Help! Trying to improve this solo

MikeS

Student Of The Blues
Staff member
Hey guys,
I'm looking for Ideas to rid this solo of 8th note-itis in this Delbert McClinton song.
Suggestions welcome....
Why Me
 

mountain man

Still got the Blues!
Mike. I like it a lot! You play well and put in plenty of nice (and different) riffs! From one aspiring soloist to a pro (you play gigs and get paid!! yay!). Anyway. There are a few riff beginnings but more riff endings that it sounded like you put less into it. More ownership? Perhaps that 1/4 step Blues bend with staccato to finish a riff? Also during these random seconds you could focus a little more on note count. Some you could hold longer, some you could end quicker. Griff gave me a good speed development exercise which I have taken to all of the boxes (I've a long way to go). I like your playing here. I notice a lot of improvement from the last time I listened to one of your recordings which was probably last Fall sometime. :thumbup::thumbup::Beer::Beer:
 
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MikeS

Student Of The Blues
Staff member
Mike. I like it a lot! You play well and put in plenty of nice (and different) riffs! From one aspiring soloist to a pro (you play gigs and get paid!! yay!). Anyway. There are a few riff beginnings but more riff endings that it sounded like you put less into it. ( much of that was semi spontaineous, so I prebably knw what I wanted to start with but kind of ran out of ideas as the licks finished. I'll give that more thought) More ownership? Perhaps that 1/4 step Blues bend with staccato to finish a riff? (That's good advice! I've been taking some lessons from a local SRV tribute artist and the little 1/4 step bends and vibrattos are always beautiful) Also during these random seconds you could focus a little more on note count. Some you could hold longer, some you could end quicker. Griff gave me a good speed development exercise which I have taken to all of the boxes (I've a long way to go) ( If @Griff wouldn't mind, I'd love to see the speed exercise.. that's one of my big bugaboos. I don't feel like my speed is improving) I like your playing here. I notice a lot of improvement from the last time I listened to one of your recordings which was probably last Fall sometime. (Thanks Maybe I need to go back to some of those older recordings so I can see the improvement too) :thumbup::thumbup::Beer::Beer:
 

Griff

Vice Assistant General Manager
Staff member
@MikeS there are a couple of spots where I hear you could use a pair of 1/16th notes into 1 1/8th note and that happens to work really well with the major pentatonic sound.

Something like this maybe
upload_2017-6-8_10-25-30.png

Pay careful attention to the staccato markings, keeping those notes short is what makes that idea work. It's an easy hammer-on followed by a short note. It plays with the rhythm more and that last note works great on the down beat at the top of the form.
 

MikeS

Student Of The Blues
Staff member
@MikeS there are a couple of spots where I hear you could use a pair of 1/16th notes into 1 1/8th note and that happens to work really well with the major pentatonic sound.

Something like this maybe
View attachment 2738

Pay careful attention to the staccato markings, keeping those notes short is what makes that idea work. It's an easy hammer-on followed by a short note. It plays with the rhythm more and that last note works great on the down beat at the top of the form.
Thanks!
 

MikeS

Student Of The Blues
Staff member
This one Mike: https://bluesguitarunleashed.com/blog/speedy-pentatonics/

Although I practice them for the entire block and also play down the fret board from block 4 to block 1 and sometimes block 5. I find that playing just two sequences of 5 works best for me and it keeps it on the top 4 strings which we use more for lead solos than the fat strings.


Coll. I have that one around here someplace. That's one problem with having everything that Griff published, I can never get through ONE thing and I forget where something that I need really is.
 

PapaRaptor

Father Vyvian O'Blivion
Staff member
@Griff I just started playing with the lick you suggested and I'm really liking it thanks.
Glad I stuck my head in here, too. That's an infectious lick. Been going through it at 80 bpm in both straight and shuffle. Moved it to 100bpm and my fingers went on strike.
 
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