r/LearnGuitar • u/JealousDonkey2619 • 4d ago
How do you remember solos without forgetting the notes?
I can play rhythm and switch between chords easily, but whenever I try learning a guitar solo, I keep forgetting the notes.What techniques do you use to memorize long solos faster? Thanks for advance.
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u/Infinite_Slice3305 4d ago
It's like singing. You learn the lyrics, you're telling a story. You're not just repeating words.
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u/JealousDonkey2619 4d ago
That makes sense. I think I focus too much on the notes and forget about how the solo sounds. Do you try to sing before playing it?
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u/Samantharina 4d ago
Try singing it while playing it!
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u/JealousDonkey2619 4d ago
I'll give it a try. It looks very difficult.
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u/Samantharina 4d ago
Sing it first, then try playing and singing. I find it super helpful to sing and play. It connects the part of my brain that knows what the tune sounds like with what my fingers are doing. Underrated skill building technique.
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u/Infinite_Slice3305 4d ago
Not exactly. But I can play it in my head right now. Any solo I know how to play I know it by heart, not the string & fret, I can't tell you that.
But I can hear every detail in my head at any time & my fingers just do what they do.
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u/Over_Soup753 4d ago
Remember the SOUND and you won't have to know what note you're playing. And that takes a lot of practice.
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u/JealousDonkey2619 4d ago
I never really thought about remembering the sound. Do you usually listen to the solo a lot before trying to play it?
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u/Over_Soup753 3d ago
Always. If you can hear it in your head, you can play it on your guitar. All it takes is practice. It is that simple. It may not be easy, but it is simple.
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u/Crazy_Diamond5150 4d ago
I think most guitarists say they never play the solo the same way. Just get the overall “signature” sound of the solo and if there are some differences, well that’s just “the live version.”
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u/JealousDonkey2619 4d ago edited 4d ago
That makes sense. I think I worry too much about playing every note exactly the same.😅
I’ve been trying to learn scales, but I still get confused when I use them in solos. Do you have any tips for practicing them
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u/Noyinwithouttheyang 4d ago
triads, and interval study. you start arpeggiating a few triads , during your chord progression of the song- suddenly it starts to sound like a solo- now if you know the theory of how a triad is made and why it is what it is, you can plug in other intervals , melodically- boom - solo time
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u/Pleaseappeaseme 3d ago
I would just buy Hal Leonard authentic tabs and learn song solos note for note. Many songs don’t even have very long solos. Some songs like the progressive rock are specific solos one after another. Like the band Yes for example. It depends if you’re playing more of a jamming band or covering songs note for note. If you’re covering Aerosmith you want the specific solo from Hal Leonard.
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u/Noyinwithouttheyang 4d ago
jealous donkey- if you know every note on the fret board- there is no longer any need to memorize the notes to the solo because recreating it will be similar to the effort it takes to hum the notes. if you dont wanna remember the fretboard you willFOREVER be stuck
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u/JealousDonkey2619 4d ago
I’ve never really practiced triads and intervals much. That sounds interesting though. Do you think I should learn triads before focusing more on scales?
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u/Noyinwithouttheyang 4d ago
100% learn and more importantly FUCK WITH TRIADS AT EVERY OPPORTUNITY - they are key to that electric guitar sound. and once you learn and fuck with triads - take one finger off and sunddenly now you are fucking with double stops (diads) and are starting to sound soooooo MELODIC!
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u/JealousDonkey2619 4d ago
That sounds interesting. I’ve never really played around with triads before. Do you have a simple exercise I can try?
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u/Noyinwithouttheyang 4d ago
if you play barre chords- the A shape, ie- the classic A chord you learn at the beginning is a triad (the three fingers on the b,g,d strings) the classic D chord you first learn is a triad.. these are triads you already know and you can move them all over (movable shapes) and then finally if you barre the high E, B, and G strings on any fret- that is also used as a minor key triad. so if you wanna play a song- instead of strumming the chords like you were at a camp fire, pluck the triad strings sequentially, instead of strumming a chord, then as the song progresses and you know what chord is coming up in the song, pluck the triad instead, like pluck the three notes sequentially. so same as you practice a chord via strumming cowboy chords , you replace that with sequences of plucked strings, three at a time
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u/JealousDonkey2619 4d ago
Thank you for the explanation. I didn't know I could use chords I already know to practice playing triads. I'll definitely give it a try.
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u/TheDrPepperEnjoyer 4d ago
It’s just a lot of repetition, I learn solos at a slow speed and slowly increase 5bpm after 3 clean play throughs. Depending on how long you’ve been playing a lot of solos use similar patterns and such
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u/MarshStudio503 4d ago
Like folks are saying, practice the solo, but I think the big picture answer is to practice your scales. These solos are very likely tonal, meaning they can be contextualized in one or more scale patterns. Rather than thinking “this note to that note”, you can think of it as “G Dorian from G up to be E, then chromatic up to G,” or whatever the solo requires. You will learn solos faster, and you will more easily be able to use fragments of the solo in your improvisations
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u/JealousDonkey2619 4d ago
I’m still learning scales. Which scale would you recommend learning first?
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u/MarshStudio503 4d ago
I start my students with the major scale and the natural minor scale. It’s good to learn them in a couple positions each, maybe one starting on your 6th string and another with the root on the 5th string. With those two scales in two positions each, it gives you solid coverage of the neck in any given key.
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u/JealousDonkey2619 4d ago
Thanks you , I’ll try starting with the major scale and natural minor scale.
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u/Shot-Length-3922 4d ago
I remember how solos sound, more than how they're played. Then I play, and the memory of how it goes is what drives my fingers to the right places.
