Friday, April 1, 2011

Learn Guitar Scales For Soloing

By Jonathan Hart


A solo might be a performance of rehearsed phrases, or it may be improvised on the spot. Improvisation is common in rock and jazz guitar. If one wants to be good at improvisation, it is necessary to learn guitar scales.



A rehearsed solos tends to sound uninspired, so it is harder to make it sound really good. Also, when one improvises solos, each performance is different. In contrast, rehearsed solos are the same every time.

Fortunately, guitar is a very easy instrument for playing scales. This is partly because transposing to different keys is as simple as playing the same finger pattern at different positions on the neck.

A lot is achieved by simply learning to play a major scale in a way that can be easily repeated at any position on the neck. Not only can one easily change keys, but one can also switch between major and minor keys by using knowledge of relative minors. Variations allow one to express different musical ideas.

Furthermore, this same finger pattern can be adapted to play a blues scale, or to play in any of the musical modes. Learning other finger patterns for the major scale allows versatility. After this, additional patterns, such as whole tones, can be added to the mix.

Knowing more scales allows for experimentation during improvising. Solos can also include chords made by playing two or more notes at the same time, or by playing single notes from common chords.

More musical expression is the ultimate result of experimenting during solos. It is also helpful to imitate favorite recorded solos to learn both traditional and new phrases. It all adds up to developing a personal style as a performer. It also means more enjoyment for both the listener and the performer.




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