What to do when you can't get that solo right?

[jjboogie]

I have been playing a certain original song with my wife's band for a few years. For some reason I think I only was happy with the solo once and of course when that happened the tape was not rolling!

Now that we are recording I have about 30 takes of solos....and I hate them all pretty much.

Wondering how to step back and think outside the box or even really write something that fits the context of the song. For some reason this one really gets under my skin.

What do you do when you are stuck in a rut with your solo within a certain part of a song? Now its recording time and the rut seems deeper!

[Gargloic]

Use another guitar, it sometimes changes dynamic and could bring sparkles

Good luck

Gargloic

[seiko]

Bunch of tactics for me:

- Cop the vocal melody and extend from there
- Find one note that works and play that listening to how it plays against the rhythm of the song and what sounds exciting/cool, rebuild it from there.
- Think about the "shape" of the solo and where it should go.
- Reverse what I had been playing.
- Try and play the solo with no pitched notes, just swells and scrapes.
- Start with the wrongest note I can find and try and work back to finish on a really "in" chord tone or vice versa
- Imagine what I would play if I was playing another instrument

[Bearded]

Originally Posted by seiko

- Start with the wrongest note I can find and try and work back to finish on a really "in" chord tone or vice versa

We used to call this the "jazz" method

Seriously, though, great tips!

[derekd]

Anytime I feel my soloing in general is stale on all tunes or particular tune, I always default to using a simple 3-4 note motif, play it 2 or more times and then alter it, coming back to the original idea each time.

This method has never failed me, and always makes for interesting, but never spectacular solos. It is like "solos for idiots", and frankly I am surprised I don't hear more people do it.

Arguably the greatest musical piece is just a 4 note theme taken to amazing heights...Beethoven's 5th.

[jiml]

Open tunings, different tones (amps, guitars). Play it acoustic, that always helps me change things up..

[Shiny McShine]

Originally Posted by jjboogie

I have been playing a certain original song with my wife's band for a few years. For some reason I think I only was happy with the solo once and of course when that happened the tape was not rolling!

Now that we are recording I have about 30 takes of solos....and I hate them all pretty much.

Wondering how to step back and think outside the box or even really write something that fits the context of the song. For some reason this one really gets under my skin.

What do you do when you are stuck in a rut with your solo within a certain part of a song? Now its recording time and the rut seems deeper!

Neil Young has the solution for this: Alway roll tape whenever playing

[Joe Boy]

Break the solo time down into four parts.
Write your parts or notes thinking about how the drummer is hearing it.
Give him something to push and punch up the solo.

Then smile and look pretty as all the girlies start screaming.
Works everytime.

[The Guy]

try humming a solo. . . you will usually hum something differently than you would pick it.

[funkycam]

• sing a solo.
• another cool idea that can help is make a loop of the progression in a different key at a different speed & jam to that.
• are there any parts that are keepers from the originals? CAn you work to link the good parts with new parts?

[90wreck]

Play melody.
Stay within the major scale that is related/ play it safe / minimalistic.
Play through the changes adding a different riff for each chord.
Last, Throw a capo on, play it in a different position and use alot of open strings/droning or BG style.

Finally...whip out the baritone or tune down a whole tone and that will take you in a whole nother direction.
Hope this helps!

[shane88]

change something.... step outside the thing, do something else, forget about it + come back in fresh

[darth_vader]

Take another song in the same key or with a similar chord progression and use it as a backing track. Play a solo over that other song - it doesn't have to be a great solo, jsut something that fits pretty well. Now, take that new solo and play it over the song you're having trouble with. See if anything jumps out to your ear and build on it.

Another good idea is to get someone else to play a solo over it and see if they do something that sparks your imagination and gets you going in a new direction. Often when I've done more than a few solos over a given progression I tend to fall into repetitive patterns without even realizing it and then no mater how many different take I do I just can't get something fresh and interesting. The key is to find a way to break out of that trap.

[drfrankencopter]

Originally Posted by darth_vader

The key is to find a way to break out of that trap.

Agreed.

My suggestion is to roll tape, and try to play the absolute worst solo you can. Listen back to it, then try and play one even worse. It clears the head...and is usually good for a laugh, and in rare cases you can end up with something cool from it.

I remember one tune I was working on, a happy upbeat major key thing, and I just couldn't string together a solo on it. I gave up trying to make something fit, and ended up playing that was mostly percussive muted stums and out of key (and out of tune) unison bends, finally ending in a flurry of notes (mostly in key). Well, whatever it was, it worked for me and I kept alot of the ideas from that take.

Cheers, and good luck

Kris

[Guitar Slinger6]

I am kind of going through a simular thing now. I am changing my mood and the way I think when I play. Trying a different trajectory has helped me in a new approach. If you find something that really works for you let me know, good luck.