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Guitar Soloing "Runs and Ideas"

Make your guitar soloing more believable by using runs and ideas!

Your guitar soloing will sound boring and aimless if you just string a bunch of guitar licks together. If you combine runs and ideas with a careful choice of licks, your guitar soloing will sound more exciting and interesting.A "RUN" is a part of a guitar scale played in an upward or downward direction.

Here is an ascending run from the E Blues Scale:

Try this run with alternating picking, hammer-ons, or a combination of both. Then try a downward run and play it picked, with alternating picking, pull-offs, or a combination of both.

WHAT'S A HAMMER-ON? Click Here

An "IDEA" is 2-3 notes that repeat and add tension to your guitar soloing.

Repeat ideas as many times as you want to. The more times that you repeat it the more tension you create in your solo!

• Practice the runs and ideas first without the metronome

• Then practice each slowly using the metronome or practice track

• When practicing with the shuffle practice track, be sure to play swing eighths

• Try making up your own runs and ideas from the E blues scale notes

• Print the Write your Own page, create and write down some of your own ideas-use any effects, combine effects.

• Work on some spontaneous guitar soloing using the techniques you learned in this lesson.