So You Are Writing A Solo

Okay, okay, I know what you're thinking: that this is going to be one of those articles where I tell you my way of doing things and it has to be done my way. Fortunately that's incorrect, because like so many of you out there, I can't stand those articles. No, no, instead, I'll pretty much give you the basic solo techniques you'll need to make your guitar solo really shine. So, whether you're a beginner or a guru, take a few minutes and check out this article: who knows, you just might learn a thing or two.

Alright, there's really no real way to start out a solo, for that involves creativity and is really up to the writer. So, instead, I'll just give a run-through of the basic techniques you can use in your solo that will give it some flare.

Bends

I know this sounds really basic, but just think about it for a minute. Bends can work wonders for your solo. It can give it a bluesy sound, you can hold them out for effect, you can even descend a bend instead of ascending it. I don't mean you should just monotonously bend; you should spontaneously bend! What I mean is, you can get really creative with bends sometimes. Take a look at David Gilmour. He is a prime example of a guitar player who uses bends to his advantage. A good solo to check out would be "Time". All I'm saying is, working in bends here and there in your solo can sound great where plain picking just sounds decent. Which brings me to the next technique:

Tremolo Picking

For those beginners reading the article, tremolo picking just means picking really fast. This can give an extremely fast-paced impression, and can really do good for your solo, especially the climax. As usual, I have an example, and it's "Holy Wars... the Punishment Due" by Megadeth. Dave Mustaine's solo at the end is full of ridiculously fast tremolo picking (well, admittedly, I myself can't quite pull it off but I'm sure there are a few here who can easily take it). Tremolo picking works great for those fast-paced songs you're writing. Okay, what's next?

Hammer-Ons And Pull-Offs

Tremolo picking has its pros and cons. Where tremolo picking fails, hammer-ons and pull-offs can come in handy. Once again, beginners, a hammer-on is where you go from a lower note to a higher note using another finger, and a pull-off is going from a lower to a higher note by pulling your finger off the higher note and having your other finger on the lower note. Got that? Good. Now, where is this technique good and tremolo picking bad? Well, for instance, say you've got a bit of a slower piece of music. Tremolo picking could work for a neat effect, but more often than not you're going to want to use those hammer-ons and pull-offs to your advantage. There are literally hundreds of examples of this; just listen to any solo by your favorite band. I'm sure there's a lot of hammering-on and pulling-off going on. It's a very common technique. And, speaking of common techniques:

Sliding

Yeah, sliding. Pretty simple. All you do is go from one note to the other by sliding your finger either up or down the fretboard to it. Easy stuff. And it's amazing how well it can work out for you. Jimi Hendrix uses this technique in a few of his songs; for instance, let's take one of his most famous pieces, "Purple Haze". The main riff starts off with a B on the D string (9th fret, beginners), only he slides up to it, giving it a much more entertaining feel. Well, that's how I feel anyway. But wait, there's more! Say you want to switch scales or modes in the middle of your solo, due to a key change or something like that; yes, yes, you can slide to the next mode! The beauty is, this can sound really good! I said it before and I'll say it again: yeah, sliding. Anything else?

Harmonizing

I'm afraid this topic is way too big to cover completely, so I suggest reading some other articles on here about it. But, to put it simply enough so at least you beginners have an idea: harmonizing is using one different set of notes on top or bottom of another set of notes to create what is called "harmony". This can be done in all sorts of intervals, some popular ones being the minor third, major third, perfect fourth, perfect fifth (the power chord, beginners), and the octave. Of course, there are plenty more, and to those of you who are awaiting my Harmonizing Pt. 2 article, don't worry, it's on its way. Hey, you know what I'm just remembering?

Arpeggiating

Phew, almost forgot it. That was a close one. Arpeggiating is probably one of the coolest-sounding techniques you can possibly use. And it's easy, too. Arpeggiating is just taking the notes of a chord (probably specified by what key your song is in) and playing them individually. You have in front of you one chord yet hundreds of combinations of notes you could play to make your arpeggio sound unique. And yes, it has been used in some pretty popular songs. Let me name a really, really famous one: "Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love" by Van Halen. See? And you thought I couldn't name one...

