Help guyssss , im stuck.......

[Adithya]

Hey guys , im kinda having trouble playing solos . the problem is it sucks..... But when im playing riff its not that bad . is there any kind of technique or anything very basic I missed out while playing solos . im able to play riffs with speed ( not superfast , but its fast). And when im playing solo its not hearing crystal clear ...... Help guys im stuck . ill give more details , im learning the song afterlife I can't play the solo and the begining lead . but im able to play the riff in verse ,pre-chorus and chorus . so what am I missing plz help

 

[ari.mac]

Hey guys , im kinda having trouble playing solos . the problem is it sucks..... But when im playing riff its not that bad . is there any kind of technique or anything very basic I missed out while playing solos . im able to play riffs with speed ( not superfast , but its fast). And when im playing solo its not hearing crystal clear ...... Help guys im stuck . ill give more details , im learning the song afterlife I can't play the solo and the begining lead . but im able to play the riff in verse ,pre-chorus and chorus . so what am I missing plz help

Hi! I'm a beginner so I'm not sure I can properly help but I'd say you need to keep practicing and keep trying..you'll get there!!! Also, it would be super helpful if you could show us a clip of your attempts so that me and other more advanced students can actually see how you play and can give you further feedback and maybe identify the problem (if there's any )

 

[Kat the metalhead]

I’m new to playing solos but what I’ve noticed helps is if you break up the solo into how ever many parts you want and slowly piece it together and start slow with a metronome like start at 100 bpm and once you play the certain part a few times in a row clean and without struggles bump it up by 5 and keep doing that until it’s full speed. Also dont feel discouraged if it takes a while to play the longer it takes the cleaner you’ll play Once you get the hang of soloing it will take less time to learn more solos

 

[beatrix]

well, afterlife is a pretty difficult song! the only advice i can give to you is just to play it SLOW, using a metronome and increasing it gradually, but not all in just one day. give yourself time. you will do it!

 

[idssdi]

As far as shredding is concerned the first step always is to start slow with a metronome and gradually build up speed. Try to focus on one technique at a time. For example for afterlife you need sweeping, alternate picking and legato. You can't get all of those up to speed at the same time so first try to get alternate picking(or economy picking) up to speed, then legato and then sweeping.

You can practice these by doing the exercises available here, work on syn's etudes or practice songs(my preference is learning songs but everyone learns a little different).

As far as songs go you could start with Beast and the Harlot solo for your alternate picking, Bat country for alternate picking and a little bit of sweeping and then do afterlife.

Most important part is probably to be patient because it won't happen overnight. That's also the reason I'll advice to take in between steps otherwise it just becomes frustrating because you don't notice clear progress.

 

[Nadim Captan]

Hey, first off I'd just like to say that I play no where near the speed of afterlife. Everyone here basically summed up what you need to do, but i need to stress one thing: Make sure that as you build up your speed (100/110/125/150bpm) you're hearing all the notes clearly every step of the way. Make sure and carefully listen to your playing. If any part is not played clearly, bring the speed down a little and practice there then build it up again. Maybe Papa Gates would tell you to stay at the speed you're at till you get it right, but I found the first method to work with me. Good luck!!

 

[Muz Malek]

Hey guys , im kinda having trouble playing solos . the problem is it sucks..... But when im playing riff its not that bad . is there any kind of technique or anything very basic I missed out while playing solos . im able to play riffs with speed ( not superfast , but its fast). And when im playing solo its not hearing crystal clear ...... Help guys im stuck . ill give more details , im learning the song afterlife I can't play the solo and the begining lead . but im able to play the riff in verse ,pre-chorus and chorus . so what am I missing plz help

hey man! check out my IGTV on some tips with the solo on how else we can practice in detail every single note!

Here:
Guitar Tips 101: Playing slow

 

[Saraceal]

Like a lot of people said definitely take it slow! Break it up into a couple bars at a time and do it with a metronome at a BPM that feels silly slow (trust me it’ll help, I promise!) and slowly but surely learn all the parts at that same slow speed. Then increase the BPM by only a little bit each time you run through it, and only when you’re super comfortable at that BPM should you keep going. Other tips that I’m thinking of is try to watch videos of Syn himself playing it. Also there is a product that is called the “amazing slow-downer” I believe, it’s free and you can slow songs down to a super slow tempo which helps a ton. Honestly the most important part is to stay patient! It’s a slower process than we’d like usually, but it’s worth learning it slow. If you have any other questions I’d be happy to answer, I’ve been playing guitar for a while now. Good luck! You can do it!

