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Soloing.
The first thing to wrap your head around (which again, Baraka_Guru and I have spoken about previously) is that rhythm guitar and lead guitar are two very very different techniques. Get it out of your head that rhythm guitar is easier. It's not true. Both styles can be challenging, and both styles have their masters.
BB King is an awesome lead guitarist. Literally cannot play rhythm. At all.
Ed Robertson has what I consider to be one of (if not the) best picking hand in the business. Capable to mediocre as a lead, but he's a great rhythm guitarist.
Kurt Cobain was perhaps one of the best rhythm guitarists who ever lived.
Moving on.
Soloing consists of two parts. The first is understanding what notes to play. The second is knowing how to play them. Sound simple? It's about to get complicated.
You must must must must must have at least a basic knowledge of theory to understand this. Some few players are able to grasp how this works intuitively, but they're few and far between. If you're here asking for help now, you're not one of those players.
Okay. So step one. Learn scales. Don't worry about speed; precision is the key. The speed comes on it's own. As part of my warm ups, I start my scales in half notes at about 120 bpm, and usually end up around 32nds at maybe 150. At first it was half notes at 85, and I concentrated on getting those notes exactly on the beat. Your picking hand goes up and down like a metronome.
BG's approach isn't bad, but I'd actually start with the major scales. They're a good foundation, because they're going to help you understand key signatures. Once you get the patterns for major scales down, you can move to minors. Then move to pentatonics, then add the blue note. That's where you're going to stay for a while.
Some tab, in the key of A:
A Major:
--------------------------------------5----
--------------------------------7-9--------
------------------------6-7-9--------------
----------------6-7-9----------------------
---------5-7-9-----------------------------
--5-7-9------------------------------------
A B C# D E F# G# A B C# D E F# G# A
A Minor:
-----------------------------------5-----
----------------------------5-6-8--------
---------------------4-5-7---------------
----------------5-7----------------------
---------5-7-8---------------------------
--5-7-8----------------------------------
A B C D E F G A B C D E F G A
A Minor Pentatonic (form 1):
---------------------------5----
----------------------5-8-------
-----------------5-7------------
------------5-7-----------------
-------5-7----------------------
--5-8---------------------------
A C D E G A C D E G A
This is the beginning. Practice these. Take it slow to start.
Once you have these scales down (and the blues scale as well), you have the building blocks. You still need to learn how to make something out of them.
Here's an analogy Baraka's going to appreciate:
Picture the notes as letters. They are the base component of the language of solo. We first need to learn how to turn these letters into words. That's where licks come in.
I could tab some stuff out, but I'm not going to. Good licks are what separate good soloists from mediocre ones. Listen to the best: the three Kings, Mike McCready, Clapton, Santana to name a few. I suggest starting with blues, because it's structurally more straightforward and most modern styles at least have some roots there. Pay attention to how they structure the notes. Try to pick out the words. These are the licks, and it's not at all uncommon for a musician to use three or four to construct an entire solo. The key is learning how to change the inflection; different accents, dynamics, timing, reversing, restructuring. Pick a lick, emulate it. Take it, and build a solo out of it. One lick. Warp it, distort it, find as many ways to use it as possible. Stretch your creativity to the absolute limit. Then find another lick, and do it again. These are your words. Once you understand the words, and how they fit into the structure (a la key signature), you can start building sentences.
The Edge once said that notes are expensive. This is something I strongly believe and try to adhere to. Beginners often try to cram as many notes in as possible, as if their very existence depends on saying as much as possible in as short a time as possible. BG has the advantage over the rest of you, because he's spoken to me in person regarding these things, so he knows that I'm quick to say that it's not what you say but how you say it. The spaces are every bit as important as the sounds.
This is the beginning. This represents hours of practice. It ought to be enough for you to start.
Good luck.
__________________
I wake up in the morning more tired than before I slept
I get through cryin' and I'm sadder than before I wept
I get through thinkin' now, and the thoughts have left my head
I get through speakin' and I can't remember, not a word that I said
- Ben Harper, Show Me A Little Shame
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