Anatomy of a guitar solo

I recently read a quote from Frank Gambale stating that a guitarist needed to know when and were a good stopping point was on a sweep picking run.  That got me thinking.  This is really true of a guitar solo in general.  Not only do guitarists need to know good stopping points but how to put it all together.

Here is what I think makes a good guitar solo.

Introductory phrase

This could be a run up to the soloing position of a lick that announces "this is a guitar solo".

 

Main theme or melody

This could mimic a melody in the song or just a new melody.  It will probably be repeated a few times in the solo.

 

Transitional licks

We all have our stock favorites. These are nondescript licks that get us from one phrase to the next.

 

Secondary theme or melody (optional)

A variation of the main theme or a new theme that compliments the main theme.

 

The show off lick

This is where you really impress the other guitar players in the crowd.  This is usually the build up to the end of the solo.

 

The big finish

The lick that ends the solo and wraps it up nicely.  My favorite is always a climb up the neck to a big bend in the upper registers.

 

Of course like everything else in music, some methods and formulas work better than others, and sometimes the non conventional methods work best. 

 

Scott