Playing guitar solo is one of the most desired skills for guitar players world wide. It was one of the things that kept me excited about learning the guitar when I just started, and it is still one of the most fun things about playing the instrument. In this article I show you techniques to play easy guitar solos.
I had to learn a few things before I was able to play guitar solo with confidence. By trial and error, I found the skills that are most important to learn to play solo.
Fortunately, you don’t need to make the same mistakes I made, so you can learn this even faster. I even created a free PDF course (60 pages) that will give you the tools to play solo guitar.
Here are some tips that will help you to get there faster.
1. Learn the Notes on the Guitar Neck for Easy Guitar Solos
The first step to be able to play solos on guitar is to know the notes in the fretboard.
This is required, because otherwise you won’t be able to learn simple scales.
It is not a difficult skill to acquire, however: you just need to learn the basic positions and repeat them all over the fretboard.
For example, the open strings have the following nodes from low to high: E, A, D, G, B, E. This pattern repeats itself when moving down the neck.
Starting from any note, you need to move two frets to get to the next, with the exception of E and B, which require just one fret to move to the next note. For example, from A you need to move two frets to get to B. But from B, you just need to move one fret to get to C.
Using this rule and knowing the open strings, you can get the name of any note. For example, the sixth string has the following notes over the 12 frets:
- Fret 1: F
- Fret 2: F#/Gb
- Fret 3: G
- Fret 4: G#/Ab
- Fret 5: A
- Fret 6: A#/Bb
- Fret 7: B
- Fret 8: C
- Fret 9: C#/Db
- Fret 10: D
- Fret 11: D#/Eb
You can create a simple table like this for any other string, so you know the name of any note. Practice this daily for at least a few minutes.
2. Learn to Play the Major Scales
There is nothing more important for the beginner to learn than the major scale on the guitar. It is hard to overstate how important the scale is, since you will spend more than 90% of your time playing the major scale or a closely related one.
As you will learn, the major scale is also an important basis for other guitar scales.So, learning the major scale also will help you to master other scales and modes.
3. Learn Simple Improvisation
Another important step to play solo guitar is to start doing some simple improvisation. This is not complicated if you start using the notes of the chords.
For example, when playing the C chord, you can play the chord notes like C, E, G. You can also play other notes in the C major scales (the white notes in the piano).
4. Learn Guitar Licks
The next step is to learn guitar licks. You can use your improvisation skills to learn the licks, or you can use guitar tabs to learn them.
Once you get to this stage, you can start to refine your skills. With daily practice, you can start to play simple solos and start to improve your abilities.
Learning More About Easy Guitar Solos
I created a simple guide to people who want to play the guitar (PDF, 60 pages). The guide is free, and can be received by email, just get your copy here.