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50 of The Best Alternative Guitar Songs of the 90s

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The 90’s. Oh dear, they were really good times for young guitar players like myself who adored rock music.

There were so many alternative rock bands back then you got lost in the woods, but that didn’t bother most of us.

Not that everything was great, but at least it was guitar music playing on the radio, just like in the 60’s and 70’s authentic bands playing real guitar songs.

Nowadays I even like some of the songs that I didn’t really dig back then. It has all become nostalgia.

They make me think of the good times or maybe I just listen to those songs differently now. Has my alternative taste expanded? It doesn’t matter. The bands and their songs that were so awesome then have just become more awesome after all these years. Those cranked up guitars just got better.

Favorites? Of course: REM, Radiohead, Alanis Morissette, Oasis, Beastie Boys and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, but it was great putting the entire list together.

Yes, there were many more songs that i wanted to add, but fifty seemed like a nice round number. So here you are. Continue Reading

50 of The Greatest Guitar Solos of All Time

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We all have our personal favorite “greatest guitar solo of all time ever”. And the beauty is, you can’t argue with that. Everyone has a different taste.

But fortunately we still do. :) We like to argue which is the best, most beautiful, wicked, coolest or melodic solo ever played, because it’s fun and we like to share our taste and passion for music.

So I created a list with 50 of the greatest, most beautiful, well known solos of all time in no particular order. Of course there are some personal favorites in there as well. Still I find it hard to say which one I like best if I had to choose only one. It’s comparing apples and oranges. One of my all time favorites which is not on the list by the way is the solo of Rest in peace by Nuno Bettencourt from the band Extreme. But then again what can beat Hotel California by the Eagles or… ah never mind, looking at the list below I can’t possibly stick to a top 3. And why should I?

That’s why it’s not a top 50 list. And as I said earlier “in no particular order”, although it could be :). Of course the list isn’t complete either, far from it.

So what is it then? Well it’s a list to inspire, to motivate and to enjoy. A list that makes you want to pick up your guitar and learn that awesome solo. To bring back memories and let your guitar playing be influenced by all those beautiful melodies and masterpieces.

Let’s take a look, have a listen and create some new ideas for your practice workout, adding some stunning guitar licks, new techniques or a complete solo to your repertoire.

All the songs are attached to a link which sends you straight to the solo part on youtube. Try to refresh the youtube page if doesn’t work straight away. In the worst case scenario skip to the solo part manually.

Note: As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.

Enjoy and have fun!

The Awesome Harmonic Minor Scale

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The harmonic minor scale is often used in neo-classical, gypsy and jazz music.

But also rock guitar players like to step outside of the pentatonic or minor scale now and then and add this kind of middle eastern sound to their solos to keep things interesting.

It really catches the ear of the listener because something different and exciting is happening. John Petrucci, Joe Satriani and Marty Friedman are good examples of guitar players who incorporate the harmonic minor tastefully into their solos.

If you’re ready to add some cool flavor to play over a minor chord or dominant seventh chord then let’s dive into it:

Formulas
The harmonic minor scale contains 7 notes. The scale formula = 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 7. So compared to the major scale (1 2 3 4 5 6 7) it’s got a minor third and a minor sixth.

The harmonic minor scale and the natural minor scale (1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7) are pretty much the same expect the harmonic minor has raised it’s 7th by one semitone.

If you play an harmonic minor scale on a single string the pattern of whole and half steps are:
“whole, half, whole, whole, half, whole & a half, half”.
(half step = 1 fret, whole step = 2 frets, whole & a half = 3 frets)
So the formula in semitones = 2 1 2 2 1 3 1

 

 

Here’s how you play an A harmonic minor scale. The root note starting on the 6th string (Low E-string)

Here’s the harmonic minor scale starting on the 5th string (A-string): D harmonic minor scale.Continue Reading

Exploring The Natural Minor Scale

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Whenever you want to solo over a song in a minor key you can safely use the minor pentatonic or blues scale. However it will always sound rock or bluesy one way or another.

Sometimes the melody of a song asks for something else than just that rock/bluesy feel. A diatonic melody approach might then be more suitable. Here is where minor scales come in.

There are a 3 types of minor scales. The natural, harmonic and melodic minor scale. In this post we’ll discuss the natural minor scale.

Formulas

The natural minor scale contains 7 notes. The scale formula is 1 2 b3 4 5 b6 b7. So compared to the major scale (1 2 3 4 5 6 7) it’s got a minor third, a minor sixth and a minor seventh.

If you start on a random note to build a natural minor scale the pattern of whole and half steps would be: “whole, half, whole, whole, half, whole, whole”. (a whole step = 2 frets, a half step = 1 fret)
So the formula in semitones = 2 1 2 2 1 2 2

Relative minor scale

The natural minor scale is also known as the Aeolian mode or relative minor.

Every major scale has a corresponding natural minor scale, also called the relative minor. If you play a major scale and go up to the 6th degree of the scale, then that note will be it’s relative minor. From that 6th note you can play seven notes ascending (going up) in the scale and that will be it’s relative minor scale.

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