In pop music generally, there is little emphasis on instrumental virtuosity of any sort: piano, guitar, saxophone, brass, whatever. It's not just guitar.
Depends on what you mean by "bridge." Is it actually a bridge or just a middle 8? Even then, there are a lot of blues songs that don't have bridges. Yeah, songs are getting "shorter," but many hits from the 50s and 60s were also under 3 minutes...
@@troysmithfr i just mean structure wise. alot of mainstream songs nowadays all follow the same formula. which is fine, but when you already know a song is gonna just be hook-verse-hook-verse-hook it gets repetitive. personally i like when songs start with a verse and build up to the hook
@@MarsupialPegasus the buildup to the hook (chorus) is called a pre-chorus and those often lack punch or take away the magic of a good verse/hook. Trying to find a pre-chorus that doesn't ruin the magic of a good verse/hook is the hardest part of song writing. After that it's bridges and interludes. The reason those are hard is because if you need more than 3 parts, it becomes a different song, you get lackluster parts that diminish the magic of the verse/hook...
@@deductivereasoning4257 i am not thinking of a pre-chorus. pre-choruses specifically set up the hook to come in. bridge introduces a change of some sort to give the song more stimulation either lyrically, musically, or both. It breaks the repetition. usually towards the end of the song. Old RnB was great at this
@@MarsupialPegasus a buildup to the first hook is the pre-chorus. You can't have a bridge until after at least 1 verse and hook has been defined. And then the verse and hook can be used as a bridge by simply changing the beat or melody - or adding other instruments parts over it. This is why the hook is often used as the intro to a song...
js because the mainstream doesn't use solos doesn't mean they're less used, the mainstream isn't rock/blues/jazz anymore so that obviously means you won't find solos, you can still find a lot of solos in rock/metal though. for example the song dreadbringer by aborted has one of my favorite solos ever, it's really shreddy and fast but also phrases and is very musically interesting imo. a lot of people say that solos nowadays are just "fast scales" but imo that demerits the effort the guitarists put into actually learning their instrument, not only that but if you listen to death metal and expect super feelsy solos you js aren't listening to the right music, js like if you listen to sabrina carpenter and expect any solos you're js not in the right place. it's js about finding the right music that you actually enjoy and being open to new propositions instead of wanting things to be like before
The last album from The Black Dahlia Murder has amazing lead work, which has been the case for a while with them. Lots of other bands like Wintersun or Opeth have awesome guitar solos. They've always been there, just not in pop music. That said it seems it's coming back in popularity thanks to the internet. Cheers from France! 🍻
This video is based on a completely faulty premise: Guitar solos and guitar driven music haven't been gone at all. If so, then only for people who don't bother to look elsewhere than in the Spotify top 10. There is more music and more variety in music around than ever before in history, and it really has never been easier to find new artists and genres. Who cares about what's in the billboard charts?
The guitar solo didn’t disappear, it’s just not prevalent in mainstream music. I know many newer/younger bands that still crank out insane guitar based music. Elder, Stoned Jesus, Howling Giant, Earthless, Khruangbin they’re out there you just gotta be willing to look.
I've been playing guitar for 45 years, and honestly; I've never seen so much innovation happening on the guitar, as I see right now! There is still hope. Long live the guitar solo. 🤘🏼😸🤘🏼
@@timtyler4011 Have you heard of Guthrie Govan, Matteo Mancuso, Joshua Meader, Mateus Asato??? There are so many breathtaking soloists, who are pushing guitar to new heights. You just need to look outside of your comfort zone.
@@stevesorrell9835that’s all well and good but nobody out of the guitar circle know these people. everyone knew van halen, slash and hendrix and even mayer
My teacher assigned the class a bunch of topics and gave us the liberty to present the topic in any way. Because my class only listens to trendy tik tok music, I decided to write a 9 minute song inspired by Metallica's "...And Justice For All" album with a guitar solo. Presentation is this January, and I'm looking forward to a dead audience
It started a long time ago ,early 90s, when grunge hit the scene,from that point the "shredder " guitar solos died out,and slowly faded ,but things have come full circle again, its coming back,and they're much younger,and both male and female, its a great thing, it started back up in 2010 or so and is growing, fullstop
I'm 47 and started playing as a kid. My first guitar hero was Yngwie when I was like 9 or 10. I've seen the phases of guitar solos/solo albums as it slowly faded. Broadband internet by itself brought back solo albums, just not in mainstream. Recently, the resurgence I've seen has me hopeful. The fact that a decent guitar and gear for a beginner costs so little in comparison to when I started is helping a lot!
If you look at bands like Manéskin you’ll realize that modern rock guitar solos are still used successfully in popular (fairly) songs they’ve been putting out, but they’re basically short guitar solos for short attention spans
I think that guitar solos were huge in the late 1960s and the 1970s because the guitarists still had connections to the blues and somewhat to jazz as far as improvisation goes. All of the giants of that era had roots in the blues and admiration for the jazz guys like Wes Montgomery, George Benson, Grant Green etc. Hip hop, heavy metal, grunge etc moved away from the blues based instrumental music that preceded it. Guitar solos aren't the only thing that disappeared from music. Sax solos and keyboard solos disappeared too. The further we've gotten from the jazz age the further we've gotten from extended soloing being common. Instrumental songs were common in the 70s when I was growing up. You make a kid listen to an instrumental song nowadays and he'll run away from home.
Metal elevated the guitar solo to completely new, insane level by the late 80s and early 90s, and I think that people kinda got sick of that. Then Grunge happened and guitar solo went away from the mainstream, forever. But, there are also more incredible guitar players than ever before, and it's never been easier to record yourself doing that. Insane talent and musicianship is gonna return.
@@Yourbankaccount right, Alice always had solos, Pearl Jam too, Soundgarden not ALWAYS, but mostly did. Nirvana has a bunch too. But we can affirm that the virtuoso guitar hero type of solo definitely died.
The whole point of a guitar solo in the old old days was to express the soul of the musician after they couldn’t speak any further. Nowadays it’s either an opportunity to mindlessly improvise, a set musical part, or an opportunity to impress. and those don’t really have much of a place in modern pop where the fixation is on repeated listens, catchiness, and proper execution of hills and valleys. Sometimes the hill pop musicians need is a small guitar solo and those are happening more and more often. However the days of solos being an extension of the music and the performer are starting to leave as I mentioned. Back in the days of Yes for example, solos were all of the above. Set parts, opportunities for improv, extensions of the music, expressions of the soul of the musician, and were also very impressive. The days of a guitar solo encompassing all of those traits haven’t been around for a minute.
I have to say, I could not name a single song made past 2010. Maybe even earlier. I cannot stand today's fake music. I hope people start making bands again and actually playing on stages I grew up on and went to see live. 1978 Van Halen, Scorpions, all the big bands I seen in my lifetime. There is a thunder on stage and seeing and feeling the drums, vocals, amps and cabinets is living life.
Amyl and the Sniffers, The Grogans, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Ocean Alley... Lots of good contemporary rock, I am 55 and enjoying music as much as ever.