 

[Ashley Willis]

This is how I learn solos. I break up the solo into manageable parts and just practice the first part over and over until I’m comfortable with it. It may not be up to speed but I feel comfortable with the notes and techniques. Then I learn the next part and so on. Then I will put it all together and see if I can play it all the way through. Over and over. And then when I’m comfortable I try to pick up speed a little at a time. Set aside certain times to work on it and take frequent breaks.

 

[Alex__vngnz]

Hey guys , im kinda having trouble playing solos . the problem is it sucks..... But when im playing riff its not that bad . is there any kind of technique or anything very basic I missed out while playing solos . im able to play riffs with speed ( not superfast , but its fast). And when im playing solo its not hearing crystal clear ...... Help guys im stuck . ill give more details , im learning the song afterlife I can't play the solo and the begining lead . but im able to play the riff in verse ,pre-chorus and chorus . so what am I missing plz help

A lot of us suck at solos when we’re first starting lol, not that I’m a pro rn, but something that really helped me was learning my scales first, if your solos based of the A minor pentatonic then learn that whole scale and get comfortable with it. Once your feeling more confident, then start with your solo -break it into different parts and learn them at a slow tempo. “Nita Strauss’ metronome video helped” also, don’t try learning solos that are too difficult, find stuff at your level and learn that. <3

 

[Alex__vngnz]

Hey guys , im kinda having trouble playing solos . the problem is it sucks..... But when im playing riff its not that bad . is there any kind of technique or anything very basic I missed out while playing solos . im able to play riffs with speed ( not superfast , but its fast). And when im playing solo its not hearing crystal clear ...... Help guys im stuck . ill give more details , im learning the song afterlife I can't play the solo and the begining lead . but im able to play the riff in verse ,pre-chorus and chorus . so what am I missing plz help

 

[Vihaan Pant]

Hey Adithya! You should first try playing some easy solos like So Far Away, Nothing Else Matters, Livin On A Prayer, Back In Black and practice scales. Also practice Sweep Picking and Alternate Picking. Then some relatively tougher solos, like Stairway to Heaven, Hotel California and Sweet Child O' Mine and then stuff like Bat Country and Almost Easy. After learning and being able to play these solos, you're gonna find playing Afterlife easier than before, but it still won't be super easy. The best advice I can give you is... Take it slow, work hard, and don't give up, no matter how frustrating it may seem. All the best

 

[Tim Powell]

Hey, afterlife solo took me around a year to learn. First I learned to improve speed, by using a metronome and playing just above the level I was comfortable with. Improved my sweep picking, alternate picking and took it all 1 step at a time. Practise practise practise, and be patient. Try some easier ones first that are still slightly challenging, and build up to afterlife. Good luck

 

[Tim Powell]

Hey, afterlife solo took me around a year to learn. First I learned to improve speed, by using a metronome and playing just above the level I was comfortable with. Improved my sweep picking, alternate picking and took it all 1 step at a time. Practise practise practise, and be patient. Try some easier ones first that are still slightly challenging, and build up to afterlife. Good luck

 

[Anthony Peña]

Hey guys , im kinda having trouble playing solos . the problem is it sucks..... But when im playing riff its not that bad . is there any kind of technique or anything very basic I missed out while playing solos . im able to play riffs with speed ( not superfast , but its fast). And when im playing solo its not hearing crystal clear ...... Help guys im stuck . ill give more details , im learning the song afterlife I can't play the solo and the begining lead . but im able to play the riff in verse ,pre-chorus and chorus . so what am I missing plz help

I am by no means an expert, but this is what I recommend:

1. As many people have already said, break down the solo section by section. Phrase by phrase. Play them separately, until you have a rock-solid grasp on the part. Please PLAY TO A METRONOME!!!! Nothing will help you more with solos like this.

2. If you try this and find you are still struggling, try playing measure by measure. Take it painstakingly slow, like around 60 bpm or lower if you need. Wherever is comfortable. Then just work up the muscle memory and speed it up by 5 bpm, and only speed up if you really feel like you've got it at the current tempo.

3. If you still find that you just can't do it, then I would recommend focusing on the techniques used. I hear a lot of sweeping, sliding, and alternate/economy picking. Use the lessons on here and practice them religiously. As Syn mentioned in one his tips on here, playing it as slow as is comfortable for you is crucial. It is the most effective way to build all the tiny muscles needed for playing it smoothly and quickly as you speed it up!!
Then put all the techniques together with the solo.

