UGH solo'ing...
- Thread starter ZoSo58LP
- Start date
mshilarious
Banned
No, riff = "rhythmic figure". Solos consist of licks. Well, bad solos, anyway. Good solos consist of original melodies . . .
ocnor
Lord Of The Thighs
Riffs and licks are the same thing. At least that's what everyone that I know has called them since I first started playing back in the 70s.
mshilarious
Banned
A lick can be a riff but it doesn't have to be, because a riff is a phrase that is used in repetition. "Black Dog" is a pretty good example.
haha no way in hell am i gonna ditch solos
Try it. Solos are so outdated and cliche. Especially if you're talking about blues licks and zep style crap.
mshilarious
Banned
Hell, Jimmy Page is the most overrated mofo ever. That fucker is sloppier than Ace Frehley. Seriously. At the time and compared to his peers I guess he was pretty good, but take off the nostalgia glasses. It's 2010. There are 12 year old jap girls on youtube blow his ass away now. 
Armistice
Son of Yoda
Tend to agree these days... if your solo doesn't stop people who are listening to the music in their tracks and have them go "Shit, that's good," and not just because of your awesome shredding speed, then it's not worth having..
I work on instrumental passages that incorporate melody into different chord voicings instead... mind you, as a solo/duo-ist, I sort of have to...
I am the way, and the light...
matttheaxe
New member
If it were me, I would sit with the track, listen to it, then try to come up with a solo tune in your head. Then transpose it into the guitar.
I understand that you may not be able to think up a "shredder" but maybe it's better to stick with melody rather than 300 notes per second.
I'm a Malmsteen fanatic, but some of my favorite solos were from Ace Frehley.
Page has a lot of melody mixed with a lot of sloppy speed stuff, but that was 1970, you know.
I HATE to say this (because I am a guitarist) but today for the most part, most people would just rather skip the solo's like commercials.
I understand that you may not be able to think up a "shredder" but maybe it's better to stick with melody rather than 300 notes per second.
I'm a Malmsteen fanatic, but some of my favorite solos were from Ace Frehley.
Page has a lot of melody mixed with a lot of sloppy speed stuff, but that was 1970, you know.
I HATE to say this (because I am a guitarist) but today for the most part, most people would just rather skip the solo's like commercials.
ocnor
Lord Of The Thighs
I HATE to say this (because I am a guitarist) but today for the most part, most people would just rather skip the solo's like commercials.
I'm glad that I don't live near you. Those people must be a real bunch of goobers.
ZoSo58LP
rock guy
Hell, Jimmy Page is the most overrated mofo ever. That fucker is sloppier than Ace Frehley. Seriously. At the time and compared to his peers I guess he was pretty good, but take off the nostalgia glasses. It's 2010. There are 12 year old jap girls on youtube blow his ass away now.
gross dude. really. yeah it's 2010, and all lead guitarists lack feel and play like fucking robots.
page isn't the best thing by far, but please, his slop was attributed to the drugs lol and the drugs created the feel that he played with. compared to some douchebag in some shitty band out today who plays like a robot, page owns by far.
you're right, it's 2010, and the music industry is full of GARBAGE.
pure.fusion
New member
You know how you read a thread and get sucked in to posting......
The world according to FM:
Yep, minor pentatonic is the common clay of the guitar world. You can listen to any cheesy 3 chord rock song and hear a minor pentatonic scale.
The E-G-A chords you mentioned, as recognised as Purple Haze chords by Drew Peterson, not surprisingly is the same chords for thousands of songs; even more if you apply the same interval to a different key.
"Solos consist of licks. Well, bad solos, anyway. Good solos consist of original melodies . . ." - I couldn't agree more. If you pick to pieces all the solos in pop since day dot, you'll find it is lick based. The tricky players find unique ways to join the licks together, but really they're still playing the same notes.
Not just pop rock either. Jazz guitarists like Mike Stern and (insert many many others) have a set of licks they use as well. Take a recording from Stern from the 70's, extract the solo, plug it into one of his modern songs - It'll match note for note (with the exception of how he joins them).
Original melodies, "telling a story" or Jazz (true) improvisation are the way to not sound like everybody else.
I'm not on a high horse - I'm the same in that I too have a set Of licks that my fingers pump out when my brain turns off - but I try real hard to vary from this.
"Hell, Jimmy Page is the most overrated mofo ever. That fucker is sloppier than Ace Frehley." - hehe, couldn't agree more since we're on the bash.
Anyway, I've said to much
In an attempt to offer some advice to your original query, you can just play a minor pentatonic in E over a E-G-A progression and it will "fit". It could be a good method to get you back into the swing.
Cheers,
FM
The world according to FM:
Yep, minor pentatonic is the common clay of the guitar world. You can listen to any cheesy 3 chord rock song and hear a minor pentatonic scale.
The E-G-A chords you mentioned, as recognised as Purple Haze chords by Drew Peterson, not surprisingly is the same chords for thousands of songs; even more if you apply the same interval to a different key.
"Solos consist of licks. Well, bad solos, anyway. Good solos consist of original melodies . . ." - I couldn't agree more. If you pick to pieces all the solos in pop since day dot, you'll find it is lick based. The tricky players find unique ways to join the licks together, but really they're still playing the same notes.
Not just pop rock either. Jazz guitarists like Mike Stern and (insert many many others) have a set of licks they use as well. Take a recording from Stern from the 70's, extract the solo, plug it into one of his modern songs - It'll match note for note (with the exception of how he joins them).
Original melodies, "telling a story" or Jazz (true) improvisation are the way to not sound like everybody else.
I'm not on a high horse - I'm the same in that I too have a set Of licks that my fingers pump out when my brain turns off - but I try real hard to vary from this.
"Hell, Jimmy Page is the most overrated mofo ever. That fucker is sloppier than Ace Frehley." - hehe, couldn't agree more since we're on the bash.
Anyway, I've said to much
In an attempt to offer some advice to your original query, you can just play a minor pentatonic in E over a E-G-A progression and it will "fit". It could be a good method to get you back into the swing.
Cheers,
FM
ZoSo58LP
rock guy
thanks for the advice!
point of this thread was to point me into a way to write a solo, write a lead, get something INTERESTING going on that ISN'T all of that lick based improv that i do. yeah it's fun, yeah it's interesting, but yeah it's been done to death. when i improv, yeah it's full of those 'licks' that everyone uses because that's just how i learned when i was younger. i never eeeeeever write solos, and i'm thinking if i'm in a band now, i probably should learn how lol
point of this thread was to point me into a way to write a solo, write a lead, get something INTERESTING going on that ISN'T all of that lick based improv that i do. yeah it's fun, yeah it's interesting, but yeah it's been done to death. when i improv, yeah it's full of those 'licks' that everyone uses because that's just how i learned when i was younger. i never eeeeeever write solos, and i'm thinking if i'm in a band now, i probably should learn how lol
I'm of a similar mind...personally for me, the classic solo thing seems a bit dated...and unless you're doing something new I'm generally pretty hard to impress.
I'm into music that moves forward as opposed to backwards. No offense to the blues/old skool rockers, I think there's a time and a place for all differet guitar music.
I agree with Armistice about more instrumental setions and interesting melodic ideas as opposed to just shredding all ove a section without even thinking about it.
For me that's more interesting anyways.
I'm into music that moves forward as opposed to backwards. No offense to the blues/old skool rockers, I think there's a time and a place for all differet guitar music.
I agree with Armistice about more instrumental setions and interesting melodic ideas as opposed to just shredding all ove a section without even thinking about it.
For me that's more interesting anyways.
miroslav
Cosmic Cowboy
Yeah, there's good music without any guitar solos...but what about all the current Rock music that has the insane 100MPH shred solos...is that really "moving forward"...?
Sure, it's technically awe inspiring, but I think also that's the type of playing that turns your typical audience off to solos. They might go "wow" the first few seconds, but after awhile all those types of solos sound the same to the average listener (just insane 100MPH shred)...and the only people that end up getting off on that are the players and other shredders.
IMHO...easily identifiable melody/harmony is what catches the typical listener's ear...and sticks in their memory...much more so than speed and technical prowess.
If you can drop a melodic solo that actually highlights/underscores the rest of the song...it gets noticed more so than just a flurry of notes.
And I do think what was old is becoming new again.
Right now we are on the tail end of the modern "Pop" phase (same as back in the late '50s thru late '60s). Maybe a more progressive Rock vibe will take hold of the general public once again now...(same as it did in the late '60s - early '70s )following all that Pop).
Though didn't Disco then follow the progressive Rock stuff....?
rayc
retroreprobate
I wouldn't have described Pagesque soloing as shredding.
I can't solo - well I've recorded two of my won & both took me days to work out & sound like it too.
I like expressive solos but having said that I think Richard Lloyd & Tom Velrain are some of the best solists I've heard & enjoy - along with Robert Quine. Speed kills - and not in a good way.
I can't solo - well I've recorded two of my won & both took me days to work out & sound like it too.
I like expressive solos but having said that I think Richard Lloyd & Tom Velrain are some of the best solists I've heard & enjoy - along with Robert Quine. Speed kills - and not in a good way.