Beginner’s Guide to Guitar Soloing

Everyone wants to be in the spotlight. After putting in all of your hard work and dedicating yourself to your instrument, there is no doubt that you want some recognition.

If this sound like you, grab your bag of trusty techniques, warm up your hands, and get ready, because today we are going to teach you, the beginner, how to create that ever popular showcase that is a guitar solo.

First things first; guitar solos are hard to write. Just because you know how to write one, doesn’t mean that ideas will be hopping out into your face every twenty seconds. It takes a lot of time to build a proper guitar solo.

Knowing that, it is best to approach your guitar solo as you would approach learning another guitarist’s solo. Start off slowly, and build your way through it piece by piece. Just like a painting, a great guitar solo is built of many little things put together, and each should have its place and add to the others. There should be no ‘just because’ notes; guitar solos are built with a purpose in mind, and it is best you establish that purpose right away.

What kind of music are you playing? If you are playing the blues, a sweep pick run with legato notes isn’t going to fit. Analyze your music, and choose which techniques would fit it best. Don’t let yourself fall into the pattern of thoughtless soloing.

The best way to understand what fits and what doesn’t is to listen to your favorite bands, and more importantly, focus on their solos. What makes the solo work? Why does it work? What techniques are being used, and how are they being used? These are questions you should be asking yourself while studying your favorite bands.

Once you understand what works and why, the next step is to discover what doesn’t work, and why it doesn’t. Listen to bands that you don’t like, and analyze their guitarists. Ask yourself the same set of question; why does this sound so bad? What techniques are they using? Why don’t these techniques work? Once you have these questions answered, you are closer to understanding a guitar solo.

Notice that when guitarists write guitar solos, they don’t throw out all of their techniques at once. You may find yourself listening to one solo and noticing a specific technique that grabs your attention. Then you may find yourself listening to a different solo by the same exact band, yet this solo has a different technique that grabs your attention.

These are the signs of a master guitarist. You want to highlight a specific technique in each solo that will make the listener take notice. The listener won’t be able to take note of a solo if thirty techniques are being displayed in chronological order. The solo will be cluttered, confusing, and displeasing to the ear.

So long as you pick a technique and stick with it, build your lead around it, you will soon find yourself writing some interesting and ear catching guitar solos. Remember not to let yourself get carried away, and above all, have fun with it!

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