Conference napalm::guitar

Well mostly keeping time. That's my biggest problem right now (even
when I am not soloing). Besides that, I try to get a feel or direction
of where the song is going before I get to the solo, and then continue
in that direction. Of course this for the bass, so it might be
completely different for lead guitar (i imagine rhythm is similar).

greg

    Sorry about that, Dave, I just couldn't resist.
    
    Seriously, this is a good topic. When I'm soloing I think first of all
    about what harmonic changes I'm playing over and what scales I should
    be using. I try to be precise about not deviating from the harmonic
    structure, unless I do so deliberately (I'm really not advanced enough
    to want to). I try to get some variety in the riffs that I use. I would
    say that I "build" a solo by stringing together riffs when I'm
    improvising. I'd like to be able to say that I have some kind of
    melodic intent, but that really isn't true, unless I compose it
    beforehand.
    
    I'm also probably more attentive to the rhythm than anything else going
    on around me. If somebody else hits a bad chord or something I'll
    probably ride over it, but if the rhythm or tempo changes I would try
    to pick up on it. I don't really pay much attention to the audience
    while improvising.
    
    - Ram

    Interesting this topic comes up at this time. The other night there
    was a 50 minute documentary on the BBC about Eric Clapton. He was
    asked this very question...
    
    He said that he sings his solo to himself in his head and he is
    so totally confident of being able to translate his voice to the guitar
    that he doesn't need to think of what his fingers are doing. The
    analogy seems to be to think what you want to sing but instead of
    the brain activating the vocal cords (chords?) it activates your
    hands.
    
    I can see what he means. I can just about translate a move from
    C to F to G with no concious signal to the hands, it just comes
    naturally. I guess I have a long way to go! He also said that he
    doesn't see that there's any remarkable skill involved its just
    the fact that years of experience enable you to perform this
    translation (complete with 'feeling') to the fretboard with the
    absolute and unquestionable confidence that it will happen!
    
    It's a bit like a friend of mine. When I ask him what that chord
    was he just played halfway up the neck he never knows! He really
    has to replay the song until he gets to the bit I mean and freeze
    his hand, look where his fingers are and work out that its the third
    inversion of Ebm7 or something. In other words he's doing my CFG
    bit to something somewhere between my meagre level and Clapton's.
    
    I find this fascinating, and it must be what differentiates any
    true musician from a musical 'technician'.
    
    Richard Briggs
    UK SWAS

    
    RE.421.4
         I wouldn't add anything to your response.
    
         Very well put !!!!
    
    Thank you for the input Richard !!!!
    

    I think about what the current chord is and very little else.
    I have a "mode" where I totally lose contact with reality (yuk
    yuk) and solo like a fiend (for me anyway). Clapton's afraid of
    that mode, Carlos Santanna lives for it...it plays through him etc.
    I can get there and when I do there is no thought, I just listen.
    almost like a spectator.       
    
    dave

    Well, before the solo I get all the analization nasties (Key's,
    the changes, what modes, etc) out of the way so they don't haunt
    me during the solo. Then, a conception of melody and a rhythmic
    theme is established (to a certain degree). It can mirror the vocal
    melody, or be more contrapuntal to it...depending on mood. Of course
    you can think of ways to incorporate those neat lil tricks like
    pulling harmonics or (yuk) tapping. Something that is a bit subliminal
    sometimes is the notes I'll play...ie, If I hear a melody in my
    head and it ends (or starts) on a weak note (like the root or the
    fifth), I'll change it to be more interesting (like the 2nd, sharp
    4, or flat 7), thus changing my melodic idea to an extent. 
    
    What are peoples ideas on phrasing and interpertation? Anyone ever
    consider revamping old licks into new rhythic patterns and with a new
    approach to attack (like with the whammy, or tapping, sliding, hammers,
    staccato as opposed to legato, and vice versa)??
    
    wjb 

	Soloing....If I have a set of changes in front of me,I think
chords,scales,modes and notes and concentrate rythmically rather than
melodically. I figure out the harmonic possibilities beforehand,I do sing 
    when I play........
    If I don't have changes,I play a combination of,singing what I hear 
    and complement that with patterns I know work harmonically. 
    I'm working at getting rid of patterns.....I learned this from
    listening to people like Oscar Peterson(piano)who if you listen real
close sings or buzzes everything he plays. I have found that some music
is so familiar to me that I don't need even the chords to"feel" where I
am. Knowing theory and harmony helps but unless you can hear it in you
head and translate to your fingers then you really just playing patterns
or licks. One way of doing this is to try to sing what you hear on record
or tape and transcribe it to the instrument. Note for note...Phrasing
to me is actually more important and harder to get than the notes.....
    
    						Rick

    
    	What do I think about when I'm improvising...Ususally I'm
    improvising cause I forgot what I was suppose to be doing!!!!!
    
