Peak Intensity
SOMETIMES, WE WANT TO MAKE A BOLD STATEMENT
in a solo. This could be either as a dynamic device to take centre-stage before settling into a more laid-back melody line, or to assert our presence against a dense mix, as I’m doing here. The idea behind these examples is to demonstrate long sequences across the strings and/or the fretboard that might form the pinnacle of a solo.
With this in mind, I’ve played four examples, rather than stuff too much information into one overwhelming solo. The examples are drawn from different ideas: pentatonic shapes, arpeggio fragments, angular intervals and classic blues licks – and often a mixture of more than one of these. There are several approaches that could work tonally (a twanging Telecaster would certainly cut through, for instance), but the driven humbucker sound I’ve chosen offers a good platform for the kind of ‘grandstanding’ we’re going for. Think Joe Bonamassa, Dickey Betts, or Lynyrd Skynyrd’s Gary Rossington and Ed King.
In the first instance, bringing set pieces like this into supposedly improvised solos may feel contrived, but this need not be the case any more than when we use scales or other patterns. It’s what we do once we’ve internalised these concepts that counts. The chances are you will prefer some ideas to others, or that you might find variations that work better under your fingers. Which is great; there’s no need for you stick rigidly to anything here.
Finally, remember that these pieces are ‘vocabulary’ and not the blueprint for a whole solo. Keep in mind that if silence or a single sustained note are the opposite numbers to these ideas then there are 100 shades in between. Hope you enjoy these licks and see you next time!