How To Play Cool Guitar Solos By Using The Vocal Phrasing Of Your Favorite Singers
One of the best ways to add tons of emotion into your guitar solos is to use the same style of phrasing used by vocalists.
Here is how:
1. Transcribe Vocal Lines Of Your Favorite Songs
Think of 5 great vocal melodies you like and transcribe them note for note using your guitar. As you do this, observe how each melody contains notes that are sustained longer. These notes give the overall melody a sense of structure and make it more memorable.
Integrate this into your guitar soloing by playing the vocal lines you transcribed while filling-in the space between the longer notes with fast guitar runs. Practice creating many variations of each vocal line in this manner. The better you get at this, the more melodic your guitar solos become.
2. Make Your Vibrato Very Wide And Fast
Using wide and fast vibrato imitates a singer’s voice to add TONS of intensity into your guitar playing. Practice using vibrato that is one whole step wide. This gives you the ability to inject intense emotion into any note of a guitar solo.
3. Slowly Release String Bends
A lot of guitar players only vary their bends while bending the string up to a pitch… while almost never varying the release of the bend.
The release of the bend is the point where you are able to create massive amounts of drama in your phrases. Developing this area of your guitar phrasing makes your feel more vocal and expressive.
Practice this skill using this process:
1. Choose two notes that are two frets apart (such as fret 7 and fret 9 on the B string).
2. Pre-bend the note of the first fret to match the pitch of the 2nd note.
3. Pick the string and slowly release the bend until it is nearly released all the way.
4. Quickly play the lowest of the two frets you chose in the first step and apply heavy vibrato to it.
5. Once you’ve mastered this, work on using it within a guitar phrase and watch as your guitar playing become more intense and dramatic.
Want to discover more ways to develop better soloing skills? Read this column on how to play expressive guitar solos and get expert advice to help you play badass solos.
About The Author:
Tom Hess is a highly successful guitar teacher, recording artist and professional guitarist. He helps guitar players internationally to become better players with his customized guitar lessons. Check out free guitar playing videos and use a guitar practice guide on his website with effective guitar lessons to learn effective methods for improving your guitar playing.
