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Phrases could also be distinguished by modulating keysSo what is "good" phrasing? Think of it the same way as writing or poetry. It should feel like each phrase is saying something, alternating techniques (legato vsnot spouting random words or rambling on and on. staccato Each phrase from one to the next should feel connected, even though different and distinct notes vs. bends/whammy/slide), changing guitar tone, The listener should be able to appreciate what you are trying to express through your playing faster or slower, changing volume.- phrasing is the best method to do so..really anything It breaks a solo down into blocks that can be used individually consumed and understood, with each block building into something greater than they could achieve independently. The same way verse, pre-chorus, and chorus melodies all fit together to make a great song, phrases should fit together to noticeably create contrast between different groups of notesmake a great solo.
So what is "good" phrasing? Think of it the same way as writing or poetry. It should feel like each phrase is saying something, not spouting random words or rambling on and on. Each phrase from one to the next should feel connected, even though different and distinct. The listener should be able to appreciate what you are trying to express through your playing - phrasing is the best method to do so. It breaks a solo down into blocks that can be individually consumed and understood, with each block building into something greater than they could achieve independently. The same way verse, pre-chorus, and chorus melodies all fit together to make a great song, phrases should fit together to make a great solo.{{top}}
Progression I vi IV V7 I
The octaves of the current note can be found by moving diagonally from bottom left to {{top right of the fretboard. The octave will be 2/3 frets higher for the string 2 strings above the current string, or 7/8 frets higher for the next highest string.}}
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{{Top-Level Crumbs|1}}
{{Lesson Crumbs|3}}
{{Advanced Lesson Crumbs|6}}
A '''solo''' is a section of a song that focuses on a single instrument. It is the '''lead''' instrument in the arrangement; hence solo'ing soloing is often called playing ''lead'' (as opposed to ''rhythm''). An instrument may "solo" over other parts of the song, such as the chorus; or multiple instruments can "solo" at the same time - "solo'ingsoloing" is more about a style of play that is emphasized during solo sections. For guitar, this is usually playing single note melodies, scale iterations, or arpeggios, in higher registers than commonly found in rhythm playing. While rhythm-playing is more associated with repetitive riffs or chord progressions, solo'ing soloing usually features non-repeating phrases.
A solo section is often designed to showcase the performer's ability and personal style. It often features distinctive speed, techniques, phrasing, accents, and tone that differentiate it from the rest of the song.
== Goals ==
Your main goal in solo'ing soloing should always be to enhance the song. Within those bounds, you can do anything you want; however, you have to be aware of the solo's ''context'' within the song to understand what is appropriate. For instance, if you are solo'ing soloing on a slow, soft ballad, it's not appropriate to come in guns blazing shredding at warp speed. Similarly, if the song has a sad tone, it's inappropriate to make your solo sound festive or goofy.
Things to be aware of:
A B C
--2--4--5----------5--4--7-------7-7-75-(x)-0-----
Phrases A, B, and C are clearly distinguishable by their rhythms - they all consist of several short notes and one longer, sustained note. This is a classic way to develop identifiable phrasing.
A B C
--t12p4-h7-t12p4-h7-t12p4-h7-t12p5-h9-p5\4h5h7p5p4h5--
Here, phrases A, B, and C are more ambiguous, flowing directly into each other without strong rhythm changes. Phrases A and B can be considered distinguishable because they are tapping different arpeggios. Phrase C is distinguishable because it is not an arpeggio. Phrases could also be distinguished by modulating keys, alternating techniques (legato vs. staccato, distinct notes vs. bends/whammy/slide), changing guitar tone, playing faster or slower, changing volume...really anything that can be used to noticeably create contrast between different groups of notes. This is not an exact science, and it's not necessary to analyze all playing as distinct phrases. We might consider the above example to be a single phrase.
=== Question/Answer Phrasing ===
Question Answer Answer 2
--0--2--4------5--7--0------4--2--0---
{{top}}
=== Guidelines for Good Phrasing ===
Even if the piece features numerous non-diatonic chords in the harmony, it's still a good idea to know what key the piece is in, and particularly if there is a strong tonic note. This is the basis of your phrasing - creating tension by moving away from the tonic and releasing it by ending a phrase on it.
