Question:
I hear it a lot around here, and I may just be misinterpretting it, but I hear that "You have to know the notes you're going to play and how they're going to sound before even starting" type stuff that just confuses me. Is that literal or what? Do I have to actually know how it'll sound before I play it to sound good? I definitely want to learn how to solo, but I don't really understand the "prerequisites." I've read the stickied soloing thread, but I still don't get it. How is soloing anything but random notes? I'm not saying that that's what I think it is, but could someone please lay it down for me? What do I need to know to solo? I'm familiar with the major scale and several modes, all this from FBL SE (W00t). Why do my "solos" (Well, attempts, rather) sound like CRAP? ALWAYS?! That, and they sound the same a lot. How can I change that? When someone says, "Practice," practice what? I make backtracks and try to solo on them, or use a favorite song or whatever, but I never seem to get better. I don't know if my lack of an electric is holding me back, if that'd be a factor (The type of soloing I wanna do is not exactly done on acoustic much, if at all, so I have no role models for it). I just don't get it... What do I need to do now? Are there books that will help me not to be an ignorant "Solo-wannabe"?
Answer:
I would say that you don't have to know the exact notes you're going to play in any given solo (unless someone else is soloing at the same time you are), but you should know the general "rules" that dictate what notes are among the best choices. You should also, over time, know the best times to break the so-called "rules." When I solo, only very rarely do I have a specific sequence of notes in mind. Rather, I keep in mind the key of the song, the chord progressions in the song, and the tempo of the song. I might play 10 different solos for the same song on different occasions, but all 10 solos will have those (key, progression, pace) things in common, for the most part.
Does that make sense?
Nate
Answer:
The difference lies in what a melody is. What is a song's melody other than random notes? To a certain extent, there's not much difference between the two, I suppose from a mathematic perspective, but then we gotta get into an emotional perspective, there's definitely something about one thing that makes it a hummable tune, and another, seemingly random collection of notes.
Now with the "You have to know the notes you're going to play and how they're going to sound before even starting" type stuff, it really means it's good to have a melody already in your head. The tune that you'll play on your guitar, and as you get better with it, you'll see improvements with getting that tune in your head out on your guitar.
But more importantly, what makes a melody? It could be just random notes, but moreso, it's all about the phrasing of the notes. Where a "musical sentence" occurs. Listen to a song, any song. You'll notice that in the singing melody, there's phrasing going on, one phrase usually correponding to a line of lyric. When one phrase is done it moves on to the next phrase, and so on, until you have a complete musical statement, say, a verse in the song.
There are often themes that connect the phrases, such as rhythm, or a sequence of notes, and that makes each thing into a coherent statement that can make the listener feel what is being played.
But how do you come up with a phrase. It's really hard to say. I'm personally best at singing them to myself, and then playing them, so I'll know what sort of musical statement I'm trying to accomplish with my guitar solo. I can't explain what makes a good phrase a good phrase, but it is going to be a tune that conveys an emotion, perhaps not too clearly, but it'll be "explained" as a solo goes forth.
I believe this is a very common metaphor, but a solo should help tell a story. If it's simply helping along a song tell it's story, then you'd use it as a continuation of what's happening in the song. If it's telling a story on it's own, then you'll have an overarching theme, you'll go from scene to scene, conveying what you want to convey, and build the excitement to the end, where it tapers off a bit, and leads into the next portion of the song.
You're in a simple rut that all soloists must cross the threshold of. What makes the difference between notes and music. And the answer is emotion. When you can make something sing what you want it to sing, because the melody is inside of you, that's what makes music.
Answer:
Originally Posted by Rainer. The difference lies in what a melody is. What is a song's melody other than random notes? To a certain extent, there's not much difference between the two, I suppose from a mathematic perspective, but then we gotta get into an emotional perspective, there's definitely something about one thing that makes it a hummable tune, and another, seemingly random collection of notes.
Now with the "You have to know the notes you're going to play and how they're going to sound before even starting" type stuff, it really means it's good to have a melody already in your head. The tune that you'll play on your guitar, and as you get better with it, you'll see improvements with getting that tune in your head out on your guitar.
But more importantly, what makes a melody? It could be just random notes, but moreso, it's all about the phrasing of the notes. Where a "musical sentence" occurs. Listen to a song, any song. You'll notice that in the singing melody, there's phrasing going on, one phrase usually correponding to a line of lyric. When one phrase is done it moves on to the next phrase, and so on, until you have a complete musical statement, say, a verse in the song.
