Music Notes – An Xperience Column – by Peak Music Studios
Hello Music Fans!
This month, we’re tackling one of the most asked (and least understood) questions from guitar players:
How Do I Play a Good Solo?
Most guitarists approach this question with sky-high expectations, then crash harder than a drummer after four Red Bulls. Let’s be clear: soloing isn’t random noodling. A solo is a melody or rhythmic line played over a beat with some kind of harmony (a.k.a. chords). Sounds simple, but here’s where it gets tricky: you need to find something that works both rhythmically and melodically. That’s where most people stumble. Many start by learning famous solos note-for-note, which is fine because it builds your ear. But here’s the catch: if you spend 10 or 20 years playing other people’s solos, guess what? You end up sounding like other people. That’s why the world is overrun with David Gilmour and Eddie Van Halen clones. Great company to be in, but it doesn’t get you your own voice.
So, how do you actually learn to solo? The best way is to start small. And by small, I mean embarrassingly small.
Start with Children’s Songs (Yes, Really)
Think “Happy Birthday.” Six notes total. Or “Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.” Seven notes. If you can play those in time, in a different key, and make them fit over a song—congratulations, you’re soloing.
I know what you’re thinking: “That’s too simple!” Fine. Go back to butchering “Eruption” for the thousandth time. Don’t get me wrong; I love Eddie, but the original will always be the best. Your job is to find your voice, not someone else’s greatest hits. A more advanced step? Take a vocal line. Whitney Houston’s “I Will Always Love You” is a killer example. Figure out the key, match it to the song you’re soloing over, and suddenly you’ve got a melodic idea that people already connect with emotionally.
Music Theory (Don’t Panic)
Here’s where some of you get nervous: changing keys, understanding scales, and actually learning why notes work together. Relax. You don’t need a PhD. You just need the basics:
What a scale is.
Why a scale works (spoiler: it’s about tension and resolution, not magic).
How to play those scales forward and backward on your guitar in different keys.
Most guitarists stop at memorizing “shapes” on the fretboard, which is great for speed runs but useless for creating a solo that lives and breathes.
Rhythm: The Secret Ingredient
Science backs this up: brain scans of expert musicians show they don’t just think about notes, they think about timing. (Motor cortex + auditory cortex = rhythm + melody = music). So, if you want to sound like you know what you’re doing, practice not just what you play but when you play it. Triplets, sixteenth notes, and rests (yes, silence is musical too) are what give your solo room to breathe.
Peak Music Laws of Soloing
Learn basic music theory on your instrument. Notes, scales, why they work. Play them forward and backward.
Keep it small. Start with riffs no longer than seven notes.
Own your rhythm. Time and groove matter more than speed.
Embrace mistakes. Science says your brain learns fastest by correcting errors. Genius grows from failure.
Get off YouTube. Their algorithm cares about ad revenue, not your pentatonic scale.
Don’t buy another book. You don’t need more theory. You just need to devote more time developing skill.
Bottom line: Start with a simple melodic hook, marry it to rhythm, sprinkle in scales, and let your mistakes teach you. If you can make “Twinkle Twinkle” sound soulful in a minor key over a rock groove, you’re not just learning, you’re soloing.
So grab your guitar, keep it small, and for heaven’s sake, don’t forget to breathe between licks.
This Month in Music History
September 1, 1970 — B.B. King brings blues to 2,117 inmates at Cook County Jail, records it live, and it hits #1 on the R&B chart.
September 4, 1981 – MTV crosses borders, launching in Europe and putting music videos in every teen’s eyes.
September 13, 1969 – The iconic Toronto Rock and Roll Revival features John Lennon’s surprise appearance with the Plastic Ono Band, immortalized on the “Live Peace in Toronto 1969” album.
September 24, 1991 – A seismic shift in modern music: Nirvana’s “Nevermind,” RHCP’s “Blood Sugar Sex Magik,” A Tribe Called Quest’s “Low End Theory,” and Pixies’ “Trompe Le Monde” all drop on the same day.
September 25, 1889 – Country music roots run deep. That date marks the birth of David “Dad” Carter, founder of the Chuck Wagon Gang.
Weird But True
An orchestra of vegetables exists.
The Vienna Vegetable Orchestra performs using instruments made from fresh produce—carrots as flutes, pumpkins as drums, and cucumbers as recorders. After the concert, they cook the instruments into soup for the audience.
Beethoven’s skull was stolen … twice.
After his death, graverobbers took fragments of his skull. Some pieces were later rediscovered in the U.S. in a California bank deposit box.