Guitar Solos: A Simple Guide To Phrasing

We've all heard solos that went on far too long and had far too many notes in them. In fact, they were not only meaningless but a complete and utter waste of time! A good solo is like a good conversation; it has to keep you interested and it has to have ebb and flow to it.

Your Solo Needs To Be Like A Good Conversation

Phrasing is a critical element in your guitar solos sounding natural and can be best compared to the nuances of how you would have a conversation. No one talks solidly at the same pitch and the same speed without sounding very odd. Try reading this paragraph yourself and listen to the way you pause and add gaps to convey the meaning of each sentence.

Less Is More

When I meet someone new, I like them to be conversation but not for the conversation to be all about them. If someone starts to talk very extensively without breathing, it's a warning signal for me to get out of there! The best guitar solos and riffs are simple, purposeful and deliberate. Give me 3 well thought through notes with feeling and emotion over a 'machine gun' fire of 200 notes which destroys your ears. Compare someone you care about saying 'I love you' to someone sharing a 2 hour thesis on Binary. Less is definitely more.

Phrasing makes the guitar sound like it's being played by a person and not a computer. Practically, what about a variety of playing styles: hammer ons, slides, bends, vibratos etc?

Leave Breathing Time

Breathing is a very normal part of life that we don't think about very often. If you don't breathe, you will die. And if you don't allow space and breathing time between your phrasing then your guitar solos will be deathly (not in a good way ;))

So why don't you try it? A good exercise is to take only 2 notes and to try and solo on them. By limiting the amount of notes you are playing you can completely practice phrasing.

Enjoy! See also Rapidly Increase Your Guitar Playing Speed in 5 Minutes!

Rapidly Increase Your Guitar Playing Speed in 5 Minutes

Quite often in life, its the smallest things that make the biggest differences. Playing the guitar is no different. Countless times I've seen someone make a small change to their guitar playing; a change of position, a change of speed or a change of thought process and I've seen it made a huge difference to their overall tone, consistency and speed.

Get The Most Out Of Your Playing Time

If you're like most people then you want to get as much for as little as possible. Everyone loves to bag a good bargain; and everyone wants to practice as little as possible and play as fast as possible. (If playing technically fast doesn't float your boat then how about being able to string great improvisation phrases together or learn songs quicker. This will help all of those areas too)

A few years ago I noticed that a lot of the people I taught would always play everything way too fast. They would play riffs that were too difficult at that speed and as a result had to stop and start all the time; their tone was terrible and the rhythm was all over the place etc etc. I noticed that I instinctively knew what speed to practice at.

Faster Means You Can Fit More In

If you think very practically, the faster you can practice something, the more practice you fit into an alotted time. However, most of us have ears bigger than our playing ability and so attempt to play stuff that is way too difficult for us. This doesn't do us any good; we only practice playing something very badly and so it's almost worse than not practicing at all.

Your Key To Practicing Better

What we want is to play a riff or lick as fast as possible for our ability at the time. The easiest way to figure our optimum playing speed is to use a metronome. If you don't know what a metronome is; its a small device that provides a constant beat for us to play along to. It's measured in Beats Per Minute (or BPM). For example, if it was set to 60BPM it would play a click or beep every second because there are 60 seconds in a minute. If you don't have one, you can use a free one here

Think of a riff you are currently learning or trying to play and lets take the first 4 or so notes of it. Now let's start the metronome at a completely random BPM. (I've gone for 60) Try playing your riff along to it. Now ask yourself, is it really easy or hard?

Practice 'Perfectly'

Whenever you practice, you should be able to play whatever you practice absolutely perfectly. Think rhythm, tone, feeling, dynamics etc. Ask yourself honestly if you can play it at that speed. If the answer is yes, keep practicing and gradually increase the BPM from anything from 1-5BPM. Rinse and repeat until you start to feel it affecting how relaxed you are when playing. 

Make a note of the optimum BPM for that riff and next time you practice start there and gradually increase as the riff gets easier as you practice.

There you have it. Each riff or progression you play will obviously be unique and so you need to do this each time. It will become habit if you make sure you do it each time. I can guarantee this will revolutionise the way you practice and increase your guitar playing speed in a ridiculously short space of time!

Check out The Secret of Effective Guitar Practice for more practicing tips!

Coldplay - Every Teardrop is a Waterfall - Guitar Chords + Lyrics

Coldplay's latest single from their brand new EP is absolutely beautiful. An incredible summer tune with some great lyrics. Check out the chords for guitar and lyrics below!



Intro

D    A/C# x 2

Verse

D
I turn the music up, I got my records on
A/C#
I shut the world outside until the lights come on
D
Maybe the streets alive, maybe the trees are gone
A/C#
I feel my heart start beating to my favourite song

Pre Chorus

D
And all the kids they dance, all the kids all night
A
Until Monday morning feels another life
F#m
I turn the music up, I'm on a roll this time
D
And heaven is in sight

Instrumental
A     D x 4

Verse

D
I turn the music up, I got my records on
A/C#
From underneath the rubble, sing a rebel song
D
Don't want to see another generation drop
A/C#
I'd rather be a comma than a full stop

Pre Chorus

D
Maybe I'm in the black, maybe I'm on my knees
A
Maybe I'm in the gap between the two trapezes
F#m
But my heart is beating and my pulses start
D
Cathedrals in my heart


Bridge

D
And we saw oh this light
F#m
I swear you emerge blinking into
D
To tell me its alright
D            A/C#
As we soar walls
F#m
Every siren is a symphony
D
And every tear's a waterfall


A
Is a waterfall
D
Oh
A
Is a waterfall
D
Oh oh oh
A
Is a is a waterfall
D
Every tear
A
Is a waterfall
D
Oh oh oh

Tag

E                      D
So you can hurt, hurt me bad
A/C#                  D
But still I'll raise the flag

Instrumental

A D x 2

A                    D
It was a wa wa wa wa wa-aterfall
A                    D
A wa wa wa wa wa-aterfall

Instrumental

D A/C# E (repeat into outro)

Outro

D
Every tear
D
Every tear
A/C#                 E
Every teardrop is a waterfall

D
Every tear
D
Every tear
A/C#                 E
Every teardrop is a waterfall

The Reason 4 - Take It All - Chords + Lyrics

Great new tune from The Reason. Check out the chords and lyrics below!




Verse 1

 D                           Am
When I was a little child
Em                                       G
All my dreams were running wild
D                                         Am
I had the whole world at my feet
Em                                       G
Was never hurt, I let my actions speak

Pre Chorus
      Am          Em                  G                        D
I never doubted that I would find it in myself to be
                           Am     Em
Now I'm gonna shout it
              G
Let the whole world sing it along with me
              G
You can be who you wanna be

Chorus
D                                Am                     Em
So don’t stop ever believing, keep on dreaming
                G
Got to be strong and take the fall
D                       Am                           Em
Hold on to the feeling, the path we're leaving
                      G
This is your chance to take it all

Verse 2
D                              Am
In the moment it all sounds
Em                                      G
Tears of joy will drown the crowd
D                                      Am
Feel my heart just beating fast
Em                             G
This is how it feels to live and laugh

Pre Chorus
Chorus
Instrumental
Pre Chorus
Chorus

Enjoy! It's basically the same 4 chords throughout the whole song in slightly different order. Great melodies though. You can check out their official page at www.thereason4.com