youre thinking too much, whats a scale? hahaha... just kidding.
1 - 17 of 17 Posts
some vibrato would certainly help 
your song and soloing
Well, I do have some constructive criticism and suggestions for you, though I hope that you don't react the way you have reacted to the others (hey guys, ain't that the pot calling the kettle black!).
Your solos are limited to the narrow parameters of the pentatonic scale, probably for a couple of reasons. The first is the idiom. Your song is in the classic rock or hard rock motif, with a chord progression that lends itself to pentatonic noodling. Of course, with some knowledge of modes you could expand that vocabulary somewhat and with better technique you could stretch those boundries by using more chromatic passing notes and so on.
The question then becomes; how are you going to get those skills? My immediate suggestion would be to find a good jazz guitar instructor and take lessons. Its the the study of jazz that you'll start to have a broader understanding of modal scales, chord progressions and the relationships therein.
You asked us how you might keep your solos from being boring. Like any language, the broader your vocabulary, the more interesting the conversation.
There were a number of compositional issues with your "song". Firstly, the drum loop didn't seem to vary throughout (did it vary at all?). Also, the drum loop seemed to push the beat just slightly ahead of what you were playing on guitar.
The song didn't seem to have a begining, middle, chorus, bridge or ending. It also lingered right around the root of the key. There were no vocals, not much in the way of melodic material. In other words, it may have succeeded as a garage band jam session, but not as a "song".
The remedy? When you listen to music, analyse the form and structure as well as the tones and notes. Songs have a beginning, usually marked by some kind of "hook" that hold the song together, a verse, a chorus, possibly a bridge, more versus and choruses, and an ending. The chordal progression of a song helps determine its tension and release, as much as the verses and choruses do. Solos should peak that tension and should be stylistically appropriate to the song (if used at all). There's your short course on song writing.
There are lots of good books at your public library on song writing and musical composition. There's even a "Song Writing for Dummies", which is actually an excellent reference for budding young song writers.
In Conclusion: If you want to improve your solos, you have to start by improving your guitar skills in general. Its a hard slog, but its worth it. If you want to keep your songs from being boring, you need to disect and learn from songs that aren't boring. Study, observe, emulate, create.
Jeff
Well, I do have some constructive criticism and suggestions for you, though I hope that you don't react the way you have reacted to the others (hey guys, ain't that the pot calling the kettle black!).
Your solos are limited to the narrow parameters of the pentatonic scale, probably for a couple of reasons. The first is the idiom. Your song is in the classic rock or hard rock motif, with a chord progression that lends itself to pentatonic noodling. Of course, with some knowledge of modes you could expand that vocabulary somewhat and with better technique you could stretch those boundries by using more chromatic passing notes and so on.
The question then becomes; how are you going to get those skills? My immediate suggestion would be to find a good jazz guitar instructor and take lessons. Its the the study of jazz that you'll start to have a broader understanding of modal scales, chord progressions and the relationships therein.
You asked us how you might keep your solos from being boring. Like any language, the broader your vocabulary, the more interesting the conversation.
There were a number of compositional issues with your "song". Firstly, the drum loop didn't seem to vary throughout (did it vary at all?). Also, the drum loop seemed to push the beat just slightly ahead of what you were playing on guitar.
The song didn't seem to have a begining, middle, chorus, bridge or ending. It also lingered right around the root of the key. There were no vocals, not much in the way of melodic material. In other words, it may have succeeded as a garage band jam session, but not as a "song".
The remedy? When you listen to music, analyse the form and structure as well as the tones and notes. Songs have a beginning, usually marked by some kind of "hook" that hold the song together, a verse, a chorus, possibly a bridge, more versus and choruses, and an ending. The chordal progression of a song helps determine its tension and release, as much as the verses and choruses do. Solos should peak that tension and should be stylistically appropriate to the song (if used at all). There's your short course on song writing.
There are lots of good books at your public library on song writing and musical composition. There's even a "Song Writing for Dummies", which is actually an excellent reference for budding young song writers.
In Conclusion: If you want to improve your solos, you have to start by improving your guitar skills in general. Its a hard slog, but its worth it. If you want to keep your songs from being boring, you need to disect and learn from songs that aren't boring. Study, observe, emulate, create.
Jeff
1 - 17 of 17 Posts
