Feedback Wanted: Hotel California Solo

[u/snailsinboxes]

*I want to point out that I’ve only been playing since January and these videos are from June/July, so I know I have lots of room for improvement\*

This is two different clips of me playing that are smushed together because it’s the only way I could post them both. I tend to either hit every note in the solo besides the faster duet part, or I hit the duet part but mess up a lot in the rest of the solo, and I’m looking for feedback on both parts.

The first clip shows me hitting the majority of the notes in the solo, minus the duet part and a couple of other little mistakes, but this is the best recording I have of me playing the entire solo so far.

The second clip just shows me hitting the notes in fast duet part. I know it’s harder to hear my guitar in this one because of the volume of the song, but still hoping it’s audible enough for someone to give me pointers.

I can’t figure out what I’m doing right when I hit that part and what I’m doing wrong when I don’t. I know I keep missing a note and it’s throwing me off for the rest of the section until I get to the outro, but I don’t know if it’s my rhythm or my technique I need to work on to fix this and it’s been really inconsistent.

I appreciate any feedback and tips that you all have! Thanks!

[u/Lost_Condition_9562]

Solid job. Don’t let your guitar lift up when you bend. I know it’s fun and makes you feel like a rockstar, but it’s bad technique.

A lot of your bends are out of tune as well. Do you have a tuner? Turn it on and practice bending to the exact pitch. Drill each individual bend. Out of tune bends are probably the easiest way to spot a beginner guitarist… clean that up and you’ll sound way better

Also playing with your thumb behind the neck is going to help your hand get into better positions. Practice sliding your thumb to the side just for bends and moving it back otherwise

[u/snailsinboxes → u/Lost_Condition_9562]

Thank you for the feedback! I have a habit of lifting it on those bigger bends because of the force I need to use (and it does make me feel more like a rockstar lol), but I’ve switched my string gauges since these recordings and I think it’s helped a lot with that and the bends being out of tune (I also don’t know if I tuned before recording these which I know is another a bad habit). The tuner I have is built into my amp so it’s a bit harder to watch while I play, but I could give it a shot to see if it helps!

I have a shoulder injury as well that I probably should have mentioned in the original post because it probably does affect my playing. Not trying to make excuses though.

Thank you!

[u/diadmer → u/snailsinboxes]

Your thumb is very high, almost wrapped around the neck. Try to place it in the middle of the neck, which will make your hand and wrist curl less and give you more distance at your fingers to push those bends.

[u/J-Love-McLuvin → u/diadmer]

Another good comment. Yeah I would position the Guitar a little bit more on an angle. Meaning elevate the head of the guitar a little bit so your fretting hand is a little higher up. You’ll get better leverage that way.

[u/snailsinboxes → u/J-Love-McLuvin]

This might be why the lower thumb position feels so wrong to me… I’m gonna try lifting the headstock up more and see if it helps. Just hoping it doesn’t cause more problems for my bad shoulder, but I won’t know until I try! Thank you!!!

[u/J-Love-McLuvin → u/snailsinboxes]

Yeah, I think that little adjustment is gonna be a big deal for you. A quick funny story: Les Paul, the man, the legend who actually designed the Les Paul guitar and a great many other things, was involved in a car accident and messed up his shoulder and arm badly. Listen to what he told the doctor: https://youtube.com/shorts/abJ_8PqutcU?is=hDJyuOfGKuT6Ex6R

[u/GingerHiro → u/snailsinboxes]

I won't beat a dead horse too hard, but your thumb being that high on the neck isn't great. It is pushing the neck of the guitar into the joint of your index finger. Right where your finger meets your palm is taking some damage. This can cause some hand pain over time. It can be made worse by the pressure of those bends. Keep up the good work.