4. Find a new solo.
I know nobody likes to hear this, but sometimes we just bite more than we can chew man! I've done it myself several times- when I first started learning guitar, after a year I wanted to learn the Buried Alive solo, but I just wasn't capable of doing it. I didn't have the skills engrained to learn it.

I'm assuming you picked Afterlife because you love the solo. So I would suggest finding a different solo you love, that is not as complex/fast. If you want to learn an A7X solo, some that I personally love are Buried Alive, Acid Rain, and The Stage (second solo). If you have others in mind, by all means learn one of those!!



Sorry for the long post. I just know how frustrating it can feel to not be able to learn something you really enjoy. I still experience that feeling all the time. I think we all do, and that's a good sign- it means we have an opportunity to grow!! Good luck, and please reach out if you have any other questions.

-Anthony

 

[Eros Medina]

Hey guys , im kinda having trouble playing solos . the problem is it sucks..... But when im playing riff its not that bad . is there any kind of technique or anything very basic I missed out while playing solos . im able to play riffs with speed ( not superfast , but its fast). And when im playing solo its not hearing crystal clear ...... Help guys im stuck . ill give more details , im learning the song afterlife I can't play the solo and the begining lead . but im able to play the riff in verse ,pre-chorus and chorus . so what am I missing plz help

Hey there buddy! I think we’ve all been there at one point or another and it can be super frustrating to go through, there is however a few things you can do to make it a bit easier and hopefully more fun!
• A good thing to start with is to slow down the solo and really analyse what’s going on, Youtube is really helpful as it has the option to change playback speed.
I know that the Afterlife solo uses 3 Note Per String scales and LOTS of legato, so maybe go back and look at the lessons on the school regarding those, and practice them a lot with a metronome building up speed.
• Another thing to do would be to try and memorise the whole solo but REALLY slow, and then play all of it through at that speed, i know that’s helped me with some solos i’ve been stuck with.
• Alternatively you could go and just try learn an easier solo, Afterlife is an INTENSE solo and i still can’t quite nail it.
Some solos that aren’t all that hard to play but still make me feel like a badass are:
The solo to “Can’t Stop Loving You” by Van Halen, Melodic but has a nice little 3NPS legato run.
“Crazy Train” by Ozzy. There’s lots of cool pentatonics and an intense end run.
I hope this helps mate, don’t give up and Rock On

 

[JP Albares]

Hola chicos, estoy teniendo problemas para tocar solos. el problema es que apesta ... pero cuando toco un riff no está tan mal. ¿Hay algún tipo de técnica o algo muy básico que me haya perdido mientras tocaba solos? Soy capaz de tocar riffs con velocidad (no superrápido, pero es rápido). Y cuando estoy jugando solo no se escucha con claridad ... Ayuden a los chicos, estoy atascado. Daré más detalles, estoy aprendiendo la canción Afterlife. No puedo tocar el solo y el principio. pero puedo tocar el riff en verso, pre-estribillo y estribillo. Entonces, ¿qué me estoy perdiendo por favor ayuda?

Hi dude!!
I think you could play some exercises with a metronome to sync both hands, not only focusing on the first beat, but all of them. The alternate picking exercises from the lessons could help you.
Another advice is to listen to many guitar solos and try to use your ear to play, paying special attention on the expression, something very important for a good solo.
Hope that help you!!

 

[Batbia]

Hi! I'm a very very beginner and new to SGS, but one thing that helps me is watching live versions of the song I want to play. But I think this one is very personal so it might not work for everyone

Other than that, I was going to suggest a thing that other people here already did: to break up the solo in little parts and take a part at a time, slowly at first and then graduately play it faster. So I'm gonna add to this a tip that helped me not only with solos, but with other parts of the music too: before start playing the part of the solo itself, take a first look at it to see which techniques are being used, then do some exercises of this techniques. When you feel comfortable to play the part, you try and see if it was enough or if you should do exercises a little more. Do it for all the little parts of the solo.

It surely will take some time, but I think it will help you see which techniques you can quite handle right now and which ones you should improve a little more before trying to play the solo. This way you can focus exactly on the techniques that need more development and are making you feel stuck.

Sorry for any mistakes on this text, and I hope it helps! Also Afterlife has a pretty hard solo so it's okay to be stuck on it, just keep working on it and have patience, and you will be able to get it!

 

[Cesar Sevilla 9]

Hey bro whats up!!

One tip that might be useful is to breakdown the solo in small sections, this will allow you to see what you have to play clearly and then practice it slowly, once you are able to play it slowly you can start to increase speed. here is a link of the guitar track from afterlife where you can slow down the speed of the video and hear what syn is playing.


Hope this helps you