The one note solo.
Simple. Too simple maybe. But it works.
Whether you know it or not, every song is in a key. A key is just a collection of notes that belong together, revolving around a single note - which we call the tonic, or key centre. There are 12 different notes in Western music, and in any given key, some of those notes will be “in” - they’ll sound “right” - and some will be “out” - they’ll sound “wrong”.
Since we want to learn to improvise, let’s begin with this - the simplest thing you can do when soloing is pick one note that’s always in - and mess around with it. Obviously this isn’t going to lead to the most interesting solo you’ll ever play, but you can be creative and it won’t sound “wrong”.
Below is a 12-bar blues in the key of A. Because it’s in the key of A, the note is the tonic - it’s the safest note you can play. You can play over any chord in this progression and it will sound “right”.
The example solo below shows what’s possible within this constraint — space, different positions, bends, vibrato. There’s a lot you can do with a single note, and it’s a good first step towards understanding how to improvise in any musical scenario.
A note… on notes vs pitch
When we say this solo uses just one note — — we mean one note name. But the same note can be played at many different pitches across the guitar. The on the low E string sounds completely different to the on the high E string — they’re two octaves apart. The solo moves between several different As, at different positions and octaves, which is why it sounds more varied than you might expect from a “one-note solo”.
Once you’ve listened through the solo, mute the lead and try it yourself with the backing track. Don’t skip ahead until you really feel as though you’ve come up with something that sounds decent - B.B. King would not have dismissed this challenge as too easy.
While you’re playing, notice how the same feels different depending on which chord is underneath it. The note doesn’t change, but its meaning does. We’ll come back to why.
A one-note solo might seem dumb, but listen to old blues recordings and you’ll hear how much feeling and variety players wrung from very few notes in a very small area of the neck. Try to make the most interesting, varied, soulful thing you can within this constraint.
Starting at 1:54, hear how Neil Young makes a single note, played repeatedly, sound interesting and varied - it can be done. And hear how the note sounds different as the chords change underneath it.
In this lesson we’ve learnt:
- →When you’re in the key of A, or C#, or B, or D - you can play that note to your heart’s content and it will sound “right”. We’ll look at other keys later.
- →A lot can be done with a single note if you get creative and vary where and how you play it. This really is a skill and an attitude worth developing - very often less is more.
- →That same note will sound different as the chords move underneath it - this is worth appreciating so that we can emphasise and play with it later.