I've been playing guitar for...3 or 4 years now. And out of those 4 years I still cannot improvise a solo. If anyone can help me out with this problem that would be awesome.

I've already searched on the net for scales, examples, supposed tricks and tips and I still don't know what the fuck I'm doing- Here I am learning all of these scales and I don't know how to use them.

I'm sure that there is some kind of pattern that alters every time you move to another string, If someone could help me memorize those patterns... that would be awesome as well.

Learn solos you like. Take note of what they do. I don't know what to tell you other than you need to at least understand where you need to be on the fretboard to be in key and which notes will work and won't.

It's impossible to just come up with a solo. First you need to lay down the chords that you'll be soloing over, take notes from those chords, find some scale pattern, rip off SRV/hendrix/page/halen then throw in some bends and vibratos and turn the distortion at 11 and you'll sound like a god.

Root notes/scales/modes/practice.

You can definitely "just come up with a solo"..you don't need music to back you in order to play.

You can, but it is a lot harder and won't sound that good, IMO.

so..you don't like any instrument that plays a solo unaccompanied I take it?

I was assuming that this kid wants to play an electric guitar solo, which in my opinion, does sound like shit without any accompaniement.

I guess, some of the greatest artists have played their butts off without anything behind them. I guess it's a matter of taste..even if I find it to be poor :p

What made a huge difference for me was this: Take and draw a diagram of your whole guitar neck. Now map out every note on every fret. In other words Low E string is E-F-F#-G-G#-A etc. Now that is your 'key' for what the notes are(you should memorize these eventually). Now, it's for good reason that most theory books start with the key of C, because there are no sharps or flats. So now make a new clean diagram and map out every natural note (notes without a sharp or flat). The key of C contains C-D-E-F-G-A-B and then back to C each octave. What you have now is a visual map of every note in the key of C. Every natural mode (Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian and Locrian) can be found in here. As can every natural scale you'll hear about (I won't confuse you with stuff outside this realm for now). Learn these patterns by breaking them up into the 'modes'. Here's how to do this: In the key of C if you start on the Low E string at the 8th fret (C) and play a scale in that position this will be called a Major scale, if you slide up to the 10th fret (D) and play the notes of the key of C but start from D and go up to D, this is the Dorian Mode. Okay so you need a scale (Mode) from each note and these (if you look on the net you can find diagrams of the modes and see how these fit what I'm saying). Essentially though when you're learning these scales don't learn them 'linearly' Take a mental picture of the pattern or scale and see where it fits into this original 'puzzle' of the Key of C neck diagram you created earlier.

I never understood any of the scales or how to use them until I sat down and mapped out a whole key. After that I memorized the notes on the neck. This sounds intimidating and it can be but keep in mind...in any key there are only 7 notes. And in the world of american music and especially guitar there are only 12 total notes...period. Everything else is just a pattern of the same thing.

Don't get me wrong...if all you do is play these 'in key' notes for the rest of your life you may get bored but this is where you have to start. Not only that but you need to 'know' when you're going outside and hear the effect that it has. But believe me...this will keep you busy for at least a couple more years. There are miles and miles ahead of this and many many things to mention but if you just get this picture of the available notes in your head (which you just move to different starting points for different keys) soon you'll be free to wander the fretboard and just use your ear to make music.

I remember reading an interview with kim thayil. He spoke of memorizing every note on his fretboard back and forth and said it was the biggest waste of time ever. While that's not true for everyone--he fucking wailed.

Kim Thayil was incredible but he used a lot of weird tunings and had an amazing ear. If you're using an alternate tuning all these notes you memorized go out the window. But what I find interesting is although he 'consciously' found it a waste of time, he did it. And whether he consciously was aware of the effect that had at the time, of giving him a safety net so that his mind was distracted while his ear was soaking up all this info and exercising itself within the safely predictable realm of standard tuning I doubt. Kim wouldn't be what he was without this step. When we're children it was cool to crawl backwards down stairs. Today I find this was a 'complete waste of time'.

If the guy who started this thread had an 'incredible ear' he wouldn't be asking these questions. He'd be figuring out shit by the records.

I never said knowing what you were playing was a waste of time. In fact I made that point very clear. You have to know where to be on the fret board and what notes you can play. You don't however necessarily have to have everynote in front of your eyes conciously known.

