If you have seen guitar groups and have often wondered what roles the guitars play, the answer is one plays the bass lines of the songs, another carries the rhythm and the other is the lead guitarist who plays the solos. Guitar solos were an integral part of jazz and blues but we generally think of rock and roll as being the breeding ground of virtuoso electric guitar players. Your average guitar solo is made up of groups of notes called "licks" and "riffs". Licks are patterns of notes that can be the basis for a solo in any key, and a riff is a short melody which is repeated throughout a song.
In the early days of rock and roll there were guitar instrumentals played by groups who did little or no singing. The Ventures and The Del-Tones, led by Dick Dale in the USA and The Shadows in England had many hit records and inspired many teenage boys to become guitar players. Unfortunately the music industry preferred to sell records that featured vocalists so now instrumentals rarely find their way into the charts.
The guitar instrumental groups of the nineteen sixties were pioneers of electric guitar music. Dick Dale was largely responsible for the use of reverb in rock and roll music and Hank Marvin of The Shadows was constantly experimenting with guitars and effects. Other guitarists who have made the guitar a feature of their music are Eric Clapton, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani and Mark Knopfler.
If you know a little bit about playing guitar solos it is possible that you will want to show off all your knowledge every time you take a solo. It is just the way some people are. If you have the urge to show off listen and watch some solos by Mark Knopfler. With all those Dire Straits numbers, less is more. Even Sultans Of Swing with its two solos, there is no pyrotechnics, just simple elegance.
Take a look at the way you structure your guitar solos. Do they have a beginning, a middle and an end or are they all climax? Loudness and intensity have their places but if you are still learning how to play the guitar, you need to expand your skills and interests. If you love to grab the guitar and improvise a solo, try to improvise a quiet solo. Kill your inner Angus Young, you do not need him for this experiment. Listen to Freebird by Lynyrd Skynyrd, the climax comes at the end. The rest of the piece gets your attention then the fireworks hammer you.
Speaking of hammer-ons, have you thoroughly grounded yourself in the basic guitar solo techniques. Most people have their favorite ways of playing and tend to neglect the techniques they do not enjoy practicing. Go through in your head the techniques you have learnt: scales, hammer-ons, pull-offs, tapping the fretboard, string skipping, upstrokes, downstrokes, using the index finger to augment your picking. You cannot be excellent at ALL of them.
In the early days of rock and roll there were guitar instrumentals played by groups who did little or no singing. The Ventures and The Del-Tones, led by Dick Dale in the USA and The Shadows in England had many hit records and inspired many teenage boys to become guitar players. Unfortunately the music industry preferred to sell records that featured vocalists so now instrumentals rarely find their way into the charts.
The guitar instrumental groups of the nineteen sixties were pioneers of electric guitar music. Dick Dale was largely responsible for the use of reverb in rock and roll music and Hank Marvin of The Shadows was constantly experimenting with guitars and effects. Other guitarists who have made the guitar a feature of their music are Eric Clapton, Steve Vai, Joe Satriani and Mark Knopfler.
If you know a little bit about playing guitar solos it is possible that you will want to show off all your knowledge every time you take a solo. It is just the way some people are. If you have the urge to show off listen and watch some solos by Mark Knopfler. With all those Dire Straits numbers, less is more. Even Sultans Of Swing with its two solos, there is no pyrotechnics, just simple elegance.
Take a look at the way you structure your guitar solos. Do they have a beginning, a middle and an end or are they all climax? Loudness and intensity have their places but if you are still learning how to play the guitar, you need to expand your skills and interests. If you love to grab the guitar and improvise a solo, try to improvise a quiet solo. Kill your inner Angus Young, you do not need him for this experiment. Listen to Freebird by Lynyrd Skynyrd, the climax comes at the end. The rest of the piece gets your attention then the fireworks hammer you.
Speaking of hammer-ons, have you thoroughly grounded yourself in the basic guitar solo techniques. Most people have their favorite ways of playing and tend to neglect the techniques they do not enjoy practicing. Go through in your head the techniques you have learnt: scales, hammer-ons, pull-offs, tapping the fretboard, string skipping, upstrokes, downstrokes, using the index finger to augment your picking. You cannot be excellent at ALL of them.
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