Randy Rhoads - Live "Tribute" Guitar Solo Lesson - Guitar Lesson

About Live "Tribute" Guitar Solo Lesson

Few guitar solos from the early 1980s demand as much from a player as the live solo feature captured on the 1982 "Tribute" record by Randy Rhoads. Recorded in Eb Standard, every bend and vibrato sits a half-step low relative to concert pitch, so tune down before you start or nothing will feel right against the recording. The solo moves through classical-influenced runs, wide interval jumps, and a signature blend of Heavy Metal aggression with almost baroque melodic sensibility, which means your picking hand needs to shift between aggressive alternate picking and more deliberate legato passages without losing the pulse. The hardest sections are the fast scalar runs where clarity tends to fall apart at full tempo, and that is exactly where the Practice Toolbar earns its keep: loop those passages slowed down until each note speaks cleanly, then gradually bring the speed back up. Pay close attention to Rhoads's vibrato throughout, because it is wider and slower than most rock players use, and nailing it is what separates a convincing performance from a mechanical copy.

• The solo is performed in Eb Standard tuning, so drop all six strings a half-step before playing along with the recording.
• Classical scalar runs and wide interval leaps appear throughout, requiring solid alternate picking technique and careful left-hand position shifts.
• Rhoads's vibrato is characteristically wide and deliberate, and practising it in isolation is one of the most useful things you can do with this piece.