I'm a synth and keys player. Over the last few years due to physical issues, I've been working in DAWs but I hope the guitar solo (and solos in general) makes a comeback. One of the things I always enjoyed was duelling solos between a synth lead and a guitar lead. It's a shame that the advent of creating music on a computer led to the decline of solos. ... It doesn't have to be that way. I can recreate my solo styles in my DAW, and have my guitarist friend add his solo in later.
5:09 >talks about cheap to produce, computer generated music >shows a clip of a jazz rap album with a huge variety of real instruments used during production all you need to know about this video.
AlterBridge has been making awesome accessible guitar driven melodic hard rock (and metal at times) for the last 20 years with great riffs, bridges, choruses, harmonies, and yes…great guitar solos that fit the songs! Shout out to both Mark Tremonti and Myles Kennedy- great vocalists and even better guitar players - in the same band! 💪🎸
5:55 - That's what I did. After not playing guitar in 10-15 years, I decided to pick it up again, so I started buying guitars, a Quad Cortex and recording equipment.
What really killed the guitar solo was grunge in the 90's. The solos weren't as technical as it used to be. And Nu-Metal pioneered the guitar breakdown (I maybe wrong on this one). Down tuned 6 strings and bands like Korn even incorporating the 7 string guitar.
This is so true. We decided to leave out a huge chunk we had about grunge. Actually the punk movement preceded the grunge movement. Sex Pistols and the ramones etc.. Quite interesting. But I think the nail in the coffin was simply the economics of hiphop and EDM. Money talks. Always.
I'm pretty sure breakdowns in their modern form were invented either by late 90s metalcore (the kind derived from mathcore), or somewhere around that time. Not 100% sure on that one, and even slightly earlier mathcore might've used breakdowns (though the song structures tend to be so weird that it's imo debatable how much those have in common with the modern breakdown). Then again there's probably much earlier examples too, but from what i think, the earlier stuff isn't as close to modern breakdowns as in early metalcore.
For me at least, it was Polyphia - and some other artists - who gave me faith that guitar-driven music has a huge chance of coming back in pop music. Even though, it doesn't have to, as it easily could stay as a RUclips (social media) treasure. Their smoothness has inspired a new generation of artists ready to take off the music landscape. Let's see what the future brings! Cheers
@@IuriiPlevako Interesting, as for me, it wasn't the shredding which hooked me to their playing, more the chord phrasing and the pentatonic playing along them as well all the other well implemented technics. Songs like Goose or Saucy might be great examples to go. Cheers :D
@@UltimateRaven41 fair enough. I had just listened to too much of such music 15-20 years ago, and can't take it any more. Perhaps I'll sometimes rediscover interest for it again, but now I'm way happier with the 'mood based' music, as the author called it. Let those post punk songs hypnotise me with monotone bass lines, I love that better now, than someone showing off without rhyme or reason.
Analyze the violin; once the New comer mainstream instrument, filled with virtuosos and myths surrounding them like heroes. Then new technology came through and with it, the violin (along with academic/classical music) got replaced with newer instruments/genres. It is sad however, that it seems we are aiming for 100% digitally/artifically made music. I mean, sure, some of us musicians practice everyday but our job has been demoted to a "skilled hobbyist" at best. This is true especially if you live in latin america where people only listen to reggaeton
I am 65. I started playing guitar for real a couple of years ago. Before all I did was a little fooling around here and there. Solos are a big part of my learning. I like playing solos. I am really not as good with strumming cords and rhythm as I should be or want to be but I like learning solos!!!
I chose to learn the guitar because I find it to be the most versatile instrument where you can bend or slide between notes and use harmonics for interesting sounds. However, there is always an an appeal to any instrument doing a solo. I have been amazed at drum solos, violin solos, bass solos, piano and keyboard solos, etc. I think solos certainly showcase the instrument as well as the talent and invite many to pick up instruments to learn. While a band can take you on an emotional ride with the words a singer sings and the melody behind it, nothing compares to certain instrumental solos to max out those emotions, often seen as the climax of the show.
I attended Berklee College of Music from 1990-1993, so I was a winner of the "worst timing award" as I was studying to take "guitar heroism" to the next level right when Nirvana came in and dominated the zeitgeist. Looking back, I'll admit that some of the guitar histrionics of the late 1980s went a bit overboard, but the pendulum swung so far back and so violently, it is taking two generations to recover. However, you hit the nail on the head with electronic "programmed" music. It all started with sampling - as a producer, how could you resist having an unlimited sound palate!?! But the secondary effects were enormous.
I feel you man. I strongly considered Berklee myself way back when. And this was long after the guitar was starting to lose its allure. But I think guys like Mayer etc was able to keep it cool. John Mayer deserves way more praise than he gets imo. He was just so damn easy to "hate".
Good video. Subbed. It's all in what you prefer. In the 90s the guitar stuff was really going away, compared to the 80s, with grunge. I'm an 80s kid. I don't appreciate all solos, maybe because I'm older, more refined, I have no idea. It's about what makes me feel something, whether it's fast or slow or whatever. Some of the fastest and "best" on YT are boring AF to me.
Move your focus to Japan and listen to their diverse Metal bands, many still utilize solo in their music. My recommendation: 1. *Lovebites* - Holy War 2. *Galneryus* - The Follower, Destiny, Struggle for the Freedom flag 3. *Ningen Isu* - Heartless Scat 4. *Unlucky Morpheus* - Black Pentagram, Angreifer, The Black Death Mansion Murder 5. *Anthem*
@@kmkreate2930 Yeah. Not just guitar, many of their J-pop songs have great bass lines. They appreciate other instrument too e.g. keyboard/piano, violin.
I'm a metal diehard. We never stopped having solos and bridges (in metal we call them BREAKDOWNS). It's the mainstream which neglected guitar solos for too long.
I'm a pro guitarist and shredding after the golden years is what killed rock. Nobody wants to listen to a needy nerd. A concise, well performed instrumental that embellishes a track is fine. But when you need to listen to an individual showing you his practice scales, it's game over.
