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 Melodic Soloing 
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Post Melodic Soloing
I've long been a fan of the melodic solo, particularly, the guitar melodic solo. Pardon my rock background here (I'm sure there are many fine jazz examples but that's not my area of expertise), but some of the most inspirational examples to me would be Journey's Neal Schon ("Don't Stop Believing," many others), Santana, Pink Floyd's David Gilmour, Prince (Purple Rain especially), Jimmy Page, etc., etc. Everything from Satriani, even though he is also the shredfest master. Don't forget SRV! A long list, actually, and almost every "great" guitar player has at least one good example (I could go through a bunch of melodic Metallica licks too!)

Some people call these "slow solos," as opposed to the opposite: shredfests of scalar shredding (which I also like!)

Here's an example of the "melodic solo," from Pink Floy's David Gilmour (the master, in my book!):


I wanted to include examples from Journey's Neal Schon (the first concert I ever saw in my life was Raised on Radio and made me want to be a rocker for the rest of my life!), but I couldn't find one good one to post.

So instead I went with Zeppelin. You can never go wrong with Zeppelin.



Please share your own example videos of your favorite melodic soloing. Bonus points for Stick videos! Extra bonus points if you want to post one of your own original examples. And you can include other instruments, if you have a great melodic solo (I'm thinking Ray Manzarek and Billy Joel, or even Geddy Lee on Bass, and then add all the sax players and it's game over!)

--Steve ("I wanna be a rocker like Journey!") (Hey, it was 1984! And add Van Halen and we're there!)

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Wed Aug 24, 2016 9:22 am
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Post Re: Melodic Soloing


This song is in the "Friends" tuning. CGCGCE.

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Wed Aug 24, 2016 9:33 am
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Post Re: Melodic Soloing
Sacrosanct wrote:
http://youtu.be/nq-S9FzmcyI

This song is in the "Friends" tuning. CGCGCE.
Alan, right from 3:05, this is EXACTLY what I meant. I thought it was Neal Schon for a sec. I'm not familiar with Devin Townsend at all; good melodic stuff!

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Wed Aug 24, 2016 9:44 am
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Post Re: Melodic Soloing
Its unfortunate that we do hear some association with being melodic with "slow" playing. But it can be present at faster speeds but is not as common place, the playing of Scott Henderson comes to mind with being fast and melodic! One other example is "Michael Landau"!

https://youtu.be/ymfGraT2m_E

Speaking of fast.. I have to say my soapbox comment about probably the worst solo in pop music is Van Halen's solo on "Beat it". When I hear this I feel like they told him ok you have 20 seconds to play every technique you can.. Ready set .. Go! LOL just my opinion, but its powerful and rude but to me says nothing!!!

Ok I'll behave. :)


Wed Aug 24, 2016 9:47 am
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Post Re: Melodic Soloing
paigan0 wrote:
I've long been a fan of the melodic solo, particularly, the guitar melodic solo. Pardon my rock background here (I'm sure there are many fine jazz examples but that's not my area of expertise), but some of the most inspirational examples to me would be Journey's Neal Schon ("Don't Stop Believing," many others), Santana, Pink Floyd's David Gilmour, Prince (Purple Rain especially), Jimmy Page, etc., etc. Everything from Satriani, even though he is also the shredfest master. Don't forget SRV! A long list, actually, and almost every "great" guitar player has at least one good example (I could go through a bunch of melodic Metallica licks too!)

Some people call these "slow solos," as opposed to the opposite: shredfests of scalar shredding (which I also like!)

Here's an example of the "melodic solo," from Pink Floy's David Gilmour (the master, in my book!):


I wanted to include examples from Journey's Neal Schon (the first concert I ever saw in my life was Raised on Radio and made me want to be a rocker for the rest of my life!), but I couldn't find one good one to post.

So instead I went with Zeppelin. You can never go wrong with Zeppelin.



Please share your own example videos of your favorite melodic soloing. Bonus points for Stick videos! Extra bonus points if you want to post one of your own original examples. And you can include other instruments, if you have a great melodic solo (I'm thinking Ray Manzarek and Billy Joel, or even Geddy Lee on Bass, and then add all the sax players and it's game over!)

--Steve ("I wanna be a rocker like Journey!") (Hey, it was 1984! And add Van Halen and we're there!)


The biggest difference of these 2 examples is that Gilmour sounds and plays great live and in the studio. Jimmy shines with his hooks and composing but his live play isn't all that exciting, at least not from what I've heard. I saw him botch his solo on "Whole Lotta Love" live on tv and it was really bad!!


