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Don't just copy solos — reverse-engineer them. The real payoff from learning a solo comes from asking three questions of every phrase: what chord is it over, what scale or shape (think rectangle and stack) is it drawn from, and what target notes tie it to the harmony. Using phrases from the "Little Wing" solo, you'll watch Hendrix target chord tones on every change, and pick up a practical TAB-annotation method for extracting ideas you can transplant into your own playing — the real meaning of building "vocabulary."
What follows is this lesson’s section of the Course Guide — you can read it here or in the full guide →
One of the best ways to improve your improvisation is to study great guitar solos by analyzing why those solos work well and then applying those insights to your own playing.
There are three key questions to ask when studying a solo:
If you analyze each phrase and relate it to the rectangle and stack framework, you can apply the key ideas from that phrase to other contexts, e.g., a different position on the neck or over a different chord.
Always be on the lookout for phrasing ideas that capture your ear. When you hear something you like, figure out how it works by analyzing it this way, and then practice applying that idea in your own solos. This is what musicians mean when they talk about developing vocabulary.
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