The Solo...Getting it together...!

So, you’ve written your song, recorded the verses, chorus, bridge, refrain, etc., now you want to drop in that solo you’ve been working on. Solos are awesome when they happen automatically. Cruise off into right brain mode and explore, let the fingers do the talking, do a couple of takes and there you have it. For some, it doesn’t always happen that easy. In this edition, we’re going to explore a few methods to help you get that solo down. Bit of effort but hey - music is a journey…!


You first need good backing tracks. If you’ve never heard of Midi before, Google it and explore. Midi stands for: Musical Instrument Digital Interface, which means squat to the average Dick or Joe so check out this link for more info: http://www.indiana.edu/~emusic/361/midi.htm

Roland GK 2A Midi Pickup

I have a simple Roland GK 2A Midi pickup, which my guitar techie mounted onto an oldish no-name Strat for me. This goes through a Roland GR 33, which converts guitar sounds into Midi. The GR 33 has a standard ¼ inch output which plugs directly into your desk.

Roland GR 33

It sounds okay but the real deal is this piece of electronic wizardry comes with a standard Midi cable, which plugs into a Roland Sound Canvas SC 88 Sound Module, which then plugs into your computer (Digital Audio Work Station or DAW). This little Sound Module device produces intelligent sounds, pretty close to the original and it's dynamite...!

Roland Sound Canvas SC 88

With this simple setup, I have a Midi guitar giving me access to 127 various instruments, which includes some pretty weird synths and beats. Standard Midi software gives you 16 channels in which to work. It’s insane and easy to use. All drums and percussion automatically go to channel 10 giving you 15 other channels to get very creative. There is no ceiling with this musical format. If you’ve never worked with Midi before, I recommend you get acquainted. Most of today’s music is composed in Midi format, then converted to ‘Wave’ files and downloaded as MP3’s. Midi is incredibly versatile. If you record into a basic computer, using a Midi guitar or a keyboard, via a Midi software program like ‘Cakewalk Sonar’, for example, as you record, the program writes whatever you play in sheet music format, which shows on the computer screen, allowing you to edit the sheet music or change bpm speeds or even keys, on the fly, on the computer.


Standard Sheet Music

Not only do you then have your composed music cast in stone in sheet music but you can choose whatever instrument, selected from the 127 instruments available, that you’d like your music to be played. And when it comes to putting down a solo, this just makes it so easy.

There are advanced Midi software programs available like ‘Samplitude’ that offer endless options. ‘Band-In-A-Box’ is a writing program in Midi, which provides the standard Midi 127 mix of instruments/sounds. You can select whatever instruments you want, type in the chords, the key, the bpm and select the style (there are hundreds of styles, from basic rock to reggae and even classical, to choose from), the program does the rest and produces a complete backing track very quickly. It’s an insane program used in professional studios globally. It doesn’t get any easier than this to make CD-quality backing tracks, which you can then overlay with your guitar solo live or choose one of the many Midi instruments and create a Violin solo, Sax solo, Flute solo, whatever you want. The choices are all there. All you need is a Midi pickup on a guitar or a Midi keyboard. Most standard keyboards offer a Midi option.

I often get asked, “Who plays all the Sax solos on your CD’s…?” When I reply that I do, the inevitable question is, “Since when did you learn to play Sax…?” And I reply rather smugly, “I don’t play Sax, those solos are all played on my Midi guitar.” They don’t understand of course and it’s too difficult to even try and explain but if you want to create interesting solos then seriously, you need to get friendly with working in Midi. Get a computer, purchase some Midi software and you’ll never look back. A complete stylish Midi guitar is the ultimate way to go but it’s expensive and muso’s never have money so you can rather opt for my cheap version. Buy an old guitar and fit a Roland pickup and get the Roland GR 33 to play it through. It will change your recording life. So, if you want good backing tracks that will enhance your guitar solos, start writing backing tracks for your songs in Midi.

There is one problem with Midi they have yet to solve. Midi plays most instruments sounding like the original, provided you’re playing them through a Roland Sound Canvas or similar. The sound is however, a little clinically clean but once you’ve converted your Midi files into ‘Wave’ files there are excellent programs available like ‘Cool Edit Pro’ and several others that will fatten up the files, making them sound more analogue. I say most instruments because Midi have yet to get the sound of a guitar right. Be it acoustic or electric, Midi sucks when it comes to guitar sounds. Keyboards, wind instruments and synths are pretty good. Even bass guitars are acceptable and you can choose from several bass sounds. However, when it comes to standard guitar, you still need to record anything guitar, live as a ‘Wave’ file.


Bend em Strings...!

Enough on backing tracks. To get your guitar solo down, it goes without saying that you need to have all your chops in line - vibratos, pull on/offs, hammer on/offs, bends, slides, trills, triplets, taps and all the finger fretboard bits and pieces. If you don’t know how to do these, get a book and learn them. Without them, your solo is empty.