{{top}}
=== Current Chord ===
In the example below, we can see that all of the notes from the chords belong to C Major. However, rather than playing all of the notes from C Major over each chord, we can limit ourselves to or emphasize those that belong to the current chord.
{||colspan="8"| Progression - I C Major scale vi IV V7 I|-||-| Chord # || Chord || C || D || E || F || G || A || B || C |- | I || C major chord || C || || E || || G || || || C |-| vi || A minor chord || C || || E || || || A || || C |-| IV || F major chord || C || || || F || || A || || C |-| V7 || G dominant 7th || || D || || F || G || || B|| |- | I || C major chord || C || || E || || G || || || C|}
In particular, we want our tension and release to align with the harmony. A phrase that ends on the tonic note will be less effective over the vi and IV chords than the I. It will be confusing and conflicting to play that phrase over the V{{7}}. We can also emphasize the harmonic movement by moving from mutually exclusive notes between adjacent chords. For example, playing G on the last beat of the C major chord, then playing A on the downbeat of the A minor chord. Then E -> F for A minor -> F major, A -> B for F major -> G major 7, and B -> C for G major 7 -> C major.
'''Chromatics''' or '''accidentals''' are notes that are not diatonic to the current key. Above we covered altering our key or using other keys to fit the harmony of the current chord. Here we will discuss using chromatics not dictated by the current chord, but simply as an additional means of expression.
The most simple use of chromatics is to borrow from the chromatic scale. The chromatic scale is the ultimate symmetric scale, with any possible note being the tonic with the same relationship to all other notes in the scale. This means its tonicity is extremely weak, which can make it sound aimless. Its constant use of half-step movements can sound like there's a lot of action but at the same time the pitch is moving slowly. And it can sound kind of comic. Its usage is mostly for small snippets rather than shifting completely to a chromatic scale. Because any note can be the tonic in the chromatic scale, its usage does not "move" the tonic note and cause the phrase to become disjointed with the harmony.
|---------|
E------------------------
Other popular scales to borrow from are the whole tone and octatonic scales. These scales are also highly symmetric and have weak tonicity. The whole tone scale can have its tonic as any note in the scale, with a note on every note in the chromatic scale. So there's really only two variations, and if you pick the one that includes the harmony's tonic note, there is no disruption to the overall tonality. Same with either of the octatonic scales - these use 8/12 notes in the chromatic scale and can have any of its notes act as the tonic, so its more than likely you'll use a variation that does not affect tonality.
|-------------|
E------------------4----------
|-------------| E----------------------------- B--------------------------1-- G------0---------------0-2---- D----2---4-2-1-------2-------- A--3-----------4-3-1---------- E-----------------------------
Blues is popular for its use of ''blue notes'' - the flatted 3rd, 5th, and 7th. These can either be added to or replace the corresponding notes of the major scale.