There are often themes that connect the phrases, such as rhythm, or a sequence of notes, and that makes each thing into a coherent statement that can make the listener feel what is being played.
But how do you come up with a phrase. It's really hard to say. I'm personally best at singing them to myself, and then playing them, so I'll know what sort of musical statement I'm trying to accomplish with my guitar solo. I can't explain what makes a good phrase a good phrase, but it is going to be a tune that conveys an emotion, perhaps not too clearly, but it'll be "explained" as a solo goes forth.
I believe this is a very common metaphor, but a solo should help tell a story. If it's simply helping along a song tell it's story, then you'd use it as a continuation of what's happening in the song. If it's telling a story on it's own, then you'll have an overarching theme, you'll go from scene to scene, conveying what you want to convey, and build the excitement to the end, where it tapers off a bit, and leads into the next portion of the song.
You're in a simple rut that all soloists must cross the threshold of. What makes the difference between notes and music. And the answer is emotion. When you can make something sing what you want it to sing, because the melody is inside of you, that's what makes music.
But how do you make emotion? Bending? Vibrato? I don't get it... I can feel the emotion in some people's solos, but why can't I play it? I don't see what makes the emotion. Is it just the choice of notes? The tone of the guitar? Is it any one set thing? I'm dying here, lol, as my acoustic sucks tone-wise for soloing... I can't do the type of tone I want at all, and it's killing me. :\ I don't know how to express myself on guitar at all. All I can do is chords, lol, and I can play a few scales. Emotion... It's so foreign. I know what you mean, but I don't know how to do what you mean, if you know what I mean... Confusing, much?
Answer:

Ok, here's a problem. You're thinking in too much of guitar-terms. The thought process for soloing on acoustic is the same as soloing on electric is the same as soloing on a piano, is the same as soloing on a trumpet, is the same as soloing on a (insert random instrument here).
What I'm trying to get you to think in terms of is pure music. Music theory tells us all aobut the rules of what sounds good, but we have to put the notes together that sound good. Think in terms of music. Pretend you don't have a guitar in your hand, rather you have a note generator. Not too different from a keyboard. The basis of your solo will be your note choice.
You choose what notes by creating a melody. Pretend your guitar is your mouth, and you want to say something. Try singing a song you know. Now, try playing that same thing on your guitar. Coming up with your own melody is much like writing your own story. It's easier if you have a firm grip on the language, but in the end you really need to come up with what you're going to say on your own.
However much of what we say is based on little phrases and figures of speech we've heard before. So we do have a pretty decent idea of what words sound good together, and what wordings would just sound wierd.
Same principles apply to music. Figuring out what you're going to say is key, and then playing it is the next step. Don't think of a solo as playing your guitar. Think of it as playing music using your guitar.
Answer:
I am pretty much where you are. I just recently got any idea of how to solo (another w00t for FBLSE) But just the other day it hit me. Its not just playing random notes in the correct scale, its playing a melody, like rainer was talking about. All songs have a melody. Sure, it could be thought of just random notes, but it is random notes sounding good. I dont' really know how to explain it, but you know what will sound good.
When you are soloing, try not to think of just hitting notes in that scale randomly, try to create a melody, that sounds good TO YOU. Ok, I am probably not helping, so I will stop now, haha.
Answer:
Originally Posted by Rainer.
Ok, here's a problem. You're thinking in too much of guitar-terms. The thought process for soloing on acoustic is the same as soloing on electric is the same as soloing on a piano, is the same as soloing on a trumpet, is the same as soloing on a (insert random instrument here).
What I'm trying to get you to think in terms of is pure music. Music theory tells us all aobut the rules of what sounds good, but we have to put the notes together that sound good. Think in terms of music. Pretend you don't have a guitar in your hand, rather you have a note generator. Not too different from a keyboard. The basis of your solo will be your note choice.
You choose what notes by creating a melody. Pretend your guitar is your mouth, and you want to say something. Try singing a song you know. Now, try playing that same thing on your guitar. Coming up with your own melody is much like writing your own story. It's easier if you have a firm grip on the language, but in the end you really need to come up with what you're going to say on your own.
However much of what we say is based on little phrases and figures of speech we've heard before. So we do have a pretty decent idea of what words sound good together, and what wordings would just sound wierd.
Same principles apply to music. Figuring out what you're going to say is key, and then playing it is the next step. Don't think of a solo as playing your guitar. Think of it as playing music using your guitar.
