Once you know it you can’t unsee it..

[@Wallimann]

📌 FREE SOLO WORKSHOP: guitarplayback.com/melodicsoloworkshop?MELODIC&XLGC871vqlk

[@tonylocke1214]

Billy’s father was an arranger for amongst other things, Hollywood orchestral soundtracks. So he had a great education in music, and this clearly allowed his natural talents to shine. I’ve been a fan since I was 13 (50 years), and it’s the musicality of his soloing that has always kept me coming back for more. Great video, as always.

[@flatsixx]

I didn’t know that. It seems like the most successful people among us have these hidden ecosystems of support. Plus good friends. It helps to have supportive peers.

[@Old_Sailor85]

Cedric Gibbons was the Art Director for MGM back in the days of Classic Hollywood.

[@thorny3218]

Billy is a personal favorite. I’ve always considered him a guitar player’s guitar player.

[@user-tz2zz5ij1s]

For sure. He doesn’t get the credit he deserves. I think it’s because he/and the band stopped trying to be big and have been playing small towns for years with the occasional “big” tour here and there. Growing up in Texas, I’ve seen them live so many times. From small clubs to larger venues, and back and fourth. Rev Billy really is about just playing out. No reinvention, ZZ Top is what they are.

[@hiimawasteoftime8678]

Jimi Hendrix's favourite guitar player

[@DanFernandesBenficaSaint]

Copying other guitarists is a guitar players player?! Listen to Woodstock Boogie by Canned Heat and then La Grange. That should get the ball rolling for you.

[@user-tz2zz5ij1s]

@@DanFernandesBenficaSaint it all goes back to the blues anyways. Go cry and be miserable somewhere else. No one cares

[@robwalsh9843]

@@DanFernandesBenficaSaint I'm past the point of being shocked by 60's and 70's blues rock guitarists ripping each other off. You could also say that Cheap Sunglasses rips of Edgar Winter's Frankenstein. Billy is still one of the best guitarists of his era.

[@joew717]

I've always felt that way about David Gilmour. He doesn't shred but makes his guitar SING tasty melodic solos with his signature sound. One of my favorite Gilmour solos is the intro to Coming Back to Life. So simple yet emotional you can sing it as a standalone song

[@stevetomlinson3894]

Absolutely! The pulse concert version of the intro is to me the most beautiful sound ever created.

[@jschnatter123]

Maybe q bait will create another Hollywood production and delve deep Into its Mysteries

[@joew717]

@@stevetomlinson3894 agreed!!

[@Urizen777]

@@stevetomlinson3894 Couldn't agree more!

[@ganderstein3426]

So many people act as if it's always a race to play as many notes as you can cram into a bar. Billy taught me that pace and taste wins the race. A tight groove is impossible to beat.

[@robdixson196]

Bands like ZZ Top and AC-DC are masters of this sort of thing. There is a lot more wrapped up in their apparently simple songs than meets the ear.

[@josephfemoyer7218]

That is the genius of angus young,Brian Johnson AC/DC,ZZ Top,Kiss,Aerosmith,Rolling Stones,Tom Petty,etc

[@sylvainswift3234]

You're right. Music before technic, the second comes then.

[@TheCanadianBubba]

Setting the instrument down so you don't do the thing you always do is genius 👍

[@NealVio]

Billy is awesome. His style has never been duplicated, so unique, yet everything he does sounds so great.

[@mooseymoose]

They call “phrasing”for a reason . Billy is a master.

[@markrobinson8410]

Billy gibbons is the reason zz top is still A LIST ROCK BAND, A LEGEND

[@rogergeoffrion3723]

Although I have been playing for many years and consider myself to be creative in solos, you open my eyes up to approaches I have not tried. Thank you David and God bless you.

[@robbysguitars8223]

Dude! You've done it. You went very deep to one of the fundamental cores of what being a musician is. Well done.

[@jschnatter123]

Douche Nozzle loser:

[@sylvainswift3234]

Right. Being a musician, not only a guitarist!

[@stevenmonte7397]

I've seen them a few times, but didn't appreciate Billy until now that I'm just starting the guitar. Just what you said - His riffs, solos and tone... He's so good!!!

[@joedolenza7944]

David. I don't think that YOU even realize how brilliant your breakdown of this is thank you.

[@JoeR203]

If you want solos that are a song within a song, check out Vito Bratta of White Lion. He was a phenomenal player.

[@sixslinger9951]

very good tip. I don't do this enough. I try and noodle around until something pops up, but like you said, I just go back to the same old licks. This opens everything up when you hum or sing it out. Just tried it and came up with a killer melodic melody. thanks for reminder.

