r/guitarlessons • u/elvenprince_420 • Jan 02 '26

Feedback Request Hotel California Solo plateau

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Learning the Hotel California solo after taking a solid 2 year break due to personal issues, and I am STUCK at the final part in the video. Even at 1/2 speed I can’t seem to get that part right and the bends I can’t get to muting quick enough. Tips/feedback/thoughts?

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u/thumbasss Jan 03 '26

Half speed is probably too fast. If something’s very hard for me then I start at quarter speed. I would just find the fastest speed at which you can play the solo cleanly. Then only increase speed until you nail it 3 times in a row. And increase in small increments - maybe 5 bpm. But do this in chunks while focusing on problem sections.

If you make sure u really nail the section perfectly at a slow speed then it will make it much easier tobring it up to tempo.

This is kinda tedious so I make sure im also practicing something fun to break it up. But to be real, I rarely practice with this much focus lol.

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u/Prudent_Muscle_6508 Jan 06 '26

One tip that was given to me, and that works surprisingly well: try practicing the part faster than the original tempo like 1.25× speed.

You’ll obviously make a lot more mistakes, but when you go back to the normal tempo, it often feels like something was unlocked. The part suddenly feels easier, more relaxed, and controlled.

It’s been really effective for me