For many guitar players it’s an itch that needs scratching as we try to express ourselves musically and expand our understanding of the guitar as a whole.

While sixty minutes might not seem like much, it IS possible to learn how to play solos in a relatively short amount of time, maybe even less.

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How Do I Start to Solo?

Learning how to solo starts with a good set of tools and, as mentioned, good guidance. At the very least you should at have an artist and solo in mind to use as a target.

Having said that, the real difference in being being able to start soloing quickly is not so much the amount of talent you may have (or not), but the quality of instruction and your willingness to make something happen.

Thanks to the convenience of video instruction, a highly focused guitar tutorial on soloing such as Guitareo’s program of free videos, makes the process about as easy as baking a cake, and in about the same amount of time.

What Tools Will I Need?

The short answer is patterns, and a guitar of course. On a guitar, patterns can be as simple as a chord form or a series of single notes, ie; a scale.

For most of us, starting to solo means learning scales. Now, before you start imagining endless hours of tedious repetition taught by a dusty professor scratching out notation on a worn chalkboard, it’s really not that bad.

Scales are your friends. The more you know, the more friends you have.

Is there one scale that rules them all? Technically, yes, and that would be the C major scale – the big kahuna.

But if you’re starting to solo, let’s make it easy and practical – pentatonic is the way to go.

Why?

Pentatonic patterns are simple. Being based on only 5 tones, the “penta”tonic or 5 note scale is an economical structure that can easily be applied across the neck. Plus, chances are your favorite players also make good use of it too – especially in rock and blues styles.

What Makes a Good Solo?

Ah yes, the eternal question. The answer lies in your own personal tastes which are subjective. You probably have guitar heroes you admire, and certain solos you find extremely entertaining.

A good guitar solo is one that contains emotion, uses dynamics and fits the song.

Does this mean it has to be technically brilliant or complex? Absolutely not.

For example, check out Neil Young’s impassioned and understated approach to soloing in this video at 1:54

As they say, sometimes less is more.

From a player’s point of view it should at least be fun to play. And from a listener’s point of view it should be fun to hear.

Regardless of the artist or style of music, great solos tend to stand the test of time. They’re a blend of the player’s personality and their given choice of phrases, which are often a collection of bits and pieces from their own guitar heroes.

If you want to create good solos, learn from the best. Grab your inspiration from the guitar players you admire.

How Do I Get Better at Soloing?

Getting better at soloing involves practice – no two ways about it. Having a good practice routine combined with a positive mindset will always produce results.

To accelerate your progress, here are a few points to keep in mind:

• Be realistic – While it’s a good idea to stretch your boundaries, you should also be practical about the level of difficulty you’re taking on.
• Divide and conquer – Break down the harder passages into bite-size chunks you can digest more easily. Work on each one in turn then patch them together
• Walk, don’t run – Use a metronome to gradually build up speed for faster parts.
• Understand theory – In all honesty, getting a grip on theory will unlock EVERYTHING musical – not just the guitar.
• Think outside the musical box – If you want to develop a more unique solo voice, look beyond the guitar. Other instruments can be excellent sources for inspiration such as vocal lines, saxophone or even piano.

As a word of caution, it doesn’t take long to find extraordinary players that can tear up a fretboard. Did they learn to solo overnight? Probably not. Everybody eats the elephant one bite at a time.

Personal Notes on Soloing

For many players, the idea of soloing is about as complex as earning a PHD in music and growing a sixth finger. But it doesn’t have to be that way.

Yes, copying or “lifting” a solo from another player can be tricky, but it’s well worth the effort. And once you get a taste for soloing it’s almost impossible to get away from it.

Personally, once I started playing solos, I never looked back – total thrill time. Not that playing chords or riffs wasn’t fun, it’s just that I found soloing was MORE fun.

Like most others, I began borrowing licks and tricks from the greats, then mixed the musical ingredients together to develop my own personal style.

Interestingly enough when I started teaching soloing, I noticed an unsettling phenomenon starting to pop up: my students were beginning to sound like me! This threw me for a huge loop and I quickly took my personal licks off the teaching table. Not to protect my ego, but to make sure my student’s own style developed organically from their own inspirations – not polluted by my personal preferences.

In closing, yes, you can learn to solo in a short amount of time. The best way is to find an excellent source of instruction and pick a reasonable goal. From there, making sensible solo sounds on the guitar is just a matter of putting in the time and effort.

