Guitar Solo Technique

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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 guitar solo 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.

There are many videos on YouTube and other sites that have excellent advice on playing solos . . . take this one for instance . . .