He did play in a lot of alternate tunings, but he also played in a lot of standard tunings. And really if you've memorized the notes on your fret board it shouldn't be that hard to move them around with the tuning you're using unless you don't know the order and intervals of the notes. Even then if I know there's a 5th or a 4th between two strings I know where I can and can't go between those two strings.

^ Good point, lol.

Dude, basically just keep playing, maybe try forming a little jam band. The more practice you get, the more you learn from naturally teaching yourself. By nature, one will want to experiment with the instrument, and just find whatever your style happens to be. By playing, you'll probably pick up your soloing ability and such...but making a band will speed the process.

Thank you.

There's a guy named Kirk Lorange that put out a book called Plane Talk that made a little light go on in my head...

I studied music casually growing up. I had guitar lessons for a few months and began to learn scales and such, but I never stuck with it. I still can't read notes effectively, but I now understand quite a bit more than I used to.

I had hit a wall with my playing, but things seemed to open up after I picked up Lorange's book. The information in the book and the slide tool really help with improvisation.

While this book helped me understand quite a bit more, nothing can subsitute practice -- something which I've done little of lately...Either way, I'd recommend checking out the book.

I think that's the best advice you could recieve. For the most part i'm a bass player. Whether im looking to solo or just move the sound around a bit there's one thing I usually do when I first sit down with someone to learn their riff. ok, say the first root note is D. So key of D. The first thing I do is i'll start on anystring, doesn't matter, it just has to be a D note. sooo say A string, 5th fret, and as the person is playing their riff i'll just gradually work my way up the fretboard, just on the A string. So say I end up with 5--7--8--10--12, that's all on the A string. ok, so now I have the notes; D--E--F--G--A, so now you have a progression, BUT, the main point of this is to know which notes sound right at what point in the other persons riff. Plus it will give you a general idea of your scale. So now that you have you progression you can start going string to string,

g
d 5(g) 7(a) 5(g)
a 55 5(d) 7(e) 8(f) 8(f) 7(e)
e

and ultimately you might come up with a riff like that out of the progression you picked out. It's just trial and error and most importantly PRACTICE AND KEEP AN OPEN MIND. oh, one more thing. Try tabbing out a riff before you play it. Write it down on paper, get an idea of what you think it will sound like and then pick your guitar up and play. It'll help bring that idea that's always in your head to life a little easier.
hope this helps you,
Jeff

g
d---------- 5(g)-----------------7(a) 5(g)
a 55 5(d)---------7(e)- 8(f) ---------------8(f)--- 7(e)----
e



NOT;

g
d 5(g) 7(a) 5(g)
a 55 5(d) 7(e) 8(f) 8(f) 7(e)
e

that.

You don't always have to start on the root note either. You can start out using fifths etc., for example if it's in the key of D you could start on A., but for now just stick with the basics, and the rest will come overtime. Trust me, you'll get curious and experiment.

just have the rhythm playing in a key, like playing D minor in dropped D tuning or something simple, lay down an easy riff and then try out some notes in that scale and see how they work over the chord progression. and just change it up till you get something that sounds good. i think after you kinda get how the notes relate to each other and what patterns are good to use then you can start putting int legato stuff and such. im kinda a naturalish so its hard for me to give advice

LOL, he's real good though.

Guys! What's a BAR CHORD?!

barre

A barre chord is just when you bar off a certain fret, for example

e---5-----5-----1-----3-----
b---6-----5-----1-----3-----
g---7-----7-----3-----5-----
d---7-----7-----3-----5-----
a---5-----5-----1-----3-----
e-----------------------------

See how on the first two chord's you'd hold the five's down with your pointer finger. that's called barring when you lay your finger to bar off a certain fret.

e------------------------------------1---------------------------
b---6-----------5----------5-------1-----------3-----------3---
g----------7----------7-------------------3----------5----------
d-------7-----------7-------------------3----------5------------
a---5--------5--5------5--5--5/---1-------1--3------3---3--3\
e-----------------------------------------------------------------

Like that, that's holding those chords, and fingerpicking.

e---1---------------------------
b---1-----------3-----------3---
g--------3-----------5----------
d------3-----------5------------
a---1-------1--3------3----3--3\
e-------------------------------

like that for the second part, it's just something I was toying with the other day

noob

We all have to start somewhere.

Don't worry about thirdseason17.

He's a know-all mummy's little rich boy cock.