UGH solo'ing...

ZoSo58LP

ZoSo58LP

rock guy
so back in my teen years i was a huge zeppelin fan (obviously by my username lol) and i used to have the jimmy page style down PAT. i would improv solo this cool fun bluesey stuff..but after years of getting out of zeppelin, i started to realize i was in a rut, and i wished i could get out of said rut so bad because all my improv stuff sounded the same/like jimmy.

well i guess i got my wish. i'm 23 and now i suck at solo'ing. wtf happened? i used to be able to shread and now, it's just gone...it's not that i don't have the physical ability, i do...if anything i've gotten better at fast picking, etc...but it's my brain/theory. i have NO idea what to do for a solo anymore!!! i've been so involved in riffs these past 2 years that solo'ing has just been in the back of my head, and now it's gone.

i just joined a band and we're using some of my riffs. for example, they want me to shread it up over one of them, and i'd LOVE to.

the progression is a bluesey type thing, and it simply goes E-G-A. E for a measure, than G to A in the second measure, repeat.

what the hell can i do to solo over this?! i used to be decent in music theory (took classes in college) and honestly it all is gone. what the hell key am i in? where would i even BEGIN to solo this? would i stay in one key or move around? my typical blues improv doing the bendy things on the 12th-14th/15th frets on the G-B-E kind of works, but what the hell lol i can't get a good solo down whatsoever for this progression.

can any of you give me a swift kick in the balls here and help me remember what the hells going on?!!?
 
B flat you say eh? hmmmm...i'll give it a whirl i suppose. ugh. makes me so mad that i can't do this anymore lol
 
ZoSo58LP said:
the progression is a bluesey type thing, and it simply goes E-G-A. E for a measure, than G to A in the second measure, repeat.

what the hell can i do to solo over this?! i used to be decent in music theory (took classes in college) and honestly it all is gone. what the hell key am i in? where would i even BEGIN to solo this? would i stay in one key or move around? my typical blues improv doing the bendy things on the 12th-14th/15th frets on the G-B-E kind of works, but what the hell lol i can't get a good solo down whatsoever for this progression.

can any of you give me a swift kick in the balls here and help me remember what the hells going on?!!?
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That's basically the Purple Haze chords, you know. :laughings:

Um, you can do a ton of stuff with that. You describe it as "bluesy" which means the harmonic context is pretty ambiguous. Here's a few things you could do:

Something in E minor - be it Em, Em pentatonic, Em blues, whatever, anything with a minor 3rd and a perfect 4th. Get your Jimmy Page on.
Treat the E as a measure of E major, and the G-A as a measure of E minor. This is a bit trickier if you're not used to changing scales on the fly, but creates a nice tension-and-resolution sort of thing. For a great example, I'm not a HUGE Phish fan, but the solo on "Fast Enough for You" is pretty awesome - very tasteful - and does the major-to-minor thing pretty well.
Modulate to a different key for the solo. If the E-E-G-A thing is screwing with you, insert a solo section with different chords. I forget exactly what the solo section chords are on Purple Haze, but I think it's something like D-D-F#-E. Hell, maybe take a solo over a riff in B.

Maaaaaaaaaybe you could get away with something like E Mixolydian, as well - its technically a 'major' scale, but with a flat 7th. You'd need to be a bit careful with note choice (particularly on the G chord) but I suspect it might work.

Myself I'd probably just take a blues solo in E - loosely pentatonic, outside notes where needed, do a ton of bends, beat the shit out of the strings, and just try to keep my phrasing interesting.
 
haha you're right, it is purple haze! didn't even think about it lol

basically, i'm just doing power chords that are palm muted in that like stop-go bluesey feel...like think of how robbie k plays roadhouse blues by the doors..those open E's..thast the basic rhythm

when we do it live, i'm the only guitarist so i'm just going to be playing over the bassist probably just rolling along on those root notes.

drew, where around would you base your loose penta scale in E? basically that's how my improv is, very loose penta, not all the notes, but crazy bends and shit...aka jimmy page style lol. you know the whole, for example, bend 14G then play 12B and 12E type thing? when i rock that around those notes, it sounds decent, but idk just doesn't feel fulfilling..is that around the same area you'd pull it off in?
 
You just need to mash your fingers way up high on the tiny strings...meedly meedley meedly meedley meedley meedley meedley meedly meeeee..