Wed Aug 24, 2016 10:06 am
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Post Re: Melodic Soloing
pcgonzales wrote:
The biggest difference of these 2 examples is that Gilmour sounds and plays great live and in the studio. Jimmy shines with his hooks and composing but his live play isn't all that exciting, at least not from what I've heard. I saw him botch his solo on "Whole Lotta Love" live on tv and it was really bad!!
I've heard Gilmour live and can vouch for that! I've seen Jimmy play "live" on TV (but not in person) and I've never seen him "botch" it, but I can believe that. Not everyone is a live player and Jimmy thrived in the studio.

pcgonzales wrote:
Its unfortunate that we do hear some association with being melodic with "slow" playing. But it can be present at faster speeds but is not as common place, the playing of Scott Henderson comes to mind with being fast and melodic! One other example is "Michael Landau"!

Speaking of fast.. I have to say my soapbox comment about probably the worst solo in pop music is Van Halen's solo on "Beat it". When I hear this I feel like they told him ok you have 20 seconds to play every technique you can.. Ready set .. Go! LOL just my opinion, but its powerful and rude but to me says nothing!!!

Ok I'll behave. :)
Behave! Eddie Van Halen is one of those shredders, but I like that stuff too! I feel that even you slow him down--take his seminal "Eruption"--you'll find that it's actually extremely melodic.

Here's a good discussion of EVH solos:
http://www.vhnd.com/2011/04/15/top-ten- ... van-halen/

(and here, too: http://www.guitarworld.com/readers-poll ... itar-solos )
The Beat it thing was done in 20 minutes and was supposed to be a display of pyrotechnics. Mission accomplished! (But I totally get why you wouldn't like this solo!)
Quote:
2. ‘Beat It’ (1982): Eddie’s reputation was so well known even before the
release of Van Halen’s 1984 that legendary producer Quincy Jones called upon him to provide a guitar solo for the opening track of what would become the best-selling album of all time worldwide, Michael Jackson’s Thriller. With the rhythm tracks already laid down by studio session veteran and Toto guitarist Steve Lukather, Eddie walked into the studio and winged two solos in front of The Gloved One himself. He estimated during an interview with Joe Bosso in the February 1990 issue of Guitar World that the entire project took 20 minutes.

Ironically, it is this solo more than any other provides the best example of
Eddie’s downright nasty distorted guitar tone. The artificial harmonics
generated at 2:52- and at 3:06 especially- howl as if the amplifiers were
possessed by demons. To an untrained ear, it sounds ‘cool.’ To the trained ear, there comes a realization that such tones are not possible in lesser hands during this time period- or even now. (An artificial harmonic is generated by shifting the pick attack to pinch the guitar string with the pick and thumbnail simultaneously, and they aren’t always easy to generate properly. Eddie’s use of them seems to be innate and is uncanny.) The use of wide intervals and two-handed tapping gives the solo a sense of urgency that the track demands.


I do loves me some EVH, but I wouldn't put him in the class of "melodic soloists." Eddie is a big Clapton fan, who I WOULD put in that camp.

Cheers! (Don't be hating on my Eddie! I'm totally kidding!) :)

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Wed Aug 24, 2016 10:23 am
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Post Re: Melodic Soloing
LOL, yea I'm not a hater! Much Fun!!


Wed Aug 24, 2016 10:55 am
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Post Re: Melodic Soloing
Gilmour has influenced my guitar and Stick soloing more than anyone else hands down. Another extremely short solo I always thought was inspired (and I can't find it online) is the solo at the end of the Beatles "The End" on the Abbey Road album just after the line "is equal to the love you make". Real magic. Don't know who played it but I suspect it was Harrison.

Fast really means nothing to me. Not that there aren't some great shredders. I actually like EVH (although I agree with the analysis of the "Beat It" solo) and I think he probably did more to resurrect interest in the electric guitar than any other player of his era. Certainly there are several others as well that I admire.

But I think shredders who are still musical are the rarity and not the norm. To me, any idiot can workout muscles and learn to do things fast. But if you weren't musical when you started, you won't be musical when you get the speed up.

Then of course ... there's Pat.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W1zZ_352agU[/youtube]

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Wed Aug 24, 2016 11:33 am
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Post Re: Melodic Soloing
Another great one I just thought of ... Steve Hackett's solo from the Genesis tune "Firth of Fifth" off the album "Selling England By The Pound".

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vQpMCzEy9RE[/youtube]

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Wed Aug 24, 2016 12:25 pm
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Post Re: Melodic Soloing
To me, Pat Metheny epitomizes melodic soloing. Even his rote themes have an improvised feel and when he actually starts improvising, it sounds so non cliched and melodic... the guy knocks me out.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4UjLXO0-o-I[/youtube]

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