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0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24
|Xo|-|-|Xo|-|Xo|-|Xo|Rx|-|Xo|-|Xo|Xo|-|Xo|-|Xo|-|Xo|Rx|-|Xo|-|Xo| |Xo|Rx|-|Xo|-|Xo|Xo|-|Xo|-|Xo|-|Xo|Rx|-|Xo|-|Xo|Xo|-|Xo|-|Xo|-|Xo| |Xo|-|Xo|-|Xo|Rx|-|Xo|-|Xo|-|-|Xo|-|Xo|-|Xo|Rx|-|Xo|-|Xo|Xo|-|Xo| |Xo|-|Xo|-|-|Xo|-|Xo|-|Xo|Rx|-|Xo|-|Xo|Xo|-|Xo|-|Xo|-|Xo|Rx|-|Xo| |Xo|-|Xo|Rx|-|Xo|-|Xo|Xo|-|Xo|-|Xo|-|Xo|Rx|-|Xo|-|Xo|-|Xo|Xo|-|Xo| |Xo|Xo|-|Xo|-|Xo|-|Xo|Rx|-|Xo|-|Xo|Xo|-|Xo|-|Xo|-|Xo|Rx|-|Xo|-|Xo|
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24
|----C----| |----C----|
|}
Notice how the far-left notes in the G position are the far-right notes in the E/G position, just moved to a lower (thicker) string. All the other notes simply move to the left. The only tricky part is the G/B strings, as they aren't tuned to a perfect 4th. Thus, Always try to keep in mind the whole-half patterns involved. Knowing where the 2 half steps are is the key to understanding the major scale and moving it around the fretboard easily. {{top}}
=== Understanding the Patterns ===
3 |o|-|o|x|-|
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We know from the prior [[1st String|1st string lesson]] that for a given major/minor scale, there are 2 of each pattern that occur, plus one additional whole-whole (<tt>|o|-|o|-|o|</tt>) pattern. As we ascend from low (thick) string to high (thin), the patterns go in order - 1(x3), 2(x2), 3(x2), then repeat. As you go from the #1 pattern to #2, you shift up one fret; and as you go from the G to B string you shift up one fret. As you can see in the last scale map above, when these both occur on the same string transition, you end up shifting up 2 frets.
{{top}}
=== Moving Diagonally between Octaves ===
=== Targetting Notes between Positions ===
The same note can be found up to 6 times across the fretboard, moving diagonally from the top left (thinnest strings, lowest frets) to bottom right (thickest strings, highest frets). For a guitar tuned to standard tuning w/ all perfect 4ths between strings except a M3 between the G and B strings, the note can be found on the next thickest string 5 frets higher than the current fret (+4 frets for the G/B strings).
|--- +5 --|-- +4 -|--- +5 --|--- +5 --|--- +5 --|
|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|x|
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24
|x|-|-|-|-|-| G |x|-|-|-|-|
|-|-|-|-|-|x| or B |-|-|-|-|x|
The same octaves of the current note can be found up to 6 times across the fretboard, most easily by moving diagonally from the top bottom-left (thinnest strings, lowest frets) to bottom the top-right (thickest strings, highest frets)of the fretboard. For a guitar tuned to standard tuning w/ all perfect 4ths between The octave will be 2 or 3 frets higher for the string that is 2 strings except a M3 between above the G and B stringscurrent string, the note can be found on or 7/8 frets higher for the next thickest highest string 5 frets . You can also move 3 strings higher than the current fret (+4 string by moving back 2/3 frets for the G/B strings).
|3|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|4|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|5|
|1|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|2|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|3|
0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24
|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|o| B |-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|o|
|x|-|-|-|-|-|-|-| or G |x|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|-|
D/G |-|-|o| B/E |-|-|-|o|
A/D |-|-|-| or G/B |-|-|-|-|
E/A |x|-|-| D/G |x|-|-|-|
G |o|-|-|-| B/E |o|-|-|
D |-|-|-|-| G/B |-|-|-|
A |-|-|-|-| or D/G |-|-|-|
E |-|-|-|x| A/D |-|-|x|
== Chord Solo'ing soloing ==A popular solo'ing soloing method in jazz is a '''chord solo'''. It is particularly effective when there is no rhythm guitar or piano to fill in the harmony, particularly extended "jazz" chords. It uses a combination of melody lines and chords to create the solo. Some notes of the chord may be sustained while others are moved as a melody. Alternate voicings of the chord may be used to follow the energy of the solo or allow easier manipulation of melody lines. Not all chords may be played - sometimes the melody may simply accent the chord's root or an important voice of the chord not being played by another instrument. {{top}}
== Using Delay ==
Modern delays have the ability to sync their delay times to the song's tempo, either through beat detection or tap tempo. With the delay synced to the tempo, you can do some interesting things in playing off the delay trails, creating harmonies while playing fast melodies. Or you can use mutes and allow the delay trails to fall between the current notes, creating a seamingly super fast string of notes.
