in composing guitar solo's whats your choice?

[24242009]

by intuition and experimentation?

or

by scales/ by the book?

and why?

[rock_discipline]

combination those mentioned. its hard to compose a solo line without knowledge of basic theory. its a big help having those scales at hand. for example you'll improvise on a minor key if you want to have dark sounding, classical... dont know how to describe it, its easy to use harmonic minor scale rather kapaan nalang...

[wh1t33rick]

I agree...it's a combo talaga, but the most is you have a story to tell whether it is a one note or a phrase. 

[arkeetar]

scales...then thinking about unconventional scaling... scripted part and then open to improvisation part (hindi pwedeng mawala) mas ok kasi ako sa ganitong way.
saka importante my feel at melody, at hindi rin ganun kahahaba ginagawa ko

i want to improve my tone picking 
(kasalanan ni jmorrero hehe thank you for opening new doors for me naks!)

dami ko pa dapat improve 

[aya_yuson]

If you can't sing it, don't play it.

[arkeetar]

If you can't sing it, don't play it.

matagal ko ng gusto mangyari yan 

dapat to sa music school thread..

btw jimmy morrero is YES

idol! hindi ko din makakalimutan jam n'yo nila psychic_sushi and ibanezman, kahit sa youtube ko lang napanuod 

[screamingguitars]

by intuition and experimentation?

or

by scales/ by the book?

and why?

would go for both, cause the more resources and knowledge you have, the more options and chances you get.

[skrumian]

sometimes, you need to "hear" your leads and then translate it to your hands. yeah, you need to sing it too.

[boy_noel]

i agree with the combination.. with boss aya too..

but if you're not fluent with music theory, very much like me, i'll go with "feel". I know my pentatonics, blues boxes etc, but that's it. so from there i improvise guided by phrasing and what i "feel" what's right, i'm kinda emotional and i think it also helps me do expressive solos and rhythms. hell, sometimes i don't even know what scale/mode i'm in. but what the heck, works for me. even my fellow guitarist friend says i have more "lagkit" and i can only trust his ears.

but with that being said, still kapos pa rin. that's why as much as possible i study theory to learn what i need to learn.

regards to my sensei anton (malaki na atraso ko, di pa kasi ako nakabalik..hehe)

[jehed]

for me, its by intuition and experimentation AND feel. I have my own book 

[reycantong]

For me, as a singer and a guitarist, when it comes to creating my guitar solos, kinakanta ko muna talaga. Having a solo is not always about technique. Dapat may istorya talaga. Lahat ng solos ko parang kadugtong ng melody lines ng vocals. I'm not a shredder. I always go with melodic soloing (David Gilmour, Pete Lesperance, Neil Schon (uy shredder din to  ) and the likes). And bihira ako mag improvise sa recording. Lahat written down na.

[Silaw]

For me, as a singer and a guitarist, when it comes to creating my guitar solos, kinakanta ko muna talaga. Having a solo is not always about technique. Dapat may istorya talaga. Lahat ng solos ko parang kadugtong ng melody lines ng vocals. I'm not a shredder. I always go with melodic soloing (David Gilmour, Pete Lesperance, Neil Schon (uy shredder din to  ) and the likes). And bihira ako mag improvise sa recording. Lahat written down na.

+1 on this. i'm not a shredder - i don't even have a lot of speed. so dinadaan ko na lang sa drama, sa storya. the solo i feel should be little variations on the main melody.

i'm also a sing -> play player.

[jmreyes]

Its usually a combination of feel, experimentation and some theory. As much as possible, like they said, try to tell a story. Beginning>Climax>End.

[bryanarzaga]

by intuition and experimentation?

or

by scales/ by the book?

and why?

i just try to follow and catch up with this guy who plays a saxophone in my head 

[24242009]

nice answers guys but what can you say about the guitar solo of tom morello on "bulls on parade"? that is no scales..no notes..its just rubbing of palms in the strings..thats pure imagination come to life I guess the notes does not give all the credits

[am i clear?]

Scales and add some notes out of the scale.

Basta maganda sa pandinig, yun na yun.

[kurt_morello]

kailangan may alam ka sa mga scales and konting theories para masanay ung tenga mo sa mga tunog nila.... tapos hmmmm biglang pumapasok na tone sa tenga ko i try to hum like lalalala(i also sing in our band), then try to apply it onto the guitar... tapos ifeel ko kung tama ba siya or may dapat baguhin....dapat parang hmmm napoportray niya ung emotion na gusto mo ilagay sa kanta... after a few days or a few weeks...... may solo na. hahaha.

[thr3ten]

feel (period)

[Phil]

by intuition and experimentation?

or

by scales/ by the book?

and why?

Find a good TONE first before you compose.

It's music , right? so you want to attract listeners. Then you find a good "hook". Easy to understand.....unless you are into progressive and technical style of music.

[arkeetar]

ah good tone sets the mood and feels right 

[splice]

If it's a live performance, I like (and try) Jim Campilongo's approach:

"Try to find the missing note in the crowd and begin from there," or something to that effect. "Feel" follows right where you start.

If it's a recording, I try Duke Ellington's approach, which is this:

"If it sounds good and feels good, then it IS good" (since you can try to listen to what you've played a thousand times over).

[kurt_morello]

ah good tone sets the mood and feels right 

ehem kaya di natatapos ang gas eh gawa ng TONE na yan. hehehe..

[arkeetar]

ehem kaya di natatapos ang gas eh gawa ng TONE na yan. hehehe..

dito lang sa GC ko natutunan ang tunay na definition ng tone ng isang gitarista... at ayan na... hindi na ko mapakali

budget constraints lang talaga pumipigil s'kin 

anyway, kung hindi mo naman talaga gusto yung nadidinig mo at feel sa gitara nakakawala ng focus ng pag iisip 

[aya_yuson]

dito lang sa GC ko natutunan ang tunay na definition ng tone ng isang gitarista... at ayan na... hindi na ko mapakali

budget constraints lang talaga pumipigil s'kin 

anyway, kung hindi mo naman talaga gusto yung nadidinig mo at feel sa gitara nakakawala ng focus ng pag iisip 

A good musician makes beautiful music no matter what gear he plays through. Only a poor carpenter blames his tools.

[Phil]

A good musician makes beautiful music no matter what gear he plays through. Only a poor carpenter blames his tools.

yeah you can get good tones using any tools. But just like any tool it can only do what its designed to do.