soloing

[PRS One]

I have a question, when you're soloing, do you follow the chords being played? like if the rhythm is playing a Cmajor chord, does it sound best to emphasize the C, E, and G notes? I'm just curious if I'm listening to a solo, are most lead guitarists emphasizing the notes being played in the rhythm chords?

[smfulla]

well it depends on the feel you want to create...
experiment with different chord progressions etc.

[64Firebird]

I think of soloing, sort of like a fly buzzing around. When I land, it's on one of those chord tones. Then I'll buzz over to another one. Playing this way, you'll be able to hear the changes better and your solos sound more melodic. But don't stop there! You can add tones to the chord like the 6th, 7th, 9th or 13th.

You might even try some disident tones like the miner 3rd, flat 5th or flat 7th.

Whenever you solo you must think about the harmony that your building on. If you don't, then your just running scales.

[PRS One]

so do you use primarily arpeggios and use other notes in the key as passing notes?

[64Firebird]

Maybe the best thing is to give you an example.

Playing over an A7 (A,C#,E,G) using the A miner pentatonic (A,C,D,E,G). You'll notice that the A7 contains a note (C#) that isn't in the scale. This is the Major 3rd of the chord and it's a very strong note, so I want to use it in my solo. Like this...

E---|---------5----------|---
B---|-------5---8-5------|---
G---|---5-6---------7-6--|---
D---|--------------------|---
A---|--------------------|---
E---|--------------------|---

I'm ending the lick on a chord tone, in this case it's the Major 3rd. Playing that miner 3rd at the start gives a sort of suspenceful feeling. Non-chord tones sort of rub you the wrong way, but chord tones sound sweet.

If the progression then went to D7, I could play the same lick, but end on the C (the 7th of the D7 chord, also a strong very note) instead of the C#. Get it?

The 3rd and 7th of your chord are the notes that do the best job at implying the harmony. But, the tonic and 5th work too (not as well though).

The truth is, you can play ALMOST anything you want, just end on a chord tone and you'll be okay.

One more thing, if your playing over a miner chord, you don't want to play the Major 3rd at all. It just don't work.

[PRS One]

hey, thanks, that helps me ALOT! I appreciate your feedback, keep it coming if you guys have any more......