[@patalbor3507]

You illuminate how we tend to focus on playing mechanics without developing our "musicality". It aint always what play, its how you play it. Mozart even said it. Passion over performance. Authenticity. There is sound and then there is music. Thank you so much for this.

[@TwelveSticks]

I've been taking part in a weekly improvisation challenge recently. My approach isn't really improvisation, but what I do is similar to what David always promotes - I sing or whistle the licks first and build the solo that way, then approximatley replicate it on the guitar. I usually even record the whistles and hums to help me. Works a treat.

[@markchristopher420]

I'm not a guitarist, but I think like one! I'm an experienced drummer who writes in the old noggin and sings or whistles the parts to my producer, a Berklee grad with a great ear and a background in theory. He's blown away by my riffs and how much sense they make at the same time as being completely different & unconventional, unlike anything he's heard before -- but oddly familiar and evocative 😎

[@brianjones4026]

makes sense totally....

[@johnsulistyo9856]

I do the same way

[@mccloysong]

For me, it's SO important to break solos down into a simple melody, repeat it with a variation, expand it into phrases, then sentences, then the whole paragraph with a conclusion. When you're done you have said something and taken the audience with you.

[@darrylmockridge]

The key begins at 4:53, and it is pure insight! Thank you. I have been playing blues on a baritone ukulele for about 47 years and went about as far as I could go--maybe 27 years ago--until YOU turned on the light (five minutes ago). Now, I have broken out of the cage I built for myself and am ready to take flight. THANK YOU, young man. Thank you.

[@josephfemoyer7218]

Leslie West told a audience at a guitar show at a NYC church in the early 1990’s,solos tell A musical story,they have a beginning,a middle and an end.you should be able to hum,whistle to it like the solo in “Missippi Queen”.this makes the solo memorable

[@jschnatter123]

Wow..I think I saw the statue dedicated to this moment outside the venue. Oh wait no I saw the KZbin video. Bleh

[@StefanGBucher]

Excellent as always! Thank you! Concrete instruction starts at 3:50

[@denmar355]

This may be one of the most potentially influential lesson snippets you’ve ever done. Simple concepts, no fluff, relies on musical ideas rather than memorized guitar licks. Well done! Thanks!

[@jschnatter123]

Oh this is for asbergers people.. Sorry… Lol… Carry on

[@jschnatter123]

Dude you are dangerous to human race. Thank god you have a guitar and not a gun!

[@Peteripattaya]

This is Rocknroll, Yngwie! A lot to learn here!

[@SENORxMUERTO]

DUDE! Holy shit, I've written many strenuous solos, i tried this method, mouthing off a solo and , wow, wrote some great riffs and none of them were too similar, i'm going to use this all the time, great vid man thanks

[@nannettefreeman7331]

Billy Gibbons is not only a great guitarist. He's a great human being. I first met him when I was working at KERRANG! in the late 1980s. Malcolm Dome introduced us. Our paths crossed again through a mutual friend, Don, a guitar company rep, & AGAIN through Carol Burnett's daughter Carrie, to whom he was an NA sponsor. I'm deeply saddened that both Malcolm & Carrie are no longer with us (I hope Don's OK!). I haven't spoken to Billy in over 25 years, but I'll never forget what a genuinely nice & completely down-to-Earth guy he is, eager to throw his support & encouragement to anyone who needs or wants it.

[@Coalbucketlist]

I'm still not a great guitarist but when I first started playing we wrote an original song and I needed to play something over the rhythm but couldn't come up with anything. I drove around for a few days listening to the track just humming over it until I came up with something I loved. When I went back and picked up my guitar to record... it came to me easily even with my lack of experience.

[@RexAWells]

There was a few guitar legends that said Billy was their favrrate player for just what was said .awesome approach and a memorable lesson.

[@m.e.1297]

Including Jimi Hendrix.

[@thisdyingsoul76]

Yes, almost like a call and response thing, except it is just Billy on guitar instead of two guitarists playing off each other or switching between a vocal part and guitar part. I do this sometimes. I have a few solos from one of my old bands, it's been 25 years since that band was together and I can still sing/hum/play some of those solos, because I played musical statements rather than just a flurry of kicks.

[@Billy_bSLAYER]

Been doing this for years, but using this verbal technique we usually make the sound of "oink" but in various pitches to mimick the different notes on the guitar.

[@seller559]

I’m 55. ZZ Top is one of a kind. Got huge in the 80’s

[@SeedyL]

I'm only young, but yep. Many have tried but you can't replicate soul

[@JerryTheVeganRockstar]

I love this series. Thank you. I always listened to Ritchie Blackmore solos this way.