So a solo normally stems from a melody? Give me an example? I don't mean to say that 100% of all solos stem from melodies... I know of a few songs that do a bar of the melody, then they add on, then they do a final rendition which just goes all over the place... Why does that sound good? It just sounds like a bunch of random notes, but it's not... I don't know how to say it, lol. I think I'm starting to see what you're saying, though, about playing music, not guitar. It's interesting, I really need to try it.
Answer:
Honestly, I think you're over-analyzing this a bit. Do you think people like Jimi Hendrix, Chuck Berry, and all of those early rock guitarists really analyzed their solos that much? They just played.
*edit* Obviously, it helps to know what you're doing, I'm not just saying not to do any studying, you can't become Joe Pass without knowing what you're doing. But just as a start, try not to analyze too much and just play.
Answer:
Originally Posted by DaGeek So a solo normally stems from a melody? Give me an example? I don't mean to say that 100% of all solos stem from melodies...
All solos stem from a melody. By definition a solo is when a certain instrument takes over the melody. The melody is in very essence, the tune you hear in a song at any given moment. So if you play a tune at any point and just sing along with it. Whatever you decided to sing, that's generally going to be the melody. Whatever's the main focus of the music, that's the melody.
I know of a few songs that do a bar of the melody, then they add on, then they do a final rendition which just goes all over the place... Why does that sound good? It just sounds like a bunch of random notes, but it's not... I don't know how to say it, lol.
That's just the very common practice of creating variations on a theme. It extends back all the way to the classical era, where composers would take a simple melody, and then do all sorts of things to it, reprise to the original melody, then end the composition. A solo like that is something of a very compressed nature, though.
However, the guitar is the lead singer during the solo. You don't even have to play the melody that the vocal was singing. It's all relative, and it's most definitely not random. It's songwriting in it's essence.
I think I'm starting to see what you're saying, though, about playing music, not guitar. It's interesting, I really need to try it.
Just takes a little change of thinking.
Basically, the bottom line is music is visceral emotion. It's hard to explain it, it's hard to teach exactly how it's done in words. When you write music, you are using your own creativity to produce something, and that takes some time to figure out.
I can tell you what all the colors are, and that the sky is usually blue, and grass is usually green, and the dirt is usually brown, and they usually go in that order, but it's hard to tell you exactly how to paint a picture and how to make it look good. It takes some figuring out.
Answer:
Originally Posted by Rainer. I can tell you what all the colors are, and that the sky is usually blue, and grass is usually green, and the dirt is usually brown, and they usually go in that order, but it's hard to tell you exactly how to paint a picture and how to make it look good. It takes some figuring out.
My teacher uses that analogy quite often.
We can give you all the letters of the alphabet, and you can learn all about spelling and phrasing and grammar, but it's up to you to learn how to use that properly, and from there, to use it creatively. It's going to be mechanical long before it becomes YOU.
So learn your vocabulary. Your scales, your arpeggios, your chord patterns, inversions, licks, phrases and so on. But when it comes time to really play. Don't conciously think of "I'm using such and such here and I have to play this line over this chord". What you practice will actually naturally come out with your true playing.
Answer:
And I thought I was being original.
It helps to get yourself acquainted with melodies by studying them. Pick out melodies from songs, doesn't even have to be the guitar part, and just play that on your guitar. Use different styles of music, different emotions, whatever.
Answer:
I'd like to be careful while saying this, but I think I may have made at least a decent solo... I dunno. You be the judge, please, lol. Anyway, it sounds better with some delay added in, but I figured that, since I'm in the learning process, I'd better just make it a clean, wimpy-sounding acoustic . Please tell me how it is...
The backtrack is part of a song my band and I are practicing, but excuse the quality... It's rather poor, lol.
Answer:
Pretty good note choices. But I can tell you why you're not happy with your soloing. You need to work on time. Practice with a metronome and learn how to feel the time. Your phrases will start sounding better once you get used to how it feels musically.
Answer:
Originally Posted by MJ_Avalanche Pretty good note choices. But I can tell you why you're not happy with your soloing. You need to work on time. Practice with a metronome and learn how to feel the time. Your phrases will start sounding better once you get used to how it feels musically.
I'm not sure what you mean. Please explain? What does practice with a metronome mean? Do you mean to, like, start up the metronome, record a tune, then try to play over it?
Answer:
I mean practice everything you do with the metronome clicking and make everything you're practicing go with the metronome. When you're working on CAGED, for instance, play the scales with 8th notes at say 70 or wherever it's comfortable right now. It's called playing in time. After a while, playing in time will come more naturally and it'll show in your soloing.