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I reckon if you went to a teacher and showed him/her where you were in your playing and asked for some tips to help you make a step change to the next level, that would inspire you.
Also, this post below is really excellent; if you could go through this, slowly, with someone to demonstrate on a piano what's been written, it would be really helpful for you.
Listen to a different type of music than you usually do and get inspired. Good luck.
Don't think in terms of scales and modes when you're playing. Just think of melodies that fit with the chords ahead of you and learn to play those. I'm not saying it's simple because you need a good ear for melody and a good ability to translate what's in your head into what's under your fingers but it's the best way to learn
And to get there the best way is to learn other people's melodies - vocals, solos, bass lines, horn parts, classical stuff - ANYTHING. Take it, chunk it down into smaller parts and learn it by ear. It's honestly the only way to really get there.
https://youtu.be/zSTAvmXG5m8
I don't suffer from being bored with anything I just change my perspective. So, when I've reached saturation with blues backing tracks, scales, modes, etc I stop playing electric guitar for a couple of days and play acoustic, maybe with drop D or DADGAD or open tunings and slide.
A change is as good as a rest they say. I find the reeducation of my fingers, brain, posture, picking style and obviously choice of music works wonders so when I return to play rock guitar leads etc. I am totally refreshed.
I also never really try and learn a song or solo note perfect ... I agree with comments about imagining what it would sound like for the first time ... it's truly liberating. Fingers do find the rights frets, shapes, strings, bends, effects etc. but very rarely first time. It's great fun and inevitably it leads you to cultivate your own style.
BTW ... I am still totally crap ... but I'm also fearless in my approach to having a go at anything. I WILL improve and I know this so I never think too much about it.
I love guitar me !
Also, take a look at this thread..
https://www.thefretboard.co.uk/discussion/233164/eric-clapton-reconsider-baby#
…to see how a minor pentatonic can be used to great effect.
edit - got one - the way you wear your hat.
When I spoke further to him about this he always said, build a solo from within the melody - That doesn't mean copy it - But build around it - Use key notes that follow the chord and imply the melody - Use these as your anchor , then add 'passing notes' as required to 'jazz' it up - He said this applies to say a classic song like Girl from Ipanema, or a jazz/blues, uptempo/swing, jump n jive rock n roll song , which was his main forte - I asked what scales he might use for say a 12 bar, major and/or minor pentatonic, various modes etc - He said as an overview none - Melody first all the time, coupled with the rhythm/groove of the song
Take something simple like Creep, just 4 chords right in Gmaj ! .. but there's 2 borrowed chords in there and unless you know it's a Bmaj and the Cmaj turns minor then you will come unstick because some notes in the scale of Gmaj won't sit well with the borrowed chords at all ... the D will need sharpening over the Bmaj and the E will need flattening over the C minor
Another example, try using one scale to solo over the Wuthering Heights chorus progression ... which is the outro solo ..it's not easy because it modulates and shifts keys in a kind of passing way. Trust me, it's caught me out
So phrasing is very important. A knowledge of modes will help with flavouring a solo but your number one weapon is knowing what chords you are soloing over and what notes are contained in those chords. That information will keep you from hitting any bum notes and allow you to strike some great notes that frame the underlying chord. That's the secret of melodic versus mechanical soloing.
That should open up loads of stuff.
Imagine an A chord - the one with the barre on the 5th fret. You’ll see that the 3rd string is fretted at the 6th fret; the 2nd is fretted at the 5th fret.
Now, put your first finger on 2nd string 5th fret, and your middle finger on the 3rd string 6th fret. This is a subset of the full chord. Now play the third string followed by the second string. There you go - a little two note lick that will work over an A chord.
As long as you know where the barre chords sit on the fretboard then you can move licks to follow the chords - all without being able to name the notes.
OK, it’s a simple example but you get the idea that you can target chord tones fairly easily.
Hope that’s helpful.
This target note is generally a 1, 3rd or 5th of the new chord so it's an easy thing to remember. Try it on a slow minor blues progression so there's plenty of time to think. Another fun progression with plenty of time to think is the Purple Rain outro solo, just 4 chords but hit the right target notes in the solo and it can sound great.
There is a "you first" technique we use for jamming where you hear the unknown chord on the 1 beat and then you repeat it on the 2 or play a lick on the 2 that compliments the chord but that doesn't have the same melodic effect as hitting a great target note at the same time the chord changes ... for this you need to know what chords are coming in advance.
That's how I feel really. If it's good enough for all those guitar legends.
Nil Satis Nisi Optimum
Resource: Your top 3 favourite bits of recorded guitar playing
Exercise:
1) Find a short passage of melodic lead playing (i.e. tuneful not thrashing about whammy bending mayhem) that really grabs your ear. No more than a few bars, and ideally there won't be any big jumps from low to high notes.
2) Listen to it on repeat enough so that you can sing it to yourself (even if only in your head). If it's really your favourite you might even be able to do this straight away
3) Work out the key, and what the chords are (or it could just be one chord...depends on what it is)
4) Get your guitar, and base yourself around your trusty blue box in the appropriate key
5) Try and find that melody in and around your blues box
Purpose: you'll learn one of two things - 1) that actually, all the notes in the melody were in your blues box all along and it's more about choosing which notes from within it you use when and how (a.k.a. phrasing) or 2) apart from one or two notes, it uses notes which are neighbours to the ones you know in your blues box. See them as little detours from the shape you already know
6) Visualise those little detour notes and really listen to how they sound. You need repetition to log it in
7) Stick on one of your backing tracks and try some of them out! Some won't work, but SOME WILL! You'll have added some flavours to your familiar pentatonic casserole and most importantly you will have learned which ones to choose based on how they sound. You don't have to learn everything, you just have to listen to music, be receptive to hearing those thing that make you go "yeah!" and then go and find them on your guitar.
8) Repeat for the rest of your listening and playing life.
It's up to you whether you want to then start trying understand why those good sounding notes "work" from a theoretical point of view. Many great players just "know where the good sounding notes are" and stick with that, and there's no reason you can't do that too.