How to make my solos more diverse from each other?

[Mikeman9412@gma]

Hey guys, When I solo my solos tend to sound a lot alike. Like my fingers just automatically play this one really catchy thing I once played. I've played in different modes and different scale patterns and it helps but I'm much more comfortable playing in a certain scale pattern. What do I do??? :confused:

[bluesking]

1.) Extend your current scales across the whole fretboard. Every lick you know, learn it in every possible position on the neck. Try Joe Cefalu's hopscoth method (look on youtube). This should help you especially with pentatonics.

2.) Learn lots of songs by ear.

3.) Listen to lots of different styles of music.

4.) Try to navigate the major scale/modes using only arpeggios. This is a fertile area which is great for devising new licks of your own.

[ChrisJ]

You pretty much answered you own question, you are stuck in the one pattern that you are familiar with. It is really a matter of how you practice. Simply stop practicing the one pattern you are familiar with and force yourself to play the others. When they become as familiar as the old one, you will find that you use them more.

Another thing, you might feel like you repeat yourself because you are recycling your licks. Pay more attention to chord tones and use your licks sparingly and you will find that you stop repeating yourself.

Try to cop some other licks from guitarists (or non-guitarists) that you like. Sometimes this will open up new doors.

But mostly it is about setting up perimeters when you practice.

[Mikeman9412@gma]

You pretty much answered you own question, you are stuck in the one pattern that you are familiar with. It is really a matter of how you practice. Simply stop practicing the one pattern you are familiar with and force yourself to play the others. When they become as familiar as the old one, you will find that you use them more.

Another thing, you might feel like you repeat yourself because you are recycling your licks. Pay more attention to chord tones and use your licks sparingly and you will find that you stop repeating yourself.

Try to cop some other licks from guitarists (or non-guitarists) that you like. Sometimes this will open up new doors.

But mostly it is about setting up perimeters when you practice.

So like what I would do is get some led zeppelin sheet music (Jimmy Page is my fav guitarist) and like learn some of those licks and riffs and just incorporate them into my riffs/solos/licks but maybe modify them a little?

[BlakeWard]

You could get sheet music, but most of Page's work is for the most part easily managed when transcribing. If you don't transcribe, now is a good time to learn. He works a lot in the pentatonic and minor blues scales, use that knowledge as a primer for copping some of his licks.

[Mikeman9412@gma]

You could get sheet music, but most of Page's work is for the most part easily managed when transcribing. If you don't transcribe, now is a good time to learn. He works a lot in the pentatonic and minor blues scales, use that knowledge as a primer for copping some of his licks.
So what should I do?

[BlakeWard]

transcribe note for note or use your ear to emulate things Page does and work it into your own playing

[Malcolm]

So what should I do?
Pentatonics were mentioned. But first let's get this out of the way. To harmonize a melody line the melody notes and the chord should have some of the same notes in play at the same time. So -- gather your melody notes from the notes of the chord.

C Chord = the C, E, G notes - go make a lick, let's call it a melodic phrase from those three notes. Now pentatonic scale were mentioned. C Major pentatonic scale has the C, D, E, G, and A notes so you pick up the D and A notes if you used the C Major pentatonic scale to gather your melody notes from. You know C, E and G are safe notes, well the D and A will also be safe. Repeat the C scale tones. When the chord changes do the same thing with the new chord you just did with the C chord. Try this:

E, D, C, D, E, E, E, D, D, D - sound familiar? Don't be afraid to repeat safe notes.

It's a chicken or egg thing. You can start with a melody and find chords that have some of the melody notes in them or you can start with a chord progression and build the melody from the chord tones.

Melody ... two notes close together then a skip of at least a 3rd, repeat it, move it up an octave, and do it again, go back down and start over or bring in another chord and a new batch of melody notes. Melodic phrases built around the chord tones will make thousands of melodies. That skip, if you landed on a 7th go up scale. If you landed on a 4 or 6 go down scale. If you landed on the 1, 3, or 5 you can go up or down scale as the 1, 3 & 5 are the tonal center of the phrase. I know, the 2. It's kinda neutral, do what ever sounds good to you.

Don't worry about running out of original combinations the old I IV V have built many melodies all different.

Have fun.