5 Tips For Improvising Guitar Solos & Blues Licks For Beginners

5 Tips For Improvising Guitar Solos & Blues Licks For Beginners

In this lesson, we are going to learn 5 tips for improvising guitar solos & blues licks For Beginners.  When it comes to playing guitar solos, you have two things you want to master.

 

  1.  Learn to play guitar solos from your favorite players

  2. Learn to play guitar solos you create yourself.

 

In this lesson, we are going to look at the latter.  Improvising guitar solos.  These will be the ones you create yourself.

 

Although we are learning about how to create your own, I highly recommend you learn how to learn solos from your favorite players.

 

Now let’s take a look at five tips that can help with this accomplishment.

 

Have a sense of rhythm

playing rhythm for improvising

When it comes to playing guitar solos, you must have a sense of rhythm.  The reason for this is because you will be paying along with it.  Or possibly over it.  Depending on how you look at it.

 

Some solos are played within the rhythm, like in a blues or jazz trio where there is only one guitar player.

 

Ones that are played over the rhythm, are usually solos that are played in an ensemble that has more than one guitar player.  Either way, you can learn to improvise and have fun doing so.

 

Learn guitar scales

Guitar Scales for improvising guitar solos

When it comes to playing guitar solos, you want to learn scales.  They help you recognize the relation between notes and their location on the guitar fretboard.  The easiest ones to start with are the pentatonic scales.

 

The 5 pentatonic scales create a fretboard road map for playing solos.  They connect like puzzle pieces and if learned to play properly, they can help you with playing guitar solos.

 

They can also help you to unlock mysteries of the fretboard in both major and minor keys.  That is why they are so useful and popular. The first one you want to start with is the minor pentatonic scale

A minor pentatonic scale. For improvising guitar solos

 

Learn personality traits

personality traits for improvising guitar solos.

These are the things that bring the scales to life. Such things as hammer-ons, pull-offs, slides, bends, vibrato & trills. These are what create guitar licks, and it is guitar licks that teach you how to improvise on the guitar.

 

Such things as hammer-ons, pull-offs, bends, slides, vibrato, etc.  Study, learn, and put these things into practice daily.

 

Learn to read guitar notation

Reading guitar notation. Improvising Guitar Solos

Most guitar players play by ear. Which is fine. But when you learn to read the written word, it gives you insights you don’t get from just listening and trying to figure out notes.

 

Reading “tabs” as they call it, can provide a visual solution to songs as well as musical concepts and techniques.

 

They can provide a better understanding of translatable music skills and a greater ability to develop musicality.

 

Put in the time

Put in the time. Improvising guitar solos

This is most important. If you put in the time, you will learn to improvise on guitar. The reason why this is so crucial is that your mind and body need time to develop. Don’t forget, that music is a language, and like all other languages, it will take time to master.

 

If you put in the time you will be able to fuel your creativity, engage your memory, boost your confidence, and teach yourself patience and discipline.

 

All this and more can be learned if you put in the time.  Remember, you get out what you put in.  So put in the time to learn how to improvise guitar solos.

 

Dive deeper into improvisation

If you’d like to dive deeper into improvisation, I recommend you check out the book I authored and self-published Lead Guitar Wizardry Vol 1.

Lead Guitar Wizardry Vol 1 papaerback. Dwayne Jenkins

Lead Guitar Wizardry Vol 1 can be found in my Etsy Shop and will teach you not only how to improvise, but so much more.  It will teach you such things as:

 

  • How to play guitar solos that will have your friends cheering for more.

  • The lead guitar solo techniques of musical greats you commonly hear in songs

  • Finger exercises, music theory, and much, much, more.

 

All with a modern easy to understand step-by-step approach to learning the technique of improvising guitar solos.  Not only that, but you will learn how to become a lead guitar wizard!

 

And, if you choose to purchase this book from my Etsy Shop, you will receive a “signed to you” author copy.  So if you’re serious about taking your guitar playing to the next level, Get started today!

 

Thanks for reading my blog and supporting my lessons.

 

Best of luck,

Sincerely, Dwayne Jenkins.

Dwayne Jenkins Dwayne's Guitar Lessons