I Can't Play My Own Solos and it's Holding my music back

[Jak Angelescu]

I’ve been so bummed for over ten years. I grew up in a situation of music where nothing was good enough. It pushed me to write stuff I can’t play and when I started to grow, I challenged myself harder. It has resulted in nearly thirty unfinished songs with no solos and nowhere near solid enough for recording. As soon as I DO get the solo good, I have learned new tricks and ideas and I try and I incorporate them to make the solo better. Unfortunately I end up back in square one.
I could really use some advice. I was not allowed a “growing stage” of my music my whole life.
To put it into perspective, I was expected to write “The Stage” without ever writing “Sounding The Seventh Trumpet.”
I wantto get my music done but I’m worried I sell the song short. Any advice is seriously loved right now.

 

[Ed Seith]

A song is a snapshot in time, just like any piece of art. Write it. Record it. Be done with it. George Lucas kept tinkering with his creations, and he very nearly destroyed them.
See them as pictures. “This song was from that time I was in Cali and miserable and wishing I could move again.” Even if there’s no lyrics, you can still do that. I’ve tended to name my instrumentals in the moment, for that reason. Sure, I could go back a re-record and make x better or y better, but it’s just going to be DIFFERENT. Nothing will ever again capture the moment when it was written and recorded.
If A7X went back and re-recorded City of Evil, it wouldn’t be the same. Sure, parts of it might be “better,” but the magic of the moment would be gone.
Take a snapshot, tuck it away as a memory. Pull out the photo album whenever you want, but don’t try to “fix” any of the pictures. You can only ruin what makes them memories.
That’s my advice. Maybe it will help. Maybe you’ll just be reminded of what George did to your childhood. Either way, I’m good.

 

[Ed Seith]

Also, write EXERCISES you can’t play. Write solos you CAN, even if you need to take time to learn them.

 

[Jak Angelescu]

Ed that was the most amazing piece of advice I think I could have ever been told at this moment. Thank you so much. That actually helped a h*** of a lot. I really really thank you so much

 

[Ed Seith]

I gotta live up to this “Captain Ed” thing I’ve been branded with, you know…

 

[Jak Angelescu]

You were already displaying signs that earned you that title!

 

[Alan Celis]

yeah and also dont worry on writting things you cant play yet, zacky and syn said they couldnt play the intro for burn it down when they wrote it

 

[Sayonil Mitra]

Jesus, I was going to say something but after reading Ed’s one, not any more. His advice is to the point. Captain Ed

 

[Calvin Phillips]

So, I started writing my song songs on guitar pro. The rhythm was pretty basic, but the lead was soooo advanced for me, I could never play what I wrote andtabbed out. So I kind of stopped playing the songs for a LONG time. Recently, I started to pull out the songs, and rearranged the solos. The solos sounded pretty good, but I had issues playing the same solo every time. Sometimes I nailed it, sometimes I failed miserably. Eventually, again, I was discouraged. This website has help edme dramatically in making sure I play the solo the same way every time. And, since learning the theory, even tho the solos sounded good. I decided to AGAIN rearranged the notes to match the scales in the rhythm sections of the songs. Again, they sounded BETTER. And the funny part is, as I learn the modes, I realize that I again, COULD rearrange the lead parts to match even more. I feel it is always a constant progression. Although, I dont think I’ll push for these songs to be rearranged again, my FUTURE work will have the modes and scales to match the tone centers, and whatnot. I feel its always a push and always something that will feel can sound better. I guess thats why Syn plays some solos different live now, he also has done this.
If you truly feel the solos need a rearrangement, you should definitely go for it. But if it sounds good, I wouldn’t change a thing. I feel your music will show your progression in your recordings. Just like you said, sounding the 7th trumpet is pretty basic power chords. Even Waking the Fallen, you can hear in syns solos that he was pretty basic in the notes he played.. compared to the stage. I dont know if he changes up those solos live.. theres few songs I have seen live from this album. I wouldn’t be surprised to see it. Personally, every song I write now and record, I have NO INTENTIONS of rearranging. I want people to hear how I’ve progressed and learned. I want people to see how I’ve grown as a musician. I dont think the solos have to be 100% matching the scales or modes for it to sound good, as we’ve had many examples of. Maybe live, your muscle memory will take over and it’ll sound better, but atleast on the recordings, I’ll definitely just make sure on my end that I dont change too much. HOnestly, your song will NEVER sound the best, because you will always grow and achieve more goals on guitar. So whats the point of constantly changing them everytime you learn something new?

 

[Dominik Gräber]

It is a little strange to say something to that topic as I never really wrote music yet. Anyway.
It surprised me a little that you seem to write much you can not play. You are talking so much about rhythm and feel, I am 100 % sure you can write tons of wonderful solos that are not overly complicated but rhythmic and beautiful! Maybe you should start there, writing new songs with “easier” solos and go back to that complicated stuff after you know you can play it?
Just don’t let yourself discouraged! Do something easy and fun and maybe it will even be something you consider to be really good in the end!
Btw, really loved the guitar work in your song “Raven” you posted in that last challenge.

 

[idssdi]

You probably wrote those songs feeling a particular way. For the guitar solos you can change them but not to much just try to keep them more or less the same because otherwise you will ruin your muscle memory.

 

[Dan Shipway]

I have had the same problem in the past when I have written solos, in one instance there was a really quick pentatonic run that kept going back on itself and I sat there and thought “Well this is a bit stupid of me” but its just about perseverance and not giving up, now I can play it pretty much perfect 98% of the time so don’t give up and at some point the planets will align and it will happen