The post Can You Learn To Solo In An Hour – From Scratch? first appeared on GuitarNiche.

Aimed primarily at beginners, Guitareo is designed to get you playing as soon as possible through great content with a strong focus on making the whole process easy – and fun.

Note: For the purposes of this article I was allowed unrestricted access to Guitareo to make sure you get a complete, first-hand and unbiased review. As some links are affiliated, I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you.

Guitareo Summary

Editor’s Rating

(4.3 / 5)

Guitareo Prices and Membership Offers

1 Month Free Trial

$0 for 30 Days

VIEW

Monthly Payments

$15 per month

VIEW

Yearly Plan

$127 per year

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Why anyone wouldn’t want to start with the free month option is beyond me – it’s a good deal.

When you consider it’s only $10.58 a month on the annual plan, it’s an even better good deal.

Still, the relatively low price points reflect a highly competitive market – that’s very good news for you as a consumer. Whether they can be sustained over the long term is a different story.

Editor’s Note: The entire Guitareo platform is currently going through a massive update – for the better.

Guitareo’s parent company, Musora Media Inc is unifying all their offers – guitar (Guitareo), drums (Drumeo), piano (Pianote) and voice (Singeo), under one roof.

The verdict is – if you’re interested in the program at all, get in and grab the free month deal while you can!

Steve B.

Interestingly enough, Guitareo occasionally offers a Lifetime Membership. Considering the platform’s growth trajectory, this should be a serious consideration for anyone who likes the program and wants the absolute best value you can get.

At the very least, it’s worth joining their email list should it, or any new opportunity come up.

How Does Guitareo Compare to Other Programs?

Here’s a quick cross reference of how other online lessons programs rate at the highest level:

Service	Cost	Rating	Offer?
	$19.99 per Month	(4.1 )	14 Day Free Trial
	$29.00 per Month	(4.3)	30 Day Free Trial
	$35.00 per Month	(4.1)	Free Samples
	$0.00 per Month	(4.2)	Trial – N/A
	$9.99 per Month	(4.0)	50% Discount on Annual Plan
	$19.99 per Month	(3.9)	Free Trial

In Reddit’s subreddit on guitar, users tend to favour the Justin Guitar program. This may be because it’s free, and who doesn’t like free? But it is just one guy, which automatically stifles the ability to absorb perspectives from different personalities.

What Makes Guitareo Different?

Whether you’re interested in learning acoustic or electric guitar, Guitareo’s strength lies in the quality of its instructors and its core offering: the Guitareo Method.

The “Method” itself is logically graduated to allow a new guitar student find their way as easily as possible.

The emphasis here is on fun and taking the time to make sure topics are covered fully.

As with other platforms there is an underlying history built on proven principles developed over time. This is very much the result of Nate Savage’s work with guitarlessons.com for many years.

if you’re musically inclined, you’ll find instant familiarity with Musora’s other offerings – particularly Drumeo.

As mentioned, Guitareo is actually part of a larger family of specific instrument courses offered by Musora Media Inc.

The benefit for you as a student is in Musora’s ability to draw intelligent feedback from a number of musical disciplines within their network.

For instance, Drumeo’s Method is instantly familiar in layout. Moreover, there’s no doubt Guitareo is based on the same overall design, but for guitar of course.

Considering Drumeo’s long standing history of providing excellent instruction from a long list of world class instructors, I wouldn’t be surprised to see a similar future for Guitareo.

Who are the Main Faces of Guitareo?

While Guitareo does have a good number of instructors, there are two main personalities you’ll find in the primary content and across most of the marketing materials: Nate Savage and Ayla Tesler-Mabe.

Nate Savage of GuitarLessons.com

Nate Savage has been cultivating a guitar lessons system for many years – over 13 years in fact.

With his inclusion into the Guitareo family, that patience and persistence has paid off for everybody.

A quick scroll through Guitareo’s Youtube channel revealed literally hundreds of Nate’s instructional videos in the archives. That resource alone represents an extraordinary treasure trove of free lessons.

Ayla Tesler-Mabe: The Guitareo Girl

Still in her early twenties, Ayla Tesler-Mabe is direct, knowledgable and a very good teacher.

Following in Fender Play’s decision to capitalize on an under-served market, Ayla has taken on the responsibilities of putting a friendly female face on what was becoming a rather dusty collection of all-too-familiar male faces.

As they say, nothing stays the same forever, and this shift towards female inclusiveness in what has been a male-dominated industry is entirely refreshing.

