Help Improving Originality for Solos

[Trussrod]

To me, the opposite of trying to be original is watching other guitarist instructional videos.

seriously..

Lol...

[Trem]

To me, the opposite of trying to be original is watching other guitarist instructional videos.

seriously..

Well the video in particular i'm talking about is more on the subject of thinking outside the box, not so much here's a lick play it like this. It's a great video.

[horns666]

Well the video in particular i'm talking about is more on the subject of thinking outside the box, not so much here's a lick play it like this. It's a great video.

Yeah..I know. I was just being myself...a tool! I actually worn that VHS out. I bought all those fuggin' tapes. But I never sat in from trying to learn them..on purpose. I just let my brain absorb whatever inspired me..and put my own spin on stuff. This is true.

I never learned any of my hero's solo/songs note for note. I never play guitar in a cover band so that wasn't a problem. I think that's why it's easy for me to write stuff. Because everything I play is my own crap. Sure, it may sound kinda like this or that..but it doesn't. When I worshipped (still do) VH, Dokken, Ratt, Loudness, TNT, Rough Cutt..ect.. I sounded excatly like that style. I had a fuggin' mullet and shit. Fuck Yeah..Bill Z Cyrus.

Jeff Loomis broke me from that mold really. He was my other VH..the next level of being original. truly original.

I find few cover guitarist that write cool original stuff. I never wanted to be a cover guitarist. That is way too much work to sound like other guitarists. With Bass..anything goes..I don't care..that's really easy for me. Sometimes I just make up whatever bassline I think goes there..and it works beautiful..fuggums.

[Inazone]

The biggest change for me was when I started listening to death metal and black metal. While I was playing bass in various bands, all of the guitarists were into the "mainstream" metal bands of the day - Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, Anthrax, Pantera, Guns n' Roses - and trying to mimic what the big-name guitarists were doing. When I decided I wanted to be a lead guitarist, I started in that same direction, but none of it was clicking for me. I think it was Testament's Low that really set me off on a new path, due to James Murphy's playing style. (To this day, it remains my favorite Testament album, and ruined all their previous stuff for me.)

The other "life changing" listen was Nile's Annihilation of the Wicked, and it probably had the greatest impact on my playing. I'd seen them live before and bought a couple of CDs over the years, but my band opened for them on that tour, and it was the first time I really paid close attention to Karl Sanders' style. Sure, it's death metal, so that lends itself toward a somewhat more chaotic approach, but what I immediately noticed was that he wasn't just repeating himself or letting the rhythm of the song dictate his solos. He might not start a solo until halfway through a measure, but it would then just flow across various key and tempo changes.

I've since picked up on the subtle points of soloing in other metal subgenres, and tried to incorporate that into my own playing without it being too derivative. So far, it's working.

[Hellbat]

When trying to lay down a solo over something, record yourself humming/singing a melody "solo" line, then figure out how to play it after the fact on your guitar. Throw in some tricks/flash over top of that melody and you will have a cool melodic solo that fits the song because then you are forced to not play by muscle memory and you are serving the song. It takes that rote repetition out of the solo composing process, and if other people can hum along to the solo it helps them to remember it as well.

[horns666]

Yeah...yeah....I do all that fuggin' shit...toughguy!

[ginsambo]

I'd say leave the guitar alone for a while, music comes from the heart, not from your hands or head. You have to listen to some new stuff to get stoked and inspired for a new feel and phrasing. Once the inspiration is there, any new technique, if required, to play it fluently soon catches up, as long as you know the angle. Its amazing how once you have something in your head, something to say, how your technique soon improves, whereas playing scales and arpegios doesn't seem to help one bit somehow, unless you can relate them to something. I know what you mean, you can be in a rut and full of technique and everything ends up sounding the same old same.

Technically you could try playing in different modes for sounds, or use runs of five, seven or nine, rather than the standard triplets, something a bit different, or try and use legato pull off runs completely differently to how you'd usually do them, by not getting stuck in the same phrasing and note choice. Sometimes figuring out how a different player uses them broadens your horizons as you can completely overlook the obvious. You can try playing only on one string to get different melodies and phrasings. One string is all you need, two octaves, the rest is just clutter. Think of a mood and just play it on the string. Concentrate on your weak points. major rather than pentatonic minor. Although I think guitar players who can come up with blinding major solos, time after time, have far too excessive serotonin levels. If phrasing is difficult, sing or hum it as you play it to remember the accents.

