How Do I Finish A Solo??!!
Q: My name is Michael Gwilliam, and I am having trouble with my solos. One problem is that I find that I can BEGIN to write solos, but never finish them off. One cause may be that I start to write songs from the solo, because I can never come up with riffs that I like enough to use or keep.
Another problem is that I find I only know a few licks, and I am getting pretty bored with it. When I try to experiment, it all just turns out to be the same stuff over and over again. And it's very hard for me to find inspiration.
Do you know any way you can help me with any of my problems?
A: Hi...thanks for your question,
Hi and thanks for your question!
You're not alone in your quest for great solos! Most players find that they reach a wall in their solos and just keep recycling old licks and ideas.
Here are a couple of things to start with:
1. Finishing Your Solo - It depends what type of solo you are playing, but usually a good solo builds to a climax point. By building, I mean gradually making your licks/ideas more intense either rhythmically or texturally until the big, exciting end of the solo. You can build intensity by playing higher notes, bending more, using unison or stationary bends, or repeating licks or ideas. Browse our soloing lessons to find help on this:
Soloing Lessons
2. Inspiration - To play new solo licks or ideas you need to find new techniques (bends, hammers, etc..), new scales, or new rhythms. In the next two weeks, Access Rock will have a couple of more lessons which deal with this subject. In the mean time, force yourself to play a new rhythm. For instance, play a lick 10 times. Each time play the same notes, but use a different rhythm. You have to slowly count out the new rhythm using quarter, eighth, half, or sixteenth notes. We have many technique lessons on Access Rock. Browse our soloing or technique lessons to find them:
Soloing Lessons
Technique Lessons
