Guitar solos are a lot like magic tricks: The crowd will be amazed at the performance, not knowing how the magician is able to pull it off, but in reality there is a system that is far more simple and scientific than most people realize when you look behind the curtain.
We covered a technique called a "bend" in the last email. If I were to sum up soloing in one sentence, I would say it's using different techniques and tricks (like the bend) while staying within a set scale. You could play the notes as fast or as low as you like, skip around the scale in any order, but as a general rule you will want to make sure the notes you are playing are within the scale (when you get more advanced, you can experiment outside of the scale but we'll save that for another time).
Lets cover a couple of other techniques that are essential to playing guitar solos, but this time we will work within the Natural Minor Scale.
Below is a brief review of the scale in a tab form, starting on the 5th fret.
We covered a technique called a "bend" in the last email. If I were to sum up soloing in one sentence, I would say it's using different techniques and tricks (like the bend) while staying within a set scale. You could play the notes as fast or as low as you like, skip around the scale in any order, but as a general rule you will want to make sure the notes you are playing are within the scale (when you get more advanced, you can experiment outside of the scale but we'll save that for another time).
Lets cover a couple of other techniques that are essential to playing guitar solos, but this time we will work within the Natural Minor Scale.
Below is a brief review of the scale in a tab form, starting on the 5th fret.
Lets do a similar exercise as we did last week.
Tab 1.
Either have your friend play, or record yourself playing the following sequence:
While this chord progression is playing, begin playing through the Natural Minor Scale listed above. Begin by starting at the top and go to the bottom, then start at the bottom and work your way backwards, then experiment by starting in the middle and jumping around the scale.
Once you are comfortable with this, lets 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.
For example start with your index finger on the 5th fret of the high e string. 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 fret of the high e string, but you only picked the string once. The way this would be described in guitar lingo is you hammered-on from the 5th to the 7th fret. Below is a tab depicting this, and a photo underneath.
You can even expand on this and add a second hammer-on. After hammering-on from the 5th to the 7th fret, you then can hammer-on from the 7th to the 8th fret, by dropping your pinky finger onto the 8th fret. Below is tab showing this.
Practice this same technique but this time start with your index finger on the 5th fret of the B string, then hammer-on to the 6th fret by dropping your middle finger, and then hammer-on to the 8th fret by dropping your pinky finger.
You probably noticed the notes I chose in these two hammer-on exercises were both within the Natural Minor Scale. Go back through the first exercise with the chord progression playing in the background, and play through the scale again but this time add hammer-ons on the B and the high e strings. Feel free to experiment by adding hammer-ons to the other strings as well, just make sure to stay within the scale as you choose your frets to hit.
If you want to add one more element to this, add the bend from my previous lesson on the 7th fret of the G string as you are playing through the scale.
If you can put these techniques together in a smoothly connected way, you are well on your way to being able to play your own guitar solos. Practice through these techniques and like always sign up for a free one on one lesson over Skype. I would be happy to help you with any of these techniques and exercises.
If you are having fun with this I would recommend you take a look at my ebook Beginner's Guide To Guitar Solos. In this book I go over many different exercises and techniques, and provide you with everything you need to know to play incredible, mind-bending solos. Whether you want to shred and play hard rock, make the guitar moan and play blues, create cheerful melodies and play happy pop music, all styles are taught through my system. It's not that complicated, and you don't need to spend years studying music theory. It's all in line with the exercises you've been learning in this course.
Because you've stuck with me this long I'll give you a discount. Just email matt@guitarcram.com with the discount code 509B in the subject line, and I will send you a link where you can purchase this ebook for 50% off. There's also a 30 day money back guarantee, so if you're not jiving with the book no problem. It's no risk to you.
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