Soloing question

[Kirby161]

I have a question on soloing technique.

I usually can sound out a song (or the basic structure of the song) pretty quick and then I just riff out and use open hand position. I love doing that. I am good at it and getting better.

However, I am told that it is better to be able to play out of a chord. (and I always want to do what is better) But, I hate it. It doesnt sound as good because i am bad at it and it is a hellufalot harder.

So, what should I do? I have been playing for 2 years and I am young so I can still learn stuff quick but i play alot of bilmon and I want to play like him. (i like bush too but not as much as bill.)


HELP!!!!

[Fretbear]

It is a style...I find it doesn't apply much to your soloing if you are not going for that particular sound. One thing you can do is try playing a solo that you like using all the notes that you can trace back to the chop chords. Bill's blues-based solo style is directly related to the minor chop positions, even though the songs themselves are usually in #major keys. Niles Hokkanen's "Bluegrass Up the Neck" is a great de-mystifying resource.

[Tatoosh]

Recently, I attended a 1 hour seminar conducted by Buddy Wachter. To say that he is a virtuoso tenor banjo player would be an understatement. Your question was exactly the session's topic. His advice: Basically what Peter Hackman stated above.

However, how does one accomplish this? Buddy said the key is to hum or sing along in unison with your playing. By humming, you are training your brain to work in concert with your fingers. Basically, you want to get what's in your brain, what you are hearing inside of you, into your instrument.

I told Buddy that one of my problems is hitting the note I want to play. I know what they sound like but I have to search around to physically hit it. The further apart two adjacent notes are, the more likely it is that I will miss the note. Again, Buddy said humming will fix this problem.

This philosophy hit home with me. Often, when listening to someone play, I mentally fill in the person's playing with my own ideas. But, I can't translate it from my minds eye to the instrument. I'm going to try Buddy's method to see if it works. If anyone else trys it, please let us know if it works for you.