Awesome video! Let me add other important factors: -Grunge was the first killer of the guitar solo in the early 90s. Hair metal was the biggest music at the time with highly polished and expensive to make music. Then grunge music showed up which was raw, authentic and real. -Metal went underground throughout the 90s until the early 2000s with Nu-Metal which didn't have guitar solos! -From the 2000's - today, guitar solos just went to another genre: country. Listen to the top 10 country songs on Spotify. Most of them feature a guitar solo, and their music is heavily guitar-driven. -The vast majority of people latch onto the melody and lyrics. Pop songs feature 1-2 melodies that are simple and repeated throughout the song, even if it's 3 minutes. That creates a brainwashing effect and gets struck in your head. You can't do that with guitar solos that feature a million notes. -Taylor Swift is PROBABLY responsible for putting more guitars into peoples hands than Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, John Mayer, etc. -I've been playing for 20 years and love guitar-driven music like instrumental rock and metal. But only guitarists like and listen to that music. I was dating a girl who loves pop music and showed her an Ichika Nito song and within 20 seconds she told me its boring. Too many notes. -The rise of guitar correlates to the rise of social media platforms and the "wow" factor. Crazy playing gets views. Ichika Nito, Marcin, Polyphia. They're making the whole song a guitar solo similar to the heros of the past but now with more acrobatics. -The guitar industry has shifted from artists/bands selling guitars to influencers selling guitars. Ichika Nito got an Ibanez signature guitar (btw he's the first Japanese person to ever get an Ibanez signature guitar) just from his RUclips following subscriber count. He hadn't release an EP or album when he got it. Fluff and Jared Dines have signature guitars with Ernie Ball Music Man. Subscribers and views makes sales nowadays. -Personal opinion: The vast majority of guitar solos are boring and add nothing to a song. I personally can't listen to a pentatonic/blues scale and a handful of bends to show "emotion" anymore. That's why some of my favorite guitarists are Steve Vai and John Petrucci. They explore other scales, make their solos interesting, and their solos MOSTLY fit the mood and feel of the song.
Grunge didn't kill guitar solos though. Grunge was a reaction, not the reason. People got tired, so they turned to grunge. If anything, hair metal killed solos, as it made them dull.
@@bennyflint Yeah, many did, but what happened is guitar solos went from "look at me while I go wee-diddley-dee for 3 minutes" to a handful of bars that often repeat the chorus melody. It shifted the mindset that you didn't need be technically proficient on guitar to make great songs. Grunge was raw, has a loose feel and had simple song structures and chords (Soundgarden being the exception).
@@YousefAHMusicThat’s a good point. They were definitely different in the grunge era. I think the first rock genre to really do away with solos was Nu Metal.
In the late 2010s, a band called Bilderbuch was massively famous in German-speaking countries. Their music sounds nothing like Rock music from back in the day, it sounds absultely current, and they have massive guitar solos! One of their biggest hits ("Bungalow", check it out ;]) has even 2 of them. They managed to integrate them into their modern pop/R'n'B/Cloud Rap sound, using synthesizer guitars and effects. Also, Remi Wolf has some fat guitar solos on her 2022 album "Juno".
It’s obvious. People stopped playing guitar for like 20 years while the labels pushed hip hop and DJs bc it was so cheap to send them on tour. People got used to music without instruments in it. After they became too similar and saturated people picked up instruments again to compete. Shredding is back Jack.
One of the problems that led to this was the fact that guitar players got too good. The instrument reached it's pinnacle. Who wants to one up Jason Becker, anyone????
@@Protocol_17 100% true. This video is really really bad, this guy represents a big part of the guitarist internet community, the my-music-is-better-than-yours type of people that love the guitar with everything they have and forget music is not only one instrument.
i definitely agree and disagree with this. solid points all around. but solos are definitely nowhere near gone. it all depends on what YOU listen too. if you’re listening to the top bands and artists. yeah you may not find it. but i listen to plenty of modern bands that have solos in almost all the songs. it’s just depends what music you listen to
True. Andy Timmons also said this in our conversation. He was like "guitar solos are everywhere in the music I'm listening to. So in my view it has never died."
Awesome piece, Asa! Soloing has never gone away - it's always been a thing since the dawn of RUclips with millions of bedroom guitarists around the world!
I just don’t like when people make it certain genres aren’t as worth listening to as others. I’m as big a fan of Prince and Eddie Van Halen as I am of playboi carti and Kendrick Lamar. Everyone listen and loves everything now and I think its for the better
As others mentioned solos aren't really important in pop music these days. Having been around enough years to experience the changes in popular music (60s to now), I remember when new wave synth music came in (late 70s to mid 80s) and there was talk of the guitar dying. I loved the synth thing in the 80s although I am a metal kid from the 70s, and still am. It's just that personally I feel that it isn't necessary to solo in every song. I also loved the Jon Lord thing and will sometimes use synths to add a different color to the song. Actually played guitar and synth in several bands in the 80s. Currently I use whatever I want in my Daw productions and with vst synths and amp sounds, I can develop my soundscapes. Good to see the youngsters getting into the guitar. Hope they can shake the tree. Cool post thanks Asa.
Makes me smile. I'm older and need to be thinking about selling and passing on guitars and amps at this stage. Would like to see it move on to those who are dedicated to playing and not just collecting.
Guitar solos are definitely going to make a comeback, they’re to awesome not to. And as a guitar player whose been following guitar RUclips for a long time, some of these great players are starting to get some well deserved attention.
I love them and have added it to my first song. And I will always add them to my songs. I want it to be my thing. I know its not a uniques thing but still I love them.
You need to talk also about how this new generation is not compromised to anything, honestly I don’t think they will have discipline to make the solos back, But I do believe that older generation of musicians are the one who will make them back, they are they one (majority) know how to play the guitar
it actually happened way before hip hop etc; the 1970s was the decade of the guitar, but when punk happened in 1976 the guitar solo was already under threat, later post punk bands used minimalist guitar playing; the Cure, Banshees, New Order etc. However, simultaneously there were guitar heros in the 1980s, so it was still big
I think a lot of it is organic. I stopped playing guitar much back in 2008 and started making electronic music. A couple of years ago I got tired of electronic music and picked back up my guitar. I don’t really do much social media so it wasn’t that. I just decided I wanted to play guitar again.
I believe, the disappearance of guitar solos was just natural. The older guitar solos were, as you mention here "mood based". Remember "Comfortably Numb" solo for instance. IMO, the best guitar solo ever. It perfectly emphasizes the hypnotic delirium nature of the song. And then by the end of the 80s and with some renaiisance in the 90s hardly anyone cared to write an emotiinal solo. It was all just "faster, more notes, more arpeggios and sweeping", and honestly, it was horrible. No surprise they went almost extinct. Shredding solos are a nice tool to add to an album once or twice to put accent on certain emotional moments, but as a listener, I do not want to hear the same shredding in every song of an album
Very interesting topic! Great Video and thanks for the recommendations. I wish this was an even longer watch. There are many more perspectives to look at too (e.g. rise and fall in popularity of music videos and their somewhat fixed length; punk, thrash, grunge and indie music and the shift from technicality to a somewhat more authentic/raw way of expression, nowadays guitars in modern songs already implement techniques that were prior mostly used in solos) P.S.: - My personal experience was that it just went out of fashion/style and the basic song structure incl. a solo was getting old fast. (There were too many songs with solos and from those many had 0 meaning. If the Solo did not elevate the message/feeling of a song it was a plain waste of time and a chore to listen to) - And let's be honest Metallica living in a studio for a whole year is just absurdity (that makes 'em sound like one of the biggest industry plants ever; i do still love the black album)
So you grew up wanting to play epic guitar solos in a Rock band, but then Rock bands almost died out. I can relate, when I was 18 I wanted to be a turntablist / sample player like what NuMetal artists like LimpBiscuit and LinkingPark or Slipknot had. But while Guitar solos lasted for 50-60 years, that kind of music lastet 5-6 years. But heck, I would still join a band like that!
