Why...is...it...so complex

I'm trying to learn "the trooper" solo by iron maiden...and for the life of me....i cant get the opening bends down.

Naturally my guitar isn't to great and you really have to push on the strings to bend them...

But why is it all so complex...i try slowing the song down...i still cant get it.

I think learning "other peoples solo's" just isn't my bag.

I think another thing is...nobody around my town is willing to give advice...they all want $$$

I have no family history in music.
Everything i have i earned...

I feel like the only chance i have with guitar is "reading music" and becomming really good at that. Shredding and all those tricks (some of them i can do)...just aren't meant for me.

And i'm a patient person...i guess in 10 years we'll see how far i have come.

I'm rambling.

First off... Dude(ponyone)I admire that you didnt let people and circumstances take you away from your passion.Ive had girlfriends rip the guitar right out of my hands(breaking a string once!:)Keep rockin Dude! \m/

As for the original post... Everyone "plateaus" and hits a point where there seems to be no area for improvment.I still cant play the first big run within the solo of "domination"(pantera)very well,even though my fingers are some what capable.But,instead of trying to perfect it to "dime's" style,I play it the way i percieve it(and it comes out killer).Dont concern yourself with trying to perfect somone elses solo... although hard.Its hardly satisfying IMHO.I find satisfaction in taking a song and throwing it over the top with MY style.So learn the essential tools(bends,h'ons,p'offs(lol),alternate/hybrid picking,scales e.c.t),and kick that songs a*s... with your style and perception of what it is.
Later!!!

How long have you lot been playing guitar? I have been playing for about a year and a few months now and i sometimes try to learn solos that i like and sound relativly possible to play but they sometimes end up not sounding the same, like for Metallica Ride The Lightning ,obviously not one for me to learn just yet, but i tried playing the small bit just after he stops doing the hammer on and pull of tapping bit but for some reason it just dont sound anything like it :confused: i suppose its the timming and rhytm but i just find things like that hard to play.

Also i am overloaded with stress at the moment because i have my A level exams on 5 days and i should be revising but instead im dossing on the internet and thinking i want to play my guitar but i want to play sometihng new, and to do that i usually find a song and learn a riff or two from it. But im stuck and cant find anything to learn so the stuff i can play is becoming a bit of a bore to me :(

I want to find a tab for Alien Love Secrets, i think Steve Vai and a load of other guitarist did it together but im not sure. Under steve vai on tab site and on the PowerTab site there is not Alien Love Secrets, i tried searching for it but it didn't come up :'(.

I play heavy mettle and other stuff that i like such as lead parts or solos from old bands or people like meatloaf, led zepplin or acoustic stuff. so can anybody advise me on any songs i could learn?

I think the problem most people have when they try to learn other peoples solo's is that they dive in over their heads, get frustrated, say I can't do this and never try again. Like anything else you have to train yourself. Imagine going to the gym for the 1st time, you wouldn't (or shouldn't) put 2oolbs on the bench press, or run 2 miles, or workout for an hour and a half, you would start off easy and work your way up, as you got more fit you would take on greater challenges.
Forget trying to learn Iron Maiden the ist time out of the ring, start w/something basic like a Beatles or Chuck Berry or Eric Clapton solo and work your way up to it. It's tough trying to capture someone else's phrasing and emotion on your instrument, but don't give up, just figure out a plan of how your going to get where you wanna be.

Amen, brother. And I would add this advice: Practice and play for about ten years and then let us know where you are in your playing skills. Remember to take time out for eating, sleeping, etc.

Steve Vai posted all his Alien Love Secrets on stevevai.com. They've been there for years... Some of it isn't in tab though, just standard notation.

Well i must thank you all for the help. it means a lot to me and i will take all of your advice

I've been playing for two years....but fell into the pattern of only playing blues solo's, so all of my licks i try to bend like blues stuff and it just doesn't work.

I messed up there..but i'm reconstructing it all now :)

Thanks

I have only been playing for about a year and i get no support from my family. I teach myself with help from my freinds. Usually I just go home and practice all day after school and I think I getting pretty good. Anyways Im just proud of myself for learning how to play the trooper so dont be pissed off about learning the solos.

ive been trying to learn alot of malmsteen stuff latly and that dam stuff is nearly impossible..ive been playing for bout 2 years and a months and can play some of far beyond the sun at sometimes 16th notes and i practice it every day and seem to go nowere..i guess it just takes alot of time..i dont wanna be like yngwie but beable to play his stuff..
solos take me awhile sometimes and then i get someone of them easly..good luck

Mr. Fretty,I'm not in any way qualified to be telling you this(seeing as I can't do it),but I'll tell it anyhow:
Don't learn people's solos.
Learn to solo.
Then you won't need to be shown some Maiden solo.You'll play what the song makes you feel.And you might even put out better solos than them maiden dudes(better,of course,depending on who you asking).

why not learn other solos..he gotta have a foundation,soloing just doesnt magically happen.. improvise instead of copying but hell i copy solos sometimes just because i really like the song

Originally posted by ketsueki15
...soloing just doesnt magically happen...

Which is why I said to learn to solo!I didn't say how to go about it.
Realise the difference between learning a guys solos and learning to solo;
If you told the guy whose song you like to play that solo,he might play it ten times and if you record them and compare them note for note,they don't sound the same,even though they all sound good.He knows how to solo.
You,on the other hand will only play what you learnt,and if you play it ten times,the only reason you'll sound different is because you made mistakes(assuming you'll make mistakes).It won't be as a result versatility in your technique.
Unless of course you do know how to solo.
And just in case you're wondering,I can't solo.I can't improvise.I can barely play any scales.
But I do know exactly where I'd like to get in terms of ability and technique,and yes,I do know exactly how much I stink as a guitarist.
To conclude,don't learn some solos for the sake of learning those particular solos,learn them with the intention of learning how to solo.
There's a difference.

im a n00b also freddy and have alot of trouble soloing or learning other ppls riffs/solos as well. me and my friend share my guitar and he has been paying as long as I have and he just learned a pentatonic scale and is burning it up, he just throws in stranglehold by the Nuge and solos over it and hes getting alot better jsut feelin it, instead of like me, lookin up tab and trying to learn it that way. So I say put on a track you can jam with and try rockin out over it and doing your own thing, youll have hella fun and get alot more feel for your guitar instead of all the technical stuff.

I can solo to an extent...but i can only solo to blues and pentatonic stuff.

What kinds of songs would be good to kick in all types of modes/what kinds of single songs would be good to use a certain scale?

Obviously blues goes with blues, egyptian with egyptian (always fun to play :)) and pentatonic with just about everything. Major and minor all have an easy sound, but where can you use dorian and all those other things?...i guess it all depends on what kind of sound you want.

Myself...i end up soloing in a say....dorian scale and try to make it "bluesy" because thats the pattern and only sound i have. I need to break those patterns, so i'm asking for good songs to use different scales too?

Thanks again
Its a neverending struggle :)