If you are thinking of playing solo then you need to focus on the various guitar improvisation techniques. Guitar improvisation may tough but actually what you really need is a good grasp of guitar basics, speed, and lots of practice.

There are guitar legends and then there are guitar solos. It is tough to define whether guitar solos define legends or whether legends define guitar solos. But the truth is that many a legend has been born but only a few were recognized due to their great guitar solos. But what is a guitar solo without the proper guitar improvisation techniques?

The one thing that you need to remember is that to achieve perfection in guitar improvisation, you need to be familiar and well versed with the music that you are going to play solo for. Another important aspect is that you should have the song stored in your memory, each line and word. This will help you to identify the structure that will enable the progression and you will know exactly what chords need to be played. Then it will be easier for you to select the scales that will compliment each of those chords. The last step would be to determine the specific notes within the chosen scales on which you will need to focus.

This is where the major scale comes into the picture, which is Do Re Mi Fa So La Ti Do. Any guitar improvisation technique follows the major scale to some extent. In fact, whether you play the guitar or the synth, any type of music always comes from the major scale. Hence to make your guitar improvisation technique more sound and effective follow the major scales.

Guitar Solo Improvisations

 These are some of the guitar improvisation techniques that you can practice to get the solo right on target

1.    Bend: You can start by playing the first note and then bend your guitar strings with your playing finger until you are able to hear the next note. There are different types of bends like 1/2, 1 1/2, 2 steps bends.

2.    Bend & Release: You can start with a bend and then release back to the first note.

3.    Pull-off: start by plucking the first note and then pull the second note at a lower fret.

4.    Slide: You can fret a note or even multiple notes and then slowly slide to another fret without taking the pressure off your fingers while moving.

5.    Hammer-on: start by plucking the first note and then hammer the second note at a higher fret.

6.    Vibrato: a useful guitar improvisation technique, you can start by repeatedly bending the pitch slightly up and then bring the note back to its original pitch.

7.    Tapping: You can tap with your index finger on a written fret.

8.    Pinch Harmonic: Another useful guitar improvisation technique where you need to pick the string and then touch it using the edge of your right hand thumb.

9.    Natural Harmonic: You can’t really do without this. Start by touching the guitar string lightly just over the fret bar and then pluck it. Make sure not to press it down.

10.         Palm Mute: This is one of the easiest guitar improvisation techniques. You need to touch the guitar strings slightly using the palm of your playing hand.

Guitar backing tracks are used mostly by lead guitarists in rock, metal and blues. These tracks are used for the sole purpose of practicing or live performances. There are different types of guitar backing tracks available on the Internet. Some are recorded in low quality or midi formats while others are professionally recorded. To get the best tracks for your practice, ensure that you purchase tracks from reputable companies such as LickLibrary or Planet of Rock. The best guitar backing tracks are the ones that are not in the midi format and have no fade outs. There are three different versions that are available including:

•    Record mixes: these guitar backing tracks will include a mix of bass guitar, drums, rhythm guitar and backing vocals.
•    Instrumental: This is the preferred type of guitar backing tracks that is most commonly used for playing lead or solo. These backing tracks will have only instrumental music and no guitars and no vocals.
•    Backing vocals: These guitar backing tracks will have backing vocals and other instruments except the guitar.

There are several websites that will provide you guitar backing tracks in midi format but that is definitely not the right format for learning guitar solo or improvising your lead. Whenever you download these tracks they should be in high quality bitrate mp3 format or ideally, it should be provided to you in a remastered audio CD. You can purchase guitar backing tracks for some of the top performers like John Petrucci, Dream Theater, Metallica, Joe Satriani, Guns and Roses, Steve Vai, Yngwie Malmsteen, Green Day, Iron Maiden, Eagles, Eric Johnson, Ritchie Blackmore, David Gilmour, Dimebag Darell, Santana, Jimi Hendrix, Whitesnake, Bryan Adams, Brian May, Deep Purple, and many more.

>Some of the most popular guitar backing tracks includes:

•    Guns N Roses - Sweet Child O Mine
•    Chuck Berry - Johnny B Goode
•    Pink Floyd – Comfortably Numb
•    Eric Clapton - Wonderful Tonight
•    Dire Straits – Telegraph Road
•    The Eagles - Hotel California (Acoustic)
•    Gary Moore - Still Got The Blues
•    Ozzy Osbourne - Crazy Train
•    Nirvana - Smells Like Teen Spirit
•    AC DC - Highway To Hell </B></I>

Most of the solos that are played by various lead guitarists use two specific scales: the minor pentatonic and the major pentatonic. The best way to learn is by playing the minor and major pentatonic in every key across the fretboard with guitar backing tracks playing in the background. It is not easy to play lead but then with practice, time, effort and the use of the right guitar backing tracks, you will be ready to do your own live gig!

Playing the lead or solo at a live gig is the greatest moment for any lead guitarist and the best way to be perfect is through playing with the help of guitar backing tracks. Whether you are interested in playing lead for classic Rock, heavy metal, hard rock, bluegrass, blues guitar or any other genre, you will not be able to achieve perfection without the guitar backing tracks.

These backing tracks are re-mastered music tracks minus the vocals and the guitar. It will have the drums and the synthesizer or the rhythm guitars. Hence, it will be easier for you to play a lead for November Rain by Slash or Comfortably Numb by David Gilmour using guitar backing tracks. There are three other aspects: you will be able to remain more focused, you will be able to play the lead better and you will be able to improve Upon your timing.

Playing the lead guitar easily is not a simple task and if you are thinking of going live then you better be good. The crowd out there will push you harder and if you make a mistake, the crowd would be unforgiving. This is why guitar backing tracks are used by most guitarists to assist them in improving their lead playing. But before you start playing around with guitar backing tracks, you need to be well-versed with each and every scale for playing lead guitar and any or all guitar mprovisations.

>The three main scales that you should focus on will be the major scale, which is a 2-octave scale, the minor pentatonic scale where you will play 5 different notes, and Major pentatonic scales. The pentatonic scales are the most important scales for playing the lead and if you master them, it will be easier for you to play along with the guitar backing tracks. Here’s an example of a pentatonic scale in the A:

e-----------------------5-8-5------------------------------
B-------------------5-8-------8-5--------------------------
G--------------5-7-----------------7-5---------------------
D----------5-7-------------------------7-5-----------------
A------5-7---------------------------------7-5-------------
E--5-8------------------------------------------8-5--------

Using pentatonic scales will help you to solo over both major and minor chords and you will be able to play a lead with ease using the guitar backing tracks. The pentatonic scale is known as the staple scales for playing rock or metal guitar. They are even used by some of the legends of blues guitar.