Using the Interface

On Devices

Whether you’re accessing the course through a desktop or on your phone, the platform is instantly familiar.

At the time of this writing, there’s no Guitareo app in the traditional sense – the lessons and features work just fine in the browser-based format.

I wouldn’t be surprised though if, as the community and opportunities continue to grow, there may be an app version available down the road.

In fact, word is Musora is actively developing its own app, which would of course include Guitareo, due for release some time in 2023.

Video Players and Tools

Private membership videos are hosted by Vimeo. Chances are you’re already familiar with Vimeo controls which are similar to YouTube’s, and supports features such as playback speed etc.

There are a number of YouTube videos included which make use of the native YouTube video controls. If you’ve spent any time on YouTube (and who hasn’t), it’s a no-brainer to adjust playback speed and many other options.

If you have any experience with using lessons apps, you’ll find the player window features a number of familiar tools to help you learn the song as efficiently as possible.

Sections Layout

The site interface can be broken down into four main sections:

• Home – Your main point of entry including quick access to popular sections.
• Main Content – Courses, packs, lessons plus all the other meat-and-potatoes resources and materials.
• Forum and My List – As the section implies, here you can access Guitareo’s very lively forum, and keep track of you progress using the “My List” feature.
• User Profile – Your User icon. This is where you can adjust settings, account info, plus it’s your communications hub. There are also entries for the gear you use and a place to post a gear photo – which is great for sharing your problem with gear acquisition syndrome (GAS) but also good for the ego :)

Inside the Guitareo Program

Let’s have a more in-depth look at each section step-by-step:

Home

Once you login, you’re taken to the home page where you’ll find the latest and greatest program updates, quick access to the program’s core offerings, popular conversations and upcoming events.

Method

The “Guitraeo Method” is the platform’s core offering and is designed to be user-friendly especially for beginners.

Your primary instructor is Ayla Tesler-Mabe who is very personable and does an excellent job of explaining and demonstrating each topic.

The course itself is laid out in ten logical levels with each level broken down into individual lessons that cover each skill in detail.

The total number of individual lessons is 82 (yes, I counted them). And even though level 10 has yet to be released at the time of this writing, I can tell you the scope and breadth of what IS available is remarkable and extremely thorough – nice!

Before you begin the course, you might want to check out the “WHERE TO BEGIN” button at the top of the page. If you already have some fundamentals under your belt, this feature helps filter content that’s more appropriate for you.

Songs

Currently, the Songs section is sparse and looks underdeveloped. It also seems geared towards the upcoming Christmas season?

Still, a quick global search brings up tons of other song options which are easily filtered.

Coaches

In the Coaches section, we get to meet the individual personalities to learn from.

As with any human interaction, some personalities may work better for you. If you dig around a little bit, you should easily find someone you have an affinity for and fits your style.

Clicking on an individual coach will pull up their list of videos including seminars, Q&A sessions, and individual lessons. Some of these videos are from Guitareo’s YouTube channel, others are only available from within the platform.

Packs

The “Packs” section contains full courses assembled in comprehensive clusters which cover the topics in depth.

From a user’s point of view, the section represents an easy way to access some of the most valuable content on the site in one shot.

Guitar Quest – Something a Little Different

Where the majority of Guitareo’s training packs follow a more traditional approach to learning, Guitar Quest takes you on an entirely different ride.

Similar to the Method, you learn the basics of guitar but from a point of view that focuses exclusively on the fun factor.

Using creativity and musicality as driving forces, the Guitar Quest course is laid out in a very linear way via nine color-coded levels or “missions”.

If you’re into writing, recording or performance of any kind, Guitar Quest is designed to level-up your playing by applying what you just learned in a very practical and entertaining way.

For new students looking for something outside the box, or an approach that’s more similar to TikTok or even gaming, Guitar Quest offers an unconventional yet enjoyable method of learning guitar.

Check out the complete Guitar Quest review here.

Courses

In a nutshell, all courses in one place – and there are LOTS of them.

You will find a wide variety of topics including but not limited to strumming, scales, chords, techniques, exercises, reading music, music theory, lead guitar, rhythm guitar, and more.

Guitareo’s Courses section

Luckily, the handy filtering section at the top of the page makes finding a particular course topic much much easier.

Quick Tips

Keeping with trend for information in a digestible short format, the Quick Tips section is not only highly practical, but lets you quickly drill down on the precise topics you’re interested in.

