How to Write a Guitar or Bass Solo
Learn the notes of the strings and frets., Learn the scale it is in by listing all of the notes that you play, getting rid of duplicates., Determine the style of the solo., Learn how to read and write tablature so you can write your solo down., Pick...
Step-by-Step Guide
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Step 1: Learn the notes of the strings and frets.
If you do not know how to do this, then you can just do it by ear, but it is easier if you know which fret is an A, and which one is a F-Sharp.
To start of, know that the standard tuning is from high to low:
E, A, D, G. -
Step 2: Learn the scale it is in by listing all of the notes that you play
If you come across A-Flat twice, list it in the scale.
Only write notes in this scale unless you know what you are doing., Should it be fast? Slow? Technical? Ask yourself as many question as you need to determine what you want.
Write notes out that you determined in the scale.
Try to follow an up, or down pattern for a few notes and then change it up.
For example:
A, B, C, B, D, A, C, A., Do this with a pencil (not a pen) and a piece of paper. , Work with every note like this for ten minutes. , Now pick out which 10 of the notes stand out to you the most and play around with those in any order.
Do this for ten minutes. , Now pick the top 8 notes that stood out to you from those 10 notes.
Take those notes and play around with them for at least 15 minutes. , Hopefully now your mind and fingers will be used to the randomness.
Take the notes and try to put them together like a puzzle.
Spend 10 minutes on this. , The "pictures" are on it.
Now it's time to give those pictures some color.
Understand hammer-ons, pull-offs, tremolo, tremolo picking, vibrato, and sliding. , Once you are done...
Great! Now there is "paint" on the puzzle.
But it needs to be more interesting.
How about shades, tints, and blends! , You have the choice of either getting a whammy bar or a whammy bar pedal.
Either will change the pitch of the notes.
The pitch can rise into the sky or fall down to the depths of the ocean., A "dive bomb" effect occurs when you push the whammy bar down to where it touches the guitar.
The opposite effect occurs when you pull the whammy bar up to where the handle is at a 75* angle. (It's already at a 50* angle.) Practice these effects.
One simple effect you can use at the end of a song is to move the neck of the guitar/bass up and down.
That makes a "wavy" sound.
You don't need a whammy bar for this. , Now the puzzle is complete and very interesting.
Maybe the "drawing" is a little misshapen; maybe the "paint" got a little out of the lines.
So fix it. , Form a short, four-to-five-note melody and repeat it over and over, experimenting by adding or subtracting notes.
For example, if you start with the melody E B D E G E, you could expand it to E B D E G E D E D C A. , -
Step 3: getting rid of duplicates.
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Step 4: Determine the style of the solo.
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Step 5: Learn how to read and write tablature so you can write your solo down.
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Step 6: Pick a note (an A
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Step 7: for instance) and play it on every string.
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Step 8: Experiment with different arrangements.
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Step 9: Experiment more and find what you like.
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Step 10: Embrace the random.
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Step 11: Complete the picture.
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Step 12: Find out where the special tricks from the step above should go in the solo.
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Step 13: Add effects if you desire.
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Step 14: Pressing down on the whammy bar lowers the pitch; pulling it up raises the pitch.
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Step 15: Iterate and then
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Step 16: reiterate.
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Step 17: Pick a few notes in the same scale.
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Step 18: Now play the best solo anyone has ever heard.
Detailed Guide
If you do not know how to do this, then you can just do it by ear, but it is easier if you know which fret is an A, and which one is a F-Sharp.
To start of, know that the standard tuning is from high to low:
E, A, D, G.
If you come across A-Flat twice, list it in the scale.
Only write notes in this scale unless you know what you are doing., Should it be fast? Slow? Technical? Ask yourself as many question as you need to determine what you want.
Write notes out that you determined in the scale.
Try to follow an up, or down pattern for a few notes and then change it up.
For example:
A, B, C, B, D, A, C, A., Do this with a pencil (not a pen) and a piece of paper. , Work with every note like this for ten minutes. , Now pick out which 10 of the notes stand out to you the most and play around with those in any order.
Do this for ten minutes. , Now pick the top 8 notes that stood out to you from those 10 notes.
Take those notes and play around with them for at least 15 minutes. , Hopefully now your mind and fingers will be used to the randomness.
Take the notes and try to put them together like a puzzle.
Spend 10 minutes on this. , The "pictures" are on it.
Now it's time to give those pictures some color.
Understand hammer-ons, pull-offs, tremolo, tremolo picking, vibrato, and sliding. , Once you are done...
Great! Now there is "paint" on the puzzle.
But it needs to be more interesting.
How about shades, tints, and blends! , You have the choice of either getting a whammy bar or a whammy bar pedal.
Either will change the pitch of the notes.
The pitch can rise into the sky or fall down to the depths of the ocean., A "dive bomb" effect occurs when you push the whammy bar down to where it touches the guitar.
The opposite effect occurs when you pull the whammy bar up to where the handle is at a 75* angle. (It's already at a 50* angle.) Practice these effects.
One simple effect you can use at the end of a song is to move the neck of the guitar/bass up and down.
That makes a "wavy" sound.
You don't need a whammy bar for this. , Now the puzzle is complete and very interesting.
Maybe the "drawing" is a little misshapen; maybe the "paint" got a little out of the lines.
So fix it. , Form a short, four-to-five-note melody and repeat it over and over, experimenting by adding or subtracting notes.
For example, if you start with the melody E B D E G E, you could expand it to E B D E G E D E D C A. ,
About the Author
Julie Chapman
Writer and educator with a focus on practical creative arts knowledge.
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