The Soloing Guitar Player’s Game Plan

The Soloing Guitar Player’s Game Plan – Or…How to have a kick ass solo over a chord progression

The soloing guitar player’s game plan- Do you want your solo to be ho-hum, or do you want your solo to kick ass?

I thought so…

Well, if you want to have a kick ass solo over a chord progression for whatever song you’re working on, your best bet is to really understand your scale choices. And that’s what the Soloist’s Game Plan is all about.

So, the problem that most guitar players have, is that they generally shoot for the lowest common denominator. They look at a chord progression and say to themselves, well I’ll either play the major blues scale over the whole jam, or the minor blues scale over the whole jam… Once they know what key they’re in, that is, and if they don’t have to ask someone else or mess around until they figure it out by ear.

And it’s not as if playing either of those scales is a bad option. And sometimes great players choose to play a kick ass solo with just that, just a single blues scale. And it sounds great! And if you can play your single blues scale all up and down the neck, with great phrasing and great rhythms, that may very well be the right answer.

Key changes in the solo guitar player progress

But what if there are key changes in the piece? Would you know how to recognize that and reflect that in your playing? And what if the song doesn’t change keys, but you want to be able to do more than just noodle on a single scale. Many of the best players can take a simple chord jam and play several different scale choices over it, often playing one scale per chord to reflect the changes as they go by.

One of the best ways to do that is to play through shifting pentatonics- playing scales that reflect each chord in a jam, without fighting the overall key, but with the ability to highlight the notes that belong to the current chord. Not only does this give you and the listener variety, but it also forces you to know exactly where you are in the tune at all times, which in turn develops a superior sense of phrasing.

Learn how to become a good solo player

These are the type of skills you’ll develop by working through the course. You will learn to make confident choices, knowing when a chord progression changes keys, just by looking at your chord jam, before you even pick up your instrument, and also knowing all of your scale choices per chord. Whether it’s a mode, a major or minor scale, a blues scale, or shifting pentatonics that match the chord, you’ll have the choice, you’ll have the ability to make your own Game Plan.

So let’s Jump In!