This article is aimed at those wanting to try putting together their own solos. The following ideas will be applicable to any instrument; the accompanying tablature is for guitar, my main instrument.

	Chord
		C	E	G	Bb
		D	F#	A	C
		E	G#	B	D
		G	B	D	F
		A	C#	E	G
		B	Eb	F#	A

Suppose that you have the chord sequence to a tune or song - where to begin working out a solo? Firstly, you need to know where the notes are on your fingerboard; this takes time to learn, but persist - it’s worth it. Easier to remember are the important notes in a chord, i.e. the 1st, 3rd, 5th and 7th. 1-3-5-7, odd numbers - it’s easy! What do I mean by this? Here are some examples:

The name of the chord is the same as the root note, or note 1. The others are the 3rd, 5th, and 7th. notes above the root - for example:

The 7-note is actually lowered by a semitone from the B to Bb to form what is called a dominant 7th. Dominant 7ths are commonly used.

So, for notes to fit any given chord, think first of the notes in the table above. For a minor chord, flatten the 3-note - e.g., C Eb G Bb to give the minor sound (C minor), or G Bb D F for G minor.

When the chord changes, think of the 1-3-5-7 notes of the chord you’re going to; the 1 or 3 notes are strong ways to signal a chord change.

Chromatic (i.e. in semitones) note sequences are a good way to get a “hot” sound - i.e. runs of notes a semitone apart. Virtually any note in a chromatic scale which is based on the root of a chord will fit, provided there is a selection from the 1-3-5-7 notes of the chord in question present in the musical passage you’re playing. Care is needed, however - for example, a C# note has to be carefully deployed against a C chord!

Use a tape recorder. Put your backing chord or ideas on tape, and play along with them. If played slowly, some ideas will sound “yeuchy” over a chord, but all right up to speed - that’s not unusual. It’s all about adding colour and texture to a solo. Some notes are “passing” notes - that is, notes en route to the main idea in a section of the tune. A passing note in isolation won’t always sound good. If you’re stuck for ideas, play the chord and hum something, then find it on your instrument - you’ll be surprised at what can develop. I recommend very strongly that you write down your ideas. I once came up with a Bluegrass style waltz on mandolin. I checked - no, it didn’t sound like any I had on record - it was probably original so I was very pleased. Two weeks later, having not played it, I’d completely forgotten it!

Anyway, back to work: here’s something to illustrate the points I’ve made. It’s a solo for the well-known Flatt & Scruggs song “Salty Dog’. Let’s examine what’s going on:

Bar 1: The 1-note of the G chord goes up via the chromatic run G, A, A#, B to D, the 5 note. Note that the chromatic run incorporates the 3-note (B) of the G chord. This type of run (chord root, note 2, note 2# then note 3) crops up everywhere, from pioneer jazz guitarist Eddie Lang to Doc Watson. So if it’s good enough for them... Lester Flatt’s famous ‘G’ run is also based on this motif, played an octave lower.

Back to “Salty Dog”: From D the run goes to E, D, and then B. Five of the 8 notes in this bar are the 1, 3 and 5 notes.

Bar 2: The 1-note, E, dips down a semitone to Eb, then the 7-note of the chord (D). Next up a semitone to Eb, and back to the 1-note (E). In this bar, 5 notes have been played, the 1-note appearing twice and the 7-note of the chord once. Let me draw something else to your attention. Look at the last note in the previous G chord-based bar. This note is B, which is the 3-note of a G chord, but is also the 5-note of an E chord; this therefore acts to nicely “set up” the chord change to E.

Bar 3:A very quick slide from the note B to C#, the 3-note of the A chord, signalling the entry to the A-chord. N.B. the C# note is played right on the beat. The next two notes are E (the 5-note of the A chord), then another E followed by F#. In this five note bar, the 3-note of the A chord appears once and the 5-note three times.

Bar 4: Continuing the ideas over the A chord, we go to the note G (the dominant 7th of the A chord), then F#, then E (the 5-note of the A chord), followed by C# and E (the 3 and 5 notes respectively of the A chord).

Bar 5:The bar begins with D, the 1-note (root) of the D chord. Observe how, once again, the last note of the previous bar (E) sets up the start of this one (D) - the note D is only one tone down from E, so this chord change is signalled very easily. After the note D, there is a chromatic run (E, F, F#) leading to A, the 5-note of the D chord. This is the same principle that was used over the G chord in the first bar, but altered to fit the D chord. The next note in this bar is B, then A, and finally F#, the 3-note of the D chord.

Bar 6:Continuing with the D chord, the first note in this bar is C, the dominant 7th of D. Then we go to B, A (the 5-note of the D chord) then to G,  F#  (the 3-note), E,  F, and F#. This F# sets up the change into the next bar (which is G chord based).

Bar 7: Moving up from the F# of the previous bar, we have first note of this bar, G  (the root or 1-note of the G chord), followed by A,  G ,  E,  G,  A,  G  and  E.

Bar 8: All the notes are G. Variety in this bar is supplied by the rhythm in which the four notes are picked.

That’s it! I hope that this has been of use to you, because these are key concepts which I hope will give you a good starting boost. Try looking at a fiddle tune in a book and analyse why the chords fit together the way they do - look where the 1-3-5-7 notes of the chord lie in the tune - for example Blackberry Blossom is very amenable to this. Also listen to check that your solos sound in style and to soak up as much as you can. Good Luck!

Eric Kwiatowski, Nottingham.

Updated 23rd Jan 1999