There’s way more to it than simply mastering chords and scales.
Intermediate
Beginner
- Understand the importance of structure and space within guitar leads.
- Learn the power and importance of articulation and motivic development.
- Construct leads that take the listener on a journey.
Structure
When it comes to creating an iconic guitar solo from scratch, structure is everything. Though the three classic solos named above are wildly different in tone, style, and nearly everything else, one thing they all have in common is a clear, concise structure. Structure can be dictated by a number of factors. For instance, the structure of your solo could be dictated by the form of the song itself. If the form in the accompaniment changes as your solo progresses, as it does in countless songs (including one of my all-time favorite solos, George Harrison’s lead on “Something”), the structure is pretty much laid out for you. It’s just a matter of letting the song take its course and following along.
On the opposite end of the spectrum, if you are simply playing over a loop of a single riff or chord progression, the structure of your lead then falls entirely on your shoulders. How do you create a sense of structure where there is none?
Motivic Development
The cornerstone of melodic writing is the motif, which is defined as a brief melodic or rhythmic idea used as the basis for a larger musical composition. When soloing, having a motif to develop over the course of your solo—or even just having one to fall back on after you melodically deviate from it—can come in very handy. By using a motif (or even several motifs), you immediately ground your lead and give the listener something familiar to recognize and latch onto. To be an effective and melodic soloist, it’s important to know how to skillfully develop a motif. Ex. 1 shows a solo over a 12-bar blues in the key of A, starting with a simple motif. Over the rest of the solo this motif is developed in several variations that get progressively complex.
You can also leave motifs as musical breadcrumbs—little ideas that pop in and out, with or without variations, to provide a sense of unity to a solo that is otherwise through-composed, or played without depending on motivic development. A great example of this approach is David Gilmour’s iconic “Comfortably Numb” solo, which features several pentatonic motifs with slight variations in the course of awe-inspiring through-composed blues phrasing. Ex. 2 is based around the chord progression from “Comfortably Numb” in the key of B minor. A simple pentatonic motif is introduced in the first measure, then is reintroduced and built upon in measure four. The rest of the solo between this motif and its variations is through-composed, à la Gilmour’s breathtaking lead.
Articulation
When we think of melody, we typically think of the human voice as the instrument of choice. So naturally, a great place to start when learning to solo more melodically is to understand how vocalists interpret melody. Vocalists practically never hit a note straight on with no inflection. Good vocalists know how to embellish a melody through articulation. Great vocalists know how to control every aspect of every note to get the most out of it. To be a better, more melodic soloist, you need that kind of control.
The way you play a note is as important as the note itself. Therefore, it’s always a good idea to practice articulating your phrases in as many ways as your hands can conjure. For guitarists, this means incorporating techniques like string bends, slides, hammer-ons, pull-offs, and vibrato. Ex. 3 shows a simple A major pentatonic (A–B–C#–E–F#) melodic phrase, first played without any articulation, then reinterpreted several times using a variety of articulations. Because the way these notes are played is completely different in every case, each lick has a slightly different flavor. Try this with any lick in your arsenal. Use these articulations in as many ways as you can dream up. Be creative.
The Final Frontier
Space is often the unsung hero of great leads. Brief stretches of musical silence not only emphasize the phrases that immediately precede them—thus giving listeners a chance to process what they’ve just heard—but they create anticipation for what is to come next. Many guitarists (myself included, until I came to the above realization) try to fill their solos with as many ideas as they can, leaving absolutely no room to breathe. This everything-but-the-kitchen-sink approach often leaves listeners cold because they’re never given a chance to process what they’re hearing. I liken it to listening to someone speak who doesn’t know how to end a sentence or stop to take a breath. You’re quickly going to lose the thread of what they are saying, and eventually you’re going to stop caring about what they had to say in the first place.
Guitarists are notoriously afraid of silence. When I was struggling with this problem in my musical adolescence, I was afraid that listeners would think I was running out of ideas if I wasn’t playing something at any given moment. But on the contrary, incorporating space into your leads shows that you have supreme confidence in your playing and musical choices.
The Arc of Your Lead
Think of your solo as a story you want to tell. Every good story needs a beginning, a middle, and an end. A great solo is bound by the same rules. You need a starting point, some rising action, a climax, and ultimately a conclusion. This boils down to movement. If your lead languishes in the same place for too long, you risk losing the listener’s interest, so you have to build momentum in your solo.
There are a number of ways to do this, including speeding up the rhythm of your phrasing and guiding your phrases up or down the neck. A common arc in great solos finds the player gradually working up from a low point to a high point, either in terms of pitch, complexity, or rhythm, or some mix of the three. Jimmy Page’s “Stairway to Heaven” solo is a perfect example of this. He starts the solo in 5th position, briefly moves up the fretboard, then back down, then a little further up, back down, and so on in that fashion, inching his way up the neck a little further each time until he makes the triumphant leap up to the 17th position for that iconic 16th-note-triplet pull-off lick to finish it out. I’m pumped up just thinking about it!
