One of my students here at ArtistWorks recently asked me on the Blues Guitar School forum to name some influential solos that I have transcribed over the years. It seemed like a good topic for discussion, so here’s an expanded version of what I wrote:

To paraphrase an old saying, “if you steal one idea it's plagiarism but if you steal a hundred it's research.” In my opinion, the best way to learn a style is to emulate the masters, and learning solos teaches you not only licks, but how a great player arranges ideas over time.  A classic solo will also reveal new layers as your own ear, skills, and knowledge expand, so you can keep coming back to it for new insights. In most cases I never wrote these down but instead memorized them on the guitar, which after all is where you want the ideas to “live.”

In no particular order, here’s a sample of solos that I have memorized note-for-note at some point; some I still know pretty well while others would need some dusting off, but they’re all in there somewhere.

Paul Gilbert and Keith Wyatt were recently featured on the Phil Hulett & Friends radio show where they talk about their online guitar lessons at ArtistWorks and how it all works. Phil Hulett once interviewed a young Paul Gilbert back in his Racer X days, and still remembers what Paul said when asked about the secret to playing guitar so good: "Practice." Sounds about right. Speaking about the differences between rock guitar vs. blues guitar, here's what Keith said: "The two worlds are more alike than they are different, it's just a matter of picking and choosing your path for music."

My friend Mike Portnoy recently invited me to play The Who's "My Generation" with him at a Who Tribute show. I thought, "That song is simple enough, and I already know it." So I said "Yes!" 

Then Mike told me that it's not the 3-minute studio version (that I'm familiar with), but instead it is the 14-minute "Live at Leeds" version (which I had never heard before.) 

But a "Yes" is a "Yes." So I've been listening to it over and over in my car for the past few weeks (with growing terror from the seeming randomness of the arrangement.) Finally, I realized that I would have to resort to actually writing some basic notes down, to help me get the arrangement deeper into my head. I doubt if this will fit on this page (and I doubt if it will fit in my brain!), but at least I tried! (Click "Read More" at the bottom to see the entire list.)

* INTRO

* VERSE (X2)

* BASS SOLO

* VERSE MOD UP

* D – C (X4)

* SOLO (D-C X4)

* D – C RHYTHM VARIATIONS (X7)

* D, D, C – G (X13)

I had the pleasure and honor of jamming with Eric Johnson and Mike Stern at their show in L.A. I had a great talk with Eric after the show. We talked about Elvis, Chuck Berry, B.B. King, and Aaron Copeland. Mostly, my head is still spinning from Eric's amazing unaccompanied 10-minute guitar solo. It's wonderful to hear someone who has so successfully developed their own voice on the guitar. 

P.S. Eric's guitar tech just sent this backstage photo to me.