Advanced Guitar Soloing

After you’ve gotten used to playing guitar solos, you may start to get bored with playing the same old stuff. Most guitarists get stuck in this rut at some point, and the sooner you can get out of it, the sooner you can take your soloing and improvisational skills to the next level.

Playing basic guitar solos with the pentatonic scale isn’t hard. That’s why they’re so popular! But after a while, you will probably need something else to get you inspired to start playing some truly awesome solos. Here are a few tips to do that:

1. Don’t play the same old, straightforward beat:Once you’ve mastered basic soloing (aka- the pentatonic scale,) it’s time to mix up your rhythm strategy. If you normally play everything in 4/4 time with straight quarter-and-eighth notes, try using a different time, like 3/4. While this doesn’t sound totally wild (3/4 is still pretty common in many musical styles,) it will force you to change your soloing strategy a little bit and get creative.

Another way to  mix it up is to try adding in some different-length notes. If you play exactly one note on every beat, your solos get old very quickly. Instead, try playing long half-and-whole notes that you can really bend soulfully, interspersed with maybe some rapid, exciting sixteenth-notes. (For those who don’t know, that means long notes and really short, quick ones.) For examples of this type of playing, listen to most blues guitarists (Stevie Ray Vaughan is a great example,) plus some of the more soulful rock players, like John Frusciante.

2. Experiment with hammer-ons, pull-offs, and tremolo:Hammer-ons and pull-offs are two great ways to play 2 or more notes in rapid succession while making them kind of blend together. To do a hammer-on, pluck any note, then hammeronto a higher note within reach on the same string without picking again. This creates a very fluid sound. A pull-off is basically the opposite of a hammer-on: Pick a note with your pinkie, ring, or middle finger, and than literally pull it off to allow a lower note on the same string to sound. To make the second note really stand out, it helps to pull off the string sideways on the fretboard instead of just straight off. This is kind of like picking with your left hand.

A tremolo is one way to get a very soulful sound in the style of B.B. King and Eric Clapton. To do this, just play a note and bend the string back and very. This can be done as quickly or as slowly as desired.

3. It doesn’t have to be just single notes: To really give your guitar solo some extra oomph, try mixing in some chords (in the right key, of course,) and double-stops into your solo. This is a technique that can lead to some very cool, expressive solos.