      I know this is not what the question really meant... But some
    of you noters have the luxury of having a band with other people,
    I do solo and man does it #@$% when your in the middle of a song
    and all of a sudden forget where you are... I just keep playing
    anything. Eventually after about two or three wrong chords I get
    back on track...or remember what the words are!!!  People in general
    don't seem to notice but as I look around the club I always seem
    to catch the eye of someone (I imagine another musician) and there usually
    smiling or kinda laughing..hey what the hell I screwed up,and I
    usually kinda give them the look like ( oh ya I know I screwed up...)
    
    
    		that's what makes live performances so great!!!!
    
                But I have to admit I have never just stopped,I think
    everyone would notice then...
    
        I'm sure some of you noters can relate to that...
    
        That's what I call Improvising!!!

    In an interview Jerry Garcia stated that he feels that in order
    to play a good solo, he has to start it off right. If he starts
    off wandering without a direction, the solo really goes nowhere,
    but if he starts off on the right track to begin with, the rest
    seems to come naturally. I try to keep that in mind when arranging
    tunes. I may start a solo off differently each time I play it, but
    I try to have an idea how I want to start it so that the entire
    solo comes off being tight. Not having blazing speed, or an endless
    selection of scales or riffs in my repetoire, I try to do the best
    with what I do have, and concentrate on making the solo sound tight,
    and get the best sounds out of my guitar. Just before a solo starts,
    I'm usually concerned about switching effects, volume, and other
    technical detail, as well as how to start off.
    
    							Mark J.
    

    If I can feel the tune, I can solo to it.  Sometimes I sing it in
    my head as I play it, sometimes not.  I never think about the notes
    that I am playing or the chords.  I just do it.
    
    However, if I don't feel the tune, then I pay particular attention
    to the chords and the structure of the song and plan my moves. 
    As I get more comfortable and get a better idea of what I want the
    solo to say, the mechanics go into the background.
    
    
    I agree with the Jerry Garcia's comment, with a little interpretation.
     Solos should say something.  If you don't know what it is that
    you want to say, it's not time to talk.
    
    Kevin
     

    
    re 6
    yup.
    me, too
    

    
    	I dont think about anything. As a matter of fact, the further
    I can draw myself away from the conscious realization of what I'm
    doing, the better it is. I prefer to kinda let the guitar take over
    and play itself, while listening from a 3rd vantage point of sorts.
    I dont know where I go. Probably somewhere in my head called crankville.
    It's expression in a pure form, likely a release of all the noise
    that builds up in my head, which doesnt know where else to put it.
    I'm not a very good soloist, in that I've never learned to play
    *any* recorded solo note for note, from beginning to end. It shows
    in my playing. It also doesnt show in my playing. 
     
    	I dont really get to solo anymore, since I've been playing on
    bass for the last three years or so. I still keep a six string electric
    strung up - but just to show guitarists I can still smoke 'em up if I
    want to.                                            
    
    	I was impressed with your "Heartbreaker" solo, Dave. I've never
    succeeded in doing *that*.                                       
    
    	Joe Jas

>    I was impressed with your "Heartbreaker" solo, Dave. I've never
>    succeeded in doing *that*.
    
    Thanks.
    
    Actually, I remember what I was "thinking" about when I played that.
    
    Something like:
    
    	"What am I gonna do now that the drummer spaced out and
         failed to listen for the lick that we agreed would cue
         the end of the solo."
    

        db

    
    A quote from Martin Mull's "Licks Off Of Records":
    
    When he says black, I play soulful,
    When he says blue, I play doleful, 
    When he says *solo*, I can't wait until I'm through....
                       
    

    			-<This sometimes helps>-
    
    The problem I find with riffs is that they are patterns which do
    not distinguish one solo from another.  Although they help to get
    through a solo, I would not rely only on them.  I like learn, at
    least, a portion of the melody within the scale where I will
    be improvising.  I may play the head in open position but move to
    the 5th fred if I want to solo for example in A blues.  On occasion,
    I will play a phrase which is very similar to a phrase within the
    melody.  I use this phrase like a theme where I will begin to change
    it rhytmically or melodically and evolve this theme.  
    Using this idea as a guide, I have a starting point when I begin.  
    It also takes me ahead so that after playing one phrase I don't say to 
    myself, "what's next", I continue to shape the idea.  The most
    important benefit, I believe, is that the solo becomes unique to that 
    particular song.  I get bored with "one solo fits all" idea.
                                       
    For what its worth,
    dmb

    I know this is a little late...and I'm a little off the topic, since
    this isn't really what I think about when soloing, but I think it's
    related.
    
    RE: .4     He [Clapton] said that he sings his solo to himself...
    
    I had a guitar teacher a year or so ago who, in an effort to get my
    solos away from sounding like scales or canned licks layed this advice
    on me.  It was very similar to what E.C. states above. 
    
    My teacher had me put the guitar down and listen while he played some
    simple changes.  He told me to sing a few notes for a lead line.  Now I
    found this really embarrasing, since I don't sing well, but I did it.
    Then he had me get the guitar and play what I'd sung (only in key...). 
    
    It was amazing!  The line sounded much simpler and more melodic than
    any of the stuff I'd been playing before.  My previous efforts were
    much faster, but said absolutly NOTHING (a la Yngwie M. - "Yeah, here's
    that diminished/melodic minor scale again, only FASTER!"). 
    