[@christopherstorrier5560]

Rock/Blues guitar at it's best....first time i heard 'Tres Hombres' i was blown away with his playing...luckily got to work & see/hear them at 1 of their gig's in my hometown many years ago...

[@mysticmusic6045]

This is great advice for improving guitarists, and a great reminder for long time players too. Shredding not needed. Well done.

[@terryminator4208]

I saw ZZ Top back in 1973. I was just 17 years old. I picked up the guitar soon after.

[@WMSFLL]

I was learning the two guitar solos for Tube Snake Boogie the past week and I just literally had the same realization about his phrasing. Each phrase is kind of a stand-alone lick that's either 1 or 2 bars long, and they're all strung together. Memorizing the solo is much easier when you know this. Actually if you memorized all of the licks correctly you could mix and match your own set together and most people probably wouldn't know the difference.

[@johnwade3476]

It's true sing any words to a rythm you'll end up playing it I guarantee it , all the great jazz guys used to do it , think about it you're just singing with your guitar or what ever instrument

[@84homey]

You know what, I was highly skeptical coming into this, but I have to hand it to you; this was a really useful lesson for me, in fact I'd go so far as to say it was an eye opener. I owe you a "thank you very much".

[@mothershiphip]

otherwise known as "phrasing" ...very good video instruction Mr. DW! A singer song writer who epitomizes this aspect of crafting phrases is Bob Marley.

[@voyxu143]

Good lesson. This type of idea can help someone get unstuck from playing the same thing they have been playing for years.

[@basskeeperofthegroove884]

Good call. You don't disturb your creativity with looking at the neck and focus on your melody. Thanks.

[@bryana297]

the 2 cheap sunglasses solos are my exhibit A for what he just said. Gibbons is so memorable. you can stop playing the song and finish his solos in your head

[@birdybutch]

singin melodies is the BEST)

[@Anthony-s8v7b]

Man. . . . . . . . What have you given me... AMAZING

[@giulioluzzardi7632]

I was taught by a jazz drummer to use nursery rhymes to help remember melodies. This drummer would sometimes just repeat the words "Mamma/pappa" and alternate them withvhis sticks...mamma pappa pappa pappa mamma etc.

[@petecrabtree3412]

3:33 save yourself some time

[@jonathanreeve7823]

Cheers and u were right

[@36742650885]

I read an article in a guitar magazine years ago about David Gilmore where he started that this was how he wrote his solos.. he’d scat/sing idea’s into a tape recorder, pick out the tastiest parts and THEN.. pick them out on the guitar and make it sing them.. very useful trick. Cause we all can be prone to playing learned runs where we’re limited to the scales techniques we already know

[@sylvainswift3234]

Guess the main reason is that you're not guided by the neck and your fingers, and of course by your habits. That's why you must not have your guitar in your hands when you're trying to build a good melody or solo. Great to see that, this is what I'm trying to do now that I want to create music before guitar plans. I was guided randomly there, nice to see your video!

[@johnsagsveen8238]

I have used this method and will attest to how well it works. This guy is spot on.

[@therealdoug1000]

This is just so true! Singing a lead before playing it is transformational.

[@ColonelAngus2023]

.007 and .008 gauge strings is what Billy uses. After hearing him say, "Anything heavier and you're working too hard" For the hell of it, I put some .008's on my Telecaster Thinline and it is so much easier to play and sounds great.

[@gmb858]

The respect for Eric Clapton was based on the same subtle techniques as Billy Gibbons used. Tom Dowd, producer of Layla and Other Assorted Love Songs said it best, "Eric always takes off on his solos but he always comes back to finish the song on the correct measure. And, he always completes his musical idea simultaneously at the solo break or finish of the song."

[@kbroomall]

Thanks so much for breaking this down. I love Billy G. and regard him highly! I feel like I learned how to play blues from the Rev!

[@licksnkicks1166]

Great lesson. I never put my guitar down and figured out an improv riff or riffs. Great idea! Food for thought! Thank you so much!

[@jonnyroxx7172]

It's called "Phrasing' and it's wildly overlooked by "players" who forget that our mission is to be "musicians" first. I know, because I'm one of the biggest offenders...

[@Owen_plays_music1049]

I been playing guitar for 10 to 12 years and i never thought of learning ZZ Top songs. I think i will learn Waiting For The Bus and La Grange :D

[@zendragonmindtuner6207]

That makes so much sense. If I can’t sing the solo I very rarely am about to remember it. There are so many great solos that always blew my mind when I hear them but if I were to try and duplicate them with my mouth, it would sound stupid

[@jonesy2111]

After all the years I’ve been into music- listening and playing I have to say ZZ Top is one of those bands that are always good to listen to and learn from. Deceptively simple sounding at times but like so many great guitarists (Iommi, Blackmore, Page etc. Billy has a way of playing that is nuanced, unique and powerful. Those 3 piece bands have to have some magic to make it work 👍

[@ppvk2610]

Awesome CD, got it around that time, great great tunes... Heads in Mississippi Tush La grange Tube Snake Under Pressure...

