How To Write Solos That SHRED!

Let's face it - it's fun to shred. If you've already learned some fast and impressive-sounding tricks on the guitar, how can you put them to use in a melodic and musical way?

There isn't one secret, but a combination of strategies I use. I walk through them all here in this lesson that features a simple groove in A Lydian. Here's a brief summary of the techniques I explore.

Scale Patterns

These are some of the easier passages to blaze through since they're often what guitarists start practicing earliest. However, they can get bland when they're not broken up with more melodic ideas.

Motifs and Themes

I wrote a simple and short melodic theme that makes several references across the entire solo, which helps the lead sound cohesive instead of totally random.

For more on motifs, check out this lesson here on the topic.

Two-Hand Tapping

As I explain in this lesson here, two-hand tapping patterns are a fantastic way to inject speed and excitement into a solo. In this video, I emphasize a quintuplet pattern: five notes per beat.

I really enjoy odd tuplets and teach the basics in my Theory and Songwriting course, but dive much deeper into the territory in Real Rhythm Guitar: Level 2.

Sweep Picking

The hardest of the tricks I use in this video is sweep picking. I have a basic lesson on the topic here.

Sweeping can sound quite annoying when used too often, but in small doses, it does provide an incredible effect. I use it specifically to outline the A and B chords featured in the Lydian jam.

It's All About Rhythm!

Here's the brutal truth that not a lot of guitarists want to accept: good leads are usually played on time. The best guitarists aren't blasting away at notes at their maximum speed, they're timing their motions to what the overall meter is doing.

The good news is that learning this skill isn't as hard as it's cracked up to be. Playing on time and understanding rhythm is actually quite easy if you just start at the bottom and slowly work your way up. Over time, your body and hands will develop an internal metronome, making it easier to play solos without thinking about the timing.

To train those skills, there is no better option than my Real Rhythm Guitar series. Peek through the reviews and you'll see what I'm talking about - the course has transformed thousands of players already who were convinced they wouldn't ever "get it." Turns out they just had the wrong teacher!

Writing a Metal Solo

This lesson here was all about the Lydian sound, which has a euphoric and quirky sort of brightness to it. If you're instead interested in darker sounds, check out my lesson on writing a killer metal solo. You'll see a lot of the same techniques at play, but with a completely different sound.

Note: Throughout the video, the chords are referred to as A and B. The B chord is played as B/A, so the bass remains on A throughout.