https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/solo-troubles/ Guitar Noise Discussion Board en-US Thu, 04 Jun 2026 07:50:55 +0000 wpForo 60 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/solo-troubles/paged/2/#post-181696 Mon, 05 Jun 2006 23:04:29 +0000
I'm fairly new to soloing also and tried working on the Aqualung solo. it's not to difficult as you mentioned but he kind of changes tempo a bit and it does get a bit tricky. My main problem was that after spending about a month or so on it and almost having it complete I got sick of it and didn't play for about two months. Now I can't remember any of it and would have to start form scratch and I don't like the song enough to go back and do that.

I think the best thing to do using Alan's technique is to find songs with very short maybe three - four bar solos at first then working up to longer and longer ones. Starting with a very long solo even if it's no tthe technically difficult may get frustrating just trying to remember all the notes, at least in my experience.]]> Guitar Players Discussion cnev https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/solo-troubles/paged/2/#post-181696 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/solo-troubles/#post-181689 Mon, 05 Jun 2006 22:48:16 +0000 Guitar Players Discussion duffmaster https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/solo-troubles/#post-181689 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/solo-troubles/#post-181626 Mon, 05 Jun 2006 15:53:32 +0000 Freelicks.net has a good selection of video lessons of solos, each broken down into sections that are played slowed down and with accompanying tab. They might not be the exact songs you want, but just learning a new solo in that manner can give you a good insight into how to break them up into easily-learnable segments and stitch it back together into a solo. Worth a shot :)]]> Guitar Players Discussion Misanthrope https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/solo-troubles/#post-181626 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/solo-troubles/#post-181618 Mon, 05 Jun 2006 15:20:04 +0000 Guitar Players Discussion fleaaaaaa https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/solo-troubles/#post-181618 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/solo-troubles/#post-181517 Mon, 05 Jun 2006 00:15:25 +0000
I'm happy with my gear, so I don't think that thats the problem.
I'm also tryed slowing it down, but that almost makes it harder for me.

The solo's I have been trying to learn
Cheap Sunglasses - ZZTop
Freddie King - Going Down (The entire song is lead, with the rythem being played by a piano)
Jethro Tull - Aqualung

They all seem like decently easy songs to learn, so I don't understand why I'm having trouble.]]> Guitar Players Discussion duffmaster https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/solo-troubles/#post-181517 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/solo-troubles/#post-181459 Sun, 04 Jun 2006 18:36:12 +0000
What songs have you tried?
It may depend on the song - some solos use advanced techniques that might present a technical challenge, such as extreme finger stretching, or 7-string guitars, tremolo or whammy bars, special effects - distortion/octave/delay/echo/reverse etc.
Some guitarists have a difficult time reproducing their own solos!

The best thing is to use something that slows down the music, such as Transcribe software, or the Tascam Guitar Trainer. In the old days, we would use a tape recorder with a variable power supply. Lowering the voltage slows down the speed, but also changes the pitch. The software and guitar trainer is nice because they compensate for that.

There are some great educational books that have transcriptions of the solos, CD's with the solos played at slow speed, and backing tracks with the vocals and guitar parts removed. Total Guitar magazine has this in each issue. I have noticed, however, that some book/CD's are much better than others, so it might be better to see if your local guitar store has some.

>>but cant convert anything into my amp.

Is this a problem with guitar gear?
There's two issues - lower quality gear sometimes doesn't let you get great sounds, and higher quality gear can be difficult to control.

There might also be some issues with listening ... both to yourself as you play and to the band. For the former, self-consciousness can be difficult to overcome. It's a mental state, which is why lead guitarists often have attitude problems (for example, Ted Nugent). The latter brings up issues of timing and rhythm.

You can also get "lost" in a song if you're not completely familiar with song structure (music theory). This shows up when the solo starts and you're not ready. It's also difficult to stomp on the footswitches at the right time, which makes a self-consciousness even worse. Many pro musicians have someone backstage that does this for them.

I think you're at a very important stage of development ...
- playing along with recorded music
- playing it well by yourself
- playing with a backing track
- practicing with the band (rehearsals)
- the actual performance - live onstage]]> Guitar Players Discussion PRNDL https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/solo-troubles/#post-181459 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/solo-troubles/#post-181431 Sun, 04 Jun 2006 14:08:31 +0000
P.S the reason many guitarists I've read about write their own music is because they struggled to copy other peoples, it's not always a bad thing it means you have to develop your own style.]]> Guitar Players Discussion fleaaaaaa https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/solo-troubles/#post-181431 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/solo-troubles/#post-181418 Sun, 04 Jun 2006 10:34:59 +0000
You might try dialing your amp and guitar to sound like the guitarist lead your trying duplicate. That helps to bring out the tone and dynamic's of the solo. If their tuned to E flat or something else tune to what they are.

Joe]]> Guitar Players Discussion forrok_star https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/solo-troubles/#post-181418 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/solo-troubles/#post-181312 Sat, 03 Jun 2006 22:09:55 +0000
1 - listen to the record billions of times

2 - break the solo down into phrases

3 - count the number of notes in each phrase and any particular features

4 - try nailing the first and last notes in each phrase

5 - listening again, work out whether the next note in the phrase is up or down from where you are now

6 - rinse, spin, repeat until the neighbours have you served with an ASBO hee hee

What you get left with is a piece of paper that reads "X phrases, the first note of the first phrase is Y and the last note is Z and there are 17 notes going up up down up down down up down down etc in between, and the last bar is all triplets"

Best,


A :-) That's a pretty good method. I have to start attempting to transcribe stuff....]]> Guitar Players Discussion MattyPretends116 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/solo-troubles/#post-181312 https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/solo-troubles/#post-181218 Sat, 03 Jun 2006 14:33:17 +0000
:D]]> Guitar Players Discussion Clazon https://guitarnoise.forum/guitar-players-discussion/solo-troubles/#post-181218