[@billsny9243]

When i improvise a solo im singing songs in my head that make no sense to other people. It helps keep things changinging up

[@juancarlosnunezf96]

"Find the musical idea from within"!! That's gold right there brotha!!

[@PeterJarvis-h8v]

Yup Billy is one of the best guitar players on the planet

[@chrisn.4136]

Billy is one of those guys who could pick up any guitar, plug it into any amp, and you would know it's Billy!

[@cleanhit777]

I think all the best, most memorable, solos, are ones that can be sung, and also exist as a song within a song. Personally I had this revelation listening to ' Back in Black' I'd always thought of Angus as an improviser, I realised that the solos in many of the songs were crafted and carefully constructed, songs within songs.

[@danroy5883]

Billy gibbons solo

[@zacherymitchell2211]

I can’t wait to try this! I’ve always wondered how people write these amazing singable melodies on guitar and idk why it never occurred to me to do this!

[@jimsaint2072]

I listened to his free tutorial , if you hit a Plato in your playing ,he wakes you up,we tend to learn riffs by ear , but to write your own you have no juice , he hits you with his personal music theory and Bam! Everything you ever knew and forgot ,or never knew to begin with , just found new ground “Terra nova ‘ priceless tutorial.

[@Wallimann]

Thanks man!

[@markchristopher420]

Van Halen used to cover ZZ Top in the 70s before they got signed... Billy Gibbons is a master craftsman and just a brilliant dude who knows what's going on! Thanks for a great video, brother! Very helpful indeed 👍

[@jupitermoongauge4055]

Yeah Eddie never did get how to play ZZ Top numbers properly

[@JMGilberto]

Yes, Billy is brilliant at this. Elliot Easton of The Cars delivers this kind of thing also, but let's not forget the all-time master, and the man responsible for more than his share of rock guitar's lick vocabulary; Joe Walsh.

[@-Atmos1]

Billy Gibbons is one of the best guitar players on Earth

[@bighardbooks770]

3:59 and he finally gets his guitar out 😮 Whelp? He's put it away again. 🤔 Then, he goes into his _workshop?!!?_ Great ...

[@raiderjohnthemadbomber8666]

That CD changed your life. Great lesson, sir!

[@mrgrogfather]

It's not what you put in, it's what you leave out!

[@d.mcdave8880]

Well said.

[@daveylee4677]

I call it “The It”. When you can turn improvised musical thought spontaneously into notes on your guitar on the fly - that’s “it”.

[@noahdugas9264]

Awesome video man I will definitely put this into practice

[@matthewsolina4920]

I like the idea of putting the instrument down and then brainstorming.

[@Stinger2222]

I believe this is called motif playing/soloing. A small theme within a song or solo. I often used such a "method" and can certainly help you not sound stale and just playing scales up and down. Play a little tune, then change one note in it, turn it upside down, twist it around, play around the theme of it. Sometimes you can just state the first line of the melody or chorus and go from there.

[@MrBTBusch]

Ive done similar things with Drum solos.

[@Old_Sailor85]

Lots of of folks pick Clapton, Page, Vai, Malmsteen, Johnson, etc., but Billy Gibbons is my biggest influence. True old-school blues-based rock! Especially their early stuff.

[@MrFlathead45]

The brilliance of Billy, is the notes he DOESNT play. You hear them in your head, because you know the note is sposta be there, but he waits and plays the next note. Slow and methodical.

[@lizardhunt96]

Billy’s best solos were performed on the Les Paul. Three songs stand out more than the others and they are: Just got paid, Down Brownie, and Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers. He often sprinkles a short lead in some songs but his rhythm is just as good as his leads.

[@guitartim2128]

ZZ Top is my favorite band bar none,with Billy G being my favorite guitarist . The man is a musical genius 👍👍👍

[@johntomanio3374]

We old geezer musicians have a word for what you're describing. We call it "phrasing." Today's "shredders" are oblivious to the concept of phrasing. Phrasing means you make a statement, then pause before making another statement. Llike a horn player who has to breathe once in a while! I'm not impressed by super-speedster guitarists who play 147 notes in flurries of 32nd notes, when 5 or 6 well-chosen notes would evoke more feeling. Just last night -- before I stumbled across this youtube -- I was trying to find just the right licks to play in-between the vocals during the chorus. I made two dozen passes where everything I played was hot, creative licks that didn't interfere with the vocal. BUT I really didn't find the perfect licks FOR THIS SONG until I put the guitar down, closed my eyes, and SANG what the choruses really needed to happen between the lyrics. Magic! I played those phrases on LG and instantly had what was needed. Not only that, but I was able to build on the parts I sang and turn it into a Memphis Horn section for the final chorus, like would have been played by my dearly departed friend Wayne Jackson, the trumpeter and leader of the Memphis Horns.