Best method by far is to take a break and listen to different music though to get some inspiration so you end up wanting to smother your guitar with ketchup and eat it as it feels so right and wholesome (I like those days) and stop the melodic flatlining. Physical exercise helps also, think it improves your blood oxygen levels and reduces the 'I must, but I just can't' factor.

Um....and Nana Mouscouri.

...And a Tom Bridge.

[Axegrinder87]

If you feel stuck in the box, I think I can help.

What I do is open up Excel, or whatever it's called on Open Office. Draw out the first octave of the fretboard (or 2 if you want), with each cell being a fretted note for each string. Map out a scale of your choice across the entire board. Use a different color for root notes. With the visual aid you'll see many different box patterns, and what I call "connector notes/phrases" that can be used to bridge those boxes. Learn each of those boxes and connectors, and you should be able to flow across the fretboard pretty well.

If this sounds somewhat reasonable, but need some help, I can send you a file or two for an example.

[ginsambo]

That Randy Rhoads Texas soundcheck lick is quite useful for fretboard navigation also. It's a spanish sounding legato lick with a load of trills, quick hammer ons and pull offs, on a minor scale that ends on some odd note which makes it sound Randy. Once you have figured that, you can figure out how to play it all over the guitar and start to exercise your third and little finger for some of the trills and pulloffs. Then start adding odd notes or skipping notes and see how they sound. It also helps to suss out 98% of Randy's of solos. Still basically minor though. I'd look at Chris Holmes WASP solos, he mixes and matches all sorts of notes and plays weird off the hymn sheet phrasings. He's one of my fav guitar players as I always gelled from a young age with what he was playing.

[ginsambo]

I think I saw the Pick of Destiny on Ebay recently...

[Twitch]

Yeah, 3rds, 5ths, greek to me for the most part. Im an ear and feeling player for the most part. I think what I need to do is not focus on the whole solo, but focus on a measure at a time and once Ive found something Im happy with move on to the next until Ive got the whole solo down. I need to put thought into it. Not just wing it, that only gets me so far. This approach will be great for the studio anyhow as thats how I record my solos, a piece at a time. Ill just have to do this with all the new tunes before they ever get played live.

[ginsambo]

I was talking about frets....not degrees of a scale. The modes are worth learning, for the value that you can see how modified scales sound over the key, I don't understand them too well myself,but its not rocket science. Sorry pasted this in from Word.

Given that there are seven/eight degrees to a major diatonic scale (A - B - C# - D - E - F# - G# and then back A), so there are seven modes. Modes are just major scales that relate to the key/tonic note by including that note at a given degree/interval of that scale, so you are kind of backtracking on yourself, trying to find a suitable major scale. They open up new sounds and dynamics and help you better understand how notes feel against the music, how to overlap different scales on thefretboard and how to play scales in various positions and what you are doing so you can repeat it.

The Ionian mode has the key/tonic note as the first degreeof a major scale, it's root is the same as the key so it is a major scale inthe key. In the key of A, A Ionian would be A major ((A) - B - C# - D - E - F# -G# - A)

The Dorian mode has the key/tonic note as the second degreeof the major scale, so in the key of A, A Dorian mode would be a G major/Eminor scale (G - (A) - B - C - D - E - F# - G). Dorian mode is a natural minor with a raised sixth (A key/E minor scale, A minor scale = E minor except sixth degree of scale is raised)

The Phygrian mode has the tonic note as third degree of the major scale so in the key of A, A Phygrian mode would be an F major/D minorscale (F - G - (A) - Bb - C - D - E - F).

The Lydian mode has the tonic note as the fourth degree ofthe major scale, in the key of A, A Lydian mode would be an E major/C# minorscale (E - F# - G# - (A) - B - C# - D# - E).

