Soloing For Complete Beginners Information

A Less is More & Ear-Based Approach to Tasty Riff Making

Are any of these true about you?

• The idea of soloing intimidates you
• You want to solo but don’t know where to start, or what notes to play
• Your soloing is either totally random, or you’re just playing the same thing over and over
• You feel stuck inside the box and are ready to find your own voice

If you said yes to any of these, then this course is for you.

You’ll learn an ear-based approach to soloing that will unlock your creativity and allow you to improvise with confidence.

Even though you’ll be using your ear, all the notes that I play will light up on a virtual fretboard, so that you can see the patterns on the guitar (check out the promo video above to see this).

How You Will Learn:

In this fun-filled interactive course where you’ll be playing non-stop, we’re going to start really simple. First we’re going to jam on just a single note, focusing on creating cool rhythms and getting into the groove. We’ll gradually add more notes until you’re comfortable using multiple guitar strings to play your own original riffs. Each new section will begin with me demonstrating with some “repeat after me” ideas along to a backing track, but soon after it will be your turn to make up your own riffs.

“The most common impediment to soloing is getting stuck in your analytical mind. This course is designed to get you out of your head and into the music!“-Gary Heimbauer, Pow Music Founder

Once you feel comfortable using a few notes at a time, and then a few strings at a time, you’re going to learn how to use the whole pentatonic scale and the “House of Blues” extension – my absolute favorite place to rip a searing solo! You’ll also learn how to incorporate some awesome guitar tricks that will make your guitar sing and bring your musical ideas to life! This includes sliding, bending, vibrato, hammer ons and pull offs.

In addition to all that, you’ll learn how to practice what you are learning in a way that will allow you to grow as quickly as possible in both your technique and musicality. There will also be plenty of opportunities to really go off into your own creative zone such as in the “Guided Solo Game” and “The Last Pair” activity where you’ll create your own song!

What Makes This Course Unique?

In this course, we start with music making first instead of a bunch of anxiety producing information overload so that you don’t get stuck in your head. Once you are comfortable being musical with some very simple music making activities, we’ll expand at a natural pace that will gradually make your comfort zone bigger and bigger. Eventually we’ll get to the theory and technical info, but that is secondary. The focus in this course is on helping you to feel comfortable being creative and expressing yourself, so that when you do get to the technical points, they can help you instead of hinder you.

What You’ll Learn In This Course?

• How to create tasty licks with just a few notes
• How to create a strong connection between your ear and your guitar
• How to pick out simple licks by ear
• How to use different sets of notes to build a solo
• How to use techniques like slides, vibrato and bending to add feeling to your playing
• How to trade off with another soloist (me) 😀
• How to use techniques like hammer ons and pull offs to play faster
• How to build speed and practice creatively and effectively
• How to use the first and second shape of the pentatonic scale and blues scale
• How to practice and apply common patterns to the scales
• How to solo over any song, in any key

About Author

Gary is the founder of Pow Music, an education company committed to helping musicians develop their craft, stay inspired, and share their music. Before that he served for over two years as the National Training Manager and then the Director of Curriculum for Little Kids Rock. He is also a former tenured public school band and general music teacher and taught for three years in Queens, NY. He holds a Master’s Degree in Music Education from Columbia University and has been playing guitar professionally for over 13 years. He has also taught and/or created curriculum for guitartricks.com, Musopia Apps, and Ibanez Guitars.

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