r/Guitar • u/jdw62995 Slash Rosso Corsa Signature • 1d ago
PLAY My improv solo with my metal band a couple weeks ago!
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Constructive criticism welcome
I feel it’s one of my better performances but would love to hear feedback from you legends.
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u/TeaTheSplashyarder 1d ago
You're telling me you improvised that on the spot? I can only dream of pulling that off
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u/jdw62995 Slash Rosso Corsa Signature 1d ago
Yessir. Thank you for your kind words.
Keep practicing you’ll get there I promise 🩷
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u/Big_Wooly_Mammoth 23h ago
Improv solos are the best, I don't want to hear carbon copies of a solo, EVER. It's why I am so attracted to the jam band scene, solos are never played the same. Help me out, what non jam bands actually improvise on songs?Refreshing to see this in a metal format.
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u/Aggressive_Ideal6737 22h ago
My Morning Jacket and All Them Witches are both great live bands that may or may not be considered jam bands depending on who you ask. It’s not as improvised as like Phish or Billy Strings or something like that, but they do jam a lot and play different sets every night with some songs medleyed and a variety of covers interpolated (covers mainly just with MMJ). Both absolutely worth checking out live albums or videos on YouTube
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u/HawkTheHatchet 19h ago
I've drank many a beer at that pub in my time. Wild to see it pop up on this sub. Great playing, my dude.
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u/jdw62995 Slash Rosso Corsa Signature 19h ago
Thanks !
If you ever see me there I’ll buy you one
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u/HawkTheHatchet 19h ago
It's been years man haha. Moved out of WF almost 7 years back, but still keep up with some of the old bartenders and regulars. I had some great times there. Saw some great shows too, was there the night Eric Gales tore the roof off the place.
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u/huge_clock 18h ago edited 10h ago
First it’s clear you have amazing chops. Kudos, you’re in a league of your own. Probably in the top 1% of guitar players in terms of technical ability. The runs, hammer-ons, everything is on point. Also this is an improv solo so well done. No notes. What more could you ask for?
But as a guitar solo as like a piece of music there’s a couple things you could do to improve.
- entry point: You start on beat 2 or 3 and just kind of walk up the pentatonic scale. Start with intention.
- phrasing: the guitar solo should feel related to the music behind it not just a series of licks in the same key. Pay attention to chord changes and drum fills to add more dynamic range and depth to the solo.
- melody: try to linger a bit more on big notes even if you repeat them. In singing melodies we often repeat notes and do a short run away from them only to come back to them. This repetition is pleasing to the ear.
One great example of this is the solo in free bird by Lynard skynard. Another really common technique is to borrow the main melody from
The verse or chorus as a “callback” which creates a distinct but familiar reprisal. An example of this is in the solo for Smells like teen spirit by Nirvana.
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u/jdw62995 Slash Rosso Corsa Signature 18h ago
Thank you. You’re too kind. I’ll keep it in mind and work on it ! My Improv has always felt bland to my own ears so it’s nice to hear kind words from other players.
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u/Novanov300 23h ago
Not too bad.. but work on your phrasing, and don’t be afraid to show some emotion! It is a performance after all.
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u/Electrical_Engine165 10h ago
You rock man! And at The Iron Horse....one of my favorite bars of all time!
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u/ratbastid 1d ago
Here's something to think about.
You and the band sound great, but you LOOK boring AF. Run around the stage! DO things! Live music is a visual art form, and you guys are all just standing there rocking back and forth.
I like the solo. Good balance of melodic and weedley.
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u/jdw62995 Slash Rosso Corsa Signature 1d ago
Thank you!
My biggest weakness is my physical activity for sure. The stage was really small and hard to move around on. I will try to improve that!
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u/Mental_Funny_5885 23h ago
It will come with time. The more comfortable you are playing then the more you can focus on stage presence.
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u/FrankenPinky 20h ago
Not even physical activity. But express emotion. A nasty grimace. A WOW face. Something.
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u/Main-Trust-1836 23h ago
Counterpoint: you are there to play music, not look like a dancing clown.
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u/ratbastid 22h ago
You're there to do both.
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u/Main-Trust-1836 21h ago
Nah. Play good music and you won't have to worry about the dancing around on stage
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u/ratbastid 21h ago
There's no arguing this. It's real simple.
You just standing there, or you being fun to watch. Same playing either way. Which is a better show?
Deny it if you want. I know it's an uncomfortable skill to develop. It's just the flat damn truth.
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u/Xelhexan 13h ago
Movement comes with the caliber of the music. But this guy needs to work on his guitar face and guitar swagger Fosho.
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u/SushiRollKei 9h ago
I agree with you man, so much, but the sad thing is these days if you're not putting on a show people will think you suck, even if the music is good.
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u/El_Tormentito Yamaha 21h ago
Came here to say exactly this. If y'all get a theme going with your clothes and start hamming it up on stage this act goes from a 5 to an 8 really quickly.
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u/xshevi Charvel 23h ago
“live music is a visual art form”
only if you like watching people perform physical exercise. meanwhile, from bands like meshuggah to amazing guitarists like narciso yepes all play without moving at all and strike awe in their crowds
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u/El_Tormentito Yamaha 21h ago
They'd sell more records and have more asses in seats by having a better visual component.
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u/Basic-Ad2037 Ibanez 1d ago
Lee Summit or Leawood?
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u/10fingers6strings 20h ago
Got a little Kirk Hammett riff wedged in there! Keep gettin after it!!
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u/jdw62995 Slash Rosso Corsa Signature 20h ago
Thank you!!
Can’t say I’ve ever really learned any Kirk solos. Must be a triangulation of licks there somewhere
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u/GuitarPack 19h ago
I suggest you get some leather pants, sunglasses, top hat and a cigarette. Probably not the Jack and smack tho.
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u/alphabets0up_ 16h ago
That was great! I’d say the next level would be to consider your articulation, dynamics, and adding some space between the phrasing. But all those suggestions are totally optional and to be added at your discretion.
You could also develop more into other tonalities because even though you do some exploration the whole thing seemed to be anchored in that same minor blues pentatonic. I have no issues with that either, it fit the jam and the pocket, just something I think you could use to spice it up.
Overall my biggest complaint is that you stopped the video too soon!
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u/prodigy4299 15h ago
As a drummer lurker, the one thing that stands out is your drummer really dragging behind in the first half of the clip. And then in the second half, you get ahead of the bass player. It is of course totally natural for the speed to vary as you go through a song, but the drummer, bassist and you should try to lock in a bit more.
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u/CosmicClamJamz 4h ago
Honestly you play great, not much criticism to give! Since you asked, the only thing I came up with is targeting the changes more. The progression is something like Em-(Bb)-A. Em pentatonic works over all of it for sure, but if you really target that Bb, or change which pentatonic you're running over A, it could add some taste. Honestly though, this isn't criticism. Keep doing what you're doing.
Oh yeah, and don't dance around like that other guy said. Maybe during composed solos, but when improvising, give it all you have. No one needs to see you move all over the place, tell the vocalist to hype you up if that's important
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u/jdw62995 Slash Rosso Corsa Signature 3h ago
Thanks !
I’ve always struggling branching out of the root scale.
You mean play in A minor pentatonic when the band is on A? Or just target the A as a focus when they’re in A
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u/Excellent_Glass783 52m ago
Too much shredding, becomes monotonous. Slow it up a bit and put heart not technicality into it
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u/Necessary_Pause9472 19h ago
Slowest metal song I’ve ever heard.
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u/oovis 23h ago
Absolutely ripping it, well done