Well, there you go, beginners (and experts alike). I hope now you know what might go good with your solo; I'm sure this gives you a pretty broad range of techniques. Plus, combine those with different scales and modes and you've got yourself one great solo. I apologize if I left anything out (which I'm sure I did); but just keep in mind this was kind of geared more towards the beginners.

What are you doing still reading this? Go and write your solo!

Comments

[H4x0r]

This stuff is extremely basic by the way, most people should know these

[EatsP1es]

yup, very basic but it does cover the basics pretty well and gives beginners some idea of what a solo consists of

[clwy87]

yup....basically the basics...

[undeaded]

hmmm odd article not bad

[undeaded]

if you like this go watch the video about soloing by pickngrin. That includes scales etc, that is much better as well!

[atc228]

not bad i guess, 4 stars

[Muppet]

A fine article, you cover the most basic aspects of soloing. Good for beginners.

[himurakenshin]

pointless article. write something that is useful.

[Pure_Morning]

A good start for beginners.
4 stars.

[himurakenshin]

just kidding, but it is pretty basic.

[dan_the_pie]

basic and boring. u shood not play guitar if you dont kno this stuff. 1 star, you dickhead

[twittch]

very imformitive for beginners ill give it 4 stars

[DisgruntledDuck]

You didn't really tell anybody how to use the techniques much, or how to pull them off(no pun intended).

[gator_08_man]

not bad but u need to get harminizing pt 2 on here

[NilsNiiils]

Pretty good, but you should explained harmonizing instead... I use it whenever I write songs... It's really cool

[Ace_Ventuora]

It's the basics yeah, but that's what you are writing about. A little better explenation on the techniques would been nice (you know, for the beginners)..

4 stars

[guitare_kid13]

I liked it

[ce12872001]

Decent article, but it doesn't really cover writing your own solo as the title states. Most people learn these things before they learn the keys scales modes and patterns actually used to create a solo.

3 Stars

[psgolfer32381]

I don't think that this is the first time dan_the_pie has had dickhead on the tip of his tongue today.

[angusrox]

dan_the_pie:
basic and boring. u shood not play guitar if you dont kno this stuff. 1 star, you dickhead

You, sir, are the dickhead. You didn't walk around before your learned these techniques knowing what they were or how to do them. He said himself it's for beginners, who are people that don't know the basics.

[SMoD]

basic stuff...but i still kinda suck at hammer-ons and pull-offs

[Invader Jim]

Great article. Perfect for people like me.

[Silenzo666]

SMoD:
basic stuff...but i still kinda suck at hammer-ons and pull-offs

I think what you're doing to make them suck, is that you're not putting enough force into them, and plus, they don't play well on acoustics, so I recomend playing them on electric with an amp. It's also good if you play combinations of the two. Well, good luck. And remember that the pencil esharpener is not a sex toy.

[GnRrelease_it]

basic and boring. u shood not play guitar if you dont kno this stuff. 1 star, you dickhead

you learned it for the first time at some point; even if you're a jackass.

good article for beginners, well written

[michael-callari]

I know what all this stuff is. The article needs more details.

[TheUltimateSin]

himurakenshin:
pointless article. write something that is useful.

dan_the_pie:
basic and boring. u shood not play guitar if you dont kno this stuff. 1 star, you dickhead

Is all you two do is going around and posting stupid and pointless remarks on otherwise good articles? Grow up will you? It's retards like you two that need to shut up or put up. If you believe that these articles suck so bad, then make your own and we'll see which ones really suck.


Anyway, great article. I'm not too good at soloing and this helps me a lot.

[King Zeppelin I]

Good article, I think the best advice or soloing is learn alot of scales (to UltimateSin) And you can incorporate these into scales to make your own solo.

[\m/ jamie \m/]

Brilliant article for beginners! 5/5! what you covered was very basic but looking back if i was still just starting off that would have helped alot

keep upthe good work

[BLACKRAVEN]

Anyone who can play a good song all the way through will know all this. But for beginners i guess it would be helpfull. ***

[TheUltimateSin]

^^Yeah, I know. It's not that I don't understand it or anything, it's this: I suffer form this condition that I have dubbed "Stupid Fingers", which makes it almost impossible for me to play difficult solo's or tricky riffs. I am working on improving though, so hopefully I rid myself of this.

