The guitar solo in rock music

Key learning points

1. In the 1980s rock continued to be hugely commercially successful.
2. Artists drew influence from other styles and often used developing technology in their music.
3. A common feature of many rock styles is the virtuosic guitar solo.
4. These are normally based on the blues or pentatonic scale, and are played above the riff or chords.
5. Guitarists often used specific techniques such as note bending, hammer-ons, tapping, and harmonics.

Keywords

• Virtuosic - playing in a virtuosic style means to play in a way that shows off technical and musical ability

• Note bending - note bending is when a musician ‘bends’ the pitch of a note

• Hammer-on - a hammer-on is a technique where the guitarist presses their finger into a fret to play a note, rather than plucking the string

• Tapping - tapping is a guitar technique in which both hands 'tap' the frets, allowing very fast patterns to be played

• Harmonic - a harmonic is a very high-pitched sound that guitarists often play to add excitement to solos

Common misconception