Mike gave you great suggestions about working through the blues & rock courses. Those are great paths to learn the concepts & skills in a step by step process.
I want to offer a few additional suggestions.
Originally Posted by: danylukI can solo to other instruments and I would like to be able to solo along with chords I play while playing alone on single guitar. Can you recommend any lessons or songs you have done on this site that could get me started on that?[/quote][p]It seems like the skill you are asking about could be one of two things:
1. Switching between rhythm & lead playing in a solo context.
2. Chord melody playing.
Switching between rhythm & lead is a useful thing to practice if you are playing solo. You can keep a steady groove going with the rhythm parts & then throw in some interesting variety with a few lead licks, quickly & seamlessly returning to the rhythm grooving.
This is a tricky thing to learn but a lot of fun to do! :) Depending on your current skill level, we have tutorials that can help you get there.
These tutorials are aimed at learning the basic skills of moving between rhythm & lead playing.
E Blues Rhythm & Lead: Series 1
https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=170
E Blues Rhythm & Lead: Series 2
https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=918
If those are too basic, then you might get more out of these that show how to incorporate these things into more of an overall orchestrated approach.
Blues Orchestration Series 1[br]https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=151
[br]Blues Orchestration Series 2
https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=274
Once you get those types of skills under your command, then it's a good idea to find songs that use that approach. Typically, this means bluesy type songs that use a single guitar to carry the whole tune.
Steady Rolling Man
https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=2145
Stop Breakin' Down
https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=2146
Deep River Blues
https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=2082
And don't forget that even though some tunes have bass & drums in the original recording, they stand up really well when done on solo guitar. This is a great example.
Mary Had a Little Lamb
https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=2353
This song has 2 guitars, but either guitar part could carry the tune & there are a lot of fun things to learn.
Before You Accuse Me
https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=853
Chord melody playing is essentially taking the rhythm & lead switching approach to a whole new level. The idea is to play both the melody & the chords all at the same time. I do some tutorials aimed at learning the skills.
Joe Pass Style
https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=149
https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=268
https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=708
And I've done some tunes that have a chord melody approach in the tutorial.
After You've Gone[br]https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=644
[br]St. Louis Blues[br]https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=759
Summertime (Jazz)
https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=2189
Anders does a great job of showing how this works in a ragtime style setting.
https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=975
While those are mostly jazz related, this style can be applied to any genre! For example Anders does a great job on a pop tune here.
Fields of Gold
https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1150
[quote=danyluk]Also I would like to get better at playing melodic solos. Can you recommend any of
these lessons that could be building blocks to learn that skill.
Again the style courses are a great way to learn those skills in a methodical way. There are also plenty of great tunes with melodic solos & mimicing them will go a long way to acquiring a vocabulary of your own to use in soloing.
With that in mind, I also have a series of tutorial that cover improvising in depth & detail focused on creating melodies from scales by targeting chord tones. I encourage you to start with the first one. But if you are more advanced, then skip ahead until you find the most applicable tutorial.
Introduction to Improvisation For Beginners[br]https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=876
[br]Improvisation in a Major Key
https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=483
Improvisation in a Minor Key[br]https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=491
Improvisation in a Major Key Series 2
https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=2318
Improvisation in a Minor Key Series 2
https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=2329
That's a lot of info. :) But hopefully some of it will point you in the right direction. Please ask more if necessary. Best of success!
Christopher Schlegel
Guitar Tricks InstructorChristopher Schlegel Lesson Directory