If you were to transcribe Page’s solo and draw one continuous line through each and every notehead, the line would move up and down in a wave-like fashion, showing lots of melodic interest when you zoom in on any given measure. But if you zoom out and look at the lead as a whole, you would see the arc of the entire lead starts low, works its way up and up, fakes you out for a second by dipping down right before its climax, and then jumps to its ultimate peak. I honestly can’t think of a more impeccable command of compositional structure in all guitardom than Jimmy Page’s solo on “Stairway to Heaven.”
If you keep all these things in mind, you’ll be cooking up stellar leads worthy of your guitar heroes in no time!
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It’s almost over, but there’s still time to win! Enter Stompboxtober Day 30 for your shot at today’s pedal from SoloDallas!
The Schaffer Replica: Storm
The Schaffer Replica Storm is an all-analog combination of Optical Limiter+Harmonic Clipping Circuit+EQ Expansion+Boost+Line Buffer derived from a 70s wireless unit AC/DC and others used as an effect. Over 50 pros use this unique device to achieve percussive attack, copious harmonics and singing sustain.
Developed specifically for Tyler Bryant, the Black Magick Reverb TB is the high-power version of Supro's flagship 1x12 combo amplifier.
At the heart of this all-tube amp is a matched pair of military-grade Sovtek 5881 power tubes configured to deliver 35-Watts of pure Class A power. In addition to the upgraded power section, the Black Magick Reverb TB also features a “bright cap” modification on Channel 1, providing extra sparkle and added versatility when blended with the original Black Magick preamp on Channel 2.
The two complementary channels are summed in parallel and fed into a 2-band EQ followed by tube-driven spring reverb and tremolo effects plus a master volume to tame the output as needed. This unique, signature variant of the Black Magick Reverb is dressed in elegant Black Scandia tolex and comes loaded with a custom-built Supro BD12 speaker made by Celestion.
Price: $1,699.
Kevin Shields of My Bloody Valentine is one of the loudest guitarists around. And he puts his volume to work creating mythical tones that have captured so many of our imaginations, including our special shoegaze correspondent, guitarist and pedal-maestro Andy Pitcher, who is our guest today.
My Bloody Valentine has a short discography made up of just a few albums and EPs that span decades. Meticulous as he seems to be, Shields creates texture out of his layers of tracks and loops and fuzz throughout, creating a music that needs to be felt as much as it needs to be heard.
We go to the ultimate source as Billy Corgan leaves us a message about how it felt to hear those sounds in the pre-internet days, when rather than pull up a YouTube clip, your imagination would have to guide you toward a tone.
But not everyone is an MBV fan, so this conversation is part superfan hype and part debate. We can all agree Kevin Shields is a guitarists you should know, but we can’t all agree what to do with that information.
This episode is sponsored by Fender.
Learn more: https://www.fender.com./
Introducing the Martin M-6 and M-7 Johnny Marr signature guitars, featuring a unique seven-string configuration to honor Marr's sound.
The standout feature of the Martin M-7 is its unique seven-string configuration, adding an octave G string to the mix. This design delivers Marr’s unmistakable jangle, making it perfect for replicating the lush, intricate sounds of his most iconic tracks. Also available as a standard six-string model, the M-6, and designed in close collaboration with Marr, these guitars feature a genuine mahogany neck with a full-thickness profile and slightly thinner width at the nut for a unique feel, allowing for fluid transitions and complex chord structures.
Wide like a Jumbo with the thickness of a 000, its Grand Auditorium (0000/M) body size ensures plenty of comfort and projection while offering a precise distinction between the treble and bass. Equipped with LR Baggs Anthem electronics, these guitars ensure your sound is perfectly captured on stage or in the studio with volume, mix, mic level, and phase controls.
“I've now got my own signature guitar that makes me sound like in the studio when I've put this really great old compressor on it with a great mic and a little hint of the high string in there,” says Marr. “All of these things that I do on record using a few guitars, I've all got it in the one guitar that I can carry around with me, and if I go play with a pal or go and guest with someone, I sound like me.”
Marr’s history with Martin guitars is storied – his beloved 1971 D-28 has been the backbone of several classic Smiths songs, including “There Is a Light That Never Goes Out” and “Cemetry Gates.” The M-6 and M-7 pay homage to that legacy while ushering in a new era of sonic possibilities. A hardshell case and exclusive Souldier™ strap are included.
For more information, please visit martinguitar.com.