7.12.2010 - Chris' Soloing Tips

Hey Scorpion!

This question is for Chris. I am starting a band of my own and I need to work on the precision in my solos. All of his solos on Endgame blow my mind! What tips does he have for learning them? It seems even when I slow them down they are just so hard! haha. The ones I'm truly trying to learn are How The Story Ends and Bodies.

Thanks!
Connor Liebel, Dover DE

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Hey Connor, I caught up with Chris about this while out here on the tour. Here is what he had to say.

Hey Connor,

Thanks for the compliments, I'm glad you like the solos. As far as learning them you have to remember that those solos are composed using some techniques that I have worked on my entire career. Thats not to say that you couldn't play them without the same amount of time that I invested in the technique but I am trying to get you to be patient with yourself on these. First I would break down the solos into there separate parts (for How the Story ends I has four cycles of the rhythm behind it and I wanted each next cycle to get more intense). These parts can have different techniques involved including, bending, string skipping, tapping, sweeping, alternate scale picking etc... that I would furthure break the solo apart with. Then start working with these different techniques and train your hand how to achieve them effortlessly. This is the most important thing I can teach is that the speed you play something at is not important as long as you can play it relaxed and focused, until that point you shouldn't worry about playing it at a tempo that creates stress (mentally or physically).

I hope this helps, and don't forget to just have fun with it to.
Chris.

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