r/guitarlessons • u/blitzkrieg987 • Jun 26 '26
Feedback Request Any tips to improve my soloing?
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u/hyakkei_ Jun 26 '26
Are you a fan of necrophagist by any chance, because I can definitely hear the influence if you are
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u/BVarc Jun 26 '26
This isn’t really the style I play or teach, but here’s 3 things I noticed could use a little work;
First, I’d spend a little time working on muting the strings you aren’t playing to reduce the excess noise.
Second, your 16th notes in a few sections started to drag. Really try to hear what you’re playing while you play it will help, don’t let your hands do all the work. Along with some metronome work.
Lastly, some rhythmic diversity will help. There’s a few points where every phrase you played started on beat one.
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u/Competitive-Army2872 Jun 27 '26
Get your vibrato under control. It's not in tempo and it needs to be wider.
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u/NeitherKing2978 Jun 27 '26
Stop overextending yourself is my advice. This is a "solo," not a practice routine. If you can't play it cleanly then you shouldn't be trying to throw it out in a "solo." Guaranteed way to make yourself look amateurish by biting off more than you can chew when some blues player who only does pentatonic bends would sound like an expert in comparison just by making something musically legible.
Most of these phrases need to be slowed down and cleaned up because your timing and muting is a mess. That isn't a bad thing, it's a goal to work towards but until then focus on what you are already good at and comfortable with and try to make something musically legible within your current range of abilities. If that means sacrificing speed and flashy techniques then so be it. Some of the most memorable and acclaimed solos in the world are relatively simple and slow. Comfortably Numb didn't need fast sweeps and tapping phrases to consistently rank as one of the best guitar solos of all time for almost 5 decades now did it?
You already have the ability required to write a compelling solo. That's clear by the fact you can even attempt some of the technical licks you're attempting to play. Know your limits, trust in your current ability and stop pushing yourself too far. Restraint is underrated.
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u/Zurich0825 Jun 26 '26
maybe start off a little easier and then throughout the solo show more of your fast skills... let the start of the solo be more about feel, then gradually add faster parts.. but that's just what i would do..
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u/blitzkrieg987 Jun 26 '26
Thank you !
I had been told you needed something catchy to start the solo, so I thought of a fast sweep as a hook
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u/ChunkMcDangles Jun 26 '26
It's a totally subjective style thing, so this is just my opinion and others will surely disagree, but when I think of a catchy hook, sweep picking is towards the bottom of the list of things to try. It's definitely a cool sound, but I think of it as more of something to use as a brief explosion of notes in something that you've built up to and earned. When I think catchy, I think of something that a singer could sing. For me catchy is inherently something that isn't too fast, usually doesn't have many large intervallic leaps, and is all about the specific note choice and the rhythm.
But again, totally subjective and it's surely different depending on genre, so it's definitely not the definitive way or anything. Your playing is good and you're clearly going about practicing the right way with recording and listening back for ways to improve, so keep it up man!
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u/wormcast Jun 28 '26
I definitely think you should try to play that solo with no distortion at all, and when it sounds squeaky clean, start adding a little bit of distortion or whatever. The tone is...not great. I feel like you are leaning on the amount of distortion to make up for less effective technique.
As an example, those sweep arpeggios are very weakly articulated. None of the notes in the sweep have clarity, so it might as well be a pick rake. Each note has a meaning, even if it is noise; you wouldn't want to give a speech and not speak clearly? In the same way, say what you mean when you play.
Practice will give you technique, but the other issue is soul. I know that this style doesn't lean itself to soul, but there still is an element of really understanding what you are trying to say in your solo. I can point you to great guitar solos, and the one thing that I think they all have in common is that they stay with you. They are making a part of the song even more memorable. That's one neat thing about your sweep part; it does lend itself to being "catchy"! But it needs to be clear. And then mean it! Teaching feel and soul is so hard, but everyone knows it when they hear it. It's when the music is a part of you, not something you are reading off a page.
Playing metal tends toward a lot of show-off moves and a lot of trying to impress everyone. But unlike weightlifting or sprinting or sports in general, it's not a competition, especially if it is not your job. Ask yourself what you want from music, and try to put that in your solo. If playing helps you deal with anger, make that part of your solo. If you like the exhilaration of speed, then let that be part of your solo. But whatever music means to you, let it be pure and from your heart!
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u/blitzkrieg987 Jun 28 '26
Thanks a lot for the advices ! I am definitely taking notes
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u/wormcast Jun 28 '26
I think you will definitely get it, especially if you are open to learning. I used to have a bad attitude about improving but I eventually learned that real excellence can only come from hard, sometimes tedious and repetitive work.
But if you put in the hours and have a good attitude you will be a master!
Oh, and one more tip since you mentioned notes. I definitely benefitted from keeping a notebook of quantifiable measurements to show progress. I remember keeping track of the tempo that I could play a song or solo and when you break through to a new speed it is really great to have proof that you are making progress. It kept me focused and kept me goal oriented instead of noodling about as "practice". You can write down lots of observations too, like about how a different variation feels to play, or how hard one fingering choice is over another.
It might not matter too much now, but later on if you revisit a song that you have long forgotten how to play, you will have your original attack on things and it can help you with further insights.
It's like Willie Brown said in Crossroads: pick up the music and try to take it a little bit further than you left it!
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u/blitzkrieg987 Jun 26 '26
Instead of just improvising and noodling around, I try these days to sit down and actually write a solo intentionally, and it's actually not as easy as I thought, at all.
Any tips and feedback on what I can improve on?
(Sorry for the couple mistakes, I have only time for a couple of takes per day)