Need help with soloing over chords..

[vejichan]

to the guitarist who is good at soloing in the blues/hard rock/progressive metal genre..
I want to learn how to solo. could you help me?
let's say you have a loop of the c chord .. what do you do? do you just play the c major/c ionan scale over it ? which note do you bend which notes do you go to? i am confused.. I have no knowlege of music theory .. scales was taught to me as excercises.

• examples of my pathetic soloing .over a rythmn loop i made up on the fly.
• https://soundcloud.com/davidcho-1/nd17
• https://soundcloud.com/davidcho-1/hsweetp
• https://soundcloud.com/davidcho-1/anotherchance

i don't know what i'm doing when i'm soloing.. just flying blind. Which scale, what notes do you go, which notes do you bends.. please offer any advice/constructive criticism. Thank you

 

[Robslalaina]

1 Learn the location of the notes on the fretboard, at least on the e, a and b strings.

2 Learn how intervals are laid out, e.g. one fret span is a minor or flat 2nd interval, two frets is a major 2nd interval etc.

3 The above will teach you how to build chords and scales from anywhere on the neck, relying less on visual shapes, assuming you learn the formulas that chords and scales are built from.

4 The notes of each chord you play over (aka 'chord tones') are the 'safest' notes to stay/land on or to bend/slide to, e.g. the root, major third and fifth if you're playing over a major chord vs. the root, minor third and fifth over a minor chord.

5 The most difficult thing to do when improvising is to actually imply the chord changes for the listener's ear. Super basically, in order to do that you want the last note you play over a given chord to lead to the next chord. So that last note you play could be the major 7th or 7th of the next chord (thus leading to its root, and depending on the actual chord) or the fifth of that chord.

Focus on 1 through 4 for now though. First, practice only playing the chord tones in the root, third, fifth order. After that, practice starting from the third instead of root, and then from the fifth etc. Once you've developed a feel for that you can start adding other notes (typically from scales/modes) in order to bring more colour to your lines.

 

[vejichan]

Thanks for the advice. Any excericses or tips to help me get around the fretboard and to improve my soloing

 

[HungryGuitarStudent]

@vejichan:

Knowing the fretboard (note names, intervals) is definitely something that will help you being conscious what your solo notes add to the chords your player over. It'll definitely help with improvisation (see Tom Quayle or Martin Miller for two viewpoints on how to learn the fretboard). IMO, these are long term goals. (Which I'm also working on btw.)

However, it won't help you with your phrasing, vibrato or intonation. Transcribing/learning solos that you like might help you getting phrasing inspiration. Transcribing solos on other instruments may also help; for me, sax players gave me a ton of phrasing ideas.

Recording yourself and listening with a critical ear might help you for vibrato and intonation.

Improvising a lot over chord drones or simple progressions (Youtube is your friend here) might help you figure out what it is that you like. It takes a lot of experimentation, i.e. spending time with the instrument, even when you know your fretboard.

Anyhow, that's the path I'm on and in 3.5 years it's taken me from being a novice to finishing second in two guitar solo writing contests. I'm not bragging, just giving evidence that this approach works for some people (e.g. me).

Sidenote: I'm nowhere near finished in my journey or near pro level; I'm just some regular dude, so take what I said with a grain of salt

All the best on your journey!

 

[gnoll]

Imo:

Learn at least basic theory, intervals, keys chords modes etc.

Transcribe things you like. Maybe supplemented by more direct ear training (learning to recognize intervals, chords etc.)

Play, write, make music.

Do the above a lot. Don't look for easy tricks and shortcuts that's gonna solve everything. Put in the work. Nobody can tell you anything that will all of a sudden make you better just like that. You have to actively work at it and make yourself responsible for your progress.

 

[budda]

Take lessons.

 

[vejichan]

took lessons.. the 4-5 teachers i had only taught me excercises and jazz/classical songs etc. as a kid i used to practice scales as excercises never knew how to apply them.. i am done with teachers.
I should have spent that money on the petrucci video and spend all that money i put into lessons on buying a new guitar or new amp. Which is better? a spend 2-3k on lessons or on a new guitar or amp.
Just want to learn how to solo.. if anybody has any quick tips to get me started.. much appreciated.
just want to make my music.

