So what is it that makes a guitar solo good? Well, the answer is going to be pretty different depending on who you ask. It’s one of the great things about our instrument – the guitar is so expressive that you can find truly great guitar solos in every genre of music. So even though a B.B. King solo and a Dragonforce solo have almost nothing in common, both can be regarded as pretty darn good.
In this lesson, we’ll be talking about the things that separate the good guitar solos from the not-so-good solos. We’ve included a jam track for you to download for this lesson as well.
Assignment #1: Name 5 solos that you love
Assignment #2: Download Ayla’s jam track
Assignment #3: Play the minor pentatonic scale along to the track
This video is more of a theoretical lesson rather than a how-to. Follow the assignments and you’ll see your guitar solos will start improving. It’s all about finding a style that fits you and internalizing the things you love in other players’ solos!
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Chapters:
0:00 – Intro
2:00 – 5 solos that you love
3:00 – Something by The Beatles
3:21 – Machine Gun by Jimi Hendrix
3:50 – Ayla’s track
5:51 – Download the track (link below)
6:47 – Using the minor pentatonic scale
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The idea that you can vocalise a solo as a way of coming up with one is a clue I think – David Gilmour is well known for scat singing a solo when composing one. I think the good solos are like the human voice expressing different emotions, like listening to a captivating singer.
The good solos are the one your can remember by heart, note by note… comfortably numb is one of my favourite ! Like tou said, Ayla, a few notes, lots of feelings and and emotions, well interpreted… Can’t get tired of your videos !
A good solo not only sounds good, it evokes an emotion that creates a connection