You also need to know your scales. If its Pentatonic then you need to know all five patterns/boxes and effortlessly play from Box One through to Box Five and back again because the boxes fit into each other like a jigsaw, i.e.: Box One fits into Box Two, which fits into Box Three and so on until you get to Box Five, which then fits back into Box One allowing you to create solos from Box One through to Box Five and back again and it’s the same routine no matter which key you choose, the patterns will always be the same. This allows you to solo from fret One through to fret Twelve and then start all over again in any of the seven keys, be it majors, minors, flats or sharps – got it…!

If you’re using Modes then you have seven patterns or boxes that you need to move through without thinking about it. If you have to start thinking where to put your fingers, you’ll lose your creative angle because you’ll instantly switch over from your creative right brain mode into your tactical left-brain mode, so practice till you have your scales down. And remember, it’s not about speed, it’s about getting it right. 


Once you have your scales mastered and you can do all your chops and vibratos, etc., then set up a basic blues shuffle backing track, preferably in the key of ‘E’ or ‘A’ and start weaving through your scales. In no time you’ll feel the flow, your creative right brain will kick in and you’ll create easy on the ear solos of your own. The key of ‘E’ and ‘A’ are usually preferable because with the Pentatonic scales these are good blues keys plus ‘A’ is halfway up the fretboard, allowing you to transverse up or down the fretboard and likewise, ‘E’ begins on the open ‘E’ string on either the first or sixth string allowing you to run up that fretboard at your leisure. It’s all about freedom…!

Knowing your boxes is also a huge help if you’re doing cover songs and you want to get the artist’s solo down correctly. Remember the artist used the same boxes as you to create his solo so if you have a good ear, you’ll quickly pick up where he’s playing on the neck and once you have that and you know the respective key he’s playing in, you can work out which box he’s using and with some patience and effort, you'll more or less suss out what he’s doing within that particular box. When it comes to playing the artist’s solo live, you now know he used say Box Two and then Three and into Four, so if you follow the patterns, your solo will soon start sounding like the original.

Of course, nowadays it’s far easier to log onto ‘YouTube’, call up the song you want and see how to play it. There are some very talented guitar Gurus who post ‘How to Play…’ videos of almost every popular song, showing exactly how to play not only the song but also the solos. You can even download the Tabs/Chords in Sheet form on Google - it’s too easy…!

For good soloing, it’s very important you learn the notes on your fretboard between fret One and Twelve. You have six strings and twelve frets, which means 72 notes to learn. After the twelfth fret, it repeats all over again. The easiest way to learn is string by string – one string at a time and then use your octaves, which will make learning your frets a whole lot easier. An octave is the sound of a tone/fret in a higher pitch. The basic rule is, miss a fret and miss a string (two strings down or up) and you’ll have the respective octave. This applies to strings - four to six. On the high ‘E’ and ‘B’ strings, miss two frets and one string. Playing Octaves in your solos is very cool, especially when you start getting into sweep arpeggios and so on.


From a learning curve, it’s very good to learn other artist’s solo techniques. Everyone does it and everyone learns from each other. It’s a human thing…! The best way to do this is to learn licks in small parts at a time because this is the way the human mind prefers to learn. For example - if you say your alphabet right now, the way you’ll say it is:
      
-          A B C D
-          E F G 
-          H I J K
-          L M N – and so on.

If you’ve ever done yoga before you’ll know this is connected to the way we breathe. So, to learn a particular solo on a song you like, watch the ‘YouTube’ video of the song and learn only the first bar. Pause the video and practice what you’ve learned. Play the next bit on the video and learn it - and so on. Okay, it takes time and loads of patience but I guarantee you will learn the entire solo using this method, absorbing little licks at a time and then putting them all together. It’s the way your mind works so use it.

You can also use this method when creating your own solos for your songs. Choose the respective key your song is in and play a particular lick you like in say Box One. Slide up to Box Three and play something different. Move on up to Box Five and play something different again before going back to playing through boxes One, Two and Three for the big finish to your solo. Now put all this together and make sure you play the licks in time to the rhythm of the song. You want to get a nice, even melodic flow. Not only will it sound good, it’ll also look good because you’re using your entire fretboard.

Learning licks is essential to good soloing. You can watch other guitarists or spend time noodling. The more you progress through your boxes, the easier you’ll start creating your own licks, which will eventually become your signature sound. In fact, the more you play around, weaving solos throughout your scale boxes, the easier and more effortless it becomes. Remember to focus on your finger fretboard work – vibratos, slides, triplets, etc., because these are the tools that make your solo’s sound alive.

Happy weaving…!

                                                                                                            Robin Morris



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