Guitar – Soloing, Improvising, and Composing

There is a wealth of training material available today for anyone wanting to learn to play the guitar. (In fact, you can purchase some right now by clicking some of the links on this blog.) (Ok, STOP THAT!!!) This set of articles is focused on helping you get better at creating your own guitar solos and compositions, which will ultimately lead you to becoming a better improviser. These articles will not replace or, (heaven forbid!!) rehash any of the plethora of guitar study materlal already available. Instead, I intend to show you an organized method for creating solos and improvising that will build on all the other lessons already available. I’m going to show you how I organize all that other guitar training when I want to create my own unique “music”. If you stick with me through this, I believe I can help you understand how to get the biggest bang for your buck from all that other guitar training material out there, and probably even answer a few questions you’ve had such as, “why would anybody want to practice THAT anyway?”

It is worth taking a moment to understand why I play the guitar. Uniqueness, and individuality are at the core of my motivation for learning the guitar. I’m seeking to express myself musically in ways that are unique, and enjoyable by others. I want to create new, individual compositions that will be enjoyable to play, and that others will enjoy hearing. (Else, why play at all??) To that end, I study other player’s solos, compositions, and techniques with a focus on what I can learn to help me create my own, unique “compositions”. I point this out because not everyone plays guitar for this same reason. And, it is important that each player take the time to understand their own motivations and drives. Some people play because they truly are interested in performing. Being on stage, providing entertainment is the key for these players. As such, when they study someone else’s material, they will be looking for how it can be used to help them create a better performance, which is not necessarily what I’m looking to understand.
Having said that, I do believe what I’m about to explain is useful for EVERY guitar student. Understanding an organized method for creating compositions is comparable to understanding a little theory, practicing scales, or any other fundamental. It may not be your prime focus, but it can certainly help ANYONE with whatever focus is their prime. Let’s begin.

My Composition “Process”
Music is an art. As such, I would never want to suggest it become rigidized, or process-oriented. There is no algorithm for the creative “process”. None-the-less, there is a method I follow which helps me create music, and helps me get the most out of everything else I read about guitar. I’m going to state that “process” here at the beginning, and then during the remainder of these articles, I will explain each step in detail. Along the way, I’m going to demonstrate how I use other existing information to help me with each step. This will help you understand how to use some of that material available to you.

Here’s my steps for creating music.

1. Know the key


2. Know the chord progression


3. Use chord substitutions


4. Throw in some passing chords / tones


5. Use modes


6. Use pentatonic


7. Mix ‘em up!!!

Know the key – Know the progression
Let me say right up front, I feel that it is important when you are practicing to have a song, or a melody, in mind that you want to work on. Practicing scales is important, and has its place. Practicing with a metronome is important, and has its place. (More on those later.) BUT, the point of playing the guitar is making music! So, I believe it is fundamentally important to START with a song. If you ever find yourself NOT wanting to practice because all you can think about is the “drudgery of playing scales,” or feel any other stress about picking up your guitar, (anything OTHER than excitement for the opportunity to enjoy yourself), then you are violating this basic rule that, playing guitar is about making music and HAVING FUN!

This, by the way, is one of the foundations of the Suzuki learning method that became so popular a few years back. You may remember all the articles touting how Dr. Suzuki’s method could teach 5 year olds to play the violin. One of the foundations for his method was TO START WITH A SONG. Teach the instrument by teaching to play MUSIC. (What a concept !!) But, we digress.

So, pick a song or melody that you want to work on. I recommend picking something easy, something you can remember right off. Anything with a simple I, IV, V, I progression is GREAT. (You jazzers out there are gonna start screaming, “I vi ii V I”!! If that’s easy for you, then USE IT!) Gospel hymns are great examples. So are a lot of simpler rock songs. Two examples that come to mind are

• Just a Closer With Thee, and


• Bad Moon Rising – Credence Clear Water Revival

Both of these are simple, 3 chord songs, that have melodies that are easy to recall. Recall is important! You’re trying to train yourself to HEAR melodies, etc, while you’re soloing / improvising. And, it’s a fact, if you can’t hear what you want to play in your head first, you’ll never get it to come out on your fretboard. (This “hearing in your head,” btw, is the key to soloing like George Benson..…) So, keep it simple for now.

Ok, you’ve got a song in mind. Something you know the melody to by heart, and you can play the chords, (at least in “cowboy chords”). Question: What key is the song in?

Now, before you go thinking this is waaaaaay too easy for you, stop one second. I personally have heard guitar players play searing solos, licks or parts of songs that they picked up from a book, or copied from another artist. And after I’ve applauded them, I’ve asked them, “what key was that in,” and they respond with, “…..uh, I don’t know, never thought about it.” Ok, this is step the-first in understanding all that guitar training material out there. What good is it going to do you to be able to play scale runs, or 3 and 4 note scale sequences in all the keys, IF YOU CAN’T DETERMINE WHAT KEY A SONG IS IN WHEN YOU PLAY IT??? It’s going to do you no good to be able to play scales in all 5 scale shapes, through all 12 keys, if you can’t determine the key a song is in when you want to play music.

So, if you ever want to create your own music, you need to ensure you understand the minimum of how to determine what key a song, (or song part), is in. (We need a product placement ad right here, for a great book or other lesson on music theory!!) (I said, STOP THAT!!!) Seriously, look around the web, etc. Find a book on basic music theory that you like, and read it.

Part and parcel to understanding the base key, is completely KNOWING the chord progression for your song. I can’t stress this enough. You absolutely MUST be able to play the chord progression upside down and backwards if you want any hope of creating your own music, especially any hope of improvisational soloing. You must know the chords, and you must know the progression. That’s why I stress starting with simple songs. Bad Moon Rising is a simple 3 chord anthem in D. The verse is I, V, IV, I, and the chorus mixes it up with a V, I, V, IV, I progression. But, just being able to say that means NOTHING. I need to be able to “feel” the D, A, G, D, progression on the guitar. Start with cowboy chords, and build your way up. But, you must absolutely be able to “feel” that D, A, or G chord every time it comes around during the song, and be ready to hit it.

At this point, an argument could be made that I’m over-stressing the importance of “knowing” the chord progression. If you are good with your pentatonic scales, and/or your D scales, you could create a good solo, or improvisation over this chord progression without every playing rhythm yourself. (BUT, you BETTER know what key you’re in!!!!) A lot of guitarists make a good living this way. As long as you’re sure of the key, AND you’ve got a solid tool box of pentatonic licks, and progressions in that key, you can wave your hand at playing the rhythm (chord progression) FIRST. But, if you want to follow the rest of my method for creating custom music, (and if you ever want to understand any of the other training material out there beyond pentatonic scales), you really need to start by playing the chord progression until you have it solid.

Ok, that’s it for this first installment of Guitar – Soloing, Improvising, and Composing. We’ve taken the first two steps on our journey, Know the key, and Know the chord progression. I’ve also listed out the remaining steps. Hopefully, you can start to see where this journey is taking us, and hopefully you are, (or will), find it enlightening. Until next time – keep on rockin’!!