As a guitarist in a local band in my opinion the barrier of entry has became soo high that it isn't even worth to try to solo kind of. When guys like Ichiko Nito exists I can't just start pentatonic noodling, it's pointless. But then again if I start to incorporate these advanced techniques I feel like it just doesn't serve the song and becomes a self centered showing off that nobady asks for. Most of these days I just play a simple melody that fits into the song neatly
Im really impressed by the fact you did not mentionet King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard, being one of the greatest rock band of the past decade and will be this one as well making basicaly the majority of their 25 records on guitar.
I believe this decade is very much feeling like the 60s. People are tired of conforming to the power structures that were in place for so long. Towards the end of this decade we might see new “Jim morrisons”, “Jimi hendrixes”, and “janis joplins”, according to the time of course. I like that scene from the doors movie where Ray speaks to Jim: “Let’s create the myths and the legends to come” I’m a big dreamer as you may have noticed loool Regarding new guitar hero’s… Khruangbin has a fresh and unique sound with different references mixed into what we’re already familiar (some african and middle eastern mixed into a pop/chill/sometimes rocky sound). Check them out if you haven’t yet.
The solo became less of a means of serving the solo and more a means of the guitarist simply showing off, even at the detriment of the music. 99% of guitarists now don’t know how to serve the song, they just think “lets shred bro” whilst drooling all over themselves in self glazing satisfaction as the audience leaves. The most iconic solos are iconic not because they’re fast, or technical or shreddy; they’re iconic because the song would lose its magic without it. A GOOD solo can be basic, fundamental and even borderline sloppy, but it can still be incredible in a musical setting, so long as it actually adds something of quality to the overall soundscape of the music. Crazy Train isn’t just iconic because its fast, it makes the song memorable because it had to exist within the context of the song. Without it, Crazy Train wouldn’t be as much of an Ozzy classic in the sense of what it currently is.
If you miss guitar solos, Lovebites is a band for you! 2 extremely skilled guitarists soloing, shreding, harmonizing! Not only that but entire band is on world class level of musicianship! they are the most amazing band I have ever seen and I've been metal fan for quite a while!
i’m gen z and some of our attention spans are cooked but i myself love a good solo the guitar solo in foo fighters song called “ oh george “ is underrated
I miss all the new fresh ideas I heard at local live gigs across the USA. How about tunes where every chorus had a mini solo. Or one 3pc that had the bass playing the riffs and the guitar only noodling solos and broken solos through out the tunes. Or one time a 5pc 3 gtr act that had two lead players working a solo together, back and forth, that one blew me a way, and will always stick. I rolled through during the early 2k's Hardcore scene, a drummer, but always wished I could rip. The best solos I have heard were not technical at all, but impactful, hard hitting, and emotional. I think to many chase that rabbit hole of technical mastery to ill effect, but hey I am just some biased old school drummer huh.
You asked for it 😮 -
ruclips.net/video/yzaMuTWWDQI/видео.htmlsi=TNTCb7hn5mYT0JE_
In pop music generally, there is little emphasis on instrumental virtuosity of any sort: piano, guitar, saxophone, brass, whatever. It's not just guitar.
True. Pop music have become more "mood based".
@@asaparked Hopefully, I'm not interested in pop
True!!
This is why I won't watch past the first minute of this video. Big "duh". Gee, really, rock has more guitar than pop? Wow, never noticed.
@@charleswettish8701 I think you've missed the point.
Shoutout to everyone who’s missing those good old guitar solo times
No one stole my record collection, so I’m not missing anything.
Our band does guitar solos
Every song I make has a 16 or 32 bar solo no matter what because I have mental illness
I'm not missing anything. Nothin stopping me from listening to those old bands and artists, and there's many new artists who still does solos
Asato is boring.
not even just guitar solos, theres rarely even bridges anymore either.
Depends on what you mean by "bridge." Is it actually a bridge or just a middle 8? Even then, there are a lot of blues songs that don't have bridges. Yeah, songs are getting "shorter," but many hits from the 50s and 60s were also under 3 minutes...
@@troysmithfr i just mean structure wise. alot of mainstream songs nowadays all follow the same formula. which is fine, but when you already know a song is gonna just be hook-verse-hook-verse-hook it gets repetitive. personally i like when songs start with a verse and build up to the hook
@@MarsupialPegasus the buildup to the hook (chorus) is called a pre-chorus and those often lack punch or take away the magic of a good verse/hook. Trying to find a pre-chorus that doesn't ruin the magic of a good verse/hook is the hardest part of song writing. After that it's bridges and interludes. The reason those are hard is because if you need more than 3 parts, it becomes a different song, you get lackluster parts that diminish the magic of the verse/hook...
@@deductivereasoning4257 i am not thinking of a pre-chorus. pre-choruses specifically set up the hook to come in. bridge introduces a change of some sort to give the song more stimulation either lyrically, musically, or both. It breaks the repetition. usually towards the end of the song. Old RnB was great at this
@@MarsupialPegasus a buildup to the first hook is the pre-chorus. You can't have a bridge until after at least 1 verse and hook has been defined.
And then the verse and hook can be used as a bridge by simply changing the beat or melody - or adding other instruments parts over it.
This is why the hook is often used as the intro to a song...
Nothing is dead - You are looking for a fish in a forest. Compare amount of guitar solos in live bands that have guitars in it.
No big rock band = no band's guitar hero
js because the mainstream doesn't use solos doesn't mean they're less used, the mainstream isn't rock/blues/jazz anymore so that obviously means you won't find solos, you can still find a lot of solos in rock/metal though. for example the song dreadbringer by aborted has one of my favorite solos ever, it's really shreddy and fast but also phrases and is very musically interesting imo. a lot of people say that solos nowadays are just "fast scales" but imo that demerits the effort the guitarists put into actually learning their instrument, not only that but if you listen to death metal and expect super feelsy solos you js aren't listening to the right music, js like if you listen to sabrina carpenter and expect any solos you're js not in the right place. it's js about finding the right music that you actually enjoy and being open to new propositions instead of wanting things to be like before
Very well said 🙌
I want there to be more views on this video not just for the creator, but for your comment to get more likes
Why do you keep using Js instead of just.......
The last album from The Black Dahlia Murder has amazing lead work, which has been the case for a while with them.
Lots of other bands like Wintersun or Opeth have awesome guitar solos. They've always been there, just not in pop music.
That said it seems it's coming back in popularity thanks to the internet.
Cheers from France! 🍻
It's funny you mention that, I was just listening to shadow of intent and came across dreadbringer since it was a collaboration
This video is based on a completely faulty premise: Guitar solos and guitar driven music haven't been gone at all. If so, then only for people who don't bother to look elsewhere than in the Spotify top 10. There is more music and more variety in music around than ever before in history, and it really has never been easier to find new artists and genres. Who cares about what's in the billboard charts?
Good point.
Exactly
No one wants to listen to crap music, though.
@isaiahmarquez9717 ?
