guitar solo
Fretboard showcase moment
A guitar solo is an instrumental passage in a song where the guitar takes the melodic lead, typically replacing vocals for a section.
Solos showcase technical skill or emotional expression, ranging from brief melodic phrases to extended improvisations.
The term often evokes rock music's tradition of virtuosic display: He shredded through a two-minute guitar solo.
To air guitar is to mime playing one.
- riffRepeated musical phrase
- shreddingCutting into thin pieces
- improvisationSpontaneous, unplanned creation
- blue notesMicrotonal jazz pitches
- pentatonic scaleMusical ladder with five steps
virtuoso · tapping · wah pedal · melody · cadenza · pull-off · string bending · arpeggio · hammer-on · Jimi Hendrix · hard rock · distortion · overdrive · rockstar · amp · vibrato · fretboard · reverb
- live performanceconcert, gig, show, performer, stage presence
- solo actsone-man show, one-woman show, stand-up, stand-up comedy, magic show
- soloscadenza, aria, unaccompanied
- rock concert soundspower chord, drum beat, bass line, distortion, feedback
- solo performancesaria, recital, one-man show, one-woman show, monologue
- string solos
guitar solorhythm guitar
Chordal strumming for support
rhythm section · accompaniment · backing track · comping · chord progression
guitar solovocals
Sung musical parts
singing · a cappella · spoken word · vocal harmony · lead vocals
guitar solosilence
Total lack of sound
tacet · rest · minimalism · drone · power chord
solo, guitar, guitars, solos, guitarist, soloist, soloing, guitarists, electric guitar