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Modern Metal Solo Breakdown: Part 1

Mike Salow 210 lessons

Onto the first set of ideas.

I'm a big fan of solos that build into a climactic ending whilst still maintaining some nice technical lines throughout, so I started this solo with a short melody followed by a pentatonic/blues oriented lick.

This was an improvised solo so in the mindset of improvisation I chose to hit as many chord tones as I could manage, hence the major 7 on the 4th fret of the D string which really brings out the harmonic minor tonality. On the other hand, if I were to hit a minor 7 at that point, it would have sounded horrible so it's great to be aware of what chords are happening underneath your soloing, no matter the style of music.

From there I threw in a quick pentatonic line over the tonic chord.

Pay close attention to the tab and you'll be able to pull this off in no time.

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