When I hear the words “Guitar Solos,” several prominent guitar figures come to mind: Steve Howe (Yes); Terry Kath (Chicago); and Jimmy Page (Led Zeppelin), just to name a few. If I close my eyes just for a moment, I can see Howe’s lightning fast fingers running up and down the fretboard of his Rickenbacker; Kath with eyes close and face towards the sky as he rips an un-replicable solo on his Gibson SG; and Page onstage with his Les Paul and hair swinging everywhere.
Now those guys were and still are some of the greats and few can come close to the skill and sound that they produced. Thankfully, you don’t have to be a Jimmy Page to take play a guitar solo. In all reality, it doesn’t take much to produce a guitar solo in a song. As I stated earlier, it doesn’t take great talent to pump out a solo. Please don’t misunderstand me; if you aren’t that good at guitar you’re probably not going to perform a great lead guitar solo. Nonetheless; if you take a daring stab at going off the songs set path and play something unwritten or unplanned, you got yourself a solo!
For someone who wants to play something that doesn’t sound like nails against a chalkboard, it’s going to take a little bit of work. Just like anything else that’s worthwhile, you better expect to shed some blood, sweat and tears. So if you’re already whining about the practice time that’s going to take up your time in front of the boob tube, don’t waste your time – stick to power chords!
If you’re serious about learning how to lead guitar soloist, then there are a few things that you’ll need to do. Get better acquainted with the three men above and the rest of many excellent guitar teachers of the past and present. Also, if you haven’t yet familiarized yourself with different scales, you better get on that train quick! Lastly, diversify your genres of music! Begin brushing up on other genres even if they aren’t your first choice. You will surprise yourself when you start mixing multiple styles together and something beautiful and different is created.
Here are a number of other useful topical links related to guitars:
learn to play guitar
guitar tabs
Metallica tabs
guitar solos
play blues guitar
free guitar lessons