There was an interesting discussion in facebook yesterday when this certain musician ask other musicians how long a guitar solo should be. Some argued that guitar solos in songs should be short and they should be written out beforehand. They claim that long solos really bore the listener. I replied back to the facebook posting that guitar solos should be improvised. I said, if you’re the type of player who plans out how long a guitar solo should be or if you write out the guitar solo note for note, then you’re doing it wrong. It’s just my opinion. Why don’t you ask famous guitarists (for example: Jimmy Page, Neil Young, Randy Rhoads, Jeff Beck, Eric Clapton, etc.); how long a guitar solo should be? They would just look at you with a “What the fuck” look and say, “I don’t know”. When these guys play guitar solos the famous ones, they usually can’t tell how long a guitar solo should be. Most guitar solos in some of the most famous rock songs were improvised and winged out.

This is just proof that nobody cares about improvisation in this day and age of music. Whether the guitar solo should be 30 seconds, a couple of minutes, several minutes, 15 minutes or longer, a guitar solo should  be improvised. It makes things unpredictable and interesting that way in a song. I’m in favor of long guitar solos ’cause I’m so used to listening to Led Zep, Hendrix, and a lot of jam band stuff.

I’ve always believed that if you’re the type of guitar player who will write out a guitar solo then you’re not an actual musician, in my humble opinion. When recording in the studio, it’s understandable that you have to make guitar solos kind of short ’cause a compact disc only has a certain amount of time for it but live; however, you can make the guitar solos go on for as long as you want. There are no rules in lead guitar soloing when a lot of guitarists mistakenly believe there are. Long guitar jams on stage won’t bore the audience as long as you can keep them interesting and fresh. To keep long solos playing live interesting requires good phrasing and sounding musical.

A lot of bands jam on stage for a long time during the same song because they can’t help themselves. It’s called jamming. The song stops whenever it feels like it, ya know? It’s all part of improv when musicians work with each others minds. Letting the mind and the fingers do the talking; that’s how it’s supposed to be done. If you’re the type of player who will write out a solo beforehand, you just don’t have the confidence to be creative and artistic. Improvising a solo is the way to go. It’s about hearing the solo in your head and getting it out of you.

This is the kind of lead guitar player I want to be, and I’m trying all I can to improve my lead guitar chops to a more professional level. If you’re the type of player who is able to successfully play a solo you hear in your head and get it out of you, that’s the way it should be done. Solos should be played with feeling and emotion. I’m trying to get there. If I ever get a band of my own, we’re gonna be an improvising kind of rock band for sure.

Nobody really believes in playing actual guitar solos anymore whether in local music or national. I understand that some musicians need to write out guitar solos sometimes but only do it when absolutely necessary. Don’t over do it.

Kev