• From: Nottingham, UK
  • Registered: 2006-08-08
  • Posts: 690

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?

'The sound of the city seems to disappear'
  • From: A black hole in deep space
  • Registered: 2007-10-28
  • Posts: 7,865

Re: How To Solo

thanks for the tip i'll give it a shot

"Growing old is not for sissies"

Russell_Harding's Website

  • Registered: 2008-01-17
  • Posts: 14

Re: How To Solo

If you feel like taking it all a bit further:

http://www.spytunes.co.uk/index.php?opt … ;Itemid=14

-d

  • From: BELGIUM
  • Registered: 2007-01-27
  • Posts: 3,403

Re: How To Solo

Cytania, at first sight it looks complicated to me.
I don't know in which category I belong.
The way, or my style to play guitar, acoustic and/or electric is more strumming, but certainly not somewhere in a dark corner on stage, just playing rhythm. (Real rhythm guitarists are players like the late TOM FOGERTY, who started with the band later famous as CCR, or DAVID KNOPFLER). I have 2 CCR live CD's: one with the four of them, and another LIVE IN EUROPE, without TOM. If you listen carefully, you can hear the "rhythm guitar", most "soft" strumming.
So, I play in fact a kind of rhythm, but I need to add always something EXTRA, riffs, licks, mini solos (5-10 seconds), I start using more and more some fingerpicking and TO ADD AN EXTRA VALUE, like playing in that way, that most of the people recognise immediately the melody. So I am not at all a solo guitarist, it is rhythmic, using licks, riffs, little solos, and playing in such a way that it sounds melodic. I hear a lot that this is more similar to a lead guitarist, but honestly I don't know the category I'm in.

[color=blue]- GITAARDOCPHIL SAIS: TO CONQUER DEAD, YOU HAVE TO DIE[/color]   AND [color=blue] we are born to die[/color]
- MY GUITAR PLAYS EVERY STYLE = BLUES, ROCK, METAL, so I NEED TO LEARN HOW TO PLAY IT.
[color=blue]Civilization began the first time an angry person cast a word instead of a rock.[/color]

gitaardocphil's Website

  • From: San Antonio, Texas
  • Registered: 2007-06-12
  • Posts: 353

Re: How To Solo

cytania wrote:

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?

Cytania

So on number 4) ... it almost seems like you're doing a "barre" formation with the finger 1, finger 2, finger 3 to make it easier instead of individual picking (i.e. finger 1 draped over all strings, then when finger 2 comes into play, draped over all strings, and so on)

Is that right ?

Electric:  Gibson Les Paul Studio, Schecter Omen 6, PRS SE Custom
Acoustic:  Fender Talman, Yamaha
Amp:  Fender Super Champ XD/Line6 Spider III 75

Tim0473's Website

  • From: Bellevue, WA
  • Registered: 2006-06-15
  • Posts: 3,336

Re: How To Solo

The key to soloing is knowing scales.  "Robot head" is simply one of five common scale patterns.  It's generally associated with the G chord form, so anywhere you're playing that shape you should be OK using that pattern.

Theory, folks.  You can't really get away from it.

Someday we'll win this thing...

[url=http://www.aclosesecond.com]www.aclosesecond.com[/url]

jerome.oneil's Website

  • From: San Antonio, Texas
  • Registered: 2007-06-12
  • Posts: 353

Re: How To Solo

Well damn ... do you have a pill I can take for that Jerome?  lol

I know some minor Pentatonics, specifically the A, C, D ... I haven't gone beyond that "yet" ... but I noticed the blues box shape on the 5th is like the A minor Pentatonic scale

Electric:  Gibson Les Paul Studio, Schecter Omen 6, PRS SE Custom
Acoustic:  Fender Talman, Yamaha
Amp:  Fender Super Champ XD/Line6 Spider III 75

Tim0473's Website

  • From: Bellevue, WA
  • Registered: 2006-06-15
  • Posts: 3,336

Re: How To Solo

Nope.  Just study and practice.

The "A minor pentatonic" is just one of five pentatonic patterns, and it's not specific to A minor.  It's the same pattern no matter where you play it.  Want to play C# minor pent?  Put your index finger on C#, and play the same pattern.  G minor?  Put your finger on G and off you go.

Given that there are only five patterns for each mode, there isn't really all that much to learn.  You could learn *every* major and minor scale by simply learning 10 patterns.  Learn their associated chord shapes, and you're really going to be smoking.

Someday we'll win this thing...

[url=http://www.aclosesecond.com]www.aclosesecond.com[/url]

jerome.oneil's Website

  • From: San Antonio, Texas
  • Registered: 2007-06-12
  • Posts: 353

Re: How To Solo

Ahhhh sweet ... so I'm guessing doing the A minor Pentatonic isn't limited to the 5th fret ... you can move that same pattern to the 8th fret and do the same pattern and you'd have the Am Pentatonic on C

That helped alot bro ... thanks!

Electric:  Gibson Les Paul Studio, Schecter Omen 6, PRS SE Custom
Acoustic:  Fender Talman, Yamaha
Amp:  Fender Super Champ XD/Line6 Spider III 75

Tim0473's Website

  • From: Bellevue, WA
  • Registered: 2006-06-15
  • Posts: 3,336

Re: How To Solo

Tim0473 wrote:

Ahhhh sweet ... so I'm guessing doing the A minor Pentatonic isn't limited to the 5th fret ... you can move that same pattern to the 8th fret and do the same pattern and you'd have the Am Pentatonic on C

Almost.  You would not have Am Pentatonic on C. You would have C minor pentatonic.  Get the notion that it's "A minor" out of your head, unless you're playing it on the 5th fret.  That's the only time it's A minor.