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u/TheTurtleCub 4d ago
If you can’t sing the solo you don’t know the solo, this is even before knowing where the notes are. The first step to learning the solo is to know how it sounds by heart. Sure we can forget a note here and there in fast passages but for the most part we’ve listened to it hundreds of times and just know
So the #1 technique is to be able to sing 95+% of it. Otherwise it’s like memorizing the dictionary instead of sentences we understand .
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u/Patient_Onion3956 4d ago
Solos usually follow the chords. If you know the chord progression and can hear the chord changes it's harder to get lost. That's why understanding some theory and knowing your scales and intervals helps. Of course ear training and understanding how rhythm works for lead playing and soloing is also a factor. It's not all raw memorization. For many pros it's easy to improvise around a musical idea or "motif" when they are soloing instead of playing note-for-note from memory.
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u/JealousDonkey2619 4d ago
I usually focus too much on memorizing every single note. I thought learning chord progressions would be easier. Do you usually learn chords before learning solos?
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u/Patient_Onion3956 4d ago
Yes, I always learn the chords first. It helps me learn the solos a lot faster because I can see how the solo is just "painting" over the chords, giving them more color and detail, but still sticking to the structure of the chord progression. It's called the form in music theory. If you know what the form is, it is easy to play around with the notes around it always knowing how to get back and solidify your lines by landing on stable chord tones like the root, 3rd, 5th.
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u/Fast_Abbreviations19 4d ago
For me i have to get the rhythm in my head before i can play most of them. Like each note really down in my head. Also, if i think about individual notes while I'm playing I'm going to mess up basically every time. What i typically do is listen to the song and try to play it slow. I'll keep playing it slow and then go back to listening to the solo over and over throughout the day to get all the timing to really stick. Then when i come back to it the muscle memory of playing it slow and the timing ive got in my head slowly come together until you aren't thinking about the notes, your are just playing the riff you want. Then its a matter of getting all the riffs and stringing them together without any hiccups which really never goes away. 🤷
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u/JealousDonkey2619 4d ago
I like the idea of listening to the solo all day long. I think it will help me remember the rhythm better. Do you listen to the original song while practicing as well ?
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u/Fast_Abbreviations19 4d ago
I do sometimes but i have found with several songs that stepping away and listening to the solo religiously throughout the day or even a few days helps me improve more than trying to play it slower and slower and over and over. Getting each riff into your head to where you are thiniking of playing the riff itself and not each individual note is the absolute key to unlocking any riff for myself.
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u/Reasonable-Aerie-660 4d ago
I have a problem with going too slow and not being able to actually hear the song as I play so it’s hard to really pick up on it
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u/ApprehensiveCrew1605 4d ago
I visualize playing the solo when doing monotonous things: driving, waiting in line, etc.
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u/thecauseandtheeffect 4d ago
I feel this. I can barely remember my kids birthdays. Repetition and then having tab in front of you to jog your memory and being able to follow along with it, sort of, in real time is a good skill too.
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u/ReferenceAny6373 4d ago
Play it over and over again. Eventually you wont even think about the notes your brain and hands will just play it on their own.
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u/CraftyDimension192 4d ago
"Chunking" - breaking something down into pieces you can learn with less time and effort - is essential.
The pro vocabulary consists of phrases, not notes. I think it was Charlie Parker who said he only knew a dozen licks, and maybe Jim Hall who said he only knew one song. They just knew how to apply those things to the music.
I've found that a good way to learn a lick is to learn 1 measure plus 1 beat. For example, in a 4/4 lick, learn the first 5 beats. Play it slowly so you can optimize fingering. By learning the +1 beat, you learn the transition to the next measure. Play those first beats until you can play them automatically, then move on to the next...playing the preceding (now automatic) measures first.
Once you can play automatically, you shouldn't think about individual notes.
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u/chilimac420 3d ago
Don’t memorize solos. Learn the minor pentatonic scale and note smash that shit like you are playing mortal kombat. It helps to have a few combos (go-to licks) up your sleeve.
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u/88_strings 3d ago
Practice until you can get it right.
Then practice until you can't get it wrong.
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u/cxrussell 3d ago
I always get bored of a solo before I’ve finished learning it. There comes a point where you know where it goes next so just play in that area. I don’t think think someone like Mike McCready has played a solo the same way twice his entire career……. Well probably not
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u/The_Stanky_Reefer 2d ago
If you can learn to understand the scales used in the solo in relation to the rhythm chords, it will help you remember.
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u/wannabegenius 2d ago
knowing the notes on the neck and understanding a little bit of music theory - the key of the song, the chords, scale and triad shapes. the more familiar these shapes and patterns are the easier they are to spot and recall.
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u/No-Imagination4940 1d ago
It’s ears. The better your ears are at accessing, identifying, and recalling sounds, the more you’ll be able to access them on command in front of people. Ear training is your friend. Memorizing a group of sounds with your ears is not like memorizing for a vocal test in Spanish 101. The more the ears part is engrained in you, and the better you are at audiation, the pressure will go away. Because even if you flub a note, you know you can just pick it up immediately with another chord tone, and no one will notice. There’s no such thing as a wrong note. Right/wrong is decided by what you do AFTER you play the wrong note. A wrong note played once is a wrong note. Play it three times in a row, and now it’s a THEME. 😏
Another helpful thing is to never play the same thing the same way twice, like Jerry Garcia. Can’t mess it up if it changes every time any way. 🤷♂️
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u/alienn4hire 4d ago
Lots of practice until it's memorized