Topic: How To Solo
1) Make sure intonation is right. Can't stress how important this is, check out your tuning at the twelth fret. It's where the action is and you don't want it to be sharp or flat.
2) Get the right tone, single coil, plenty of gain, ignore how fuzzy chords sound.
3) What key is the song in?
Key of E (E7 A7 E7 - B7 A7 E7 B7 progression). Robot head shape on 10th.
10th fret
V
-I--IoI--IoI--
-I--IoI--IoI--
-IoI--I--IoI--
-IoI--I--IoI--
-I--IoI--IoI--
-I--IoI--IoI--
The 'o's are notes you can play
Key of A robot head shape is on 3rd, but blues box shape is on 5th.
5th fret
V
--o----o--
--o----o--
--o--o----
--o--o----
--o--o----
--o----o--
Key of G 'robot head' is on 13th fret and 'blues box' is on 3rd.
Key of C 'robot head' is on 6th fret and 'blues box' is on 8th.
Key of Bb, the blues key, robot head is on 2nd and blues box is on 6th.
4) Run up and down the shape like this;
-I--I10I--I11I--
-I--I-8I---I-9I--
-I6I---I---I-7I--
-I4I---I---I-5I--
-I--I-3I---I-4I--
-I--I-1I---I-2I--
The numbers just show you the order to play in to get an ascending run, yep it's a scale really. You don't finger them individually that would be way too difficult. Simply assign a finger to a fret. In this case your first finger just does notes 4 & 6. All of 1, 3, 8 and 10 are held with the second finger and your third covers the row of 2,4,5,7,9,11.
Remember you aren't placing a finger tip on any of these notes you're simply slamming the whole flat finger across the whole fret like a paddle. Just practise it till your finger goes in just as you pick the string.
5) Now you can play those notes in any order but nearby ones make musical combinations. You should be rocking your fingers back and forth and this should follow the beat. Move up and down the scale till you get fast, then as you can run up dwell on some notes then run back down again, work a note then run again. Basic blues stuff and when you get to the high notes, work them back and forth quickly, hey you're soloing!
6) Get Ralph Argesta's 'Blues: Jam Trax' book it has all of this and more. Shapes and keys I haven't mention which can worked in, a CD with backing tracks to solo over. Can you tell I've had fun with it this afternoon?