitartrick, so that it doesn't go away after a couple of weeks.

yeah i am going to do that, i put it on here in case someone has a question about it.. it's easier to answer, and sometimes people ask the same questions, and everyone can learn of them. but thanx and yeah i am going to put up in guitar tricks too.

yo man awsome post it's a good idea to put it up on tricks cuz then it can help everyone......how long should solos be?.....i always wondered that cuz like i wouldn't wanna hear a song that was all guitar solo that repeated itself over and over it would be cool if it cahanged a lot but repition is annyoing i think.....but it's not good when there wicked short either.....so like could u send me a example solo thats like the right length but is kinda easy to play?....thanx man...

thanx man, yeah I’ve been meaning to put it up on the tricks page I just haven’t had a chance. I’ve been pretty busy this past week, and I haven’t really been on.

How long should solo’s be? I guess it depends on how long the artist wants the solo to be. So there really isn’t a specific time for a good solo. Of course you don’t want to make it too long to where it gets boring, or too short to where they’re really isn’t a point. I think most solos are a piece of music in themselves, and most are based around a certain part in the song. So however long it takes to complete what they want to do is about the appropriate length. No solo should be too repetitious because then it’s not a solo (in my mind); it’s just a melodic lead, and there’s a difference although some solos do contain these.

Solo’s by definition is harmonizing one piece of music with another piece of music. A good type of solo that I think you would be looking for is a blues or blues rock type solo. They are relatively easy, not too long, and they sound kool. A lot of them also go by what I’m saying. Instead of me sending you a solo which you may or may not like, just search the net looking for <“whatever music your into” Solo Practice or Theory>. You should find hundreds of solo’s that are probably what you are looking for, and all you have to do is pick one that you like. They usually rate them on levels too, and have sound clips so you can hear them first before you attempt to learn them. You will probably find a lot of good tips also, so I think that would be better than me just sending you a random one.

Another good thing to do if you want to start with something basic, but will help you in the long run is. Learn random parts of classical music. Not the whole song but just a part that you might like. Like the Ode to Joy, or Fur Elise. Beethoven is my favorite as you can tell, but choose whatever you like.

Here's a part of Fur Elise:

e:------------------------------------------------------
b:------------------------------------------------------
g:--9-8-9-8-9-------------------------------------------
d:----------------9-12-10--------------7-9---------6-9-10------7-
a:---------------------------12--------7------------7----------0-7---
e:-------------------------------0-5-8--------0-7----------------

e:------------------------------------------------------
b:------------------------------------------------------
g:--9-8-9-8-9-------------------------------------------
d:----------------9-12-10--------------7-9---------10-9-7------7-
a:---------------------------12--------7-----------7-----------0-7---
e:-------------------------------0-5-8--------0-7----------------

Just something like this is what I mean. It also sounds really good on guitar.

Yeah to those who might have the original score, It is tabbed different but I know it this way cause I am a bass player. I also know there are are hamnmer-ons and pull-off but I didn't put those. Just play it the way you want.

thanx man ur right that sounds awsome......i'm not all that good at comin up with my own music and riffs and solos.....aight well i g2g thanx again

Yeah that is pretty rad! Coming up with your own stuff takes time man, don't worry you'll get it. If your still just a beginner, I would just concentrate on learning songs that you like. Pick out your favorite songs and learn to play them. Start with the ones that sound simple, and try to figure them out without using the internet to find the tab. If you get lost or you want to make sure you got it right then use the internet to find the tab. Once you learn more and more songs, you will be able to make up stuff on your own alittle better.

I suggest you pull these posts together into an article for lalimacefolle to include in the Guitar Tricks Newsletter.

how do i do that?

Read through the stuff about the newsletter in the new forum section (see link in my previous post). Lal posted his e-mail address there. Send him your manuscript, and he will pass it around to his assistants for editing and comment.

hey man.....you got ne other solo's that are as cool as the last one?....if you do could you post em' or email them to me?....thanx

Hey man, there are an infinite number of cool solos or just little melodies like the one I put up. Just find the one's you like and if you need the tab just email me. Check out top 100 or top 50 tab sites, there are tons of kool stuff there. The piece I put up was a classical piece, but there are some cool modern stuff like it to. Like Guns and Roses' Sweet Child of Mine is one of my favorite. Just learn to play all the songs that you like. Even have your friends challenge you by asking them to name songs that they want you to learn.