The Mixolydian mode has the tonic note as the fifth degreeof the major scale, in the key of A, A Mixolydian mode would be a D major/Bminor scale (D - E - F# - G - (A) - B - C# - D)

The Aeolian mode has the tonic note as the sixth degree ofthe major scale, in the key of A, A Aeolian would be a C major/A minor scale.(C - D - E - F - G - (A) - B - C). It is the natural minor mode. (Not the harmonic minor which has a chromatically raised seventh degree of the natural minor scale).

Locrian mode has the tonic note as the seventh degree of the major scale, in the key of A, A Locrian mode would be an Bb major/G minorscale. (Bb - C - D - Eb - F - G - (A) - Bb)

I find navigation and making musical sense is easier for me to remember the modes as whole major scales, rather than modified tonic scales starting on the tonic note, else I slip back to the familiar scales in that position or interchange randomly. So A phrygrian mode for me, would be E minor (E - F - G - A - Bb - C - D -), rather than an A natural minor scale with a flatted second (A - Bb - C - D - E - F- G - A). (A natural minor being (A) -B - C - D - E - F - G - A). This is when a cross reference chart comes in handy.

Flamenco music incorporates a lot of Phrygrian mode. So if you want Flamenco in A, then you play a F major/D minor scale over a A major chord. You can also play this scale in the conventional 5th fret position also, but learn all over the fretboard. Or try playing E Phrygrian mode over Emajor/F major flamenco chords, ending a legato run on a B note. A lot depends on the notes you incorporate/interchange from the standard, bringing in new notes and which ones you end on. Randy Rhoads often used to land on odd notes, followed by a silence, like F# after a long A natural minor legato, which makes things sound really ominous. Look at 'Believer'.

Also try playing in Lydian mode over Major seventh Jazzchords. A Lydian scale being a majorscale with a raised 4th degree so it sounds more jazzy. (A) - B - C# - D# - E -F# - G# - A. or E major scale (E - F# -G# - (A) - B - C# - D# - E).

I don't buy into this 'Oh its because its in C Sharp Dorian mode' stuff either, the stuff you used to get at the front of TAB books,especially as rock is a bit like Jazz, being that there seems to be little rhyme or reason to it sometimes, it is not written in stone, just what sounds good, but if a little theory can broaden your understanding on what you are doing and your sounds and how notes feel over the chords, then its no bad thing.

A lot of your sound will also depend on how you learnt scales in the first place. I always, (Maybe like you?) sway towards minor scale fingerings to major ones, especially pentatonics, so C major would be A minor for me, played in the fifth position (5th fret) sounds the same yeah, but as basic fretboard landmarks, this inevitably influences your note choice and is not overly great for freedom of expression.

[hunterkolb]

what i usualy do, is i take, and mix all my favorite modes and scales and triads and whatnot. you come up with some cool sounding stuff. kind of like this

e----------------------12-13-16
b------------12-13-16----------
g---12-13-15-------------------
d-------------------------------
a-------------------------------
e-------------------------------

thats one of my favorite "off" sounding runs. a spin on the spanish frygian

[Misanthrope[ALWT]]

My 2 cents:
If you're looking for something that sounds interesting, original, and listenable to YOU, the two biggest things you need are a passion for diversity in your taste and style and the motivation (or inspiration, if we're getting flowery here, because they really are the same thing) to put what you feel into the strings. Get EXCITED about everything, and start realizing that the purpose of a solo is to be as catchy and vocal as possible. When your notes start sounding like lyrics, you'll know you've got something special. And don't listen to anyone who tells you the best way to be original is to not listen to other bands or music. There is no such thing as true originality, and what people deem as "fresh", "new", and "original" are merely very cool new ways to combine the various influences that the writer has in their mind from whatever music they listen to.

Of course, all of this is much easier said than done, but that's the idea, isn't it? The hardest part (for me, at least) has always been finding that drive or idea that sparks the whole melody and its extension, the body of the solo. And also, don't forget that half of what makes a solo great is the harmony and rhythm behind it. Play with the drums, play with writing rhythm parts, and especially play with what the vocals are doing. Everything lends to its companions, that's what makes it hit so hard when a part of a song comes to a climax and slams you in the chest like a pillowcase full of soap bars.

Hope this helps, man!

[Twitch]

My do it while recording theory held water!!! I busted out some solos Im proud of tonight AND remember what I played! Freekin sweet!!!