muttley600
Banned
Gerg wins again.
I have never been able to play anything the same way twice and I actually like it that way.
Gerg wins again.
I have never been able to play anything the same way twice and I actually like it that way.
muttley600
Banned
DrewPeterson7
Sage of the Order
I got him for yer.
I feel so... violated.
(I'm the same way, Mutt - formally writing, memorizing, and executing solos has never been my thing. I've tried it a couple times, and it always just sounds very, um, "planned" and doesn't have the natural flow to it that I get when I don't think and just play).
muttley600
Banned
My background has always been in looser arrangements and musical styles. Grew up in the sixties listening to pop and rock ramblings. When I came of age I was right in the middle of the original punk explosion in London, no discipline there. My training was on piano and sax playiong jazz and that led me to Blue Note where it's all head arrangements and do what you like in between. I've played in bands from Covers to Jump Jive and we always do it our way. We have a plan with head arrangements, when that goes wrong we wing it and have fun.
Not saying thats right or wrong but as a bunch of musicians it's taken us to many interesting places and given us a whole lot of fun times over the years and we've met some interesting people ion the way. Its all just about moving air really.
Zaphod B
Raccoons-Be-Gone, Inc.
Paulie Jay
New member
I am predomiantly a bassist. Although I can handle the guitar ok enough, I'm not much of an improviser on the six string. I tend to construct my guitar solos in my head over the course of a few days, and then sit down with my guitar and see that I can actually play what I'm hearing in my head, and then run through it a few times to polish it up. If I improvise blindly I can usually come up with a few licks that I like, but a heck of a lot more shite.
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oceanflame
New member
I usually "write" my solo down after rehearsing a lot of times until I found something that fits really in the mix, and if necessary practice it, 'cause sometimes I write something, but it's a bit hard to play...
OR, I solo over the section itself, improvising, and when I hear something nice to my ears, I'll take this one solo. And then after the song is done, I practice that solo.
OR, I solo over the section itself, improvising, and when I hear something nice to my ears, I'll take this one solo. And then after the song is done, I practice that solo.
ido1957
9K Gold Member
My solos are fairly simple, which makes them easy to remember and play note for note when I play them.
I'm referring to original songs - not cover tunes. I prefer it when people cop a cover tune solo note for note and not noodle something in the same key. Like Hotel California - you have to get the solo right or you ruin the song...
I'm referring to original songs - not cover tunes. I prefer it when people cop a cover tune solo note for note and not noodle something in the same key. Like Hotel California - you have to get the solo right or you ruin the song...
miroslav
Cosmic Cowboy
My problem, miroslav, is that not only do I improvise everything, I also generally solo right at the limits of my technical aptitude. So, even if I sat down and worked out what I had just played (which would be a huge pain in the ass, because that's a LOT of note!), it would take me forever and there's no guarantee I even could replicate it with 100% accuracy.
Then it sounds to me like your solos have too many notes....
Yeah...I improvise most of the time too as I play, but I find that if I repeat the solos enough times for a particular song eventually a certain theme will emerge, otherwise it's just a lot of wanking IMO if I don't strike some kind of "theme"...or "vibe" if you will.
Once I get to that point...I then still improvise, but I also start repeating certain sections, which eventually turns into an actual “worked out” lead part instead of pure improvisation. Even though I do that, still no two passes are 100% identical...but, I am able to track maybe 3-5 passes that are close enough, and from them find exactly the "complete" lead that fits that song and that isn't just a total improvisational jam.
Mind you...if you don't have the desire to play through a bunch of times for that to happen...then yeah, I can see where you would just riff through it "as-it-falls" and then that's the keeper.
But yeah...it’s usually not a big deal as I too rarely double track my solos.
D
dintymoore
Guest
Tony Williams had a wonderful concept of always playing beyond your technical limitations, past your comfort zone. I aim for that. As soon as it's comfortable, strap a piano to your back and roll down stairs backwards. If you play with top players with tons of chops and they play like that, to me, that's the highest level.