@isaiahmarquez9717 What are you trying to say? Please kindly elaborate.
The guitar solo didn’t disappear, it’s just not prevalent in mainstream music. I know many newer/younger bands that still crank out insane guitar based music. Elder, Stoned Jesus, Howling Giant, Earthless, Khruangbin they’re out there you just gotta be willing to look.
True. I guess the point we're making is that it is much less prevalent than during the 60s - 80s.
@ oh absolutely no doubt about it guitar itself was a cultural phenomenon
Stoned Jesus? They just guaranteed that I will NEVER listen to them.
@isaiahmarquez9717 Well that was their goal
Dunno about you but I am very sick of computerized pop music.
I think people are craving analog music.
Rap guest feature is the new guitar solo in pop
Feat: some blah blah mhm
We trust in Corey Feldman. He will bring it back.
I've been playing guitar for 45 years, and honestly; I've never seen so much innovation happening on the guitar, as I see right now! There is still hope. Long live the guitar solo. 🤘🏼😸🤘🏼
Hell yeah🤘🤘🤘
Then where are the new guitar heros? It's not just fretboard gymnastics, but having a unique tone and style. I struggle to find that now.
@@timtyler4011
Have you heard of Guthrie Govan, Matteo Mancuso, Joshua Meader, Mateus Asato??? There are so many breathtaking soloists, who are pushing guitar to new heights. You just need to look outside of your comfort zone.
@@stevesorrell9835does Guthrie really count as modern tho? Dudes damn near 60
@@stevesorrell9835that’s all well and good but nobody out of the guitar circle know these people. everyone knew van halen, slash and hendrix and even mayer
My teacher assigned the class a bunch of topics and gave us the liberty to present the topic in any way. Because my class only listens to trendy tik tok music, I decided to write a 9 minute song inspired by Metallica's "...And Justice For All" album with a guitar solo. Presentation is this January, and I'm looking forward to a dead audience
Hahaha! Love it .
Make a presentation about how fade to black and to live is to die was written and how metallica made 1.9 M Russians jump
Na you gon get laid
That’s how you change minds. Thank you for doing the work!
Pick-Me attitude, I had it too.
It started a long time ago ,early 90s, when grunge hit the scene,from that point the "shredder " guitar solos died out,and slowly faded ,but things have come full circle again, its coming back,and they're much younger,and both male and female, its a great thing, it started back up in 2010 or so and is growing, fullstop
I'm 47 and started playing as a kid. My first guitar hero was Yngwie when I was like 9 or 10. I've seen the phases of guitar solos/solo albums as it slowly faded. Broadband internet by itself brought back solo albums, just not in mainstream. Recently, the resurgence I've seen has me hopeful. The fact that a decent guitar and gear for a beginner costs so little in comparison to when I started is helping a lot!
Yngwie Malmsteen! What a legend.
If you look at bands like Manéskin you’ll realize that modern rock guitar solos are still used successfully in popular (fairly) songs they’ve been putting out, but they’re basically short guitar solos for short attention spans
I think that guitar solos were huge in the late 1960s and the 1970s because the guitarists still had connections to the blues and somewhat to jazz as far as improvisation goes. All of the giants of that era had roots in the blues and admiration for the jazz guys like Wes Montgomery, George Benson, Grant Green etc. Hip hop, heavy metal, grunge etc moved away from the blues based instrumental music that preceded it. Guitar solos aren't the only thing that disappeared from music. Sax solos and keyboard solos disappeared too. The further we've gotten from the jazz age the further we've gotten from extended soloing being common. Instrumental songs were common in the 70s when I was growing up. You make a kid listen to an instrumental song nowadays and he'll run away from home.
i couldn't have said it better myself man
Metal elevated the guitar solo to completely new, insane level by the late 80s and early 90s, and I think that people kinda got sick of that. Then Grunge happened and guitar solo went away from the mainstream, forever. But, there are also more incredible guitar players than ever before, and it's never been easier to record yourself doing that. Insane talent and musicianship is gonna return.
i love instrumental songs (especially the ones that last 20 minutes) but i do understand what your saying.....
@@dindinbrelmao show me any big grunge song without a guitar solo😂
@@Yourbankaccount right, Alice always had solos, Pearl Jam too, Soundgarden not ALWAYS, but mostly did. Nirvana has a bunch too.
But we can affirm that the virtuoso guitar hero type of solo definitely died.
Dude filmed this like a guitar solo murder mystery. Love it
Guitar Solos were never out of the scene, it was just the scene becoming overcrowded by automated music.
Exactly
100%
And that's why I love Band-Maid. Kanami provides such amazing solos. Specially now in her signature PRS
Matteo Mancuso. You didn't mention him, so I thought I'd mention him because he's amazing!
He's superb!!
The whole point of a guitar solo in the old old days was to express the soul of the musician after they couldn’t speak any further. Nowadays it’s either an opportunity to mindlessly improvise, a set musical part, or an opportunity to impress. and those don’t really have much of a place in modern pop where the fixation is on repeated listens, catchiness, and proper execution of hills and valleys.
Sometimes the hill pop musicians need is a small guitar solo and those are happening more and more often. However the days of solos being an extension of the music and the performer are starting to leave as I mentioned.
Back in the days of Yes for example, solos were all of the above. Set parts, opportunities for improv, extensions of the music, expressions of the soul of the musician, and were also very impressive. The days of a guitar solo encompassing all of those traits haven’t been around for a minute.
All music is being made out there we just aren't used to looking for music instead of radio feeding it to us.
I have to say, I could not name a single song made past 2010. Maybe even earlier. I cannot stand today's fake music. I hope people start making bands again and actually playing on stages I grew up on and went to see live. 1978 Van Halen, Scorpions, all the big bands I seen in my lifetime. There is a thunder on stage and seeing and feeling the drums, vocals, amps and cabinets is living life.
there's still plenty of bands with amazing stage presence, they just aren't mainstream anymore
Amyl and the Sniffers, The Grogans, King Gizzard and the Lizard Wizard, Ocean Alley...
Lots of good contemporary rock, I am 55 and enjoying music as much as ever.
@@freeman10000 CHON and Greta Van fleet too
Hotel tokyo guitarist can
There are for sure good artists today, just not mainstream.
I'm a synth and keys player. Over the last few years due to physical issues, I've been working in DAWs but I hope the guitar solo (and solos in general) makes a comeback. One of the things I always enjoyed was duelling solos between a synth lead and a guitar lead. It's a shame that the advent of creating music on a computer led to the decline of solos. ... It doesn't have to be that way. I can recreate my solo styles in my DAW, and have my guitarist friend add his solo in later.
Check out malmsteen, stratovarius, symphony x, children of bodom for duelling keys and guitar solos.
@@josepalomares3763 ... Malmsteen was one of my inspirations. 😁 Thanks for the tips on the others.
5:09
>talks about cheap to produce, computer generated music
>shows a clip of a jazz rap album with a huge variety of real instruments used during production
all you need to know about this video.
AlterBridge has been making awesome accessible guitar driven melodic hard rock (and metal at times) for the last 20 years with great riffs, bridges, choruses, harmonies, and yes…great guitar solos that fit the songs! Shout out to both Mark Tremonti and Myles Kennedy- great vocalists and even better guitar players - in the same band! 💪🎸
5:55 - That's what I did. After not playing guitar in 10-15 years, I decided to pick it up again, so I started buying guitars, a Quad Cortex and recording equipment.
Too much helpful information at once, sub earned.
Appreciate it! We're doing our best.
The Warning often dont do solos, not beacause Dany cant do them, because artistically the song doesnt call for it. TW are very humble artistically.
What really killed the guitar solo was grunge in the 90's. The solos weren't as technical as it used to be. And Nu-Metal pioneered the guitar breakdown (I maybe wrong on this one). Down tuned 6 strings and bands like Korn even incorporating the 7 string guitar.
This is so true. We decided to leave out a huge chunk we had about grunge. Actually the punk movement preceded the grunge movement. Sex Pistols and the ramones etc.. Quite interesting.
But I think the nail in the coffin was simply the economics of hiphop and EDM. Money talks. Always.
I'm pretty sure breakdowns in their modern form were invented either by late 90s metalcore (the kind derived from mathcore), or somewhere around that time. Not 100% sure on that one, and even slightly earlier mathcore might've used breakdowns (though the song structures tend to be so weird that it's imo debatable how much those have in common with the modern breakdown).
Then again there's probably much earlier examples too, but from what i think, the earlier stuff isn't as close to modern breakdowns as in early metalcore.
@@asaparked too bad you did, I'd have loved to see you cover that part, and it's missing in that subject IMO.
It's worse than you think : Grunge killed rock
@Haroun-El-Poussah You're not wrong. Rock was never the same after Grunge.
For me at least, it was Polyphia - and some other artists - who gave me faith that guitar-driven music has a huge chance of coming back in pop music. Even though, it doesn't have to, as it easily could stay as a RUclips (social media) treasure. Their smoothness has inspired a new generation of artists ready to take off the music landscape. Let's see what the future brings! Cheers
Ironically, for me on the other hand, Polyphia was the last drop of "yeah, I'm tired of senseless shredding, this shit has to go away".
@@IuriiPlevako Interesting, as for me, it wasn't the shredding which hooked me to their playing, more the chord phrasing and the pentatonic playing along them as well all the other well implemented technics. Songs like Goose or Saucy might be great examples to go. Cheers :D
@@UltimateRaven41 fair enough. I had just listened to too much of such music 15-20 years ago, and can't take it any more. Perhaps I'll sometimes rediscover interest for it again, but now I'm way happier with the 'mood based' music, as the author called it. Let those post punk songs hypnotise me with monotone bass lines, I love that better now, than someone showing off without rhyme or reason.
Can't stand polyphia's trap music style beats/production
Polyphia boring asf
Analyze the violin; once the New comer mainstream instrument, filled with virtuosos and myths surrounding them like heroes.
Then new technology came through and with it, the violin (along with academic/classical music) got replaced with newer instruments/genres.
It is sad however, that it seems we are aiming for 100% digitally/artifically made music. I mean, sure, some of us musicians practice everyday but our job has been demoted to a "skilled hobbyist" at best.
This is true especially if you live in latin america where people only listen to reggaeton
I am 65. I started playing guitar for real a couple of years ago. Before all I did was a little fooling around here and there. Solos are a big part of my learning. I like playing solos. I am really not as good with strumming cords and rhythm as I should be or want to be but I like learning solos!!!
There’s really no wrong answer but songs don’t exist without rhythm. If they do, they’re unlistenable.
Just stick to listening on the radio.
I chose to learn the guitar because I find it to be the most versatile instrument where you can bend or slide between notes and use harmonics for interesting sounds. However, there is always an an appeal to any instrument doing a solo. I have been amazed at drum solos, violin solos, bass solos, piano and keyboard solos, etc. I think solos certainly showcase the instrument as well as the talent and invite many to pick up instruments to learn. While a band can take you on an emotional ride with the words a singer sings and the melody behind it, nothing compares to certain instrumental solos to max out those emotions, often seen as the climax of the show.
bro please make a video/short on Steely Dan, they are so much missed in this channel. 🙏
Love Steely Dan!!
I sold all of my guitars and quit at the end of the year
Great production level my bro.
0:41 small correction: die with a smile does have a guitar solo, just not some virtuoso, "guitar hero" thing
The Beatles were not about guitar solos. They didn't even have any particularly good guitarists in the band. Didn't matter. It was the songs.
Nice video Asa. I had to watch all the way to the end to see that you’ve done your research!
I always thought it was because guitar had evolved
The way we play normally is so much more complicated and harder than any old pentatonic solo
I attended Berklee College of Music from 1990-1993, so I was a winner of the "worst timing award" as I was studying to take "guitar heroism" to the next level right when Nirvana came in and dominated the zeitgeist. Looking back, I'll admit that some of the guitar histrionics of the late 1980s went a bit overboard, but the pendulum swung so far back and so violently, it is taking two generations to recover. However, you hit the nail on the head with electronic "programmed" music. It all started with sampling - as a producer, how could you resist having an unlimited sound palate!?! But the secondary effects were enormous.
I feel you man. I strongly considered Berklee myself way back when. And this was long after the guitar was starting to lose its allure. But I think guys like Mayer etc was able to keep it cool.
John Mayer deserves way more praise than he gets imo. He was just so damn easy to "hate".
You're giving me hope man! And also, ever heard of Grace Bowers?
I think bands such as Polyphia, Chon, Animals as leaders has helped grow interest in the guitar again as their style of playing is new and unique
Polyphia,Tim Henson especially but both guitraists are incredible stuff...
Oh,and the drummer,top class!!!
Guitar solo's are most definitely coming back with a deadly vengeance starting with this year, we'll make sure of it!
Good video. Subbed. It's all in what you prefer. In the 90s the guitar stuff was really going away, compared to the 80s, with grunge. I'm an 80s kid. I don't appreciate all solos, maybe because I'm older, more refined, I have no idea. It's about what makes me feel something, whether it's fast or slow or whatever. Some of the fastest and "best" on YT are boring AF to me.
Great video
They avoid guitar solos because they don't have the musicality to craft a good solo.
Move your focus to Japan and listen to their diverse Metal bands, many still utilize solo in their music.
My recommendation:
1. *Lovebites* - Holy War
2. *Galneryus* - The Follower, Destiny, Struggle for the Freedom flag
3. *Ningen Isu* - Heartless Scat
4. *Unlucky Morpheus* - Black Pentagram, Angreifer, The Black Death Mansion Murder
5. *Anthem*
Thank you for this!
Yes. Guitar solos, rock and metal music are very alive in Japan. Even JPop.are guitar driven, most have guitar solos or fills.
@@kmkreate2930
Yeah. Not just guitar, many of their J-pop songs have great bass lines.
They appreciate other instrument too e.g. keyboard/piano, violin.
Let's be honest, what we really need is a good Shaggs tribute band.
I'm a metal diehard. We never stopped having solos and bridges (in metal we call them BREAKDOWNS). It's the mainstream which neglected guitar solos for too long.
so glad solos are coming back
Thank you for this, it’s a beacon of hope for those of us who have never stopped practicing guitar over the last 25 years :D
Not to mention modern artists like Joji’s song “Run” features a fantastic solo PLUS it had GREAT TONE TOO
I'm a pro guitarist and shredding after the golden years is what killed rock. Nobody wants to listen to a needy nerd.
A concise, well performed instrumental that embellishes a track is fine. But when you need to listen to an individual showing you his practice scales, it's game over.
Awesome video! Let me add other important factors:
-Grunge was the first killer of the guitar solo in the early 90s. Hair metal was the biggest music at the time with highly polished and expensive to make music. Then grunge music showed up which was raw, authentic and real.
-Metal went underground throughout the 90s until the early 2000s with Nu-Metal which didn't have guitar solos!
-From the 2000's - today, guitar solos just went to another genre: country. Listen to the top 10 country songs on Spotify. Most of them feature a guitar solo, and their music is heavily guitar-driven.
-The vast majority of people latch onto the melody and lyrics. Pop songs feature 1-2 melodies that are simple and repeated throughout the song, even if it's 3 minutes. That creates a brainwashing effect and gets struck in your head. You can't do that with guitar solos that feature a million notes.
-Taylor Swift is PROBABLY responsible for putting more guitars into peoples hands than Steve Vai, Joe Satriani, John Mayer, etc.
-I've been playing for 20 years and love guitar-driven music like instrumental rock and metal. But only guitarists like and listen to that music. I was dating a girl who loves pop music and showed her an Ichika Nito song and within 20 seconds she told me its boring. Too many notes.
-The rise of guitar correlates to the rise of social media platforms and the "wow" factor. Crazy playing gets views. Ichika Nito, Marcin, Polyphia. They're making the whole song a guitar solo similar to the heros of the past but now with more acrobatics.
-The guitar industry has shifted from artists/bands selling guitars to influencers selling guitars. Ichika Nito got an Ibanez signature guitar (btw he's the first Japanese person to ever get an Ibanez signature guitar) just from his RUclips following subscriber count. He hadn't release an EP or album when he got it. Fluff and Jared Dines have signature guitars with Ernie Ball Music Man. Subscribers and views makes sales nowadays.
-Personal opinion: The vast majority of guitar solos are boring and add nothing to a song. I personally can't listen to a pentatonic/blues scale and a handful of bends to show "emotion" anymore. That's why some of my favorite guitarists are Steve Vai and John Petrucci. They explore other scales, make their solos interesting, and their solos MOSTLY fit the mood and feel of the song.
Love this! Much great insights. Thank you!
Grunge didn't kill guitar solos though. Grunge was a reaction, not the reason. People got tired, so they turned to grunge.
If anything, hair metal killed solos, as it made them dull.
Grunge was full of guitar solos.
@@bennyflint Yeah, many did, but what happened is guitar solos went from "look at me while I go wee-diddley-dee for 3 minutes" to a handful of bars that often repeat the chorus melody. It shifted the mindset that you didn't need be technically proficient on guitar to make great songs. Grunge was raw, has a loose feel and had simple song structures and chords (Soundgarden being the exception).
@@YousefAHMusicThat’s a good point. They were definitely different in the grunge era. I think the first rock genre to really do away with solos was Nu Metal.
i really love these format, you putting so much effort for this 👊🏻✨
In the late 2010s, a band called Bilderbuch was massively famous in German-speaking countries. Their music sounds nothing like Rock music from back in the day, it sounds absultely current, and they have massive guitar solos! One of their biggest hits ("Bungalow", check it out ;]) has even 2 of them. They managed to integrate them into their modern pop/R'n'B/Cloud Rap sound, using synthesizer guitars and effects.
Also, Remi Wolf has some fat guitar solos on her 2022 album "Juno".
Awesome!
It’s obvious. People stopped playing guitar for like 20 years while the labels pushed hip hop and DJs bc it was so cheap to send them on tour. People got used to music without instruments in it. After they became too similar and saturated people picked up instruments again to compete. Shredding is back Jack.
very nice video mate, very well prepared. you are underrated
One of the problems that led to this was the fact that guitar players got too good. The instrument reached it's pinnacle. Who wants to one up Jason Becker, anyone????
If a musician can’t speak to a general non-musician audience, they are too far inside themselves.
@@Protocol_17 True. Seems opposite of what Elvis Costello was saying.
@@Protocol_17 100% true. This video is really really bad, this guy represents a big part of the guitarist internet community, the my-music-is-better-than-yours type of people that love the guitar with everything they have and forget music is not only one instrument.
i definitely agree and disagree with this. solid points all around. but solos are definitely nowhere near gone. it all depends on what YOU listen too. if you’re listening to the top bands and artists. yeah you may not find it. but i listen to plenty of modern bands that have solos in almost all the songs. it’s just depends what music you listen to
True. Andy Timmons also said this in our conversation. He was like "guitar solos are everywhere in the music I'm listening to. So in my view it has never died."
Awesome piece, Asa! Soloing has never gone away - it's always been a thing since the dawn of RUclips with millions of bedroom guitarists around the world!
I just don’t like when people make it certain genres aren’t as worth listening to as others. I’m as big a fan of Prince and Eddie Van Halen as I am of playboi carti and Kendrick Lamar. Everyone listen and loves everything now and I think its for the better
Moray Pringle is an awsome guitarist that I don't see anyone talk about. By fasr my favorite contemporary guitarist.
Love it!! He's good
Moray Pringle is really damned good. Especially melodically.
Oh wow! You got Andy Timmons in, that's amazing.
I think your style of narrative is unique. It is like a little documentary, love it!
Thank you! Yes, Andy is a gem.
As others mentioned solos aren't really important in pop music these days. Having been around enough years to experience the changes in popular music (60s to now), I remember when new wave synth music came in (late 70s to mid 80s) and there was talk of the guitar dying. I loved the synth thing in the 80s although I am a metal kid from the 70s, and still am. It's just that personally I feel that it isn't necessary to solo in every song. I also loved the Jon Lord thing and will sometimes use synths to add a different color to the song. Actually played guitar and synth in several bands in the 80s. Currently I use whatever I want in my Daw productions and with vst synths and amp sounds, I can develop my soundscapes. Good to see the youngsters getting into the guitar. Hope they can shake the tree. Cool post thanks Asa.
Thanks for the insights!! Appreciate it.
Synthwave and retrowave create awesome guitar solos, Le Brock. Mcrocklin & Hutch, Kalax, Kidburn, The midnight, At 1980,
Makes me smile. I'm older and need to be thinking about selling and passing on guitars and amps at this stage. Would like to see it move on to those who are dedicated to playing and not just collecting.
