Trouble with solos

[kokostevens]

Hey I'm looking for advice here. I'm a lead guitarist who's main influence is Yngwie Malmsteen. There are others of course like George Lynch, Randy Rhoads, and too many to mention, but I have a habit of playing in minor scales. That's just the way I hear solos, and how I write. The problem is when a song is not written in minor my solos sound out of key. Is there any middle ground here? Has anyone ever come across this? People have told me that while the solos are better "key-wise" they'd like to hear more of my old personality in them as well, and I'm having trouble with it. Any advice?

[skidd]

Re: Trouble with solos

Turn on the radio or put in some cds that wouldn't normally listen to and start soloing. Record them if you can, wait a few days then listen to them. See what you like and don't like.

Work on your modes in all 12 keys. Learn every Major scale in open position. If you can solo in a Minor key your can solo in a Major key.

Really learn the neck. Just don't play box/patterns. Learn the notes on the neck. It is much easier if you can "SEE" the whole neck and not just boxes.

Have fun and just play. Close your eyes and play (an old Joe Dorio trick)that will force you out of some of the same patterns and ruts.

Hope this helps.

[Fragle]

Re: Trouble with solos

well...there are several ways to approach this.

1)do shitloads of improvising. really, sit down with your guitar, listen to music and start to jam on it. you will sooner or later find out which notes you are supposed to play and which you arent. as always, practice makes perfect.

2)firstly, kinda "build" the solo in your head before playing it, and then learn it on guitar. randy did this quite often on diary of a madman if i recall correctly

3)listen to the solo backing over and over and over and over.....sometimes it happens that if you listen often enough to some backing track the idea for a fitting lead just hits you.....remember, i said sometimes [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

4)this one is very similar to nr2, but this time you sit down and work out the solo with your guitar on. if its a happy tune, try to focus on happy melodies etc....

5)just think of some basic licks you want to have in your solo, and then go out and play it. so basically you have some licks that you gotta play and then you fill up the gaps during the recording...just improvise something. if you already have a basic melody worked out you will find it much easier to improvise in the right mood if you know what i mean


as always, dont overdo it. if you feel that it doesnt work today, do something else and try it the next day.
if you record a lead and make small mistakes in every take, pick the best one. dont do more than 3 takes. yngwie will totally agree (actually, i stole this approach from him [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img] ). if you listen to yngwies stuff you will find some mistakes here and there, mostly muting stuff. forget it. dont play the same stuff too much, because if you overdo it it wont sound "fresh" anymore.


dunno why i focused on recording now [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img] but hell, the more i write the bigger the chance that you will find something useful [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

greets
fragle

[Twisteramps]

Re: Trouble with solos

Ok, if you are playing a song in A major... what notes do you emphasise during the solo?

Pete

[fuel0707]

Re: Trouble with solos

Here's yet another hint. From a music theory standpoint, every major key has a relative minor key. To find the relative minor, move down a minor third (or three frets) from the major key's tonic note. Put in to different terms, if you are playing in C major, the relative minor is A minor (A being three frets or a minor third down from C). Therefore, you could play A minor pentatonic or A minor licks over C major. Of course, you'll need to let your ear decide what notes to begin and end on. But the notes in A minor will be the same notes in C major, especially if you stick to pentatonic scales primarily.

I think the key of A major was mentioned earlier. The relative minor for A major is F# minor. So again, you could play F# minor ideas over A major. And hopefully you'll ear will lead you to the stronger notes to play over A major, like A, C# and E (the root, third and fifth of A major).

I hope this helps. If you just work with it for a while, you'll find that it's pretty easy to understand and believe it or not, logical.

[atomic charvel guy]

Re: Trouble with solos

wow, wish i could help like john d.
all i know is that the whole fretboard is connected. so does everybody else-lol

[KYJoe]

Re: Trouble with solos

If these are your own songs you're referring to, either just follow the key or do what Yngwie does. Even if the song is in a major key, he'll gear the rhythm during the solos to better match his playing style. It's a quick fix and it works for Yngwie...most of the time. [img]images/icons/smile.gif[/img]

Another thing you can do is pick some cover songs you like that are in a major key and gett the TAB for them. Just learn the solos since that where your problem lies. This is more fun than just learning scales, and it will get you actually soloing in the major keys instead of learning scales you'll then have to learn to use. [img]images/icons/grin.gif[/img]

Learning the scales and then learning to blend them in with what you already know is the best advice.

Good luck
Joe

[atomic charvel guy]

Re: Trouble with solos

put on a funk or disco tune from the 70's and
jam along to it till it sounds happy and great.

[kokostevens]

Re: Trouble with solos

Thanks everybody for your advice. There's really some helpful stuff here! I really appreciate the input and if there's any more please keep 'em coming.

[delt]

Re: Trouble with solos

try soloing in the minor key that's 3 half steps lower than the major key you're in, that's called "relative minor". for example if you're playing over an E major chord sequence, try stuff in C# minor. you just won't be emphasizing the same notes (theoretically)

[buttheadmane]

Re: Trouble with solos

i think fragle has the best advice, just hear it in your head and then learn it on guitar. u might get something out of that experience

[snc2716]

Re: Trouble with solos

Very good advice in this post.

[maddog]

Re: Trouble with solos

A great video that explains relative majors and minors as well as modes etc is Al Pitrellis "applied theory for rock guitar and beyond".

[kokostevens]

Re: Trouble with solos

Hey everyone! Again I just wanted to say thanks for all the great advice. It's helping, too. Most of it is on me to just practice, practice, and practice some more, but I wanted to hear other people's input and you guys didn't let me down! Can't thank you enough! Later!

[n00b]

Re: Trouble with solos

Originally posted by kokostevens:
Hey I'm looking for advice here. I'm a lead guitarist who's main influence is Yngwie Malmsteen. There are others of course like George Lynch, Randy Rhoads, and too many to mention, but I have a habit of playing in minor scales. That's just the way I hear solos, and how I write. The problem is when a song is not written in minor my solos sound out of key. Is there any middle ground here? Has anyone ever come across this? People have told me that while the solos are better "key-wise" they'd like to hear more of my old personality in them as well, and I'm having trouble with it. Any advice?

<font size="2" face="Verdana, Helvetica, sans-serif">hahaha, I'm the same way. I guess it comes from listening to way too much children of bodom and yngwie.