Student Focus

Probably one of the most underrated sections, Student Focus gives you the chance to drill down on areas you really need help with.

Split into two sections: Student Reviews and Q&A, this section acts as a portal giving you the opportunity to ask specific questions or submit a video directly to the staff.

This type of interaction with the teachers is indispensable when you’re, for instance, trying to figure out a certain approach or need clarification on a concept.

Live

Guitareo has a schedule of live streams that cover various topics you can jump in on once you subscribe to the calendar feature.

This is a great opportunity to interact with the teachers and other students in real time. But if you do miss a live session, no worries, you’ll find it in the archives later.

Play-Alongs

Play-alongs (one of my favourite sections) is where you get to test your chops and improvise.

They’re essentially jam tracks that are conveniently broken down into individual videos illustrating all the separate parts.

The beauty of this is you can cross-reference specific skills that make up a song or you may have a particular interest in. From picking, to strumming, chord work, breakdowns, song structure etc, this section lets you expand your abilities in a very comprehensive sense.

Lessons

In the Lessons section you’ll find a smorgasbord of courses, lessons packs, tips, and pretty much everything else Guitareo has to offer.

Luckily, the Topics section at the bottom of the page makes filtering for specific interests a breeze.

500 Songs

500 Songs in 5 Days is an ambitious attempt in getting a new player to realize just how far they can go with even a modest skill set.

You don’t literally get five hundred instructional videos – that would be nuts! But you do get instructions on the basic skills needed and downloadable pdf guides to get the job done.

Chords

As the name implies, the Chords section focuses on, well, the fundamentals – chords specifically.

Instead of a series of pdfs, you get a complete illustrative video that covers the item in full.

For the time being this section is very sparse and it’s unclear as to whether it will be properly populated in the future.

Note: This section is still very much in development. And you would think there would would be a similar section covering scales – which is curiously missing.

Should you be looking for help with scales though, you can easily find what you need using the global search function.

Archives

Here you’ll find all previous streams for the record including Q&A sessions, student collaborations, special guest appearances and more. Handy if you missed one or want to re-watch a particular episode.

Between the Archives and the Forum sections, virtually any question can be posed and answered.

Forums

If you’re familiar with forums, this is a no-brainer. The Guitareo forum community is lively, full of highly relevant topics and extremely helpful.

Of course, you also get to voice your opinions on how the site is working.

From a developer’s point of view, these interactions are gold nuggets that drive platform iteration into more meaningful territory for members.

My List

The My List section is broken down into 3 categories: Added, In Progress and Complete.

This section gives you a detailed overview of your current progress.

Account Settings

Other than the obvious, this section also gives you a chance to show off your gear by uploading a pic, provide details on your current rig and share your history (good or bad) with the guitar.

There’s also an option to switch the interface to dark mode – nice!

Shop

Clicking the Shop takes you to an entirely separate area where, depending on your enrolment status, you can purchase individual breakout courses or merchandise.

Personal Notes on the Guitareo Program

Guitareo might not have the same celebrity draw of other platforms but they make up for it in sheer value through content. There’s something for everybody.

With a focus on fun, feedback and patience, Guitareo takes a lot of the dryness out of common educational tasks such as learning theory and practicing. The end result being a thoroughly enjoyable musical experience.

With unique approaches to teaching guitar such as GuitarQuest, it’s obvious Guitareo is trying to re-think the whole approach to online guitar lessons. The focus is on making the process as fun (if at times a bit cheesey at times) and enjoyable as possible.

My only real complaint is that, due to the aggressive development some sections are glaringly underdeveloped. But after reading through some of the forum interactions with developers, it’s obvious the folks at Guitareo, and Musora in general, are focusing on an ambitious growth trajectory.

In closing, whether you decide to take advantage of Guitareo or not can be a matter of how you feel about it. Easy enough if you just ask yourself some critical questions:

• Does it seem like it can meet your basic needs or goals?
• Is it easy to use?
• Is the quality up to snuff?
• Is there enough material to challenge you and allow you to grow?
• Do you like the people that you deal with?
• Is the platform stale or innovating?

Considering the free trial offered, you really have nothing to lose by trying it out to get a sense of whether the program is right for you – or not!

Editor’s Rating 4.3/5

The post Guitareo Review, Insights And Complete Walkthrough first appeared on GuitarNiche.

Do You Still Have Opportunities to Make Money Playing Guitar?

