Welcome to the Guitar Solo Crash Course at GuitarCram.com!
We'll begin with the three most important lead guitar techniques you'll need to know to solo: bends, hammer-ons, and pull-offs.
These three techniques are used repeatedly in solos. Lets go over each one:
A bend is exactly what it sounds like, you will bend one of the strings up to produce a different note, all the while staying on the same fret.
Take a look at the below tab and photo of a bend on the 7th fret of the G string and give it a try.
We'll begin with the three most important lead guitar techniques you'll need to know to solo: bends, hammer-ons, and pull-offs.
These three techniques are used repeatedly in solos. Lets go over each one:
A bend is exactly what it sounds like, you will bend one of the strings up to produce a different note, all the while staying on the same fret.
Take a look at the below tab and photo of a bend on the 7th fret of the G string and give it a try.
As you push the string up you should find that the note becomes higher in pitch. As the note becomes higher in pitch you will emulate the note of the 8th fret, and then if you bend higher you will emulate the 9th fret, etc.
This one technique is huge when it comes to soloing and can't be understated. Realistically we could do an entire course on bends alone (and if you want a deeper explanation sign up for a free one on one lesson over Skype and I can expand on this topic, just email matt@guitarcram.com).
Lets do some exercises with the bend.
This one technique is huge when it comes to soloing and can't be understated. Realistically we could do an entire course on bends alone (and if you want a deeper explanation sign up for a free one on one lesson over Skype and I can expand on this topic, just email matt@guitarcram.com).
Lets do some exercises with the bend.
In this exercise we are starting back where we were earlier by bending on the 7th fret of the G string, and now we are adding a sequence to follow up with. Note: This course in generally is better suited for an electric guitar. If you only have access to an acoustic guitar that is ok, but this course will be much easier on an electric.
Now lets try adding one more element to this.
Now lets try adding one more element to this.
In this tab we are playing the 5th string while bending the 7th fret of the G string at the same time. This shouldn't be too difficult to add as your index finger should naturally be near the position of the 5th fret of the B string anyway. Take a look at the image below. It's the same photo from earlier but now pay attention to my index finger.
What you will notice on this is if you bend the 7th fret high enough into the 9th fret, you will actually be playing the same note as the 5th fret of the B string (this is a note of "e").
Lets try another exercise demonstrating this in a different position.
Lets try another exercise demonstrating this in a different position.
The importance of bends can't be understated when it comes to playing guitar solos. This one technique is used more than any, especially in the genre of Rock and Roll.
Let's move on to another technique called a Hammer-on.
A Hammer-On is a technique in which you play one note like normal on any given fret, and without plucking the string a second time, you drop a different finger onto another fret higher up, producing a second note. So in short you will get two notes out of only plucking the string one time. This technique allows you to play a lot faster, and is often used when soloing.
Lets take a look at a simple hammer-on.
Let's move on to another technique called a Hammer-on.
A Hammer-On is a technique in which you play one note like normal on any given fret, and without plucking the string a second time, you drop a different finger onto another fret higher up, producing a second note. So in short you will get two notes out of only plucking the string one time. This technique allows you to play a lot faster, and is often used when soloing.
Lets take a look at a simple hammer-on.
In this example we are hammering-on from the 5th fret to the 7th fret of the A string. So we will start with our index finger on the 5th fret like in the image below.
Pick the string like normal with your index finger on the 5th fret, and immediately after drop your ring finger on the 7th fret of the same string. So you will play two notes, the 5th and 7th, but you only picked the string once.
This is why it's important to position your fingers in such a way to where one finger is hitting a fret and the other one is already in position to hammer-on to the next.
A pull-off is just the opposite of a hammer-on. So in the above example you would start with your ring finger on the 7th fret of the A string while having your index finger already positioned on the 5th fret, and after plucking the string you pull your ring finger off, exposing the 5th fret.
A pull-off is just the opposite of a hammer-on. So in the above example you would start with your ring finger on the 7th fret of the A string while having your index finger already positioned on the 5th fret, and after plucking the string you pull your ring finger off, exposing the 5th fret.
There you go! There is a basic overview of these three lead techniques. We will be revisiting all three of these throughout the course and you will use them again and again as we progress.
What makes the bend so special is that it allows the guitar to "sing" like a vocalist. Think about it. As you bend the fret up you are actually warping the note. You can bend up to a note that is a half step higher (one fret), or a whole step higher (two frets), but you can also bend it to everything in between. So you can bend the note a quarter step higher- half a fret, or three quarters higher- 3/4 of a fret. In other words you can produce notes with a bend that you can't play on any individual fret.
This in a lot of ways is what makes the guitar stand out from other instruments, like say the piano. The piano is only capable of producing each individual note, as if you played an individual fret on the guitar without bending it. When you bend a note on the guitar you can produce what are called "microtones." We don't have enough time to go deep into music theory in this course, but microtones are intervals between notes that are smaller than a half step.
Hopefully now you can understand why I say bending notes allows your guitar to sing. When someone is singing a song they are not perfectly landing on each note as you would in a piano (unless they use auto-tune). The voice has to move between each note, and no matter how well-trained they are the singer will not be able to perfectly hit each note on the dot every time, they aren't robots. The natural variance between each note is what gives the music its unique feel. Today with the advent of autotune a lot of this is disappearing from modern music, but that's a discussion for another time...
We spent less time on the hammer-on and pull-off for now, but we will be continually revisiting them. The main thing to understand right now is how by hammering-on or pulling-off you can play notes faster than if you pick each note individually. You can imagine how this will help when you play some face-melting solos.
Click the link below for lesson #2 to move on.
What makes the bend so special is that it allows the guitar to "sing" like a vocalist. Think about it. As you bend the fret up you are actually warping the note. You can bend up to a note that is a half step higher (one fret), or a whole step higher (two frets), but you can also bend it to everything in between. So you can bend the note a quarter step higher- half a fret, or three quarters higher- 3/4 of a fret. In other words you can produce notes with a bend that you can't play on any individual fret.
This in a lot of ways is what makes the guitar stand out from other instruments, like say the piano. The piano is only capable of producing each individual note, as if you played an individual fret on the guitar without bending it. When you bend a note on the guitar you can produce what are called "microtones." We don't have enough time to go deep into music theory in this course, but microtones are intervals between notes that are smaller than a half step.
Hopefully now you can understand why I say bending notes allows your guitar to sing. When someone is singing a song they are not perfectly landing on each note as you would in a piano (unless they use auto-tune). The voice has to move between each note, and no matter how well-trained they are the singer will not be able to perfectly hit each note on the dot every time, they aren't robots. The natural variance between each note is what gives the music its unique feel. Today with the advent of autotune a lot of this is disappearing from modern music, but that's a discussion for another time...
We spent less time on the hammer-on and pull-off for now, but we will be continually revisiting them. The main thing to understand right now is how by hammering-on or pulling-off you can play notes faster than if you pick each note individually. You can imagine how this will help when you play some face-melting solos.
Click the link below for lesson #2 to move on.