[TheUltimateSin]

EDIT to above: Regarding the solo's: I can only play simple solo's, like the one in "Smells Like Teen Spirit". Anything somple like that I can handle


(And sorry for the dbl post)

[orpheus_thrice]

yay cool i liked it!

[mwarf1989]

this guy blows goats for a living

[Cal&Chris_Co.]

so i was thinking... how am i going to create a solo? And then i read this article. and ya know... i am still lost on how to make a solo. you didnt help at all. and you suck goats?? terrible... just terrible...

[Cal&Chris_Co.]

5 stars

[Cal&Chris_Co.]

***..

[thefinalcut]

Article should be called "Techniques Used in Solos" or something like that. Nicely written article...good for beginners.

[eastbay36]

tell me something i dont already ***ing know asshole

[lead_guitar5]

I agree with thefinalcut. Oh and the author is too happy and enthusiastic. Just me though.

[TheUltimateSin]

mwarf1989:
this guy blows goats for a living

eastbay36:
tell me something i dont already ***ing know asshole

How 'bout you two go find a nice tall building and throw yourselves off of it. If you don't like the article, either make a better one or ignore it and move on with your life(providing you have one) so you can stop infecting these articles with your stupidity.

[wanna_lick_me?]

basic and boring. u shood not play guitar if you dont kno this stuff. 1 star, you dickhead

and you shouldn't write if you can't spell, faggot.

[Abyssal]

Stop critizing him. He did a good job. Read his first paragraph idiots. I bet half you guys didnt know anything about this when you started playing. You might've known about bends, but he's just helping beginners, and maybe some experts may have forgotten a thing or two.

[TheUltimateSin]

For those saying he should have made this a "techniques for solo's" kinda thing, how about you read the wholearticle next time?:

No, no, instead, I'll pretty much give you the basic solo techniques you'll need to make your guitar solo really shine.

.
^^^Very first paragraph at the top of the page.

[StratDune]

Good article. For me who's neither exactly a beginner nor a guru, it's still informative. Though I think he should have mentioned exactly where to put each technique, a bitmore elaborately. And his comments on the harmonics are a bit messed up.

Still it's 4 stars.

[TheUltimateSin]

^^Regarding the placement comment: Well you see, that's the thing. It's all about making your own solo's, so not everyone is going to use the same techniques, nor in the same places. Each person's solo is unique so there is no exact placement for each technique.

[Bulletbass man]

pretty basic stuff. I like to start the solo with bends kind of explode the solo into the song. You had a few mistakes but its still pretty good to beginners.

[vantage4]

pretty basic but not bad. for tremolo picking also check out the end of hendrix's cover of "all along the watchtower." it's a pretty simple example but has a great effect.

also, "doubling up" on strings sometimes gives a stronger, cooler sound for a bit of an accent. just fret two strings right next to each other in a scale but don't form the rest of a chord. once again, pretty basic but that's what this is about right?

[hak_hap]

I don't suck goats... thats not a nice thing to do, poor goat... but the author does? ewww...

[maggot4life]

it was really basic stuff but good for beginners

[jozzo]

u cant say thts basic. its reli reli hard! ahem

[Towlie]

I am sure this article is pretty much the same as a handful of others...

[thedankle]

psgolfer32381:
I don't think that this is the first time dan_the_pie has had dickhead on the tip of his tongue today.

yes dude perfect come back, i love it.

[The Oceanborn]

Basics are important, so this is a good article
Btw outstanding well written

[The Oceanborn]

oh yeah, I almost forgot; additional stuff:
1) Pinch Harmonics and Natural Harmonics, both work and sound awesome
2) Palm Muting on the bass strings sounds great especially with fast picking

[Danne55]

Nice article, well written! Everyone has learned the basic!
4,5 stars... just kidding I give it 5!

[crazynickman]

its ok, its pretty basic stuff but it works. You didnt cover scales which is what makes solos, but this is good 3.5 stars

[tsp]

fcuk all the people saying 'if u dont know this, u shouldnt ever play guitar'...theres no rules to playing guitar, and no one can tell you how to play it your way...thats how the new things get invented, and its what makes music amazing.well done to this guy tho, fr givinga few ideas, it was well written

[tsp]

and i think some of you say stuff like that becos ur so insecure at the fact that some ppl who know very little about scales, and modes can write something better than you..purely becos they put imagination before having their head so far up heir own arse in celebration of their extensive yet eventually pointless knowledge of everything about the guitar....appauling human beings

[thequickments]

dude tsp...relax. geez
whiny bastard

[JustMalcolm]

i dont think Cuba should be a state because it'll make a weird number of stars and numbers for states. Plus we already got the bay.