Someday we'll win this thing...

[url=http://www.aclosesecond.com]www.aclosesecond.com[/url]

jerome.oneil's Website

  • From: San Antonio, Texas
  • Registered: 2007-06-12
  • Posts: 353

Re: How To Solo

Ok got it ... thanks for the crash course!

Electric:  Gibson Les Paul Studio, Schecter Omen 6, PRS SE Custom
Acoustic:  Fender Talman, Yamaha
Amp:  Fender Super Champ XD/Line6 Spider III 75

Tim0473's Website

  • From: North Wales
  • Registered: 2007-01-04
  • Posts: 68

Re: How To Solo

Nope.  Just study and practice.

The "A minor pentatonic" is just one of five pentatonic patterns, and it's not specific to A minor.  It's the same pattern no matter where you play it.  Want to play C# minor pent?  Put your index finger on C#, and play the same pattern.  G minor?  Put your finger on G and off you go.

Given that there are only five patterns for each mode, there isn't really all that much to learn.  You could learn *every* major and minor scale by simply learning 10 patterns.  Learn their associated chord shapes, and you're really going to be smoking.


hey jerome thanks for the help but just a quick question what do u mean by the chord shapes associated with them is that like if u were playing a scale in A u need to learn all the different types of A chord on the neck or is there something a bit different to this or am i just being a bit thick?

Roy

13 Reply by jerome.oneil (edited by jerome.oneil 2008-01-23 21:18:09)

  • From: Bellevue, WA
  • Registered: 2006-06-15
  • Posts: 3,336

Re: How To Solo

jimmyriddle74 wrote:

Nope.  Just study and practice.


hey jerome thanks for the help but just a quick question what do u mean by the chord shapes associated with them is that like if u were playing a scale in A u need to learn all the different types of A chord on the neck or is there something a bit different to this or am i just being a bit thick?

Roy

There are five major chord shapes as well.  C A G E and D.  These can be played in the open position, and closed as barres anywhere on the neck.   Likewise, each of the five major scale patterns falls into one of these shapes.   I think the easiest to see this is with the C shape it's associated pattern.

Go ahead and grip yourself an A major chord down by the 11th fret.  It will look like this.

-x-
-10-
-9-
-11-
-12-
-x-

Note that this is just a closed C shape chord.  That is, if you move it down to the open position, you'll be playing C major.

Now play A major scale in the same position.   You'll see how the notes you play fall directly over the notes you fret for the chord.

------------------------------------------------
----------------------------9---10--------------
--------------------9---11----------------------
------9--11---12-------------------------------
--12--------------------------------------------
---------------

You don't even have to move your hand all that much from the chord to play the scale.  And if you were ripping a solo using this scale, you can get back to the A chord really quickly.   And you can move that scale pattern anywhere to play different major scales.   Need F major?  Move your index finger, now on the 12th fret, to the 8th fret, and repeat.  You'll be playing F, both the chord and the scale.

Each of the chord shapes is like this.  The scale pattern over them will hit the same notes you're fretting for the chord.  You just have to learn the patterns, and you can play in any key, anywhere on the neck.

Someday we'll win this thing...

[url=http://www.aclosesecond.com]www.aclosesecond.com[/url]

jerome.oneil's Website

  • From: Frederick, MD
  • Registered: 2006-12-28
  • Posts: 851

Re: How To Solo

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.

huh??

I thought the whole point of soloing was to get clearly-defined notes to sound out in succession.
If I bar across the whole fret I'm going to get a bunch of notes sounding-off together like a chord.

I'm thoroughly confused on this point that you have made...
The rest (The "robot heads" and "blues-boxes") were EXTREMELY helpful though...God bless you!!

=]
Dm (still slightly confused on point #4 tho...)

"Talent instantly recognizes genius,
but mediocrity knows nothing more than itself."

-Sir Arthur Conan-Doyle

Detman101's Website

15 Reply by cytania (edited by cytania 2008-01-25 15:00:10)

  • From: Nottingham, UK
  • Registered: 2006-08-08
  • Posts: 690

Re: How To Solo

"huh??

I thought the whole point of soloing was to get clearly-defined notes to sound out in succession.
If I bar across the whole fret I'm going to get a bunch of notes sounding-off together like a chord."

Ok bit tricky to describe this bit. When you start off solo style you are looking to pluck just one string but hold that string by plonking your finger over the whole fret, not by putting the fingertip down on just the string. Problems may be encountered where the flabby part of your finger doesn't hold the string well but what I've found is that as you practise your fingers get better at going to the general location of the string without too much thought, so you end up generally on the first joint of your finger anyway.

The key though is not to be looking and thinking; by assigning a finger to each of the four frets you can work on making switching the right string and fret automatic.

Blues box is not an uncommon term but 'robot head' is just my pet name for the shape. I find this kind of naming helps me visualise the whole thing. These two scale shapes are the easiest to see and remember in your mind.

Phil, I envy your fills and licks between chords, that's something I'm working on still. Really great players like Pete Townsend manage to combine rhythmic chord work and great licks into a fluid whole. Much respect...

'The sound of the city seems to disappear'