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One of the key fundamentals with any music and any instrument is timing and it doesn't matter what you're playing, if it's not in perfect time then it sounds amateur and somewhat annoying for the listener. If you have ever struggled in the past with guitar timing then you may find these 'guitar solo in time tips' useful, and hopefully instantly applicable to your playing.
There are two main avenues we can look at in terms of timing, and they are external and internal influences. External influences focus on what is outside of you; things like your guitar setup and the picking action itself, the things that physically go into making the sound. Internal influences come into the category of how you think, hear and structure the notes before they are played. With these two areas in mind, here are some things to think about to get 'machine like' timing in everything you play!
Thinking about the Beat - Internally, how you process what you hear makes all the difference. I can guarantee you that you and I could be hearing the same beat but creating different tunes in our mind to play over it, and this matters with timing because you need to hear the accents and where the main notes need to land. If you have a basic 4:4 beat and you are playing a scale over it, the scale will consist of notes in between the beats as well as notes that land dead on the beat. Even if you don't hear a physical beat you need to learn how to imagine it's there, as this is what timing is all about - picking where the beat should be and landing dead on it (this is how a solo guitarist can play with no accompaniment and sound good, because the beat is in his/her mind).
Following a specific beat - There are two main ways to physically create a beat to play to; use a metronome and get an instant timing you can play to, or take a little longer and set up a drum machine or drum software. Either way is fine and will do the immediate job at hand, but the advantages of the drum machine are that you feel more inspired because it's playing real music, and you can have snare accents for example to help create odd timings and different feels. On the other hand metronomes are cheap to buy (there are even free ones online such as this one). Also, if you do get a chance to play with a drummer do it. There's something that happens with your playing when playing with a real drummer, you become more accountable and are almost forced to become better, especially with your timing.
Pick Attack and Timing - This is the third area to control after the external and internal timing. Pick attack simply means the speed and consistency that the pick strikes the string. If you are playing a basic chord progression and are 'strumming' to just get a relaxed feel then you can have a very loose hand while playing the notes as timing will be a bit more forgiving. If you're playing a guitar solo or anything with single notes or with more speed, then this needs to sharpen up and as a general rule - the faster you play the tighter your picking action needs to become. When playing guitar solos there is a focus on picking the note fast (even if the sequence is slow) to get an immediate and clean sound from the note, and only then can you add your chosen technique to it.
It's a very handy thing for guitarists who want to learn lead or solo work to first think about the rhythm and groove of the song. Only when you get the feel from that side of things can you add to it with a solo because solos are not usually stand alone pieces, they are enhanced and structured by what's underneath them (even if it's not physically played).
As you can see from these guitar solo in time tips, timing comes from a few aspects of the sound, and if you learn to first hear it and then play exactly to it (practicing slowly and evenly at first) then your timing will improve dramatically in a short space of time, and just imagine what happens when you speed it all up?
When learning how to play guitar solos there are quite a few things that first come to mind; technique, speed, picking style for starters...but rarely is hand placement talked about. When I talk about hand placement here I'm referring to the 'fretting hand' and not the picking hand, although you could write a whole book on that one.
If you just play by feel and go with what seems comfortable you may stumble across the best way to do things, but you may also fall into some bad habits, or positions that don't help you to play what you want to play. Once you get into these positions and you naturally go there it can be difficult to retrain yourself...difficult, but not impossible. Here we'll take a look at what some different positions are and how they can be used in your playing. I'll also point out some of the pitfalls of using certain techniques and how they can be corrected.
I also want to point out that there are no right or wrong ways to position your hands on the guitar, just ways that work and ways that don't...
There are two main schools of thought around hand positioning:
Classical or Solo Position & Rock or Bending Position. These have been called many different names but the name itself is irrelevant, so we'll just use these to illustrate the idea. After looking at these positions from a 'fingers on the board' approach, we can also look at the thumb position and find a way to get the result we're after.
Classical Position - This is often called this because it's taught as the only effective position on the classical guitar, and with good reason. When you're playing mostly separate notes, scales, or anything that involves a lot of finger changing and movement (such as guitar solos), it helps to have the fullest access from your fingers and that's what this position provides.
