Guitar Choice – There are a few basics to think about when playing any style of music, and the fact is that some guitars are much easier to play solos on than others. If you have a guitar that you’re happy with, just know that it can be customized to suit your playing if you wish to at any stage, but if you’re in the market for a new one then look out for these elements.

1. The strings are close to the neck and are effortless to play.
2. The strings stay in perfect tuning from the bottom to the top of the fretboard.
3. Your picking hand sits comfortably over the body and pickups and is not raised too high.
4. If you opt for a tremolo then make sure it’s easy to use and the tuning dials don’t get in the way.

It is totally up to you what you feel comfortable with, and if any of these cause a problem with an existing guitar there’s a load of good guitar repair shops that will customize it for you. Also, if you are just starting out and are uncomfortable with playing solos, ask one of the staff to play something and let you know about the four points above (guitarists always rise to the challenge to show off their talent!)

Amplifier Choice – The second crucial element in the equation. The fact is, you can get away with a small average amplifier if you’re just playing at home or practicing, but if you’re going to pay good money for it anyway, you may as well think long term and get something worth the money. It may sound counter-intuitive, but go for one with a crystal clear clean sound. If you have a style that requires distortion, then this can easily be added to a clean sound. If you try and make a distorted  sound clean it is not that easy, and the more volume you use, the more clean and clear the sound needs to be. So the things to look out for are:

1. A clean setting that sounds great on its own.
2. An amplifier to match the style of music you play – don’t get an acoustic amp to play metal through.
3. One that suits the volume you need (home practice or band?)
4. Play through a range of amplifiers with the guitar you will be playing at home – different guitars will sound different even through the same amp.

The important points here are to try quite a few before you buy any and play with either your own guitar or one very similar in the shop, even look at second hand options and consider getting it serviced or new valves – it can be a lot cheaper this way if you know what you want.

As you can see, playing guitar solos starts with decent equipment and for two main reasons:

1) Your Rig will ultimately determine how far you can go – if you have a practice setup then you’ll need to upgrade to be in a band in most cases.

2) The better your setup is the more inspired you will be when you play. This means you’ll practice better, more often, and be more creative with it. All three will make you a better guitarist on their own, but with the combination of these you will see massive improvements in little time.

Effects Choices – I won’t talk too much about this as there is so much to cover with such a wide range of effects, but try a lot out and see what inspires you. Because guitar solos are quite often the ‘flashy’ part of the song, then effects can really add to the sound (listen to your favorite guitarists and hear what changes when the solos come in – most cases they will add effects). A good place to start with solos is the Digital delay effect, and some form of Wah pedal. I chose the classic Cry Baby Wah personally and found it great for a lot of different styles, but i know there are a handful on the market now that may be better for your particular music style, so try them all out and see what fits!

Playing and Learning How to Play Guitar Solos – I’m guessing this is the part you’ve all been waiting for… well, i can’t go through everything in this one article, but what i can give you is the best place to start!

Technique when playing guitar can be a little sloppy and maybe when strumming lazily through a song you’ll get away with it, but it’s different with solos. Every note has to be clear, so technique is crucial and needs to be learned correctly from the start. Before we get into what to practice, let’s go through how to practice – patiently. I know i know, you just want to get into it, but if you develop bad habits they can be very hard to change.

Here’s a short Vid interview with Joe Satriani, listen to the tips he gives on how he plays, warm ups etc…

Play Along to Something – Most people teach you to play to a metronome to get your timing exact. While this is a great way to do it, i found a better way that certainly inspires me a lot more! What i do is practice with a drum machine (cost me a couple of hundred$ but well worth the investment). This is not needed but i found it more inspiring, imagine practicing with a drummer at home with you every day? This is what it’s like and it can make a huge difference to your inspiration.

Learn the basics and learn them well – When i say basics i mean the things such as scales/ scale shapes (look into this one as it can really help you to know the neck and pick exactly where to play every time), Hammer ons, Pull offs, Vibrato etc…and then get into the Pinch Harmonics, Dives, Sweeps and the like. I can’t stress the importance of learning these and learning them well.

Practice Time – Set aside a certain time every day to practice these skills, and play them all in every practice session so they all increase at the same speed.

Tuition – Learn from people that can play better than you. period. This is the best way to improve, and with the range of ways to learn guitar now it makes it so easy for you! You can either get a teacher the traditional way, look up lessons on youtube and other sites dedicated to teaching online, or even play along to CD’s and your favorite music. Better yet, do all 3! you’ll be amazed at the results if you do this, well worth it.

The last thing i want to say, and i know this has been a long article but i hope it has given you some ideas – When learning How to Play Guitar Solos you need to have perfect Control over your guitar, and not let it control you. The more you can control every single note and play it exactly how you want to play it, the more emotion you can force out of the instrument, and then it gets fun…

Enjoy your practice, and see you at the top!