You start a solo, what note do you hit first?

[johan]

I'm pretty BB King would play the root the B-string.

I myself tend to hit the 4rth (D) and maybe bend it up, that's if I'm not really trying to be original. But thinking too much is not good. So it might say something about your musical ear and tastes.

No?
J

[Trey]

I play whichever note I hear first in my head, don't think I really gravitate to any one note. I think it would sound pretty boring if every one of your solos started on the same note...


EDIT: Didn't read the entire question until now, but I think my answer is still the same. I don't really stay within specific scales when I'm playing, so I would just play what I hear in my head, more often than not it's an amalgamation of a few scales not just one.

[RandomHero]

I personally play whichever note corresponds to the fret and string my decided "beginner" finger is on, when I start playing. =D

[UnklMickey]

admin said:

I personally play whichever note corresponds to the fret and string my decided "beginner" finger is on, when I start playing. =D

i must be tired! i can usually decipher from the context, what someone is getting at. but that "decided beginner finger" part is confusing me........

HEY, wait a minute! if i can use some golf-speak, did you say "just grip it, and rip it!"?

[RandomHero]

The "decided beginner finger" being the finger that I have decided shall begin the solo.

[mlrpa]

It really depends on what the song calls for. I normally go for a grace note of the b7th, and rip from there. Or a minor 3rd. Or a 5th. Maybe a arpegio of amin7b5. I dunno.

[4real]

I think this is a great question. I had thought about it before and made a consious effort not to do what was comfortable, just to get out of a rut. In fact, I went through each note to try and work out how to start off on anynote effectively...good exercise...that said however....

I'd tend to go for the fifth, possibly bent to it from the 4th below or even sliding up from the flat third, maybe a quick run up from the root....But these are just flourishes to the first note....

The reasoning is...the root is a resting place...often the final note, the destination...I guess I don't want to start at the destination (though you could do a round trip). Also the root is usually already pretty established so, why say it again.

I like suspended sounds though so the 4th is good but I'd go for the 9th/2nd. If the chords are fairly static (one chord jazz, funk or slow blues for instance) I like to superimpose a different chord. In A minor i'd play Bminor7 or B pentatonic.

Just doing it now I ran up from b to it's seventh a and resolved that to the 7th (of the key g) The note A is the root note but in this context it sounds restless (like a seventh) even though it should be stable and the f# acts like a leading note to the g which makes it kind of stable (even though it's not in the key of A), you could also resolve back to E just as well.

Basically this techniques shakes up the key centre and changes the way a note, even the root is perceived. But you do need to resolve it somewhere...

It's a common enough jazz thing but works anywhere. I'm sure I've heard Django play Dminor over aminor and it resolves when the band changes to the Dminor chord. He even does it in the rhythm playing, playing Dminor emphatically till the soloist and band changed to his chord...smart*ss, but very effective. First you think, "what the...?", then he comes off sounding like he was right all along, just ahead of the pack...

All great stuff...nice question...4real

[johan]

like you said 4real,

it really is an exercise in expanding your tonal sensitivity, although it might look like the suggestion of playing the same stuff everytime. That's not where it's at, off course.

People who say 'I don't wanna think about it, but always play something else' probably are more rut prone than others.

Interesting remark about Django, will check that out
J

[mike]

For my 2 cents, I have to say that to much thought goes into that, me thinks. I mean, if I know what key the song is in, I can play a lead for it, above and below the 12th fret and hitting spots in between.

The song itself determines alot of how and where I go with it.

[night0wl]

I just play wherever my finger lands on the fretboard! ;D

Seriously though, the notes I choose depend on the style of music being played.

[johan]

Let me rephrase this once more:

The poll question is really important, it's a practical exercise. Important not to think.

Like I stated in the first post, [shadow=red,left,300]BB King ALWAYS plays the SAME note[/shadow], when he starts of a solo. Mostly on the B-string.

If you say, I play all round the fretboard, you didn't do the exercise.

Poll Question: Grab your axe, [glow=red,2,300]don't think [/glow], just start off a solo in A minor Pentatonic. Is there a certain note you tend to play first?


j

[bam]

hahaha

[ChrisK]

Why is a guitar solo like a sneeze?

Because you know when both are coming, but you can't do anything about either one.

[UnklMickey]

I heard matchbox 20's "the Real World" on the drive home last night.

in the guitar solo,

i'm not sure what note he started on,

what note he ended on,

or all the notes he played in-between.


but, i'm pretty sure they were all the same.