Technique - This is achieved by placing the thumb facing vertically in the middle of the back of the neck, thereby giving you greater access for your fingers on the fret board.
Rock Position - This is also an effective technique and one that feels more natural to play for a lot of people but it has its limitations, especially when learning how to play guitar solos. The advantage of this technique is getting a controlled grip and general control when doing any sort of bending or movement of the notes (you'll notice a lot of blues players using the thumb over approach to get the controlled tone and maximized feeling from the notes). The disadvantage is the reduced finger control over faster moving passages such as scale runs etc...
Technique - To do this simply place your thumb further up toward the top of the back of the neck, to the point of gripping the neck like a club and forcing your thumb down for a greater level of control.
To get an idea of the difference in the finger control, start in the first position with your thumb in the center of the neck and move it up to the top - note how your fingers move on the front and how much reach you have in either position! You'll soon see the advantages of both and if you combine the two in your playing it will give you greater control regardless of what you want to play.
There is one last thing to consider and that is the thumb angle. Some people recommend pointing the thumb along the neck and facing the headstock, try it with both positions and see how comfortable it is to play with, but I have to also point out that the thumb straight up is the most common practice.
Whatever gives you the playability without causing R.S.I. is a good thing!
Palm Muting for Beginners
by Glenn Bird
Filed in
Newbies
,
Technique
Ok, let's take a look at a technique that is great for a few styles but especially for Rock and Metal, and that is Palm Muting. The definition is fairly self explanatory as it's just resting the palm on the strings to mute the sound, but when it comes time to actually play it can get a little tricky for newer players. Hopefully by the end of this you'll have a clear idea of how it works and how you can use it in your own playing.
When learning how to play lead guitar you can get away without knowing this technique, but once again it is something that will spice up your solos and give them an extra dynamic so you should really know what it is and how to use it.
The technique - This is completely a picking hand technique and is played by resting the right side of your palm (for right handers; left handers just reverse it) on the strings close to the bridge, giving the strings a muted or deadened sound. Some people recommend playing by resting on the bridge itself so you're just touching the strings, but if you know what causes the sound and how to play it you can do it anywhere. I personally mute over the pickups a little further back from the bridge as it's where I generally pick everything else, so it's a matter of ease to play as much as I can in the same position. Play around with different positions and see what is comfortable, and I do recommend staying in the same position as you pick everything else.
When using this in your lead playing; whether composing your own or learning how to play lead guitar from someone else, mix it up with everything that you do. As a general rule (and the only real rule in guitar is what sounds good!) keep the deadened sounds like muting for the scale runs and the bulk of the passages, and for anything you want accented that's where you open up the sound (this works with things like the Wah pedal too, having the pedal up with the closed sound for the majority and opening it up on the accents) - try it and see how it works for you.
That's it! It's an easy technique to explain and not so difficult to execute, but be patient with yourself and get it right at slow speeds and it will serve you well in the future...
Here's palm muting put into practice so you can see it and hear how it actually sounds.
How to Play Guitar Solos for Newbies!
by Glenn Bird
Filed in
Newbies
So you're only new to the guitar, maybe haven't even played before but you're thinking about it...where do you start? Most people will tell you that starting with a few chords and a series of scales is all you need and I will agree with that in part, but without the passion behind it and having fun while you're playing you won't stick with it. What I'm going to suggest is learning in 3 parts at the same time, and by using parts that all fit together to make a strong guitar foundation, and yes - you will be playing guitar solos from the start so buckle up! ...and get ready for the groundwork.
What are the 3 parts? The first two you have probably guessed already but the third is usually reserved for the more experienced players, but why wait?
Chords / Scales / Improvisation & Solo practice.
This may sound scary to someone new because when you think of solos you think of insane speed and massive technical skill, but it all starts somewhere and you're not going to jump straight in the deep end but just test the water at the edge first. This will also be planned and not just a handful of chords that you just pick out of a book and strum; this will set you up for a lifetime of ease and when learning how to play guitar solos in the future, you'll find it so much easier.
We'll start from the C major scale which consists of 7 notes and then the final C. The notes are: C D E F G A B and then C. Think of this scale as being the pivot point from where you go next either up or down, and just know that a lot of your learning later on will also start from this scale and these notes.
