There are many different approaches to a solo. Get this into your head and as soon as you do the better off you will be...
THOSE INCREDIBLE SOLOS YOU SEE THE PROS DO ARE ALL PLANNED!
They didn't just rip that solo off the top of their head. Of course some do but it is not as improvised as you may think. OK that was my "lecture" on that and to the lesson.
Question #1: What's the easiest way to start soloing?
The easiest way to start soloing is to the blues, in my opinion. Those pentatonic boxes of the CAGED system will literally be your roadmap of the fretboard for a while (If you don't know what the CAGED system is, click here to see my lesson on the subject). Get those boxes DOWN! Especially the G form and the C form... as I said learning those 2 will automatically give you the A form since the A form is the "space" in between the C and G form (again see the CAGED lesson, if your lost!). Once you have some degree of control over these 2 boxes, download the MP3 file I have posted in the CAGED lesson (Blues in E MP3 - play it on repeat as it is a loop). It is a BLUES progression in E so it is the E minor pentatonic you will be working with.
G form box
E|-----------------------------------------0---3-|
B|---------------------------------0---3---------|
G|-------------------------0---2-----------------|
D|-----------------0---2-------------------------|
A|---------0---2---------------------------------|
E|-0---3-----------------------------------------|
The C form box at the 7th fret
E|-----------------------------------------7--10-|
B|---------------------------------7--10---------|
G|-------------------------7---9-----------------|
D|-----------------7---9-------------------------|
A|---------8--10---------------------------------|
E|-7--10-----------------------------------------|
While getting the feel of the rhythm of the MP3 file start playing the boxes. Obviously don't just run up and down the boxes in a scale like fashion, it just gives it a "scaly" sound. Play a few notes from the box patterns. See and feel how it fits. Try a little more. Sooner or later you will be like "I'm Jamming'!"
As far as guidelines... STAY WITH THE RHYTHM, and always be aware of when the chord changes... your ear will guide you through the rest of it. Don't make it harder than it should be.
Question #2: Funny chord shapes?
My guitar teacher would say "Don't worry about that yet" and for the most part he is right but here is my explanation:
This is where 99% of books will fail to explain. Many books look at chord building from the standpoint of USE AS MANY STRINGS AS POSSIBLE TO PLAY A CHORD. This is a good way to start but also a good way to lock a person's mind into one concept. Remember there are 6 strings... chords only require by definition 3 notes (4th note is added on for colour/texture).
Those 3 notes are based on the 1st, 3rd and 5th scale degrees with the 4th note being the 7th scale degree. So in all a 4 note chord. Those odd fingerings are used either to mute some strings or to simplify an odd fingering pattern.
For example take the simple OPEN D chord X X 0 2 3 2 using the index on the G string, middle on the B string and ring finger on the E string.
Well I can play it that way or if I need more fingers to do something else, I can free up my ring finger by barring all 3 strings down at the second fret and place my middle finger on the B string on the 3rd fret. I still get X X 0 2 3 2 but now my fingerings have changed. I actually have to do this on one of the Alison Krauss songs I play. I hope that made sense.
Oh Yeah ,another quick thought... I have been playing these pentatonics and their slight variations with blue notes (that's another topic) for so long that I can HUM the notes out as I am playing the notes.
After a while you too will "hear" the pentatonic tonality.
Listen to BB KING, Carlos Santana, Bob Marley, Buddy Guy, SRV...etc. All you get is pentatonic/blues scale tonality... and they are FAMOUS!!
Lan Tran, "Ninjato"
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