How Do You Compose Solos???

Inspector #20

Inspector #20

Ambassador of Tone
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Thought this would be a good thread and might even be a little bit of fun....

I always like to critique my guitar work, in hopes that I stay in a state of constantly improving and evolving as a musician. So, I searched through my files to try and find a good example of my playing style and tone.

I stripped all the vocals off of this track so all you hear is the instruments. I feel like this is probably the best example of my approach to solo improvisation, rhythm fills and my tone in general.

Road To Hell - Rory Gallagher Cover - Instruments ONLY

How do you approach solos and what examples do you have to post????
 
After playing guitar for over 30 years and studying music theory galore, I've changed my tune these days so to speak and believe in total improvisation...be an original like this gentleman below who has given me a new inspiration on how to really play guitar! Haters will be haters and this guy is a lover.:)



;>)/
 
I usually consider the «mood» of the tune, and come up with some general ideas on how to construct a solo. Do I want a major or minor feel? Does the solo require a «modal» feel, straight pentatonic stuff, should it be melodic, etc. After having thought about stuff like this, I usually just wing it. After I have played the song a few times, certain motifs or licks might «stick» to be used over. But all this depends on the song. If I play a slow blues for instance, a solo will usually be completely improvised and not pre-planned at all.
 
Gahr said:
I usually consider the «mood» of the tune, and come up with some general ideas on how to construct a solo. Do I want a major or minor feel? Does the solo require a «modal» feel, straight pentatonic stuff, should it be melodic, etc. After having thought about stuff like this, I usually just wing it. After I have played the song a few times, certain motifs or licks might «stick» to be used over. But all this depends on the song. If I play a slow blues for instance, a solo will usually be completely improvised and not pre-planned at all.
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Mood is a good description because the solo has to feel right. You posted some neat solos on Sound cloud, Gahr!
 
eSGEe said:
I dont-- I play bass...... and thats my story ........
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That way?

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I try not to play solos. I much prefer to play rhythm. When I do play a solo the method depends on the song. Some songs I’ll get the sheet music and try to stick fairly close to the melody, some songs it’s more about the mood or feel. I try not to play too many notes. I try to leave a lot of space between phrases. This is not by choice. It’s because my old, bony fingers aren’t very fast anymore. Age has slowed me down and I think it’s for the better. Most of the guitarists I admire don’t play a lot of notes.
 
Kerry Brown said:
I try not to play solos. I much prefer to play rhythm. When I do play a solo the method depends on the song. Some songs I’ll get the sheet music and try to stick fairly close to the melody, some songs it’s more about the mood or feel. I try not to play too many notes. I try to leave a lot of space between phrases. This is not by choice. It’s because my old, bony fingers aren’t very fast anymore. Age has slowed me down and I think it’s for the better. Most of the guitarists I admire don’t play a lot of notes.
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I really enjoy rhythm. I enjoy solos too....but I like keeping the bottom end solid.
 
I'm not sure how I do it really - a little bit of everything I guess. A general idea, mixed with an educated guess, mixed with improvising that's gets tweaked and honed until I have something I think fits the song - or something like that. I do like writing leads though, as much as writing any other part of a song, and I tend to check them piece by piece against what they are being played over if I can.
 
Normally, I try to know the song really well. I want to know how the rhythm is put together and how it feels. Then I start playing around with the solo as another vocal part. Sometimes, it'll be more wankery than vocalizing, but that is the general direction of how I take things building off of whatever riffs or fills are going on at the time. It's extremely rare that I jump out of the box on a solo. There are also times when it's exactly as Tony described.

This is a song that I thought I voiced a nice solo for. It was written by the bass player/singer in an old band of mine.

Perfect Witness
 
SG John said:
Normally, I try to know the song really well. I want to know how the rhythm is put together and how it feels. Then I start playing around with the solo as another vocal part. Sometimes, it'll be more wankery than vocalizing, but that is the general direction of how I take things building off of whatever riffs or fills are going on at the time. It's extremely rare that I jump out of the box on a solo. There are also times when it's exactly as Tony described.

This is a song that I thought I voiced a nice solo for. It was written by the bass player/singer in an old band of mine.

Perfect Witness
Click to expand...

Awesomely!!
 
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