Video: How To Begin Playing A Guitar Solo That Sounds Impressive


Does this sound familiar?:

You begin playing a guitar solo and you start to get lost on the fretboard, make mistakes or otherwise play phrases that just don't seem to go anywhere.

This is very frustrating!

However:

You aren't the only one.

Many guitarists struggle playing guitar solos and experience these same issues.

Good news is, this problem is easily fixed.

How do you do it? The secret is to make just a few notes sound really good until you are able to control your soloing better and play entire solos of good notes.

Check out this video to learn how to begin playing guitar solos that sound great:

Click on the video to begin watching it.

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Now you know how to begin playing a guitar solo that sounds much more expressive without needing a lot of notes to do it.

Here are some more tips to help you integrate these concepts into your playing to get started playing guitar solos that sound even better:

Tip #1. While playing notes higher on the fretboard, use the neck pick up by switching the the pickup selector all the way to the top position. This gives these notes a smooth tone.

While playing on the lower area of the fretboard, use the bridge pickup. Using the neck pickup in these areas can have the unwanted effect of creating a muddy tone.
 

Tip #2. Make playing with excellent timing a priority. Playing with tight timing is commonly underestimated by lead guitarists, but it is critical when you want begin to play a guitar solo that sounds as good as the ones by the pros.

How do you get better at rhythmic timing?

Try this:

Play a simple phrase with just a few notes at a time (as you saw in the video) while playing at a slow-moderate tempo with a metronome.

Start by using simple rhythms that you can time up easily - such as straight eighth notes.

Then split up your focus between playing the notes and being prepared for when the next beat of the metronome. Make it your goal to play perfectly on beat each time a note falls on a click of the metronome. This should eventually cause the note to disappear behind the click.
 

Tip #3. Make your guitar practice as focused as possible. It's common for guitarists to use generic chromatic licks or other exercises to improve their lead guitar playing during practice.

The problem:

You rarely use these licks in real music!

Instead, use your practice for playing items that actually can be applied into music and are in-line with your specific guitar playing goals.
 

Tip #4. Use muting technique properly to keep your guitar solos clean. Most guitarists only use palm muting, but this isn't the most efficient way to play clean.

Instead, use your picking hand thumb to mute any notes below (in pitch) the string you are playing.

Then use the index finger of the fretting hand to mute the strings that are above the string you are playing.


Tip #5. Learn to visualize the fretboard to stop getting lost when you begin playing a guitar solo. Learning how to visualize the fretboard is crucial for playing guitar solos that flow seamlessly and create a musical journey for the listener.

Try this:

Focus on getting better at visualizing the scale shape you are moving into before you begin moving your guitar solo in that direction.

To make this easier at first, work on using scale shapes that are in nearby positions.

For example:

The first octave of the A minor scale beginning on fret 5 of the low E string and the first octave of the A minor scale beginning on the 7th fret (also know as B Locrian). These two scale positions use the same notes and are close together making them easier to navigate at first.

Tip #6. Start taking lessons with a guitar teacher instead of learning how to play guitar solos by yourself.

It's frustrating when you want to become a better guitarist and play awesome solos like the pros - but have no idea where to begin in order to do these things.

This makes the process of learning to begin playing guitar solos seem hard and demotivating rather than exciting - like it should be.

This is very important for helping you make tons of progress, because a great guitar teacher is reliable at getting you to understand where you are going wrong, improve any poor playing habits and get new ideas that you may not have discovered if you learned everything all by yourself.

I have given instruction for many years to thousands of guitarists worldwide and am very proud of the help I have been able to give them.

This is what my students say about taking lessons and how it changed their musical lives:
 

 

 


Think you are ready to learn more about playing great guitar solos? Let me teach you all about playing creatively on guitar. Get started by clicking the 'Start Now' button below: