I’ve improved my use of triads while soloing, and learned different ways to use them… relative major and minor, 3rds, 6ths, skipped strings in between. The last 28 minutes of video 2 was one of the coolest things I’ve seen.
Ameena Elmore
Secrets of Tasty Riffs & Solos
Why some guitar solos sound tasty… and others just sound busy.
It isn’t speed, and it isn’t flash. The solos that stick in your memory are the ones where every note seems laser-targeted to the chord underneath. That targeting is a skill, not a gift… and it’s exactly what this course teaches.
$100 · one-time · lifetime access · 60-day money-back guarantee
The struggle
The same handful of notes, no matter what song you’re playing.
A lot of players have told me they feel a wall between what they hear inside their head and what actually comes out of their hands. Every time they go to solo, the same old notes and sounds come out, no matter what the song is.
They feel stunted. Blocked. A little discouraged. What they’re really after is a way out of the rut… back to the land of creativity and free expression on the guitar.
And underneath it all, they want a way to add some real zest and spice to their playing. To finally come up with interesting, well… tasty things to play.
Tasty playing isn’t necessarily fast. It’s probably not flashy. And it doesn’t depend on the kind of music you play. It’s the kind of thing where someone hears you pull off a lick and thinks, “Mmm, yeah… that really hit the spot.”
The shift
The trick isn’t another scale. It’s chasing the chords.
Most of us learn to solo one way. Get a scale pattern under your fingers, learn some licks that come out of it, and string them together. It’s a powerful, much-loved approach, and a great place to start. You stay in one box, the chords change around you, and you can still make nice music.
This course takes a different road. Instead of anchoring to a scale shape, you hook yourself onto the chords being played, following them around the neck like a magnet. The reason a tasty lick sounds so good is no accident: the notes were targeted to harmonize with the exact chord ringing at that exact moment.
Stop reaching for notes that merely fit the key. Start landing on the notes that fit the chord.
Once you see it, the fretboard looks different. The veil lifts, and you start to understand why each note works where it does, right down to the reason it sounds great over that part of the progression. And if you already know the scale-pattern approach, that’s perfect… the two blend together and become far more powerful than either one alone.
One of the most satisfying sounds in music is the third. Thirds are so pleasing to the ear that they’re the very foundation chords are built from. Work off those intervals… not the same notes in the same spot, but other octaves and combinations… and a lick comes out sounding custom-fitted to the song while still sounding like a creative, tasteful lead line.
So far the course has taught me the concept of using 3rds and 5ths. Even though I’ve been taking lessons for years, my teacher never addressed these concepts.
Robert S. MindellWhat’s inside
A taste of what’s waiting for you.
The course is built in three parts: a detailed look at the patterns you’ll work with, then improvising over a jam track using chords and triads, and finally over 160 bars of solos written across four jam tracks (nearly every bar has a riff in it). Here’s some of what you’ll pick up along the way.
- How to pull a lead line out of any chord you choose, anywhere on the neck. Once you can do this, “what do I play here?” stops being a question. The chord tells you.
- A completely different way around the fretboard that finally frees you from the box. It breaks your dependence on scale patterns… and yet dovetails perfectly with the patterns you already know.
- The “sniper shots” that let you weave lead into your rhythm playing, so you serve the song instead of soloing all over it. Your bandmates will love it… and you still get your turn in the spotlight. I’ve gotten more compliments from this one technique than any other single thing I play.
- How to build “ladders” that travel a dozen frets or more, and make the journey there sound every bit as good as the destination.
- The dead-easy move that makes your solo pop out from the rest of the song.
- The one trick that turns a plain-vanilla major triad into a slick blues riff.
- Three pairs of notes you can play almost anywhere over a progression… and have it sound great every time.
- How to know, bars in advance, the sweetest note to land on to end your solo.
- The “sixth sense” that keeps you locked to the progression while you play, so you always know exactly which chord you’re soloing over, without thinking about it.
It’s all taught with four jam tracks and a 16,000-word course book, so every idea has a real piece of music to live in, not just a worksheet.
A lightbulb went on, and I pulled out the tab to one of my favorite acoustic songs, Operator, by Jim Croce. I could never figure out how that guitar part came up with such beautiful fills… until now. He’s playing thirds, exactly like you describe in the course. I’ve always loved the guitar on that song, and now I know why.
