In a new interview with Guitar World, former MEGADETH guitarist Marty Friedman expressed a desire for the demise of the “traditional” guitar solo, envisioning its “slow and painful death.” He contends that solos have diminished in their allure over time, attributing this decline to a dearth of innovation among players in that realm.
In contrast to Friedman‘s melodic soloing approach, he suggests that today’s guitarists have vast untapped potential to enrich music overall.
He said: “Usually, the lead guitarist comes in, gets an eight-bar solo, plays a bunch of stupid licks, maybe adds something hot and fancy that will impress, and then they get out. But I’m replacing the vocalist when I’m soloing, meaning I sing with my guitar. So, rather than saying, ‘Here’s the obligatory eight-bar solo,’ if necessary, I’ll be selfish because that’s exactly what I want instead of a boring old solo.”
Marty further proposes a serious reconsideration of whether adhering to the traditional approach holds any merit.
“I hope the traditional guitar solo dies a slow and painful death,” he said. “Guitar solos need to be inventive. They need something to keep listeners involved, especially those who are not learning to play and only listen.
“Because when you’re learning to play, you tend to be impressed with anything you can’t do, right? And if you’re young and just catching the guitar bug, that excitement can be magical. It’s like, ‘How do they do that!?’ That element is awesome… but it means less than zero in everyone else’s eyes.
“We need guitar music that makes those people feel something. It’s the responsibility of guitarists to bring something to solos that will achieve that.”