Step 1 - Chords
Learn How to play each chord in this scale in its original major form. Work on playing them smoothly and concentrate on finger strength so you can hold each note in the chord cleanly. When you can play each chord practice them together and get used to playing from one to another with a smooth change.
Step 2 - Scales
You guessed it, now it's time to learn the scales that derive from the notes in the C major scale. Start with the C scale and work your way through until you're back at C again. Practice playing each note with control and focus on playing evenly between them - they should all flow effortlessly from one to the other and have the same consistency, and I know that's hard at the start but you need something to aim for. Take it slow and work with a metronome to get your timing right.
To check out the Major scales Click Here
Step 3 - Improvisation & Solo Practice
Here's where the fun begins and you will actually start to make music, not just play a series of notes. This step is quite often left out when people are teaching, but if you learn how to play guitar solos from the start then all your guitar practice will improve together as a whole, and you won't find yourself being great at one thing but need to go back to the start to learn another.
The way to start in this area is to form a chord progression, just a series of chords played together to form a rhythm section to play over. Choose chords from the ones you just learned, and there you'll have some starting notes to go from. A little tip, when playing a major chord the name of it is the note it starts from or the 'root' note, so playing a C major chord will give you a C note to start off, and that is a note you can use to either start a solo over that chord or use somewhere over it and it will fit. When playing around with improvisation, keep it very simple at these early stages. The main thing is to have fun with it and get in the habit of creating your own music.
Here's an example to get you started. I chose the Chords G C and D, in this order - G C D G and just repeat it. This is the chord progression you'll be playing over, so maybe play it a few times to get it in your head or if you can get someone else to play along with you - great! Because I'm using the Chords G C D, I can use the same scales to use over the top, and because I'm using the same scale as the chord I know that the start note of the scale is the root note, and that fits perfectly over the top of the chord. Simply play the root note of each scale that you choose at the start of that chord, followed by any of the notes in the same scale in any order you wish to play them, and you're on your way to learning how to play guitar solos! You can see how this with a few techniques learned after can make a very effective solo.
One extra side note, playing major chords all the time can get a bit boring. When you have learned them learn the minor versions of the same chords as well as the matching scales, and you'll find yourself being able to play a lot of things easily from that moment on...
Once you have learned a few things check out the free guitar tabs online for your favourite songs, or if you want to learn your guitar faster and easier there are resources at the side of this page to help - either way, keep learning and have fun with it!
Pentatonic Scale Shapes - The Must Know Basic!
by Glenn Bird
Filed in
Acoustic
,
Newbies
,
Technique
,
Theory
Today we'll be looking at the 5 Pentatonic Scale Shapes that give you a great framework to solo around, and ones that if you know them will give you the advantage if you ever need to learn how to play guitar solos. In the this video example from Joe Musella at Berklee music, he shows you clearly how to play the 5 shapes and the fingering involved.
This example starts with A as the root note, but these shapes can be used all over the neck for any notes you choose. Key points to remember are:
- Work out the chord progression that you wish to play over
- Find the chord root notes in the shapes
- Choose which shape fits for soloing either up or down from the root note.
Here are the 5 shapes as they are on the neck, note they do not start on any specific frets - refer to video for placement (Please right click and either View or Save image).
Good luck with these, and if you need any more training remember us at How to Play Guitar Solos!
It's always a challenge learning something new, especially when it comes to things like foreign languages. Music is no different, especially if you're planning to learn to read sheet music. This can be a daunting task for even the most keen students among us, but you don't have to learn to sight read to be able to know how to play guitar solos or anything else!
There is a form of written music known as guitar tablature (usually referred to as just 'Tab'), and this can be so much easier to read as it Is literally written as it is on the guitar, so you can see it and play it. Even with the most basic forms of anything though, it still requires explanation to know how to read and understand it, especially when everyone is suddenly an expert on it, so let's cover the basics so you can actually learn something whenever you want to.
