What's your solo writing technique?

PLOP

Hey, so I am technically the lead player in my band but we are not usually a 'guitar solo' band, and it's never really been my style anyway. I generally play more texturally and with lots of effects. However we have a new song that really needs a more traditionally styled solo and I'm hitting a complete brick wall. All my ideas are flopping and I'm wondering about other people's writing styles.

Do you loop the solo rhythm and play around? Hum the tune until one sticks?

I'm hoping to gain some inspiration!

Cheers!

octatonic

Almost every solo I write has come about from jamming with people, recording that then taking it back to the studio to work a bit harder.

Anytime I've tried to construct a solo artificially it has sort of sucked, but sometimes it works.

To get to the point of being able to spontaneously write solos in a rehearsal room took a lot of work and it is often the sort of work that guitarists don't want to do (scales, modes, music theory, transcription).

Caffeine_Vampire

Ears followed by wing it.

stickyfiddle

For me it’s all about melody. I need to listen to the track (either recorded or live in the room) and hear melodies over it. Then translate that to guitar. 

That Medici content will usually but informed by the chord tones in the accompanying music, sometimes reference the vocal line or another hook from a different instrument. And sometimes it’ll include some sort of motif that I’ve used elsewhere in the song - open strings, specific hooky intervals, or whatever. 

But melody comes first.

thecolourbox

This isn't overly helpful but if i can't quite find a melodic inspiration for a nice solo, i just play really fast and move my foot around randomly on a Digitech Whammy and hope for the best

mgaw

I sing along with the track, find what works and go from there

Roland

When writing a solo I think about the beginning and ending phrases, and where/what I want the high point of the solo to be. With some solos you can start by playing the melody, or the riff, moving on to variations of it. Then introduce things which build tension, such as repetitions and guitarist’s mannerisms. Most guitarists play too many notes. Spaces, repeats, and rhythmic variations are often more effective. Some songs even allow you to play a counter melody. At the end I normally resolve to the root, fifth, or even third, in the final or penultimate bar.

A solo I’ve always liked for its simplicity is the outro to Capability Brown’s Redman, starting at 2:43: https://youtu.be/ydDR1O2Ns-4

We’re currently rehearsing Hot Stuff with Jeff Baxter’s off the cuff solo. I’ve transcribed and learned his solo, but I don’t really want to play it note for note, After all Jeff doesn’t. I like the way Jeff opens high up, before dropping to the other end of the fretboard. So I’ll crib that idea, but play what falls naturally under my fingers, rather than exactly what Jeff plays. Where it goes after that will depend on what feels right during our rehearsals.

Danny1969

My solo's always come form the chords. I know what the chord changes are and I target the root, fifth and most importantly the  3rd of those chords ... I hit notes on the pitch or bend notes to pitch to match those changes. It's simple but so melodic. 

Roland

@Danny1969’s point is important. So often I see guitarists asking “what scale can I play over those chords”. Wrong approach. You’ll only get the boring notes which are common to all (most of) the chords. To promote interest look for the 3rd and 5th notes which are unique to each chord, even pre-empting the chord change so that the backing comes up to meet you.

soma1975

Play the 6 licks I know in a different order. Join them up by moving awkwardly up the fretboard. 

Done. 

digitalkettle

I think of Steve Vai, and I take away theory and ability.

joeW

Triads and triad pairs and focus on spelling out the changes in the chords.  Keeps things melodic.  For complex chord changes embellishing the actual melody goes a long way.  

flying_pie

I try to find a melody and  usually try to sing ones to the backing before I've even picked up a guitar. If you already have one the building it around the vocal melody is a good start (assuming you're using the same chords). Usually that would naturally incorporate what @Danny1969 had suggested

It's also a good idea to think of the solo as telling a story, or building to a climax, leaving some gaps for it to breathe rather than an endless sea of notes. And for bonus points keep it going a bit when the buccal comes back in like in Wasted Years

DesVegas

Do you loop the solo rhythm and play around? YES

Evo

I’ll be honest, I very rarely write solos. I play plenty of them but very much took to heart what Frank Zappa said about live performance being a moment in time which should be unique. 

I kinda liked that. 

Sometimes I’m much happier with my unique moments than others but that’s part of the joy of it. 

Anyway, as for an approach, I try to take inspiration from the way I’d tell a story, joke, or anecdote. It’s important to pace yourself, stay on topic, be clear, and put the finish at the end. 

The last one is a bit of an odd phrase I picked up who knows where, but it means a combination of don’t peak too early and quit while you’re ahead. If you hit a really great and flashy phrase towards the end of the solo, don’t then get cocky and try to follow it up with something else because 9 times out of 10 you’ll regret it. Likewise, don’t get too good too early…stick with solid simple phrases and chord tones, building to the finish. 

Barney

I usually just listen to the track and decide in my head what sort of geel I want to do and go for it ....I usually don't pre plan anything but by playing to the track a lot I get ideas that I like and fit them in 

axisus

Danny1969 said:

My solo's always come form the chords. I know what the chord changes are and I target the root, fifth and most importantly the  3rd of those chords ... I hit notes on the pitch or bend notes to pitch to match those changes. It's simple but so melodic. 

Roland said:

@Danny1969’s point is important. So often I see guitarists asking “what scale can I play over those chords”. Wrong approach. You’ll only get the boring notes which are common to all (most of) the chords. To promote interest look for the 3rd and 5th notes which are unique to each chord, even pre-empting the chord change so that the backing comes up to meet you.

As I've said before, I'm completely amazed that anyone can do this sort of thing. It feels like you would need some kind of super processor chip in your brain to retain all that knowledge and then retrieve it as lightning speed on the fly. I cannot fathom how that happens!?!?

Rocker

Play the song or chorus melody, add a few harmonised notes.  This connects the solo to the song and provides a starting point for your solo.  IMHO it is important to keep something of your starting melody in the solo.

Catthan

BC I'm self-indulgent, I first see if there is a lick or piece of technique I want to show off. If there is, I decide where to put it and how to get in and out of it. 
Other than that, I think of any melodies or motifs present elsewhere in the song I'd like the solo to refer to or not.
If not, I then come up with as melodic phrases as possible. stick some repeating licks around them for reinforcement and try to have the faster passages in the tension beats or end of a cycle. 
Work that until it sounds passable, i.e. doesn't sound like I'm noodling or blasting through purely executed licks