[@acdover]

I don't remember where, but when I was kid learning to play I heard that the key to improvisation, was question & answer. Basically, carry on a conversation but with notes. Once i got that in my head, things flowed so much better. That was 40+ years ago.

[@hugomartinho2555]

What a great concept! Specially because without the guitar in your hands, instead of just going to the same old licks... you actually will come out with something different from the same old bag of tricks. Nice! Cheers. HM

[@0013619511]

Have you ever noticed how the sound of a slide changes when you use a quarter for a pick and a medal slide ?

[@DrErickLopez]

Genius in its simplicity

[@djizzah]

Billy is one of the top 20 electric guitarists of modern times,,all the greats have something in common, melody tunefullness tone and a kind of simplicity, BB King Eric Clapton Santana Paul kossof

[@xcuqix]

I dont know why I lol'd so hard at the part "I got a call" and then LITERALLY has a scene on the phone. Call me simple, but that made my day a whole lot better.

[@The1WhoKnowsTheTruth]

“Stairway to Heaven” is the perfect example of what you speak. “Comfortably Numb” as well.

[@sylvainswift3234]

Agree. "Comfortably Numb" is a musical track, not only a guitar tune. We too many times think of improvisation, immediate riffs and so on, but it was really built and imagined.

[@JoabMichaelK]

Angus young is similar in that way, we call this rhythmic soloing, there is rhythmic soloing and a-rhythmic soloing, Paul Gilbert explains about this.

[@yoelcapoful]

what video

[@scottkane3776]

Saw them in New Haven CT on their tour in the 70s great show Three Boys from Texas 🎸🇺🇸🦅😎

[@liamhemmings9039]

You are really a very good teacher.

[@ericesquivel1287]

Dude. Very interesting approach.

[@paulosicne8498]

Guitar is a God-given talent.

[@colemaneuclid]

I actually used to have to do this back when i was in an original metal band. I couldn't play what I wanted to on the fly so I'd sing where I thought it should go into my conputer then learn that on guitar 🤘

[@KristinShorey-ii8de]

If you study Tony Iommi's solos they're mostly built in sections. Much like phrases in a spoken sentence, as you mentioned... which makes them really easy to remember. And he almost never makes mistakes with them onstage. Once one epic phrase has been built, he moves on to building the next one, and so on. Jimmy Page and many other greats also use this technique. It just makes sense, it's not only quite often how the solos flow when you're writing them, but it's an economical way to master them and reflexively recall them while you are playing, no matter what's going on around you.

[@shaunoleary8740]

Cool concept! Great video!

[@darkkrenaissance42]

Air Guitar really does help learn solos,,, and songs... seriously

[@Jasonalanlarsen]

Great concept man, I’m going to try it. Seems like this will be awesome to help break out of the rut of familiar riffs/phrases we get stuck in

[@tyree9055]

"The Joe" 'nuff said. Satch is the best! 🥰 ZZ Top's awesome, too. 😉👍

[@williamweiss3620]

Very cool concept!!! Thank you so much.

[@mjh5437]

I remember reading Jimi Hendrix say in an interview Billy Gibbons was his favourite guitarist.

[@brianmclaughlin4419]

Or Terry Kath, depending on which interview. First I ever heard of Gibbons was in '73 or 4, Hendrix died in '70. Hmmm ?

[@znighthawk8342]

I have heard this as well. Not sure what the time lines are... but I'd like to believe it.

[@LoneWolf-McWeed]

I saw this on a documentary or interview or something… but Jimi mentioned him as an up and coming guitarist when he was with a band called The Moving Sidewalks

[@brianmclaughlin4419]

@@LoneWolf-McWeed Moving Sidewalks opened for Hendrix Early in his Experience days.

[@LoneWolf-McWeed]

@@brianmclaughlin4419 I remember seeing Jimi say something like he’s really impressed with this guitarist Billy Gibbons. Might have been on VH1 way back idk… anyhow he was so good back then that he made an impression on Hendrix… just speaking to the part of this thread that was “never heard of him until ‘73 or 4…. DUH 🙄