These videos and audio files are bonus content related to the September 2014 issue of Guitar World. For the full range of interviews, features, tabs and more, pick up the new issue on newsstands now or at the Guitar World Online Store:
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An essential element of guitar soloing, one that to me separates the grownups from the kids, is the player's ability to interpret single-note melodies in a musical way, with emotion and expression.
There are countless ways in which one could play a note or series of notes on the guitar, and if you do not focus on being in control of how each note sounds, you're wasting an opportunity for expression, via articulation, which is the one of the most important tools that is available to you as a soloist.
The little details in the manner by which you choose to play each note in a melody is what will give you the opportunity to sound different than any other guitar player and develop a unique sound and musical "voice."
Using articulation as an expressive element is the one thing I concentrate on the most when playing live or recording, simply because there are so many options. The way in which you ultimately interpret a melody is the way you reveal your musical personality, which, to me, is the whole point in making music in the first place!