[Guitar_Freek824]

wow...drama filled

[Meatontheface]

Very, uh, drama filled.

[ledzepmsg75]

right on

[ruberducky]

can anyone tell me where i wrote Beach Boy lyrics in the comments include it in your comment thanks.

[greendayguitar]

"a hammer-on is where you go from a lower note to a higher note using another finger, and a pull-off is going from a lower to a higher note by pulling your finger off the higher note and having your other finger on the lower note. Got that?" you said a hammer-on was going from a lower note to a higher note, and that a pull-off was going from lower note to a higher note lol otherwise, good article

[Bmm386]

i knoew mosty of that but i really just cant pull it all off in a solo.

[Minigun_Fiend]

Every Breath You Take by The Police is also arpeggiated!

[damonkinmond]

extremely basic

[bonny500]

good article for the beginners. ***

[L0stMyF00dSt@mp]

people "write" solos?

[TheUltimateSin]

^^Yes, you see guitarist think of noises that sound cool and write them down, usually on paper, so thye don't forget them later

[black_sabbath85]

This article gives a very good idea to the beginners on the basic techniques of soloing. All of us must go through or have gotten through these basics.

And now:

dan_the_pie:
basic and boring. u shood not play guitar if you dont kno this stuff. 1 star, you dickhead

^^ dan_the_pie is an illiterate faggot, you should consult some 7 year old to learn spelling.

mwarf1989:
this guy blows goats for a living

^^ mwarf1989 is a fool. I am certain that a goats "baahhaaha" sounds better than you playing guitar. You are a fag too.

eastbay36:
tell me something i dont already ***ing know asshole

^^ eastbay36 sucks at life. Idiotic comment. You are a fag too sir.

[ror]

nice basic stuff. i remember when i was starting out guitar i wanted to learn more "cool stuff" to play. great article for begginerstop stuff

[Solipsism]

Decent. You began to loose track of your main topic - soloing. Still semi-handy tips, but they are techniques you really should be learning off a teacher.

[metalhead10691]

if u want a good solo den both master of puppets ones r awesome and the firsy 1 iz east 2 play 2

[greeneggs'n'ham]

Good stuff. Anyone who anyone who insults this writer for gearing his article toward beginners is is a hippocrite that desperately needs to grow up and realize that there was a point in their life when they didn't know these things either.

That being said, it's good stuff for everyone... I'm not a beginner and i learned a few things here. I would have added some tabs, posted some examples, like the a minor (i think) arpeggio in Ain't talkin bout love. 3 stars. Good job.

[Mace_37]

So is the intro to House of the Rising Sun Arpeggiting?

[jumpmanhat]

4 stars??? He missed sweeping picking!!!..
Sweep Picking should have been added no ***ing questions asked!!!

[kurt_was_killed]

wow, the word basic has officialy lost all meaning. and yeah, not bad.

[Marks_Desciple]

yeah true this article is basic and its stuff i already know...but ya gotta consider there's A LOT of kids out there who are just starting.Shit i had to learn the basics the same way over a computer...so i respect it. \m/!

[El Benno]

I like the article. I'm not a beginner and I was just reading this for kicks, but it would be awesome for a beginner. Rock on.

[cantshreddave]

i thought the arpeggio bit in aint talkin bout love is the riff, not the solo? and ther again ther are tonnes of arpeggiated riffs, don't cry, house of the rising sun, knockin on heavans door, the intro sequence to stairway, intro to paradise city and knockin on heavans door and actually a lot of slash songs (he must like his arpeggios)

Sweep Picking should have been added no ***ing questions asked!!!

it was mentioned, sweep picking is the technique used by shredders in particular to play arpeggios, which was mentioned, so they were mentioned using the proper musical term ....actually mentioning a song with lots of sweep picking would be a better example of arpeggios in solos

sweep picking is a way of playing the solo, a more general technique, whether you play something sweep picked, alternate picked or just down stroked makes only a very small difference to the sound of the solo itself, though i doubt someone can just downstroke a six string arpeggio quicker than it can be sweep picked

[cantshreddave]

mentioned knockin on heavans door twice, damn, o yeh fall to pieces (VR) is another example of an arpeggiated riff and lead line

[cantshreddave]

in relation t the article, v gd..... 4 stars

[evening_crow]

small mistake...

a pull-off is going from a lower to a higher note by pulling your finger off the higher note and having your other finger on the lower note

[peter_in_space]

I believe these are must know basics if you want to be a gitar player

[SlipDolls1Joey]

what about the harmonics?

