short solos

OK, so I can write solos and stuff, I know scales modes and stuff like that but.... I'm having a hard time writing some short solos- (Approx 8 bars). I can write like one bar fills that will have the whole lick and sorta resolve to something but I'm having trounble doing this with short complete, solos. Also writing stuff to solo over thats static and then soloing over it

i had the same problem and i guess the longer i played and more studing i did on the pentatonic scales and how to use them to create you own solos one way i can think of to make your solos longer are repating licks quickly to make one long lick.

No, no, no, no, no, my solos are too long, I can write licks for days, and I am FAR FAR FAR past learning how to use the petatonic scale. I don't think you can help me a ton but I'm trying to write shorter solos that still climax and make a good muisical statement.

Well if you know pentatonics and you can't say anything in a small amount of time...then you know how play through pentatonics but really don't know how to use pentatonics completely.

They're only five notes, if you can't play something straight and to the point, with only five notes... then your repeating yourself ;)

Check out this tutorial I'm doing at guitar.com's forums. It explains mixing major and minor pentatonic scales. By doing this you are also implying the Mixolydian and Dorian scales. And, it gets you think chromtically, not up and down successive half steps, but more like...I have 12 notes, what can I say with these given notes...how do I make music out of them.

This will get you playing more lyrical as opposed to scale patterny.

Look through this link. There's links within it for 40 lessons, and I have about another 20 ready to post. You'll find explanations, tabs, fretboard daigrams, audio for everything, etc...

This is the stuff I come to use after 30 years of playing guitar and about 40 years of playing music in general. And, if you think like this, you can solo over just about any style of music too.

There's a lot blues, rock, and chicken pickin stuff shown. But, I also show some Benson, Mclaughlin, Glenn Miller, and a bunch of other stuff...and show how all the things are really using only a couple of concepts...mainy based on sounds.

Enjoy, and have fun :)


Advanced Pentatonics

Gen has it nailed. I have had huge (Howard Huge) feedback from a synthetic solo structure I call "mixing it up" which uses a combination or major and minor pent scale segments.

Disclaimer - I say the following only as a starting point. Every true guitar solo should be a conversation, not a teacher's homework assignment......
For basic 3 or 4 chord backs - Major runs are generally downward (notes run from the top of the scale down, but not necessarily straight down, give it some peak and valley to avoid the chromatic scale exericise sound Gen mentions), minor runs are basically upward. Alter the application of each across (a short) one or two bar sequence, while climbing up the neck on each application (the build). OR -You can combine two Majors (one run down, move up the neck, one up), then two minors (up, move up, down, whatever), etc.. Feel the breeze.
Repeat the basic structural patterns in opposite to round out the solo. Lost? Think of this in "chunks" or "inserts". Take your minor pent solo, remove a fragment (a bar for every 2 bars) of the minor set and insert a major scale fragment (without abandoning your "topic"). Keep general scale activity up then down, which will add a fluid feel without creating a noticable transition between the two (but highly "conversational"). Still lost? My fault - it's hard to explain without dumping an MP3 or lengthy tab on you. Take Gen's lesson.