Lesson 7: Putting together and use your runs in solos


So, Now you have learned a broad key of runs, it is cool to use them alternately in your solos.
There are examples of runs which show different ways of runs in one run. A nice example is the guitar/keyboardrun from Overture 1928 (Dream Theater)

These are sextols, but first you have to play four notes 9-10-9-7
and afterwards you have to play "normal" sextols, so that the accent is different because of the first four notes.

Example 7.1:
Listen to the midi-file
Get the Guitarpro file

E||---------------------------------------------------||
B||--9-10-9-7-----------------------------------------||
G||-----------9-7-6-9-7-6-----------------------------||
D||-----------------------9-7-6-9-7-6-----------------||
A||-----------------------------------9-7-5-9-7-5-----||
E||-----------------------------------------------9-7-||


This example shows that sextols or triols don't need a run of six/three notes.
You can also play a run of four notes with the speeds of triols, for another sound.
Or reversed you can play a pattern of six notes with the speed of 8s...

Example 7.2:
Listen to the midi-file
Get the Guitarpro file

E||--------------------------8-10-12~---||
B||------------------8-10-12------------||
G||-----------7-9-11--------------------||
D||-------7-9---------------------------||
A||--7-10-------------------------------||
E||-------------------------------------||


You can do now whatever you want to, so it dont seem to me necesary to give you more examples.
The main thing is using the runs in your solo.
Often when you have practised a run, then it failed on a strange way in your solo.
That is because of the timing. So practise your runs with a metronome with different speeds.
Then it will work the next time :)
Another problem is the fact when you have to play what kind of runs.
The answer is short and clear: it depends on the scale, and on you.
You must decide which run is the best to play at that moment.
To find out new ideas, you should listen to other guitarplayers and try things.
Keep in mind that guitarsolos doesn't consist of only fast runs! ;)

good luck!!!

Wim den Herder



Table of contents:

Lesson 1: one note per string
Lesson 2: two notes per string
Lesson 3: three notes per string
Lesson 4: four notes per string
Lesson 5: runs contructed out of a pattern
Lesson 6: other runs
Lesson 7: putting it all together in solos