Guitar Techniques

Mixolydian solo Indian Pentatonicpt 1

In terms of speed, what would you say was the perfect blend for a well-balanced guitar solo? Perhaps 20% slow, 60% medium, and 20% fast? Whatever the precise ratio, most players would probably agree that medium-paced ideas should be the dominant category; however, many rock players spend the bulk of their time shredding (fast category) punctuated by ear-catching Steve Vai-like effects (such as harmonics, whammy bar gurgles etc, that reside in the slow category) leaving the medium-paced category relatively unexplored.

Depending on the tempo and feel, most medium-paced ideas will involve either 16th notes or eighth-note triplets and, because they don’t practise them, many players experience difficulty playing these rhythmic denominations securely and accurately even though they can play things that are much faster, because, rhythmically, notes are under less scrutiny by the listener (or the player) when executed at speed.

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