Beginner guitar solos don’t have to be basic. There are loads of songs out there that sound way harder than they actually are. Let’s look at a few iconic guitar solos that you can learn as a beginner.
Beginner Guitar Solos: Core Techniques
Firstly, to improve your soloing abilities, you’ll want to brush up on a few fundamentals. Think of this as your primer before you apply paint or a clear coat.
Don’t worry though! All you’ll need is a healthy understanding of guitar TABs, maybe a couple of scales and a few techniques up your sleeve. Bending, vibrato, slides, hammer-ons and pull-offs can all help you master the world of beginner guitar solos and beyond.
Although, if you’re new to guitar, then welcome to the club! And worry not, as we’ll explore plenty of guitar techniques as we work our way through some classic rock solos.
Smells Like Teen Spirt – Nirvana
First up, we’ve got some peak 1990s grunge. Arguably, one of the laziest guitar solos on this list. However, that’s great for us looking at beginner guitar solos.
What do I mean by lazy? Well, the solo of this song simply repeats the vocal melody from the verse. Typically, a guitar solo would introduce some new ideas and flavours to a piece of music. However, this Nirvana hit recycles the same ideas from before.
Nonetheless, it has survived the tests of time and it suits the song perfectly. We’ve got a few whole step bends, and watch out for the ghost notes in brackets on the TAB. We don’t want to play those!
Do you want to get even closer to that Nirvana sound? Then why not check out these guitar pedals? Combined, the *Boss DS-1 and *Electro Harmonix Small Clone gave Kurt Cobain the drive and chorus required to create this solo.
Sweet Child O’ Mine – Guns N’ Roses
Secondly, we’re jumping back a decade to look at this rock n’ roll staple. Sweet Child O’ Mine is a beginner guitar solo necessity.
Potentially one of the most recognisable guitar intros of all time? However, what we’re interested in here is the first guitar solo that binds the chorus and the verse together. The third guitar solo towards the end of the song gets pretty difficult, so let’s stick to this first solo for now.
It’s virtually a single-string riff and is played at an agreeable speed to help your fingers get to where they need to be. Similarly, we’ve got some bends, but we’ll be adding some vibrato. Whereby, you rapidly shake the note that you’re on for some added sustain.
Now, all you’ll need to sound more like the record is a Gibson Les Paul, along with a guitar tuner. Why’s that? Well, have you ever seen Slash without his hat or trusty Les Paul? Furthermore, this song is in Eb, therefore you’ll need to down-tune your guitar by half a step.
Zombie – The Cranberries
Our next beginner guitar solo isn’t what you’d traditionally associate as a guitar solo. However, it’s still a great riff to include in this list.
Despite the sombre meanings behind this song, it’s actually really fun to play! We’ve got a simple chord progression, consisting of Em, C, G and D/F#. Therefore, as a beginner, you’ll be able to brush up on your chord work too.
This solo comes right after the intro instrumental and signals the start of the verse. Moreover, it spans the fretboard so it’s great for practising moving up and down the neck. It’s also a great workout for your hammer-ons and pull-offs!
A Hard Day’s Night – The Beatles
Our next beginner guitar solo dates back to 1964. Although it features one of the most debated chords in rock history, we can still use the solo to help master our own playing.
Overall, A Hard Day’s Night is a catchy rock and pop tune from the 1960s. Never failing to deliver, George Harrison provides us with an exciting and fun guitar solo to both listen to and play.
Based around a G arpeggio, the solo uses very few notes, however, features a fantastic hammer-on section before concluding to repeat for a second time. As George plays this solo on a 12-string guitar, you’ll find TABs for both octaves of the solo if you’re on a regular 6-string.
However, should you want to play both octaves at once, you can get hold of George’s weapon of choice. As a beginner, you may not be looking to break the bank just yet. But, this Rickenbacker 12-string will look and sound fantastic.
There’s also a Harley Benton look-a-like that’ll cause less of a financial burden.
Don’t Stop Me Now – Queen
Our conclusive look at beginner guitar solos comes from a man with curly hair. Why, of course it’s Brian May’s solo from Don’t Stop Me Now.
Following a short percussive instrumental, this solo turbocharges the rest of the song and leaves you wanting more and more. Taking us back to the late 1970s, this solo still sounds new and exciting even today.
Ideal for beginners, the solo comprises the blues scale along with some tasty whole-step bends. This one is pretty fast, but after some practice it really is a solo worth knowing.
Beginner Guitar Solos: Practice Makes Perfect
There we have it, a look at five user friendly, beginner guitar solos. You wouldn’t think that some of those solos were so achievable, would you?
Naturally, the more you dig, the harder solos can become. But, it’s all about scale. At the moment, these may seem simple or could pose a challenge. Yet further down the line, what seems hard now will appear less of a challenge.
What was your first guitar solo? And what are you looking to learn next? Do let us know!
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