Craig C.Why it works
There’s a reason some solos sound better. It isn’t luck.
Every note has a frequency. When certain pairs of notes sound together, their waves line up in consonance, and your ear hears it as sweet. Other pairs clash… dissonant, like the chop of five people jumping into a pool at once. Your ear picks up the same thing whether the notes are played together or one after another, which is why these principles work for double-stops and single-note lines alike.
You don’t need the math, and you won’t find any here. What you need is to know how those pairings fall on the guitar… how to reach for the notes that tap straight into the hard-wired sweet spot in our ears. That’s the whole game, and it’s what this course digs into.
If I’m studying a guitar solo, it’s not enough to just learn the solo. I have to understand the relationship between the notes the lead player is playing, and the chords being played behind it. The idea is to make sounds that are good, and in music that’s so much about the relationship between the different things.
John Frusciante, Red Hot Chili PeppersFrom Hendrix and Clapton to Mark Knopfler, B.B. King, John Mayer, Santana and Joe Bonamassa, the players whose leads you remember are leaning on these same relationships, whether they ever named them or not.
Reviews
What players say once the licks start landing.
This is an exceptionally helpful lesson. It really feels like it’s taking me onto a new stage in my playing. So much to learn and rehearse, but you’ve explained the theory in a brilliant way.
Peter Dale, Sussex, UK
I just finished some head-work laying out thirds in the key of A, then grabbed my acoustic and let it rip. I layered in some tasty thirds and transition runs. What a hoot… what an improvement. Thanks for your best series ever.
John Yates
Different players, same turn… the moment a solo stops sounding like random notes and starts sounding like music.
Before you buy
This one’s not for beginners.
I’ll be straight with you. This is not a first-week course, and it is not a learn-to-solo-from-zero course. To pull the most out of it, you’ll want a few things already in place.
- A little theory. You don’t need to be a whiz, but there’s a lot of practically-applied theory in here, and it leans on knowing how chords, scales, and keys work. If theory is brand new, Guitar Theory Unlocked is the better place to start.
- Your basic scale patterns. This course comes at the fretboard from a different angle than the patterns, but it still relies on you knowing how the fretboard works. A refresher is included, but it’s a refresher, not a foundation.
- Some soloing miles. You should already be comfortable noodling around with scales and riffs. Full tab is included for everything, so you’re never flying blind.
If you’re an intermediate or advanced player with some soloing under your belt, looking for a way to make your solos sound custom-crafted for the song, this one was built for you.
Level up, or your money back.
My courses have helped thousands of players actually get better, and I want that for you too. So go through the whole thing, jam along with the tracks, get the ideas under your fingers. If your solos aren’t landing on the song the way they never used to… if they still sound like a string of random notes… email me inside 60 days and I’ll refund every penny. No questions, no hard feelings. I’ve never once turned down a refund inside that window. I’ll teach it slowly and patiently, and I think you can do this.
Jonathan
Get the course
Make your solos fit the song.
Limited offer
Yes, claim my 25% off
Everything you need to make your solos sound custom-crafted for the song.
- Target the chord under every lick, so your solos sound written for the song
- Follow the chords around the neck instead of being stuck in one box
- Weave lead into your rhythm with tasteful “sniper shots” that fit the band
- Build ladders that travel a dozen frets and still sound musical
- Add harmony to your lines with the intervals hiding inside every chord
- Know, bars ahead of time, the sweetest note to land on
What's included Three sections building from the patterns to 160+ bars of solos over four jam tracks · 4 full jam tracks (MP3) plus 4 jam-track videos showing the changes in real time · a 16,000-word course book with diagrams and all the tabs · Guitar Pro tab files · multiple camera angles with on-screen tab · lifetime access · Q&A support · 60-day money-back guarantee
$100
25% off
$75
today, one-time payment · lifetime access
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60-day guarantee. If it's not for you, I'll refund every penny.
All prices in USD. One-time payment, instant access, lifetime access. When the timer hits zero, the price returns to $100.
Make your solos sound like they were written for the song.
The point was never to play more notes, or faster ones. It’s to play the right ones… the ones that lock onto the chord underneath and make a simple progression sound alive. Learn that once, and you have a way of hearing that you’ll use on every solo you play afterward. The 60-day guarantee puts the whole risk on me.