I used to be the type of guy who would almost exclusivley play solos when plugging in or whatever. Now, I realize I need to work on rythm more before I get back into learning new licks.

So for me, I'm more of a riffer.

I usually play solo's but I've been playing a lot of rythm stuff lately.

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I find it near impossible to play more solos than riffs. If you mean do I play lead more than rhythm, well, I honestly don't know because I don't play guitar in a band.

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riffs and whole songs without the solo because I suck at soloing and can't solo for shit. I'm trying to work on that thoug...

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You know what, I used to think the same thing until I stopped having that negative(albeit sarcastic) attitude regarding my skill level. Just play, no one person gets good without spending lots of time developing skills.

I used to do nothin' but solo. Now, I just love rockin' the rythm.

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hey I'm not negative I fucking rule But I still suck at soloing In a year or so you'll all bow down to me and I'll outplay every fucking one, even malmsteen and angelo and all those motherfuckers

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I've noticed if someone is a great rythm player and they cant solo they are considered as sucking, unless they are REALLY REALLY good at rythm.If they cant play rythm and they are awesome at soloing then they are awesome

I have a friend who is real good at guitar playing but he does nothing but sit and do the same shredding over and over and over... I do mainly riffs, and when i get better, I will do some solo work. I just do a wee bit of Bodom and Slayer now.

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Prolly because it is generally harder to shred then to have rhythm. I just recently started practicing chords and it is easier than I used to think, but solos I still don't have the hang of just yet.

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riffs but i've been so bored or sick of playing lately it sucks. I'm so uninspired.

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I used to learn leads all the time. It is still very nice to have, when you need to show off and what not, but I started learning whole songs like Death and stuff like that. It really gives you options if you need to play in front of somebody. You run out of things to do if you just keep soloing for somebody. Throw down a great riff every once in a while. If you are lucky, somebody around will know what the hell you are playing. One guy came up to me the other day and said "great shuldiner riffs man."

Hey Shred in that- 16-17-16-12-13-12-16-17-16-12-13-12-16-17-16-12-13-12-16-17-16-19-20-19-16- 17-16-12-13-12 riff in Speed Metal Symphony do you use 2 fingers and slide or 4 fingers? And which channel is which, I'm guessing Becker is that one. Just thought i's ask here.

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Haha I'm surprised I even remember that riff.

I use 4 fingers. I pick the whole thing. I used to know 5 mins of that song, I forgot it all though. I only vaguely remember some of it.

I plan on learning parts of it, but most of it is way too hard for me.

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I'm pretty much a riff man. I can play a bit of lead, but i'm not a shredder or anything. I'd like to be able to shred a little just so i can throw it in where necessary, but i'm really mainly a rhythm player. It's much more satisfying for me to come up with a great riff than a great solo. Maybe because most of the solos i write i can't actually play at the proper speed i write them at but i think it's more that i just find more pride in creating original (well kind of) and intense riffing. I suppose it also depends on my mood.

I know guitarists who have been play a couple of years less than me and can shred and sweep pretty well, but the guys i know who don't so care much for speed or crazy solos write much better material, even when it does come to soloing.

I'm a 100% Riffman.... Even though I used to play many solos in the past, I discovered a new way of designing complicated riffs and putting much theory in so that the soloing part got lost totally. Having a feel for rythm, and put that feel into something called music, is a lot more worth than being able to play fast solos etc.

Greetings Brutur
(and again, excuse my typewriting/grammatic mistakes, but I'm under the consumption of alcohol)

And to everybody who reads this now... Happy new Year...

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lately for some reason ive been playing rhythm guitar. probly cuz i cant write solos worth a shit, and u can make a song with just guitar solos, but still i love to play guitar solos.

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I play almost exclusively riffs. I'm not a very good lead player, but I think rythym is more important to learn first, so I'll wait before I dive head first into solos. But I can't wait till I do.

ALMOST exclusivley riffs. I think i know a little bit of the solo off black magic...and one I made up, besides that, riffs. Making them up is cool too. Making up solos, on the other hand, is alot easier for me (versus playing other solos). Probably because its at my skill level.

I just play around with random crap, people think I'm a "shredder" but all I really do is speedily play pentatonic blues crap and improvise with it and play some minor scale metal riffs and everyone thinks im "awesome".

Riffs

Riffs, but only by a bit.

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I'd say about 60-70% Soloing over Riffs.

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I am certainly much more inclined to rythm playing than to lead guitar playing. My guitar is tuned A E A E A E ( using 70-11 Zakk Wylde strings ), unorthodox, but it is very ideal for what I do. I work very hard at my rythm stylings, and I've been described as a sort of James Hetfield on speed .

Whenever I do play leads I'm much more predisposed to just making 'textures' with the instrument, instead of shredding up and down the fretboard in a "whiddleewhiddleewhee" a la' Slayer fashion, although I certainly do that every once in a while. As in experimenting with microtones and extremely dissonant intervals played way up the neck. I do like the linear full throttle staccato, but it does get redundant if I over-do it.

I play mostly riffs. I do practice alternate picking alot to prepare for leads and other stuff but the only real solo I know how to play is Kerrys in War Ensemble, its just two parts that still wont go, the little tapping thing between the first tapping and when he goes with pick to the 12 fret on the g string and the fast tremoloish thing before the last stuff. That may not be an accurate explanation but thats what I have done so far.

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That's a wierd ass tuning.....

same here

I practice with scales and such. I can make up 546543543253462532 different riffs.. but my soloing will always needs improving.

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Im with BLS, i play scales up the ass, and hybrid scales.

but i riff alot.

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im a riffer, i play solos when i feel necassary(sp?), but only then, though i do dick around with blues scales and natural minor scales ALOT, when i write, i write mostly riffs, and when i think a solo should go somewhere, i write a solo/lead type thing.

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That's pretty much what I do.

Someone tell me about these "hybrid scales"?

A "hybrid scale":

-----------------------------------------------12-14-15------
--------------------------------------12-14-15---------------
-----------------------------12-14-15------------------------
--------------------12-14-15---------------------------------
----------12-14-15-------------------------------------------
12-14-15-----------------------------------------------------

Slayer uses them, Dime uses (er used ) them, EVH uses them

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i always do more riffs but lately i've been working on my leads.

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You should see the flabbergasted looks on people's faces when they sit down to play my guitar ...

you say that like they're simple solos.

i myself am a rhythm guy. i love a good rhythm riff more than a good solo, although great songs have both

Hmmmm... I really think I'm pretty balanced in that. I love to play lead... and I do a lot of that.. but I also love a great riff/rythem... so I do a lot of that... for me, if it rocks.. I enjoy playing it!

guitarjams
www.guitarjams.net

That's just one formation used down the neck, do those work and still sound right to melodies?!

Hey man, that AEAEAE tuning is a power chord tuning I geuss, you can play power chords as bars on the ENTIRE guitar, but I still don't understand how you adapt when playing other things that are usually tuned normally.

I hate just playing anything on it's own, and there's usually more riffs in a song than solo, so there's your answer. However all I ever used to do was solo because my lessons were just playing basic riffs and I got sick of them.