how do i go about creating a solo in a song

hey people.
kinda need some tips and advice on something.
u see i started creating my own riffs for songs for my band.
but i do not know the thoery part in adding guitar solos in the songs.
i do not know where on the fretboards should i start...and where should it end.
wat i wanna know is...does it have to follow the chords of the sonds..or is there a pattern or some sort?

pls advise.

There are many different ways of playing a solo, but if you know what key your in it makes it easier.

I once saw a improvisation video done by George Duke (a great piano player) and he said to construct a 'classic' sounding solo to follow these steps.

Lets say that you start your solo on the letter A and end on the letter D, in that you have A, B, C and D to work with.

the letter A may be a simple riff and after you play that a few times move to A1, a variation of A, then on to A2 which is a different variation on A.
After that it will need a change and so move to B which sounds different to A, then move to B1 which is a variation of B then move to C which might be somthing totaly different, e.g. A and B might be melodic so make C rythymic.
After C the solo might sound complete so move to D, where your solo ends.

This way means that you have developed your solo and kept it interesting and flowing.

The main thing to remember is that there is no wrong way to play a solo, but i Hope this helped:)

hey thanks fer the reply...but goin about makin the solo is kinda easy coz there is no rules as to where u may play...but in order to make it ermm...in tune wif the rythm of the song? should i follow the chords of the song or..?

issit like if the song goes into the chord A sholud my solo be at A? or can it be anywhere? if it is anywhere..it may sound a liitle out of line u get wat i mean?


so how bout it?

try out a few different things and see what sounds best, i find it alot easier to solo, when just focusing on the key signiture. But many people (jazz players especialy) like to solo over each chord seperalty, they often do this when there are alot of key changes in one song, but the easiest way of going about it is to find the key and solo over it.

Knowing what key you're in is a big help most of the time, but I think the best thing for you to do, especially if your band is willing, is just to jam and experiment. My band can go for an hour or more just bouncing ideas off of eachother and in the six months we've been playing, I've seen huge improvments in all of us. My guitarist went from having almost no idea on how to solo to being able to pull one out of his heiny at a moment's notice. I still don't think he knows much about keys or scales, but he knows what to play and how to play it, and best of all, he sounds really unique.

Some other ideas:
-Usually people make the solo climax at the end by having that the highest notes and fastest part of the solo, but this is where it should be the most intense.
-You could always try a Larry LaLonde and spit a mouthful of beer into air as the lights go off at the end of your solo- always charming.
-Try integrating chordy stuff, ie double bends, double stops, fifths, forths, octaves, etc. Hardly anybody out side of country or the blues does that any more.

Just remember, practice, experiment, and you'll get the hang of this soon enough.

Definately listen to what everyone above you said, they've got good advice. Helped me out some too. When soloing, keep in mind that sometimes the most basic, easy-looking riff or "trick" will work best, it will really help give unity to your solos. Another thing is, learn when to use speed! Use speed to show feeling, intensity, tension, etc. And learn what to play fast. The last part is difficult, heck I'm still trying to get it right. Keep at it, and you'll see marked improvement.

Try thinking of your "solo" as if your guitar was a singing vocalist. Most solos are constructed over either the verse or chorus of a song (less often over bridges). Try phrasing your solo as if it were singing another verse (or chorus or bridge) in the song. This will help your solo sound as if it belongs in the song and will give you a foundation for building future solos as well.

Why guess?
Learn music Theroy.

Lesson 1)
A)Start with the key of C.
B)Are there any sharps or flats in this key?
C)What notes are there?
hint: c d e f g a b c
D)What is an interval?
E)What is a major triad?
F)What is a minor triad?
G)What minor key had all the same notes as the key of C?
H)What is another name for this minor key?

BY NOW I HOPE U KNOW YOUR SCLAE MODES AT LEAST IF NOT LEARN THEM ASAP. YOU WOULD BE AMAZED WHAT THEY CAN DO FOR U SONG WRITING WISE PLUS THEY OPEN A BRAND NEW DOOR UP FOR U PLAYING WISE ALSO. BUT ANYWAYS A GOOD WAY TO CREATE A SOLO IS FIND OUT WHAT KEY THE SONG IS IN FOR EXAMPLE IF YOU ARE WRITING A SONG THAT IS IN "A" YOU COULD TAKE THE 3RD AND 5TH HARMONIES OF "A" SUCH AS C AND E AND USE THE C AND E MODES MESS AROUND WITH THE MODES UNTIL U FIND YOUR TYPE OF SOLO. OR U COULD JUST KEEP THE WHOLE SOLO IN A WHICH SOME PEOPLE LIKE TOO DO. LEARN THE MODES IF YA HAVEN'T AND FIND YOUR KINDA STYLE IN SOLO WRITING. I HOPE I DIDN'T CONFUSE U ANYMORE THAN WHAT U WERE.

Hey,

The advice about approaching a solo as if you were singing it is good.

Try playing the exact melody the voice would sing over the part you are soloing over. Then add little variations and spice it up a bit. Often bending or sliding into some of the melody notes is all it takes to make it cool.

Try to hear it in your head first, then recreate it on the fretboard.

-Rick

hey thanks a lot u guys....these are really useful advice....keep on rockin!

A good ear is a musicians most valuable asset.You know there are so many different questions as to whats right and wrong when it comes time to write our own solos, whats most important is that you're in touch with your creative side. When I first started out on the guitar, there were times when the whole experience was rather overwhelming, because sometimes instead of concentrating on what was right for me I couldn't help but focus on what others deemed acceptable. You can't think like that, you have to naturally build a strong connection between yourself and your instrument. But doing this you have to get in touch with your natural abilities, and realize that everytime you intentionally listen to music you are not only training your ears, but you're training your mind as to what naturally sounds good.

-Joseph, :).

just start playing something. My best solo's come when I'm just messing around practicing. My solo's tell a story in themselves, like the song. What I mean is for example, one of my solo's for a song I wrote starts with slow vibrato bends up and moves up neck where I'm playing loosely around an A dorian Minor scale, then hammer ons to an A minor arpeggio, then another minor scale run bleeding into an onslaught around A pentatonic Minor.
When you finish hearing it, it sounds like it took you somewhere, not just pointless fast playing.

What i normally do is , once the song has been written i look at the key in wich i am soloing over and decide which scale mode(s) to use, then i 'jam' a solo over the song a few times and start to build up ides for a solo, i would pick out certain licks/runs that work well and kinda fill in the gaps with ideas that fit and sound right for the song .Quite often i will hear in my head what i want and then its a case of getting on the fretboard..Hope this helps.

I record the chords for the solo. Then search for the scales and modes I can use for each different chord. Then searching for the scale that covers all the chords and play on using all the scales included the ones that are not supposed to be used during that specific chord. Here i use my ears.

in answer to your question you should first if youve got them is play a backing track from a cd on it own and just listen to the track and hum to yourself what could go in these parts it helps if you know theory but i got by just playing the tracks over and over till you get something i hope this helps