Solo or not to solo.......

The interesting thing about music is such an amazing way to share feelings, emotions, likes, and dislikes. In a world of changing music it is hard to say what is acceptable or not, because so many people have their opinions about music. So here goes my two cents...
I am a lot younger than many of the people here at GN. But my friends and I haven't cared much for the music of today. I love putting in Pink Floyd, and listening to the long instrumentals. And the feeling of excitment as I picked up my air guitar and tried to follow David Gillmour. Or struggling to understand how to follow Dire Straits. Those are just a couple of bands that have given me the desire to play the guitar. And that is why I really like solos, it started something inside of me, something to work on expressing how I feel. So solos I feel are that way to express the real feelings of the artist. Words we all speak sometimes fall short of conjuring up the emotions that a good guitar solo can. So whatever music you choose to call your favorite, I think that solos are that key to sharing what is really felt, and not just an ego displaying trip.

Well now my two cents are gone I better go get a job.

He replied to me kinda showoffish" Solos are for ego maniacs, my music I write comes from the heart and no with no frills"

That statement is sooooooooooooooo 1991! It's time for a new attitude...

Music doesn't really need anything imo. Just play it how you want. No matter what you believe, there will ALWAYS be someone who disagrees with you. Don't let it offend you. Just because you play lead and like to solo doesn't mean you're an egomaniac.

a solo puts so much emotion into a song, imagine if dave did not put in the solo to comfortably numb, it wouldnt be as good as it is, besides im 19 and i listen to everything from pink floyd to slipknot, and i dont have my hair over one eye, or dressing in black all the time, i found doing that is pointless, i wish i grew up during my parents teenage years, to me music today is just really weird and off, and as for solo's i like to play solo's not to show off or because i have an ego, i play them becasue i love to play them!!! i like the emotion it puts into the songs, or how much harder it could make a song.

so yes lets get rid of eddie van halen, slash, zakk, yngwie, randy rhoads RIP, angus, kirk hammet, joe perry, dimebag RIP, because they have ego problems,

Well some bad and useless solos might be due to egos, but I'd be willing to bet that many of those we don't need are there because the soloist -- and probably the band as well -- doesn't really have a good sense of the song and the aesthetics and message of music. And I do not mean that solos have to be sweet and musical, but that they need an artistic reason to exist. Too often, there was no d@mn good reason for that pile of notes that just fell out of someone's guitar and onto the floor as they had absolutely nothing to say. There is no formula -- the results and the messages rule. Sometimes (as F. Zappa often demonstrated) the message is obscene and grating, but yet gravid with validity.

I think it depends on the solo and if it can fit into a song. A solo should build off of ideas allready established in a song. Take any given Zeppelin song with one in it, for example.

Maybe this band was trying to be kind of like a new wave of punk. In traditional punk, solos are very uncommon because traditional punk was started in the fact that the music was supposed to be simple ie- 3 chords, no solos, short songs. Whether or not the people playing music like this know that, that's another question. But his comment seemed like he was just a smart-alec. One of those guys who disagree with whatever you say to sound smarter than you. for example- John Lennon and Bob Dylan. Who knows, but that comment annoys me.

Nu-metal was the prime cause of the passing of the solo IMHO - guitars played by guys who downtuned to be able to play chords using only one finger because their grey cells couldn't handle placing two or more fingers at once. You couldn't call them guitarists. Most had only a rudimentary knowledge of their instrument. To call solos egomaniacal and to dismiss them because of that shows a lack of ability to play one, methinks.

It's not always been that way though. If you listen very carefully to the first Slipknot album, you can hear some first rate shredding going on. The moron who produced the album deleted the track with all the solos on it because he didn't like solos, but there was just enough volume in the amp for it to be picked up by one of the mic's on another track.

Incidentally, there is a very good solo in Anarchy In The UK - the ultimate Punk song.

I mourn the loss of the guitar solo, but it's alive and well in the songs I write.

Best,

A :-)

long live the solo 8)

Nu-metal was the prime cause of the passing of the solo IMHO - guitars played by guys who downtuned to be able to play chords using only one finger because their grey cells couldn't handle placing two or more fingers at once. You couldn't call them guitarists. Most had only a rudimentary knowledge of their instrument. To call solos egomaniacal and to dismiss them because of that shows a lack of ability to play one, methinks.

It's not always been that way though. If you listen very carefully to the first Slipknot album, you can hear some first rate shredding going on. The moron who produced the album deleted the track with all the solos on it because he didn't like solos, but there was just enough volume in the amp for it to be picked up by one of the mic's on another track.

Incidentally, there is a very good solo in Anarchy In The UK - the ultimate Punk song.

I mourn the loss of the guitar solo, but it's alive and well in the songs I write.

Best,

A :-)
long live the solo

Ditto! Booya!

You hear solos in Disturbed and Kittie, depending on the song. And yes, both use drop tunings. And both are Nu-Metal bands. If their is a need for a solo, put one in, if not, leave it out.

I think saying music must have x amount of chords, x amount of notes from a scale and x amount of shredding is limiting. Not only can it keep it from making your own music, it can keep you from enjoying music too.

Saying awesome song but where's the solo is like saying "that's the best meal I have ever had..............where's my placemat?"

I'm a big fan of solos, but only when they belong. Pink Floyd for example, would not have the same feel to their music without the solo. Tool on the other hand, have a great guitar player, who dosen't have any real solos. Yet he is still credited as one of the top guitarist on his generation. It all depends on if the solo fits.

Nu-metal was the prime cause of the passing of the solo IMHO - guitars played by guys who downtuned to be able to play chords using only one finger because their grey cells couldn't handle placing two or more fingers at once. You couldn't call them guitarists. Most had only a rudimentary knowledge of their instrument. To call solos egomaniacal and to dismiss them because of that shows a lack of ability to play one, methinks.

I agree with Alan on the most part.

In my experience playing guitar, my musical taste and playing abilities have grown in parallel.
When I first started playing, I played punk rock because it was easy and aggressive. During my punk phase I would still be listening to Randy Rhodes, EVH and Jimmy Page and always think that I will be able to play like that one day. When thrash and speed metal came on the scene in the early 80s, I was in heaven....cool, fast, aggressive music I could still skate to, but the guitar riffs and solos had me hooked. Now that I am 37, I still love metal, but my musical taste has grown 10 fold. I love classical music for its structure , bluegrass fiddle and banjo (i.e. Flatt and Scruggs) because they JAMMED!!

I guess abilities play a major part in your style of music you play.
I love the guitar solo!!!! My way of expressing myself musically :D

The solo WILL make its way back in popular music again.

John in the 510

NOW LISTEN HERE!!! :P

Soloing is NOT egotistical. Saying that guitar solos are egotistical IS egotistical. "OHHHH Im soooo cool because I dont solo. Soloing is all about ego and I dont have one and Im soooo cool because of that". I AM SOOOO tired of hearing that nonsense. A solo can be as simple as using one note (Ever listen to B.B. King?). Its not about showing off.

A solo is about making a statement and saying/communicating something to the listener. Would you say that concertos are egotistical? Geeze. Guitarists nowadays seem to be trying to draw attention to themselves by not having an ego. That is so lame. Anyway, dont think that because youre not into soloing, youre gonna be special or whatever. Youre already special. So show it!

Continue to solo your hearts out guys...

P.S. - I still cant believe that there are guitarists out there who are against soloing?! Geeze...