{{top}}
== Tone ==
Lead tones often differ from rhythm tones, especially for hard rock/metal genres. For jazz and blues, where the rhythm guitar tone is often dark and warm, the lead tone has more brightness and bite to stand out. For metal, rhythm guitars are often treble-boosted into distortion, getting a very tight and biting sound, which is harsh when applied to higher-register leads. A fatter, warmer tone is more desirable to sound sweet instead of harsh, achieved by disabling boosts and/or using the neck instead of bridge pickup. Also, lead tones tend to have greater emphasis on midrange than rhythm tones.
Effects-wise, leads are very often enhanced with [[Delay|delay ]] and [[Reverb|reverb ]] to make them sound more natural, sweeter, and spacious. [[Modulation Effects|Chorus or other modulation ]] can be used to help leads stand out where they don't otherwise do so (playing in the same register as the rhythm; using fewer notes than common for solo's).
Many amplifiers provide a '''solo boost''' accessible via footswitch. This typically provides +2 - +6 db of volume, which helps to have your leads stand out above the mix. {{top}} == Embellishing Your Playing ==The key to sounding like a guitar master vs. a novice is how you are able to embellish your playing. This mainly involves using a variety of techniques:* [[Touch, Dynamics, and Accents]]* [[Legato (Hammer-on, Pull-off)|Legato/Slides]]* [[Bending]]* [[Vibrato]]* [[Palm Muting]]* [[Artificial Harmonics]]* [[Whammy Bar]]* [[Double and Triple Stops]] {{top}}
== Shredding ==
'''Shredding''' is a term to describe jaw-dropping speed for lead playing. Ultimately, the best way to increase speed is to start slow and focus on fundamental technique, only increasing speed once technique is sound. Trying to jump straight into speed playing is grounds for developing bad habits and sloppy playing.
Shredding is often assisted by using special [[Main_Page#Techniques|techniques]] that use economy of motion, consistent picking/fingering patterns between strings, open strings, etc. to allow the player to play faster than he would using traditional technique. Here are some that are commonly used:
* 3 Notes per String
* [[Legato(Hammer-on, Pull-off)|Legato]]* [[C Major in Open Position and Alternate Picking|Alternate Picking]]* [[Sweep Picking]]* [[Tapping]]* [[Ref:_Common_Arpeggios#String_Skipping_Arpeggios|String Skipping]] {{top}} == Homework ==* Understand the idea of phrasing.* Practice making some question-answer phrases - see how the tonic note is related to tension and release.* Try making phrases with different methods to create contrast between them.* Play a basic diatonic chord progression on a music player, either one off the internet or one you've recorded. Solo in the same key. Solo in alternate keys. Notice how the solo seems to fit best in the current key.* Try to emphasize tones from the current chord in your solo. Try movement from tones that are mutually exclusive to the chords during transitions.* Play a chord progression that involves one or more chromatic chords. Try different scales, including synthetic ones, over the non-diatonic chords.* Try to incorporate various non-diatonic notes into a solo. Try chromatic, whole, octatonic, and blues runs, as well as sharped/flatted 3rds, and 6ths.* Practice moving up and down the fretboard diagonally following the octaves.* Randomly pick various keys to play in - use the CAGED method to find root notes and fingering patterns, and try to move between positions without playing any non-diatonic notes.* Practice playing the same notes in multiple positions, gradually increasing the size of the position shifts.* Repeat but try to ascend/descend octaves, using the 2, 3, and 4 string patterns for octaves.* Come up with a chord progression. Improvise a solo over it.* Come up with another chord progression. Write a solo for it.* Improvise over the chord progression for which you wrote the solo, incorporating some of the written ideas.* Write a solo for the first chord progression that you improvised over. See how your improvisation inspires ideas to write. == Q/A == == Related Lessons == {{top}}{{Advanced Lesson Crumbs|6}}
[[Category: Guitar]]
[[Category: Lessons]]
[[Category: Advanced Lessons]]
[[Category: Solo'ingsoloing]]
[[Category: Shred]]
[[Category: Arpeggios]]
[[Category: Scales]]