Learning to Solo on GuitarMarch 5, 2019December 25, 2019F. W. Lineberry

Start forcing yourself to play notes out of step-wise sequence.

One way to do that is learn melodic patterns. Go through your scales and play 1 3 – 2 4 – 3 5 – 4 6 – 5 7 – 6 8 – 7 9 (thirds) or 1 4 – 2 5 – 3 6 – 4 7 – 5 8 – 6 9 – 7 10 (fourths). It’s good to be able to do this with 3rds, 4ths, 5ths (1 5 – 2 6 etc) and 6ths (1 6 – 2 7 etc).

You can also do things like 1 2 3 1 – 2 3 4 2 – 3 4 5 3 etc…

Another thing you can do is spend some quality time playing up and down the individual strings. You won’t get very far just going up and down the scale on one string, so you’ll have to start getting creative with the notes.