Help! Solo Ideas Question

Deep Eddy

Deep Eddy

Argle Bargle or Foofaraw?
I've been working on learning the fretboard better and playing solos over the changes (using more chord tones) and generally trying to be more melodic. One thing I've noticed about my own playing is that I tend to stay with certain fingering patterns and phrasing. I'll give myself a break since theses are practice exercises, and I'm still learning this stuff, but it's kinda bland.

Then I heard Dirty Laundry by Don Henley on the radio last week, and the first solo by Joe Walsh got me thinking about how he uses that that weird, "angular" phrase in the beginning (and again in the middle) of this conventional song/solo. A few other examples are Quine's solos in Girlfriend by Matthew Sweet, Andy Summers' solo in Driven to Tears by The Police and Doug Pettibone's solo in Righteously by Lucinda Williams.

So here's the question: does anyone have suggestions for how to develop the physical ability, and an ear, for playing "unconventional" phrases (not sure what the correct term is) in solos? This is probably a long-term project, but I'd like to break out of the "same old, same old" playing.
 
One thing that you can do is practice playing through scales in set intervals. When I practice scales I usually include passes through the scales in 3rds, 4ths and 5ths. I should be doing 6ths and 7ths but there is only so much time right now.

Also, practice the scales outside of the CAGED boxes I probably started you on (your lessons were quite a while ago and my memory sucks). Try some 3 note per string fingerings with the intervallic approach.

Also, sometimes those guitars aren't playing in a specific key. Try playing up a minor pentatonic scale over an A minor chord but halfway up the scale move up one fret and then back down. Playing out of key and then returning to it will give you some nice tension and release that you can't get by playing specifically in key. If I get a moment I'll make a short video.
 
Thanks, Mark. Lots of material to think about and digest in just those 10 mins.

I'll look for more information on playing arpeggios from the harmonized scale.
 
One thing that has helped me is adding small sections of the neighboring scale patterns in. First I added two notes from partern 5 of minor pentatonic to parten one. The next week I added three notes from pateen 2. Then two more from partern 5. When I went to the jam found myself able to comfortably solo will moving through portions of three patterns.

Just what has been working for me. Small chunk. Figure out some phrases and how to move around through them. Then add another couple notes.

One more thing that really helped. I downloaded the Anderton backing tracks to play over. So I applied the concept in many different keys. Including using the relative minors to play over major keys just different resolutions.

@Mark Wein not sure if I’m on track here but it’s been helping me anyway.
 
reverend1 said:
One thing that has helped me is adding small sections of the neighboring scale patterns in. First I added two notes from partern 5 of minor pentatonic to parten one. The next week I added three notes from pateen 2. Then two more from partern 5. When I went to the jam found myself able to comfortably solo will moving through portions of three patterns.

Just what has been working for me. Small chunk. Figure out some phrases and how to move around through them. Then add another couple notes.

One more thing that really helped. I downloaded the Anderton backing tracks to play over. So I applied the concept in many different keys. Including using the relative minors to play over major keys just different resolutions.

@Mark Wein not sure if I’m on track here but it’s been helping me anyway.
Click to expand...
That works. Combining the CAGED patterns with 3 note per string patterns, playing the scales on just one or two strings up the whole length of the fretboard, picking out 4 note "cells" from the scales and learning every permutation of just those 4 notes also help.

Check this out:



I need to find the PDF's for these lessons.
 
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