Guitar Phrasing

Guitar soloing is probably the most exciting part of guitar playing especially for blues where speed is not an issue and it’s all about the feel and the emotion and that would only be possible if you have an idea about phrasing. Phrasing is the way to go if you want to make guitar solos that convey emotions, not just empty notes. You see, there is a huge difference between making music and making empty notes. You are just moving your fingers but you are not making music at all. In my opinion, real music is when you affect another human being just by listening to the music you produce.

Guitar Phrasing – 101

What is guitar phrasing? It is pretty much similar with the phrasing of words that we do when we speak. When doing a guitar solo, you also do some phrasing. You group notes together into something much more emotional or much more sensible. For example, in a 4 / 4 time signatures, you can place 4 notes per beat or 8 notes per beat, or 5 notes per beat or do some variations like 4 notes on the first beat and 8 on the second. It depends. But the point here is to make it sound like you are talking through the guitar.

Guitar Phrasing – conclusion

It’s not that hard to do but the concept is quite challenging to grasp. You could always group notes but you couldn’t always get an emotional guitar solo out of your guitar. This thing is natural with professional blues player. It’s all about the feel. So practice guitar phrasing because it would help a lot in terms of improving your guitar soloing skills.