 

[budda]

Try more teachers. Many teachers have many different styles. That's like trying a les paul, not liking it and saying all guitars are bad.

 

[gnoll]

I believe in teachers... to a point.

I think it's up to a student to use a teacher well. If you want someone to teach you, don't expect to be spoonfed ability. Tell the teacher what you want to learn, have your own ideas about where you want to go and also how to get there. Then the teacher can hopefully be good support on your journey rather than someone who's 100% responsible for if you succeed or fail. After all, the teacher doesn't know you or your goals as well as you do.

I believe in having an active approach to learning, and to be honest you sound like you have a pretty passive approach, asking for "quick tips" and stuff like that. There's a lot of information out there but it's not gonna just magically appear after posting on a forum. It's a big subject.

 

[budda]

@gnoll is on the money. Minimal effort will result in minimal improvement.

 

[c7spheres]

You're clips are ok but perhaps you need more variations. Focus on solos you like and hear how they use variations in technique, rhythm, etc.
- For example take what you were doing in those clips but purposely use silence/rests, change the rhythm/meter patterns for a bar then go back, have faster and slower passages, use different note values and some sustaining notes, muted notes, bends, harmonics, tremolo picking, etc. All that stuff. Just keep messing with all the different stuff to your current clips and see how they come to life with simple variations like these.

 

[TedEH]

the 4-5 teachers i had only taught me excercises and jazz/classical songs etc

They teach you those because they form the basis of practice routines and phrasing - both of which you need if you're going to learn to play leads.

2-3k on lessons

I dunno what the going rate is for lessons, but I'm sure you can find reasonable prices if you look around. Without a timeframe as context, this sounds like an exaggeration to me.

Just want to learn how to solo

You might be putting the horse before the cart. I mean, you're technically doing it in those clips - what you need to do now is just practice and add to the repertoire of phrasings and such. You know what to do, now you just have to put in the work. There's no easy path or trick aha moment to this kind of thing.

 

[vejichan]

i think i just need someone to guide and help me understand how to solo..

i am total lost soloing in this song that i made. https://soundcloud.com/davidcho-1/100day

what note to bend? what note to start/end.. which note to go to?

 

[TedEH]

At that point you're just asking people to write your music for you. There is no "right answer" that people can just tell you to do. Try things, and if you don't like what you came up with, try something else. Repeat until you come up with something you like. Writing is as much a skill to practice as the actual playing is. It's literally as simple as that. If you have an idea for a piece and don't have the chops to play it yet, then the answer is still practice.

The whole point is that music is a creative process, and that process is different for everyone. You've been given lots of advice, in this thread and in other threads.

 

[HungryGuitarStudent]

i think i just need someone to guide and help me understand how to solo..

i am total lost soloing in this song that i made. https://soundcloud.com/davidcho-1/100day

what note to bend? what note to start/end.. which note to go to?

Do you listen to music? If not, do that.

Do you learn solos from artists that you like? If not, do that.

Emulate, inspire yourself from your idols, experiment. Phrasing will come from that.

Record yourself, listen critically, identify points to improve, work on them.

Just from the 30 seconds I listened to, I think you could improve your vibrato and intonation. There are tons of resources to help you work that out (e.g. Jack Gardiner dedicated YT videos on the topic).

There's no shortcut. Put in the work.

At this point, we're all repeating things that have already been said.

My 99cents on the topic.

 

[vejichan]

how do i record myself?

Do you listen to music? If not, do that.

Do you learn solos from artists that you like? If not, do that.

Emulate, inspire yourself from your idols, experiment. Phrasing will come from that.

Record yourself, listen critically, identify points to improve, work on them.

 

[bassisace]

how do i record myself?

Oh ok, so you were trolling all along.

 

[InCasinoOut]

Oh ok, so you were trolling all along.

This is what I've always suspected.

 

[vejichan]

The advice was Record yourself, listen critically, identify points to improve, work on them.

How do i do that?

 

[HungryGuitarStudent]

The advice was Record yourself, listen critically, identify points to improve, work on them.

How do i do that?

Currently taking a dump, so I’ll bite.

Your original post had recordings. Do that, or use your phone/google.