Guitar solos are definitely going to make a comeback, they’re to awesome not to. And as a guitar player whose been following guitar RUclips for a long time, some of these great players are starting to get some well deserved attention.
My music will always have guitar solos in it!
Greg Koch and Tim Henson are also great guitar players. But Tim is the most well known of the social media famous guitar players.
Love this! Thank you
Overshadowed by Marcin. Just kidding :) They're both great.
I might be laughed at but I follow Ola Englund's channel. Great channel, rocking music, informative and humorous, too. He's from Sweden.
I love them and have added it to my first song. And I will always add them to my songs. I want it to be my thing. I know its not a uniques thing but still I love them.
You need to talk also about how this new generation is not compromised to anything, honestly I don’t think they will have discipline to make the solos back,
But I do believe that older generation of musicians are the one who will make them back, they are they one (majority) know how to play the guitar
Whenever there is a demand, there will always be supplies. Economics is very straightforward.
Authentic, live music will have a come back. People want to share moments, vibe together.
Big resurgence in country music. Lots of guitar solos. I was watching the New Year’s Eve in Nashville show on US TV. Musicianship was wild.
Someday i want to make accordion popular again when i start a band
it actually happened way before hip hop etc; the 1970s was the decade of the guitar, but when punk happened in 1976 the guitar solo was already under threat, later post punk bands used minimalist guitar playing; the Cure, Banshees, New Order etc. However, simultaneously there were guitar heros in the 1980s, so it was still big
I think a lot of it is organic. I stopped playing guitar much back in 2008 and started making electronic music. A couple of years ago I got tired of electronic music and picked back up my guitar. I don’t really do much social media so it wasn’t that. I just decided I wanted to play guitar again.
I believe, the disappearance of guitar solos was just natural. The older guitar solos were, as you mention here "mood based". Remember "Comfortably Numb" solo for instance. IMO, the best guitar solo ever. It perfectly emphasizes the hypnotic delirium nature of the song. And then by the end of the 80s and with some renaiisance in the 90s hardly anyone cared to write an emotiinal solo. It was all just "faster, more notes, more arpeggios and sweeping", and honestly, it was horrible. No surprise they went almost extinct. Shredding solos are a nice tool to add to an album once or twice to put accent on certain emotional moments, but as a listener, I do not want to hear the same shredding in every song of an album
Very interesting topic!
Great Video and thanks for the recommendations.
I wish this was an even longer watch.
There are many more perspectives to look at too (e.g. rise and fall in popularity of music videos and their somewhat fixed length; punk, thrash, grunge and indie music and the shift from technicality to a somewhat more authentic/raw way of expression, nowadays guitars in modern songs already implement techniques that were prior mostly used in solos)
P.S.:
- My personal experience was that it just went out of fashion/style and the basic song structure incl. a solo was getting old fast.
(There were too many songs with solos and from those many had 0 meaning. If the Solo did not elevate the message/feeling of a song it was a plain waste of time and a chore to listen to)
- And let's be honest Metallica living in a studio for a whole year is just absurdity (that makes 'em sound like one of the biggest industry plants ever; i do still love the black album)
So you grew up wanting to play epic guitar solos in a Rock band, but then Rock bands almost died out. I can relate, when I was 18 I wanted to be a turntablist / sample player like what NuMetal artists like LimpBiscuit and LinkingPark or Slipknot had. But while Guitar solos lasted for 50-60 years, that kind of music lastet 5-6 years. But heck, I would still join a band like that!
As a guitarist in a local band in my opinion the barrier of entry has became soo high that it isn't even worth to try to solo kind of. When guys like Ichiko Nito exists I can't just start pentatonic noodling, it's pointless. But then again if I start to incorporate these advanced techniques I feel like it just doesn't serve the song and becomes a self centered showing off that nobady asks for. Most of these days I just play a simple melody that fits into the song neatly
If you want guitar solos, check out Japanese all-female metal band, Lovebites. They have all the guitar solos. And they're insanely good.
The Japanese have always loved American style rock bands. Some of the best live recordings came from concerts in Japan.
Im really impressed by the fact you did not mentionet King Gizzard And The Lizard Wizard, being one of the greatest rock band of the past decade and will be this one as well making basicaly the majority of their 25 records on guitar.
Grace Bowers is one of my favorite new Guitarists.
BEST SoloS BY GLENKaiser. "Where Roses grow". X Shadows..
Right alongside Sax solo time!
I like David Gilmour solos. They are not pretencious wank-offs but beautiful melodic parts.
I believe this decade is very much feeling like the 60s. People are tired of conforming to the power structures that were in place for so long. Towards the end of this decade we might see new “Jim morrisons”, “Jimi hendrixes”, and “janis joplins”, according to the time of course. I like that scene from the doors movie where Ray speaks to Jim: “Let’s create the myths and the legends to come”
I’m a big dreamer as you may have noticed loool
Regarding new guitar hero’s… Khruangbin has a fresh and unique sound with different references mixed into what we’re already familiar (some african and middle eastern mixed into a pop/chill/sometimes rocky sound).
Check them out if you haven’t yet.
The solo became less of a means of serving the solo and more a means of the guitarist simply showing off, even at the detriment of the music. 99% of guitarists now don’t know how to serve the song, they just think “lets shred bro” whilst drooling all over themselves in self glazing satisfaction as the audience leaves. The most iconic solos are iconic not because they’re fast, or technical or shreddy; they’re iconic because the song would lose its magic without it. A GOOD solo can be basic, fundamental and even borderline sloppy, but it can still be incredible in a musical setting, so long as it actually adds something of quality to the overall soundscape of the music. Crazy Train isn’t just iconic because its fast, it makes the song memorable because it had to exist within the context of the song. Without it, Crazy Train wouldn’t be as much of an Ozzy classic in the sense of what it currently is.
If you miss guitar solos, Lovebites is a band for you! 2 extremely skilled guitarists soloing, shreding, harmonizing! Not only that but entire band is on world class level of musicianship! they are the most amazing band I have ever seen and I've been metal fan for quite a while!
i’m gen z and some of our attention spans are cooked but i myself love a good solo the guitar solo in foo fighters song called “ oh george “ is underrated
Lots of guitar solos still being heard loud and clear from my house 😂😂😂
Whatever's you say bro..but rock and heavy metal will last if not forever. .but these new genres will just come and goes u know..😅
I remember when I heard Avenged Sevenfold for the first time in 2006, and I remember thinking, "Finally, someone's doing guitar solos again!"
I miss all the new fresh ideas I heard at local live gigs across the USA. How about tunes where every chorus had a mini solo. Or one 3pc that had the bass playing the riffs and the guitar only noodling solos and broken solos through out the tunes. Or one time a 5pc 3 gtr act that had two lead players working a solo together, back and forth, that one blew me a way, and will always stick. I rolled through during the early 2k's Hardcore scene, a drummer, but always wished I could rip. The best solos I have heard were not technical at all, but impactful, hard hitting, and emotional. I think to many chase that rabbit hole of technical mastery to ill effect, but hey I am just some biased old school drummer huh.