In the wake of the Coronavirus pandemic, musicians have had to scramble to continue to find work. Concerts and live performances are at a stand-still, with no end in sight as to when we can resume being able to go to a live show.

The online world has become saturated with creative ways that guitar players have discovered and implemented to continue working. Here are some great virtual opportunities that guitar players can take on so they can keep making money right now.

1. Do A Virtual Live Show

Though you can’t pack an auditorium to be on stage and perform a live show, guitar players can still find ways to do virtual performances.

Hosting your own premiere streaming event with other musicians and executing proper social distancing, you can easily market and gain viewership with your intended audience.

You can take things a step further and have a pre-sale for “seats” to see the concert from at home, ensuring that you will be getting compensated for your efforts.

If you performed with a band previously you could dub this a “virtual reunion” of sorts. Many of your followers will be interested in watching the group perform together again, and wouldn’t mind paying to listen to your music.

2. Fundraising Opportunities

You can use crowdfunding programs like GoFundMe or Kickstarter, but sometimes just hosting your own fundraiser for yourself or your band can go a long way.

You can even make a game of it, such as whoever donates the most to your fundraiser gets to pick the set list, or have multiple people pick some of their favorite songs for you to play.

As a guitar player you are already creative, so get creative in thinking of how you can easily earn money with a fundraiser.

3. Teach Online Guitar Lessons

So many music teachers and instructors have been pivoting to helping their students by teaching guitar online. You, too, can benefit as a guitarist by offering one and one, individualized online guitar lessons.

This is a great way to not only meet new people but market yourself as more than just a player, but someone who can help others and train them learn the guitar.

You can easily set up weekly, 30 or 60 minute lessons with students that they pay for on a monthly basis up-front, where you can help guide them through their playing.

Depending on your skill level, you can promote yourself as someone to work with beginners to more advanced players.

4. Create Music For Movies Or Television

Musicians have unique capabilities when it comes to creating music, and if you know how to arrange or compose your own tracks, you can easily make money by joining a music licensing agency that helps up and coming artists sell original works for royalty fees.

Directors and producers are always looking to have royalty-free music that they can utilize in scenes or backgrounds, and having a custom licensing agency that promotes your work is a great way to earn some money in a virtual setting.

Appearing in the credits doesn’t hurt, either, and could open the door for more opportunities with your music as well, so it’s a great way to make yourself more visible as well as earning more income.

5. Playing For Private Online Parties

Even with a pandemic, people are still finding alternate ways to throw parties in virtual settings so that people can essentially “get together” for special events.

You could promote your guitar playing services for things like these. Whether it be playing for some sort of virtual dinner party where people want music in the background.

Events such as a special occasions that people might want to have some musical interludes included, like someone who is hosting some kind of talent show or live awards ceremony.

You can offer this as a gift option for purchase, and be there to “perform” online when needed. You could even put together packages that provide music at different times, with different tiers, and so on.

Create your own custom music packages for purchase online. You can compose or arrange in specific genres and sell for small fees, customizing for specific events or occasions. Get creative with your options, giving people more opportunity to invest!

6. Work Online With Other Musicians

A great way to take advantage of virtual opportunities is the ability to work with musicians outside of your location. You can reach out to musicians you may have wanted to work with in the past and see if you can’t create music together.

If you’re both teaching online, you can put together a masterclass for all of your students to attend together with your guitar expertise. Combining your talents is a great way to expand your reach, and fill your pockets more.

7. Make Some Online Guitar Courses

One last way that you can create income in a virtual setting – creating your own online and digital courses revolving around your guitar knowledge for purchase.

There are so many basic things that people miss when trying to self-teach. Maybe you can eliminate that pain point in your audience and help them learn some things.

Whether it’s an online tutorial where you walk through something as simple as how to properly hold and strum a guitar.

There are beginner lessons on how to play, where to find the best acoustic guitar for the best price, or practice exercises to help you with your finger placement.

Even writing songs on your own, you can easily take your well-known guitar knowledge and help others to learn.

For example, even guitar legend Carlos Santana has an online guitar course available through Masterclass:

In Closing, If You’re Passionate Enough About Playing Guitar, You Will Make Money

Thanks to technology, and learning to embrace it, you can find multiple opportunities to generate income virtually as a guitar player.

You should now have a lot of innovative and creative ideas to help you continue as a musician in today’s world. Any of these income streams can continue to serve you even when you get back to playing live again. 

The post Make Money Playing Guitar [7 Virtual Opportunities] first appeared on GuitarNiche.