What exactly am I playing???

[WERNER 1]

I've got this problem....well actually I've got a lot of problems, but I'll try and stay focused on just one for right now.

I've been playing for 25 years, and I came up cuttin' my teeth on 80's metal and rock. I can rip out the best solo's from over the years (VH, Night Ranger, Scorps, Ozzy..blah, blah....) and I've developed a nice blues feel over the years as well.....but the problem is that I have no idea what I'm playing "exactly".

I've always listened to things over and over to figure them out, and I've written countless songs and solos but I've recently been intorduced to a situation where there is no way I could figure out a solo for every song (We've got over 1200 songs on tap ) I'm playing songs from charts which is no problem, but when it comes time for an instrumental piece (solo) I'm like a lost little school girl out in the middle of the getto! By the time I do start to "get in the groove" my time is up.......and I've totally made an imbisel out of my self..........When I know that I could "smoke" almost any 6 string totin wan-a-be that comes along.

Is this something that will come to me in time (I've noticed a bit of improvement as of late..) or is there a way to "learn" how to do this more proficiantly?

I've never had any formal training or theory.......al the guys that I knew that went that route all sounded to clinical and un-heart felt in their playing....so I've always shyed away from that.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

Thanks,
Rick

 

[HangDawg]

I've never had any formal training or theory.......al the guys that I knew that went that route all sounded to clinical and un-heart felt in their playing....so I've always shyed away from that.

Any thoughts or suggestions?

Thanks,
Rick

Now would be the time to start then. You have alot of the hard work out of the way. You need the theory to progress to where you want to be. You are not going to suddenly figure it all out without studying. The reason I say this is this is also my story. But, I've decided to start learning cause I'm tired of being in the dark.

 

[famous beagle]

By the bands you listed, I assume you've probably got a pretty good hold on the whole minor pentatonic scale thing. This is your typical "box shape" pattern that, in Am, would be, from the lowest string to the highest:
5-8, 5-7, 5-7, 5-7, 5-8, 5-8.

And you probably know some major scale shapes as well, though you may not be aware of it.

I would suggest that a good place to start would be to just get a book that covers basic scales and theory.

I would suggest something like these:

http://www.halleonard.com/item_deta...00&refer=search&type=product&keywords=theory+

http://www.halleonard.com/item_deta...00&refer=search&type=product&keywords=theory+


Trust me, you're not going to lose your feel or heart by learning some theory. Perhaps if someone starts off that way and does nothing other than "follow the rules," they may sound a little stiff and soulless. But you've already learned how to express yourself through the instrument. All theory is going to do is allow you to get to where you want to before the solo is already over.