Guitar How-To

Archive for the ‘Lead Guitar’ Category

If you have thought about how to write guitar solos your brain is probably filled with questions about how to learn how to solo on the guitar and compose songs. You might have progressed to the stage where you can play your favorite songs note for note but are still getting a blank thought balloon when it comes to writing original material.

Here are some suggestions to get your creative juices playing. It will take some work but the rewards are worth it. If you are getting a brain freeze trying to write guitar solos you probably need to brush up on your theory. Start with learning your pentatonic scales. Do you know all the open chords? Do you know the basic chord shapes that can be moved up and down the fretboard? Learn the notes in any major scale and harmonize it using triads. If you do not know how to do this just do a web search.

Another thing you can try when you want to write guitar solos is changing chord fingering. Start with the pinky – move it around. Put it on any fret you can reach without discomfort and see what kind of sounds you get. Another simple thing to try is playing scales using a metronome. If you play scales as a disjointed bunch of notes without any rhythm, that is not music. If you play along with your metronome, even if you fluff notes, you are feeding your musical feelings. You are more likely to be inspired when you practice with some rhythm. Also as you practice your notes do not forget to also practice your slides, hammer-ons and pull-offs. You need to be using these techniques as second nature.

Many guitar solos are based on a “hook”. This is riff or phrase you can come back to and create variations on. Fool around with chord progressions. Think of a melody you already know and use that as a basis for a new solo. Use the note values of the melody with the notes in the chords you are using. You could think of your guitar solo as a new tune for the song you are working with. Try playing your song’s chords on your guitar and singing notes over your playing. Once you have come up with something useful, write the notes down.

Another way of thinking of guitar solos is as collections of licks. Learn licks from CDs and change them around and string them together to suit your music. Apart from intentionally learning riffs and getting ideas from other guitar players you need to get used to the fact that musical ideas are going to come at you when you are not expecting them and you need to be ready. Carry a notebook and write down anything that occurs to you when it happens. And do not be afraid to use simple ideas. You do not have to be a virtuoso to be a solo guitarist. So, get started and practice every day.

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