Which solos have you learnt that helped you develop?

roberty

I've started learning the odd solo verbatim here and there, to build vocabulary and break out of my comfort zone.  Stuff that I wouldn't normally listen to

I'm wondering if there are any solos that others here have learnt that have been eye opening in some way, or helped you to develop?

eg the lick at 2:14 in Bark at the Moon uses a really nice diatonic extension to the pentatonic scale, was an a-ha moment for me:

Dontgiveupyourdayjob

I don't often learn solos verbatim, but a couple I've recently looked at are some of Marc Ribot's cracking solos on Tom Waits tracks. Not so much for the technical difficulty (I'm not really interested in being a super fast player), more just to get that distinctive sound and timing in his phrasing.

Jockey Full of Bourbon (solo at 1:20)



Hoist That Rag (solo at 1:45)

viz

Learned to play the songs off Passion and Warfare in 1990 and Vai’s early styles and turns of phrases have remained with me ever since. 
- obvs not as well played as him, I hasten to add!!!!

roberty

@Dontgiveupyourdayjob Marc Ribot is brilliant and so distinctive. I've seen him play a couple of times with weird jazz things, properly out there.  I love that he has such an acute awareness of where the chord tones/arpeggios are but he's equally likely to just go bananas.  His cuban stuff is ace too

fastonebaz

Vai:
Tender Surrender
Die to Live
For the love of god
Windows to the soul

Satch:
Always me always you

Apart from the overall technical aspect, there's a real focus on the style of each note building up or ebbing throughout the songs which instills a great sense of prescience in my mind when I'm playing, don't just play the note,  play the note with a determination to make it standout from the next time you play that note. 

Another good example is ACDC Rock n roll singer

Limehouse_Blues

I enjoyed learning the solo to Hotel California. There are some big bends with an almost country feel early in the solo then learning both of the harmony lines at the end was great for hearing and noticing intervals that work.

Satch's AWMAWY helped me improve my legato

digitalscream

The top ones for me are Beat It (EVH), Summer Song (Satch), Why (Satch), and Get the Funk Out (Nuno).

All of them have some measure of subtlety that isn't immediately apparent, but made me think "Ohhhhhh!" when I tried to play them. However, they're all so long ago now that I can't remember exactly why they made me think that.

Vibetronic

viz said:

Learned to play the songs off Passion and Warfare in 1990 and Vai’s early styles and turns of phrases have remained with me ever since. 
- obvs not as well played as him, I hasten to add!!!!

the funny thing about some of that stuff is that technically it isn't all that hard; it's all the phrasing and how it's played that make it hard (probably a rather dull observation, I just found it interesting ). 

Vibetronic

I've hardly ever learnt solos note for note, not sure why; I think the 3 I have are Infinite Dreams by Iron Maiden, which was because 7th Son was the first proper tab book I got...then Enter Sandman (it just fits the song really well)...and like @digitalscream , Get The Funk Out, because it rules (although mine is a rough approximation due to the tab book I had in my teens being so utterly wrong!!). 

axisus

I've always been rubbish at learning stuff, but many years ago I did learn Pink Floyd's Money and that was a game changer for me. I was improvising using box positions and just kind of using 4 frets at a time. That solo showed me the way that Gilmour passed through the box shapes without dwelling on them, moving up and down the fretboard. 

I can now do sh*te blues improv all over the neck.

Handsome_Chris

Currently it's Faster by Manic Street Preachers.  It has been an exercise in transcribing as well as an exercise in technical development.  

The interesting bit for me was trying to work out the best way for me to play the run of 16th notes at 160bpm consistently.  I managed to work it out, with no help from live videos, but it still took a bit of tweaking/sanity checking from @Clarky.  ;

viz

Vibetronic said:

viz said:

Learned to play the songs off Passion and Warfare in 1990 and Vai’s early styles and turns of phrases have remained with me ever since. 
- obvs not as well played as him, I hasten to add!!!!

the funny thing about some of that stuff is that technically it isn't all that hard; it's all the phrasing and how it's played that make it hard (probably a rather dull observation, I just found it interesting ). 

Yes exactly, once it’s in your fingers it’s easy. 

Clarky

Handsome_Chris said:

Currently it's Faster by Manic Street Preachers.  It has been an exercise in transcribing as well as an exercise in technical development.  

The interesting bit for me was trying to work out the best way for me to play the run of 16th notes at 160bpm consistently.  I managed to work it out, with no help from live videos, but it still took a bit of tweaking/sanity checking from @Clarky.  ;

when you'e transcribing to you have two problems to solve
the first is the most obvious.. what are the notes?

the second can be less obvious.. where and how to play it?
this is because the majority of the notes can be played in several different places on the fingerboard
so choosing the right fingering makes a difference [especially if you have no video footage for reference..
and then there is technique.. which if you can usually hear if you listen out for the presence or absence of the pick attack.
picking patterns are important too.. all down strokes / alternate / economy / hybrid..
as this can be the difference between something being more or less difficult to play..

it's like solving a puzzle where you only have part of the picture
so there's an element of experimentation in amongst the close listening and trying as best you can to hear the details..

interestingly, one of my students has been interested in learning some of my own solos from various pieces..
even though I have the original multi-track recordings so that I can totally isolate the guitar.. 
coupled with the fact that it was me that created and played the solo..
I still found myself scratching my head in places wondering 'how the fk did I play that?'
and so I ended up going through the hard listening and experimentation to try to figure out wtf I actually did..
that really took me by surprise... lol..

Mark1960

I learnt the solo to "Come on Lets Go" (Richie Vallens) a few years ago, and it's a good one to learn because it's fairly simple, not too quick, and within the capabilities of most average players to master with a bit of practice. The really nice thing about it is that it has bends (small and large), vibrato, hammer ons, pull offs, slides, double stops, and it moves you around the neck.

octatonic

Blues: Cross Cut Saw, Hideaway (Beano version)
Jazz/Blues: Revelation (Robben Ford)
Jazz: Donna Lee, Giant Steps.

imalrightjack

Got it to 80% (the first part of the solo, which is Marty Friedman - the chromatic bit is Dave Mustaine) and it has really opened my eyes to a few things:

roberty

imalrightjack said:

Got it to 80% (the first part of the solo, which is Marty Friedman - the chromatic bit is Dave Mustaine) and it has really opened my eyes to a few things:

Which song is that?  When you edit a post the YouTube embed gets messed up

DulcetJones

Early on in my development I went to a teacher who was known for his ability to play all the lead bits of Steely Dan's "Reelin' in the Years".  He brought me up to speed on hammer/pull technique and alternate picking sending me on a life long quest for more.

Clarky

I think I've got something out of most of the music I've learned to play..
rather than individual solo's, I'd say learning the styles of specific players

mrkb

My examples are far less flashy, but I’ve been trying to understand the theory and techniques of what was played rather than the “just copy it” so it’s helped my playing.

Hendrix - Hey Joe - similar phrases but modified each time to make it more interesting, and some good examples of note skipping to prevent it sounding like straight scales.

Cult -Lil Devil - moving positions during a solo, with three different styles linked together.

pretty basic but is helping me develop.

Phil_aka_Pip

The solo in Living Proof (Wishbone Ash, Live Dates Vol II) is an exercise in getting a guitar to sing.