Just as sheet music has 5 lines on the page where the notes fit into, guitar tab also has lines. The difference being it has one line for each string on the guitar, and instead of notes being drawn in a separate place for every note, they are simply written on the line (string) with the number of the fret they are played on. Simple. You'll quite often see this tab as a basic form done in a program like notepad, with broken lines made into a music line. If you want to write your own you can use quite a few programs to draw lines such as Microsoft word, or any free word processing program.
Badd11 E7Madd13
--------------------|--------------------|--------------------|
-----------5--------|-----------5--------|-----------4--------|
--------8-----8-----|--------8-----8-----|--------6-----6-----|
-----9-----------9--|-----9-----------9--|-----6-----------6--|
--------------------|--------------------|--------------------|
--7-----------------|--7-----------------|--0-----------------|
This is what the tab looks like, and you'll see it has six lines for the six strings, going from the bottom line being the low E string all the way through to the high E string as the top line. The bars are separated the same as any other sheet music, and the chords that the notes are based on are at the top (in this case it's Badd11 & E7Madd13). The notes are written as the number of the fret played on the string, so it starts with 7th fret on the low E string, then 9th fret on the D string and so on. Easy huh? This combined with a couple of videos to get the feel and sound of the track you're learning and you're well on your way.
When the notes call for a specific technique such as a hammer on, vibrato etc it will tell you, and this is what to look out for:
Slide - ( / ) up or ( \ ) down - means to slide, usually from one note to the next.
Vibrato - ( ~ ) means to add vibrato, usually after the note.
------------------|--------------|-------------------|
--4----5----------|--------------|-------------------|
----------4/6~----|--------------|--6/4---6--6/8-----|
------------------|--------------|-------------------|
------------------|--------------|-------------------|
------------------|--------------|-------------------|
Hammer on - ( h ) means to hammer the note after the ( h ) instead of picking it.
Pull off - ( p ) means to pull off the note before so it sounds the note after the ( p ).
------------------------------|------------------------------|
--5-12p0h7-12p0h9-12p0h7-12p0h|--5-12p0h7-12p0h7-12p0h7-12p0h|
------------------------------|------------------------------|
------------------------------|------------------------------|
------------------------------|------------------------------|
------------------------------|------------------------------|
Other symbols to look out for are ( t ) - Tap ( x ) - dampen the note or palm mute it.
You won't have too much else in most songs and if you do there will usually be an explanation with it. Just remember, when learning how to play guitar solos it pays to get all the different forms of the song you can to learn from, video/ tab/ live audio etc. This will give you the best chance of getting the overall feel and notes of the song.
If you want more guitar solo advice and lessons, feel free to check out my site How to Play Guitar Solos
How to Play Guitar Solos - Learning Guitar Online
by Glenn Bird
Filed in
Newbies
,
Practice
,
Theory
As iv'e talked about in other articles, there are three ways to learn guitar solos, and for the purposes of this article we'll take a look at the learning how to play guitar solos online method. Most people just browse when it comes to looking up things online, and that is no different when it comes to learning guitar. What i'm going to suggest here is a system to give you the greatest advantage of really getting ahead by using this method, regardless of what style you play or who the lessons come from. Interested?
There are four parts to this, and most people will do just one of the first three. If you do all four you're guaranteed to see improvements in a very short space of time, and the great thing about doing it online is you can change the lessons or even styles to suit you at any stage. First of all, set up a folder in your computer for each song and categorise it in the style as well - this will make it so much easier for you later down the track. Let's take a look at the four parts:
1) Get the original song - There are so many sites online that you can download audio or video from, and in this case i'm going to suggest video so you can see what is actually being played. The biggest site for videos is, you guessed it, youtube. There are ways to download youtube videos or videos from any other site, and you can either choose the original clip or a live version, sometimes you don't have a choice so just grab what looks good and has a clear enough sound.
2) Get the Tab - Like video sites, guitar tab sites are too many to mention, but if you search for specific tabs you will eventually find what you want somewhere. Just for clarification, this doesn't have to be original tab, because you'll soon work out what's right and what's not from the other steps.
3) Get a fan video lesson - If there is one available, grab a video lesson from a fan who is playing the song you want. There are countless videos of people trying to play their favourite song, so chances are you'll get something in this area. This is just another interpretation that may give you an idea of how it's played, as sometimes you may miss things in the other steps.
