how many of you sing your single note stuff first?

[donnaholic]

i was looking over the new gp and i read the john mayer interview and he was talking about how he sings his solos.

personally i have always done it because i think that its the stuff you come up with in your head that you have to figure out on your guitar later (like you can up with it in the car or at school or something)is most representative of your true musical self. because its what comes out of you naturally.

its just personal opinion, but i think that some people use an almost paint by numbers approach to applying scales and arpeggios to their solo or lead composing.

[Tedster]

Yeah, I'll usually approach my original stuff in one of two ways...

 

Either I'll sing it out...sing part of it over the changes, or, if I'm clueless...I'll record the rhythm tracks and play 'em over and over again, flailing along with my guitar until I arrive at something I like. As my favorite solos (by other artists) tend to be more melodic than pentatonic noodling (although I do my obnoxious share of that)...I try to come up with solo lines that say something, and augment the tune.

[reachjkh]

I can almost sing and play it at the same time nowdays. The melodic stuff at least. For faster parts...oh, well. Nobody I play for cares about the fast stuff anyway. The melodic is all that matters.

 

FWIW I could never do that until I actually learned my scales.

[Funk Jazz]

it depends on the context. sometimes style dicates a less vocal approach.

 

when i'm playing jazz standards i always make sure i know the words, it forces you to phrase more like a vocalist. it's amazing how much it helps to remember melodies, too.

 

if i'm playing power pop, or rock, i just go for it and go more off the cuff.

 

i guess what i'm trying to say is: it's an excellent approach, but not the only one

 

did mayer come off as arrogant to you? i thought he talked himself up pretty good. all i could think was "he doesn't know what he doesn't know." it'd be great to be 22 again

[donnaholic]

to me he just seemed like an dorky average 20 something year old guy. he did seem to have some decent opinions though. i dont really care for his imposter dave mathews approach, bot to each his own. or something like that.

[Blue Strat]

I sing the parts slow and find the notes on my fretboard (not so much hit-or-miss as I used to be! ) and just keep working until I get it right. I can usually figure out what people are doing as long as it's single note stuff, or based on basic major and minor chords.

 

As far as coming up with solo, I think like I'm playing a trumpet or sax or brass/woodwind part. It's sort of the same thing as thinking of the vocals, but I'm not a songwriter so I don't really think in words.

[elferoony]

This will surely be criticized, but I just think of what a certain player would play in that situation.

[Guitarzan]

i don't sing it but i sort of think it in my head. i have sang some stuff but mostly i just play it. it really depends on what the basic song has going on. if our singer brings in a song that is mainly power chord based i don't even think of soloing until i can come up with a riff or different inversions to liven it up. single note stuff i usually think out based on the chords or vocal melody. if its just a solo , then i get my inspiration from the songs energy. there is so much going on in my mind most of the time that i just do it. i AM thinking but its not as obvious. this probably makes no sense.