The art of soloing relies heavily on the ability to convey ideas in a cohesive manner on your guitar.

Sometimes, as guitarists it’s very easy to get away from that by playing a bunch of notes that don’t convey an idea but rather a smorgsaborg of nonsense!

The next time you run out of ideas and aren’t sure how to approach a solo try soloing with string pairs!

All you have to do is select 2 strings adjacent to each other and apply your ideas up and down the fingerboard using only these strings.

This will force you to play particular patterns and a natural sequence of thoughts will result.

Below are a couple ideas utilizing the 1st and 2nd string for example 1.

Example 2 utilizes the 2nd and 3rd string. Feel free to experiment using any combination of string and mix them together.

This is a great way to start visualizing your scales in zones as well.

Not only will you start to develop more awareness of your scales but you’ll also be able to visualize all the string pairing possibilities found within each zone.

Powerful stuff!

Example 1

E |11-12-12s14-12p11-12---x17b19r17b19r17-15-14-15-----14--------------------|
B |------------------—--------x----------------------------------17----15----|
G |---------------------------x----------------------------------------------|
D |--------------------------------------------------------------------------|
A |--------------------------------------------------------------------------|
E |--------------------------------------------------------------------------|
E |14----12-----10-----------------------------------10----------------------|
B |---12-----10-----10-8---7-8—10-10-8p7-8--8--------------------------------|
G |--------------------------------------------------------------------------|
D |--------------------------------------------------------------------------|
A |--------------------------------------------------------------------------|
E |--------------------------------------------------------------------------|
E |5s7h8p7-------------------------------------------------------------------|
B |----------10-10-----------------------------------------------------------|
G |--------------------------------------------------------------------------|
D |--------------------------------------------------------------------------|
A |--------------------------------------------------------------------------|
E |--------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Example 2

E |-------15--------------------------------15-------------------------------|
B |10s12-----10s12-------xxxx---10s12---—-10s12---------12-------------------|
G |-------------------12----xxxx------------------------14-14----12-11-------|
D |--------------------------------------------------------------------------|
A |--------------------------------------------------------------------------|
E |--------------------------------------------------------------------------|
E |--------------------------------------------------------------------------|
B |------------------12-—--------8---5s7h8p7-------7s------------------------|
G |11h12p119--9-------9-7--7-----------------9-9--------2-4--2-2h4-----------|
D |--------------------------------------------------------------------------|
A |--------------------------------------------------------------------------|
E |--------------------------------------------------------------------------|

Want To Learn More …

lead-boxLearning how to play lead and solos on your guitar is an extremely important role if you truly want to master the guitar.

It is essential to learn the nuts and bolts of these topics so you have the information you need to actually improve your playing skills.  That is why we created a course that is tailored on these exact topics.

With the help of ‘Lead Guitar Mastery’ there will be no more “I’m confused?” but more “Wow, I finally understand where I was going wrong”