[80's Hair Metal]

Its a good article, basically from then on you need to decide what works best for what mood of solo you're playing. After you know the basics, its down to your own techniques and how you put them together...

[ScareCrowMan]

You really should have included Alternate picking or left out Tremolo picking because you're going to give people who have never done any of this that Tremolo picking is Alternate picking.

[tabzterKK]

basic but its an ok article

[Juzomon]

only usefull for beginners...
Why does everyone write really standard stuff and then say "oh, this is for beginners"
If you want to write an article, add in some info that can be used by all of us, not just the guitar newbies.

[firdaus125]

very bad, this article

[firdaus125]

i mean at least tell me some stuff bout improvising... my god ...

[Towlie]

Kinda states the obvious to be honest. Everything covered is in other articles... so... 1 star...

[dandesmond]

its not a bad article, good for beginners....

[masterometal666]

yeah, but for beginners. he said experts too. i'm not an expert myself, but i'm not a beginner. slides, tremelo, harmony... what guitarist (except for those only a month into it) don't know about that? (ahem) 1 star.... :zzz:

[ledsoldier]

well i didnt really learn anything but i gotta respect that this would be really helpful is i was a beginner.. ****

[808Virtuoso]

thanks im startin to write a solo this is helpful for a begginer like me

[JustinYap]

a lotta basic stuff.. that probably a lot of ppl on this site alredi noe, but still good stuff.. but it didn't reli tell me much about how to actually write a solo..

[voodoo_ash]

great idea for an article. well done

[allcal88]

Why do people always leave out the most important thing, improvisation. IMPROV! That is the key to a solo. Knowing your roots and just improving up and down the neck. It was a pretty good article. Good for beginners. I agree with the four star rating

[rancidrocker]

I know even some beginners who would schof at this article. Very basic stuff.
2 stars

[noobistic]

simple n basic nice

[kingofshred]

good but i knew all this anyway

[hyper_kid2001]

not bad
basic but useful
4 star

[corporatetabs]

How to really write a solo:
1. have a friend play some chords
2. play some notes over it
3. if it sounds good then it is
4. experiment
5. don't read how to articles

[shadows666]

How to really write a solo:
1. have a friend play some chords
2. play some notes over it
3. if it sounds good then it is
4. experiment
5. don't read how to articles

While this may work, it never hurts to have an extra trick or two in your bag. learning these techniques can help make a solo better. I do agree with you though. Just experiment until you find somehting that works for you.

[slipknot_rules1]

basic = good solos are ****in hard if your a newb guitarist like i am... thats why i practise with atbs such as wake me uop when september ends and the tab for sound effects and over dramatics bt the used... WHO I AM SEEING TONIGHT BITCHES! ha bye

[slipknot_rules1]

forgot to rate 4 AND A HALF!

[nightsk8er]

next time explain how to construct a solo using the techniques and scales and other stuff

[Devil's Child]

It's a good article; helpful for any noobs.

[rockergurl09]

nice article. I've been teaching myself so I know how to do this stuff but don't know the vocabulary. Quite helpful. However, you didn't really talk about how to write a solo, just the bare, basic elements of a solo. How do you put it all together, smart one?

[mini_jimi]

good article pretty good explination of the basics

[spunkeymonkey36]

What about two handed tapping my good man?

[spunkeymonkey36]

or cascading notes?

[CrossBack7]

dan_the_pie wrote:

basic and boring. u shood not play guitar if you dont kno this stuff. 1 star, you dickhead

That dude's the dickhead man, good article for beginners and the such. - 4 stars

[chippythingy]

yarp this is good to tell beginners what they need to learn, however, its not detailed enough for beginners to be able to learn how to do the techniques, but too basic for people who can do it to learn anything.