Voting for Solo of the Month (SotM) #65

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Welcome to the voting thread for Solo of the Month (SotM) #65. Feel free to vote and comment in this thread.

Vote for your top 3 entries. If you're an entrant you can't vote for yourself.

1st choice gets 5 points
2nd choice gets 3 points
3rd choice gets 1 point

Voting will end at midnight 30th November 2020.

The top three will be announced after the voting closes.

You can find all the entries the playlist below.

https://soundcloud.com/thefretboard/sets/sotm65-2020-11

It's not a competition.
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Comments

  • Well this is proving difficult. I've got a winner but I can't decide on the order of other three, despite repeated listens.

    Is everybody getting better? I'm going to have to up my game at this rate.

    It's not a competition.
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  • 5 pts to @ChrisRG lovely stuff,  tone,  runs,  taps,  sustain.  Just dripping :+1: 
    3pts to @Bellycaster enjoyed that nicely structured and tasteful with great tone
    1pt to @stratman3142 want to give more points but none left!  Excellent playing as usual just enjoyed the other a tiny bit more. 


    Honourable mention to @digitalkettle for super impressive licks, however I felt some of the modes would've suited a slightly different backing track :sunglasses: 
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  • 5 Points @ChrisRG - Definitely felt this was the best fit for the track, lovely tone, enjoyed the subtle trem use, nice sustain and plenty of variety.

    3 Point @digitalkettle - Loved the intro lick and the multi tracking of licks at 0:26, everything played with great feel and skilled touch. Just felt it a bit too exotic for the track for 1st place.

    1 Point @stratman3142 - Nice thick tone, some great passages in there, nicely executed and timed bends. As with above, great solo, but I felt it a bit left field for a boring old traditionalist like me :)



    Liked @fastonebaz subtle layered approach too, but votes ran out.
    Only a Fool Would Say That.
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  • 5 points for @ChrisRG: really enjoyed this...letting your Vai out ;) ...kept interest, kept lifting the tension...well structured...nice ending...boom
    3 points for @fastonebaz: interesting bunch of textures and seemed to be a departure from your usual soloing approach...liked the retro 'The Doors' vibe with the sparse, clean-ish, licks
    1 point for @Bellycaster: strong tone...well paced...melodic as usual
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  • 5 points - @digitalkettle Enjoyed this one a lot.  Great tone and amazing playing.  I really liked how the fast, technical, 'outside' stuff resolved back to a familiar more understated section.  Fantastic

    3 points - @Bellycaster Really good fit for the backing with great melody

    1 point - @stratman3142 ; Signature tone, melody and technique but just edged out into 3rd this time.

    Sorry @fastonebaz You always seems to bring a different approach which I really like.  A little bit too understated for me this time though.
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  • Very high standard all round this morning.

    I'll go for 

    5 points : @digitalkettle : Very creative note choices. I wouldn't have been able to imagine some of those lines in my head. Did you use a bit of theory to come up with those? A very interesting solo.

    It's very hard to choose between the other three but I'll go for

    3 points : @fastonebaz : Mainly because it's a different take on things. Very understated. A bit of a departure from your usual approach.

     1 point : @ChrisRG : A soaring melodic solo and a good fit to the backing

    Sorry @Bellycaster yours was a great soaring melodic solo, I just thought @ChrisRG 's solo had the slight edge. I feel bad about not voting for you, but not too bad because normally you always win :)

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  • Voting closes tonight.at midnight.

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  • 5 points : @digitalkettle : Very creative note choices. I wouldn't have been able to imagine some of those lines in my head. Did you use a bit of theory to come up with those? A very interesting solo.
    Thanks @stratman3142 ;)

    I just wrote it, section-by-section, trying to sing/hum/whistle through it as I went...making an effort not to let the guitar take control! Surprisingly, I started getting a 'spanish' vibe so I went with it.

    I started thinking of the B as a dominant...kind of ignoring the A's majoriness...and landing on the G (which I also thought of as Em). I found that I was having B dominant ideas (sometimes mixolydian, sometimes phrygian dominant) but the chord had shifted down to the A (that's just about a Dorian #4 sound...the fourth mode of harmonic minor).
    The awkward ascending run starts on a G and climbs in whole tones (yuk!) which resolves to Bm pentatonic (phew!)...then an A major ascending run up to a spiky B7 arpeggio...and a good old E blues lick over the G...then back to the spanishy theme in a lower register than the opening section.

    So I think it's about developing an idea/theme and sometimes messing with the chords in your head (imagining substitute chords which open up new ideas, ignoring others to some extent if they get in your way)...trying to get a bit weird but pulling it back to something familiar (e.g. a blues lick) or something you can whistle (e.g. your theme).

    Tbh, I thought harder writing this post than I did writing the solo. I think the hardest thing is listening to what you really want to play and getting it out of your head...fkn 'ell, that sounds pretentious ;)
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  • @digitalkettle Thanks for the interesting info

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  • Voting closed.

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