    This guy also recommended singing along with what you're playing when
    you practice, so that you learn to equate what you hear (perceive your
    hearing) to what you're playing.                          
    
    This probably would have helped my playing if I'd followed up on
    it.  Unfortunately that was the next to the last lesson I had with
    him (had to move halfway across the country to work for DEC...).
    I'd kind of forgotten about this.  This note refreshed my memory
    and I thought I'd share it with all "yall" noters.
    
    Of course this would be more useful for constructing planned solos.
    At least until you became proficient enough with the technique to
    think what you play, as Clapton indicates HE does.
    
    Just a thot.
    Greg

    Thinking what you play is the best way to solo. What's amazing to
    me is that what you THINK so often follows theory so closely.
    What makes you 'think up' certain licks to play? Is it n years
    of listening to western/rock/jazz music? I know if I listen to
    a lot of Jerry garcia, I play like Jerry. If I listen to a lot
    of Ronnie Earl, I play like Ronnie. (I never play like Yngwie).
    It seems to me that what you think up is the sum of your influences
    plus little picking patterns you've developed over the years PLUS
    a little voice in your head that's YOU. As you play longer, YOU
    becomes the dominant voice in your improvising.
    From my vantage point (11 years of mostly blues playing) what
    Clapton does is not particularly hard. Playing 'what's in your head'
    over more complex changes is more of a challenge. But it still
    seems to follow the theory behind the chords. And learning more
    about theory can change what's in your head.
    
    -Dave

    One of the things I think about is to build gradually.
    
    As many of you no doubt no, I have this pet stereotype of guitar
    player that I rag on a lot.  I've described it in detail elsewhere,
    so let's just say that it's the kind of guy who plays "Eruption"
    in music stores.
    
    Anyway, one of the key things this type of guitarist does in a solo
    is to go flat out as soon as the gate opens.  That is, he shows
    us the pinacle of his speed or technique by the end of the 2nd or
    3rd bar.  And inevitably, that leaves him with nowhere to go.
    
    You wanna hear a prime example of this?  Listen to ANY of Dweezil
    Zappa's solos on "Them or Us" (Frank Zappa).   They just sorta
    peeter out and go nowhere.  He truely sounds like he's searching
    for something to play.
    
    One of the most effective pieces of advice I ever got was to build
    solos to a climax.  And I definitely try to remind myself of that
    BEFORE I go into the solo.
    
    	db
    
    p.s.  I'm real proud of this one solo I did for a tune my (ex)band
          recorded.  There's a high speed section towards the beginning
          and yet, it is NOT the climax of the piece.  It was sort of
          a challenge to myself to construct a solo where speed was
          present but NOT used to climax the solo.  (This is on the
    	  Commusic III tape for any of you who knows what that is.)

    Dave,
    
    What you said about building a solo to a climax I think is essential.
    When I think of a couple of solos I find memorable they all
    do this.
    
    They may not climax in a crescendo of complex playing or sound. They may
    just climax in such a way as to lead you irresistibly back into the 
    vocals or whatever. I'd never thought about this before reading the
    last reply. I'm not going to comment on the 'quality' of the
    guitarists here (don't even know who they are) but for me their solos 
    work 100% because of this:
    
    - Solo in the middle of Ride My See-Saw by Moody Blues.
    - The solo in My Love by Paul McCartney (I don't know who played it
      but PMcC reckoned it was improvised in the studio.
    - The solo in Starship's big hit back in summer (Nothing's Gonna
      Stop Us?).
   
    I have the Band's LP, The Last Waltz. There is a track on there
    with a guitar solo that climaxes beautifully by blending almost 
    unnoticeably into a sax solo (played by someone elso of course!).
    
    This is just a few I can think of off the top of my head. In all
    cases when I hear the solo start I sort of long to hear the climax
    come.
    
    Richard Briggs
    UK SWAS 

    Here are some thoughts from a humble, intermediate guitarist.
    1. I agree totally with the comments on starting off on the right
    foot. If you just start blasting notes with no thought of development,
    where can you expect to end up?
    
    2. Singing the notes as you play is a great way to get caught up
    in the feel of the song. And once you're there, you're golden. I
    sing all the time!
    
    3. What you don't play is as important as what you do play. A few
    well-placed silences can add alot of tension and buildup to a solo.
    Mark Knopler leaves holes all over the place. He can use silence
    as well as he can use notes.
    
    4. Concentrate on your strengths and downplay your weaknesses. Not
    to say that you shouldn't practice the things that you can't do,
    but you should use your best pitch when you want throw a strike,
    so to speak.
    
    Nuff said by this dude. Go for it!!!

    re.21
    I agree, when your in the game..throw striks but when you at practice..
    conentrate on the curves
    
    Mark

    re .21   #3...what you don't play is as important as what you don't...
    
    I can believe this.  My best solos are the silent ones.
    
    Greg
    

    
    Think about how to make non-scale tones sound good.
    
    wjb

    re .24
    
    First you have to think about how to make the SCALE tones sound
    good!

    Ok, Chormatic approach to chord tones then, at least.  CT's will
    always have you in the clear.
    
    wjb