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ZoSo58LP said:
haha you're right, it is purple haze! didn't even think about it lol

basically, i'm just doing power chords that are palm muted in that like stop-go bluesey feel...like think of how robbie k plays roadhouse blues by the doors..those open E's..thast the basic rhythm

when we do it live, i'm the only guitarist so i'm just going to be playing over the bassist probably just rolling along on those root notes.

drew, where around would you base your loose penta scale in E? basically that's how my improv is, very loose penta, not all the notes, but crazy bends and shit...aka jimmy page style lol. you know the whole, for example, bend 14G then play 12B and 12E type thing? when i rock that around those notes, it sounds decent, but idk just doesn't feel fulfilling..is that around the same area you'd pull it off in?
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Yeah, what you're talking about just begs for some good straight-up blues playing. Think Jimi's slow blues stuff - Red House, Catfish Blues, the original Voodoo Child (not Slight Return, though that tune owns too), Hear My Train A Comin', etc.

More so than almost any other style of guitar I can think of, playing blues is a very physical thing. You're not trying to play cleanly and precisely and carefully, you're basically just abusing the guitar. Also, bending is crucial - so much of the blues sound lies in the space between chord tones and how quickly you do (or don't) get there - bending just a hair over the minor 3rd of a chord, or a bend that hangs juuuuuust a hair sour before it finally slips up into key, etc. Stuff like that. The actual notes are almost incidental.
 
ocnor said:
You just need to mash your fingers way up high on the tiny strings...meedly meedley meedly meedley meedley meedley meedley meedly meeeee..
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Firstly...LOLZ.

Secondly? I too am in a similar boat.

For the first few years of playing guitar, I was all about the big solos/fun bluesy stuff etc. I recently listened to some old live recordings from gigs when I was about 17-18 and I was doing some maaaad stuff! I'm still playing guitar a lot now but it's very different.

At the time, I was playing a Les Paul...the guitar I learnt on. When I was about 20 I bought a Telecaster and that just took over completely. It changed my playing over time and it became much more melodic as opposed to just plain freaking crazy quick and awesome. I can't even fathom playing a Les Paul anymore...for me it felt like I had out grown it in some way (not because I think it's a childish guitar, but because I had learnt on it).

What I wanted out of my playing changed with the guitar I was playing. As I said, I'm now much more into the melodic intricate detail of chords and different shapes, whereas previously I was playing riffs and big solos. Each thing, for me, is suited to two different guitars

So maybe your playing has just evolved over time? I know that's the case for me. Like you...I simply can't do the things I used to do!
 
Brohnis said:
At the time, I was playing a Les Paul...the guitar I learnt on. When I was about 20 I bought a Telecaster and that just took over completely. It changed my playing over time and it became much more melodic as opposed to just plain freaking crazy quick and awesome. I can't even fathom playing a Les Paul anymore...for me it felt like I had out grown it in some way (not because I think it's a childish guitar, but because I had learnt on it).
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I went through much the same process, but for me it was from a Les Paul to an old Strat. But did you hang onto the Paul? I got mine back out after it sat a few years in a case under the bed, and playing it again was like getting back with an old girlfriend.

Now they are both out on stands and I go back and forth between them. I hope they understand. :D
 
Yea still own it. Holding onto it for sentimental reasons!! And honestly, I take it out and try and play it? And the tone just doesn't sit right with me anymore...I'm a Fender boy through and through now. I bought a Mustang not long ago...one of the best guitars I've ever played.
 
Brohnis said:
Yea still own it. Holding onto it for sentimental reasons!! And honestly, I take it out and try and play it? And the tone just doesn't sit right with me anymore...I'm a Fender boy through and through now. I bought a Mustang not long ago...one of the best guitars I've ever played.
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OK, but you know, even Hendrix played a Gibson every once in a while. :D
 
haha no way in hell am i gonna ditch solos ;)

i've just been so into riffs that i forgot how to solo lol...trying out some of yous guys's suggestions now! heres hoping lol
 
ZoSo58LP said:
haha no way in hell am i gonna ditch solos ;)

i've just been so into riffs that i forgot how to solo lol...trying out some of yous guys's suggestions now! heres hoping lol
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I think that you are a little confused on your terminology. Riffs are what solos/lead consist of.
 
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