4) Get software to help - The best software i have found while learning how to play guitar solos is software that slows down the original music. This is more in the category of playing by ear, but if you add it to the songs you're learning from these other three ways you'll master it in no time. Imagine being able to slow down the solo and still keep the same pitch so you could replicate it note for note?
There are 3 ways of learning how to play guitar solos, and it all depends on how you learn best as to which one is suitable and will work best for you. Let's take a look at these ways and see how they can impact your guitar playing.
1) Traditional Teaching - This is what most people think of when they think of 'guitar lessons' and is a great way to go if you like getting lessons in either a one to one format with a guitar teacher sitting in front of you, or in a small group lesson, still with a guitar teacher but a little less personal. There are advantages in this way depending on who you go to, and if you choose this way be sure to add improvisation to your practice as well - if you only play other peoples songs you stunt your own creativity. The advantages are:
- Picking Up Good habits - A good guitar teacher (i say that because there are the other kind out there as well) will point out your mistakes and bad habits before they take hold.
- Giving You Structured Practice - They will also be able to guide you through a structured practice routine that left to your own, you may not be as effective with.
- Having Access to Great Music - Some Tabs and music scores can be hard to find for the average guitarist, but for a teacher who knows his/ her stuff it is easier to come by, and you are the one that benefits from this
- Learning Any Style - You no longer have to find a separate teacher to teach you different styles. If you want to play Rock one day and suddenly feel like learning Jazz or a Bossa Nova (you never know) then you can do it as fast as your computer will let you. There are also dedicated sites out there to teach you different styles online, so it's like still having a one on one teacher but online.
- Learning At Any Time - This speaks for itself, but if you chose to learn a song at 4am it's possible, and with headphones there's no reason for not rocking out at the wee hours of the morning!
- Learning Wherever and Whenever Suits You - You can be on any computer, anywhere in the world and get a guitar lesson. I doubt your guitar teacher would travel with you:)
- Ear Training - This is one of the best ways to train your ears, and it makes sense - train your ears by using them. If you don't just rely on tabs and use this skill aswell, you'll find yourself being less restricted and being able to learn most pieces.
- Improvisational Skills - Learning by ear is a great way to learn how to play guitar solos, and any music for that matter. One thing it teaches is improvisation, and it will force you to know the guitar neck and memorise notes (even just by sounds) which will open you up to great improvisation when you need it.
- Creativity Boost - Adding to the first two, creativity is an added benefit when learning by ear and can be a great way to start writing your own music. I know personally the times when i would spend days on end playing along with my favourite CD's were the most productive in terms of writing my own songs.
Broken down to basics, guitar solos are sections or passages of music that are inserted into a song to take it to the next level. These are usually melodic in nature, and can be written for any style of guitar, whether acoustic, electric, or even bass guitar for that matter.
The style of solo varies depending on the desired effect, and of course the music genre being played, but it can be used in any style of music including Jazz, Blues, Rock, Metal, and Classical (yes, even classical has certain pieces for solo guitar). While it is considered a must to have some form of chord progression flowing underneath, the solo itself is somewhat free and flowing with an emphasis on tone and feeling.
Solos can be either insanely structured to the point of losing all sense of flow, or on the other end of the scale be completely improvised and played as a response to the underlying groove or rhythm. Either way, it is an art that is interpreted differently for every player, and both ways can be used effectively in the right context of the song.
The key point here is when learning how to play guitar solos, practice the technique of the notes so it becomes second nature, and then open up the feeling floodgates and let it flow.
Guitar solos can be either written for a single guitar (as is seen in many acoustic pieces), or for a multiple instrument scenario (such as a rock band) with a few instruments accompanying each other. In the second scenario this can be anything from a small Jazz Quartet or a 3 piece Grunge band, to a much larger set up such as an Orchestra. While solo guitar music itself dates back to when the instrument was first created, and made a big impact in the Baroque period especially, the guitar solo as we know it was only popularised with the introduction of the electric guitar.
A little bit of trivia - The first electric guitar solo in a hit song was "Walking the Floor Over You" by Ernest Tubb way back in 1940, which went on to inspire musicians such as Chuck Berry, who ultimately changed how to play guitar solos...
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