Mental Release When Soloing

[mr. beaumont]

Intervals and ear training. Sing everything you play. Eventually you can play what you sing in your head.

Scales are fine. Arpeggios are probably more useful. Learn chords as clusters of motes, not "shapes." When you realize a G chord is anywhere you can play a G,B, and D note (and you know where all the G,B, and D notes are) the fretboard becomes your playground.

[Wyllys]

Originally Posted by mr. beaumont

Intervals and ear training.Sing everything you play. Eventually you can play what you sing in your head.

Scales are fine. Arpeggios are probably more useful. Learn chords as clusters of motes, not "shapes." When you realize a G chord is anywhere you can play a G,B, and D note (and you know where all the G,B, and D notes are) the fretboard becomes your playground.

Yup.

You can memorize the dictionary, but it does no good if you've nothing to say...

[Bob Womack]

I posted this before, but I've written a paper about soloing, written from an overall stylistic perspective, and it is HERE.


I've never had any professional training in soloing but it is a huge part of what I do, especially in the studio. I grew up in the '60s and '70s, the epicenter of guitar solo development. I spent my junior high and high school afternoons alone, listening to radio and records and learning to play. I listened to so many people to learn how to solo - the Allman Brothers, the Doobie Brothers, Joe Walsh, Pink Floyd, YES, etc. Because I was playing in bands and it was clear from the period that what sold was original soloing, I was always taking in other's methods and styles but folding them into my own developing style. It wasn't until college that I formally studied music and composition and learned the methods of composition.


So anyway, the ideas I use are in the paper above.


Bob

[Davis Webb]

Bob! That is a great article. Thanks for sharing.

[slewis]

This is a great thread!

[DaveKell]

Originally Posted by Wyllys

Take a gander at this vid:

https://youtu.be/f29a1RL2ly0

BAck when I was attending Indiana University and had a part time job delivering monthly rental water softeners for Culligan, Jamey Aebersold was one of my customers. His garage was converted into a pro recording studio. I often got to talk to him awhile and listen to him and his students playing. I found it amusing to see the autographed pics of many well known musical greats hanging on his wall with comments along the lines of he was a no talent hack. I'm guessing it was an inside joke to denigrate his teaching some of the best students in any university music program. Jazz was never my thing, but those guys play with such abandon. Maybe I should've delved into it instead of developing the bluegrass proficiency I used to have!

[Wyllys]

Originally Posted by DaveKell

BAck when I was attending Indiana University and had a part time job delivering monthly rental water softeners for Culligan, Jamey Aebersold was one of my customers. His garage was converted into a pro recording studio. I often got to talk to him awhile and listen to him and his students playing. I found it amusing to see the autographed pics of many well known musical greats hanging on his wall with comments along the lines of he was a no talent hack. I'm guessing it was an inside joke to denigrate his teaching some of the best students in any university music program. Jazz was never my thing, but those guys play with such abandon. Maybe I should've delved into it instead of developing the bluegrass proficiency I used to have!

Never mind him. It's the other guy you should listen to...

[Mr. Jelly]

I have to admit that back in the day when I first tried to do some lead work I had to ignore all thought and use my intuition and walk on. I remember that I'd let out a big breath to relax and do what comes naturally. An important part is to play with your ears. Listen to what's going down. Just remember to bring it on home when the verse is up and all will be good. When I get to feeling stale I still do it to this day.