In a song like that, or "Michelle" by the Beatles, the guitar "solo" is more of a part, it's not an improvised solo. Changing a part like that doesn't usually work.
On the other side, on most jazz gigs it's a free for all.
grimtraveller
If only for a moment.....
Firstly, if this is what you're happy doing, then do it. Just because people do things differently doesn't mean you should.Since I promised myself to double track as much of my playing as possible, I've found myself literally sitting down and tabbing out bits of my own playing so I can get it spot on - is this really what most guitarists do? or am I being overly fussy and should I just single-track the solos?
I'm interested in what you guys do
That all said, it's good to take note of what people do because the more scope you have, the fresher you'll remain. The way I write solos for all instruments differs. Sometimes I'll improvise all the way with guitar[they generally sound awful !] but I find they only sound good when they're backwards and I've turned the tape around. Sometimes I approach them from scratch. Other times I'll play the run or imagine the run over which a solo will go and just hum a solo, improvising that. For some reason they always sound Ok, far better than when I improvise by playing it. Then when the soloist plays it they think 'wow' and I think 'Go figure !'.
DrewPeterson7
Sage of the Order
Then it sounds to me like your solos have too many notes....
Well, which ones do you propose I take out?
(What was the youtube vid, btw? It's blocked from the office).
While normally I'd consider taking that critique seriously, I've heard a couple of your tracks and I think we can attribute it to stylistic differences - I don't think I'd play the kind of solo I do on my stuff on most of your tracks, yet for the genre I play it's quite a bit more appropriate. Besides, it's just fun.
miroslav
Cosmic Cowboy
Just a clip from the movie "Amadeus"....nothing inappropriate.
This is the link to it: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dCud8H7z7vU
DrewPeterson7
Sage of the Order
It wouldn't happen to be the one with the line I quoted in response, by chance, would it?
S
soundchaser59
Reluctant Commander
This is almost eggszactly what I do, maybe because I'm native Texan too.... eggscept I experiment with amps and pedals and tones first, then when I get the sound I want I rehearse incessantly until I can play it at least 3 or 4 times in a row without errors. I've learned that, especially with software recording, it is very beneficial to rehearse with the recorder capturing everything. By the time I get it good enough to keep it is already memorized, no need to actually write anything out. I only write something out if I want someone else to play it for me.
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BIGSHAQDADDY
Banned
Since I promised myself to double track as much of my playing as possible, I've found myself literally sitting down and tabbing out bits of my own playing so I can get it spot on - is this really what most guitarists do? or am I being overly fussy and should I just single-track the solos?
I'm interested in what you guys do
Dude I jam out a solo to get ideas I like but when I am recording one i do 5 or 6 takes till I get an awesome one, and If I want to double track it, I just do it again, but I played it and I know how to play it again if I did it before. I dont know how you go about playing guitar, but unless you are just putting in earplugs and hitting random notes then you shouldnt have to go back and tab out your own playing.
Anyways part of the point of double tracking something is that the subtle DIFFERANCES between the 2 tracks creates an interesting effect.
grimtraveller
If only for a moment.....
I think that's the key. It's those subtle differences which you hear without hearing.....
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EZchair Pickin
New member
For leads, I'll always work something up and rehearse it a couple times before laying it down to a track. Then all I usually do is copy it to another track, pan them hard left and right and add either a subtle doubling effect or delay to one of the sides to thicken it up a little. Sometimes I'll EQ both sides a little differently as well.
I never have much time to record and usually do it on a whim....much less have time to double track stuff.
I never have much time to record and usually do it on a whim....much less have time to double track stuff.
rayc
retroreprobate
Word for word what Pauly J said - except his last line. I can't improvise so I usually ask a regular collaborator to contribute his regularly amazing solos. You can tell the solo's I've played - they're very slow, controlled & usually over processed.