George Harrison was SO UNDERESTIMATED ❤

The first time I heard Let it Be, it literally changed my life. My next door neighbor had just bought the single, so it was the more mellow solo. I then begged my dad to take me to Sears to buy the album. I first heard that scorching solo on the album, and I still think it’s the greatest solo ever!

George Harrison’s guitar playing always intrigued me. Because he knew so much at an early age!

I love his solo in you’re gonna lose that girl. It doesn’t require a virtuoso to play it, but it takes a good guitar player to compose it. I find it a lot more memorable than many shredder-type solos.

Mapping chords onto scales is GOOD ADVICE and it works. George Harrison was a brilliant guitarist who felt every note.

George Harrison guitar solo on Let It Be is absolutely great. One of the best of all time.🧑‍🦯🎸

"Easy as a Sunday Morning", whoever played that is my hero! Love that lead!

Cool story, Mark! I'll share mine: I was 10 when Let it Be came out. My older brother was 20. One day, just after release, I was on my way out the door back to school from lunch, when my brother called me into his room. "Here, put the headphones on! You gotta hear the new Beatles' album!" Told him I'd be late, but he sat me down, gave me the headphones. Let It Be came out, in all it's glory. When the chorus winds down to the bridge before the solo, I thought the song was over. I was about to take the cans off my head, when Billy's organ and George's guitar blew my head off, and me away. It's a great solo, redone in January, 1970 after Lennon had officially left. Let it Be has a lot of sentimental value for me.

The solo for Til there was you is a good one too.

George had been working on the lead part , after several days working it out Paul was happy with what George had come up with. Three days later when it came to putting it down on tape George turn to Paul said I have a new solo. The rest is history

Yes, a great solo by a great artist. It's very hard to pick my one Beatle's influence, but they truly were the reason I started playing 60 years ago and are still the reason I still play today. As far as George's solos though, I'd have to go with the solo performed in "Something". Just outstanding!!!!!

The Mel Bay chord book was my bible! When I started playing in bands (Wayback Machine!), rhythm guitar was literally an internship. That meant you had to know your chords. My friend Carl, who was a lot better than I at that point, gave me that book and said, “Here it is. Learn your chords.”

That’s a nice one. For me though, the solo in ‘Something’ is melodic perfection. That’s my favorite George solo.

Absolutely one of my favorite guitar solos is let it be. To me the most perfect solo is the one in Nowhere Man. So simple yet so lyrical and beautiful

Me too! I remember telling my guitar teacher back in the day that Let It Be was a lead that made me want to play - he gave me a funny look but taught me the solo.

Early Beatles songs when George was still 19 & throughout 1964 when he was just 20 years old are so tasteful for a buddy lead player ! George was outstanding coming up with parts on the spot on those great power pop classics ! ...

Turkey In The Straw is Great Riff based tune

Great lesson, Mark. Excellent choice to help us understand matching chord tones for solos. Great song choice, extremely effective. And George certainly was great at soloing.

I also think that John Lennon’s beginning guitar riff in ‘Revolution,’ was just phenomenal! I feel exactly the same way I did the first time I heard it..makes me happy, and feel like dancing! Man, I miss that guy! I also liked Allen Collins Free Bird solo..Rossington Collins! What a band! Dale Krantz Rossington..what a singer! I saw them live in the 80s in a small arena in New York State..Unbelievable!

My first solo that I learned well from outside the Mel Bay books, was from "Wichita Lineman". Very simple, effectively ended on chords and so memorable. I was also eleven and learned it for my folks.

This was my favourite solo since I was a kid. I started playing guitar later in life, but learnt this pretty early in my guitar journey.

Mel Bay! Me too! 😂😂😂

Good ole Mel Bay books! That's how i learned my chords too. Then I'd park myself in front of my parents 8track/stereo and learned how to play John Denver by ear. Good times and fantastic memories. Thanks for taking me down memory lane.

George is the reason im learning guitar. He is my inspiration

Robert Fripp's solo on Eno's Baby's on fire was always my favorite.

What a great lesson! This is the type of knowledge that is so important for writing and playing melodic solos that truly fit the song. Such a great example to use, and so well explained. You're a great teacher. Thank you!

A lot about the solo in "Something" here. Agree - but he did so many good solos and interjections. He wasn't like the other fashionable players of the time, he was probably the only lead guitarist that could fill those shoes. Very underrated technically and very knowledgeable musically.

OMG, those old Mel Bay books brought back memories of my first guitar instructor, Jim Woody, back in the early 70's! He thought rock music was Bill Haley & the Comets. RIP Mr. Woody of Metro Music.

Listening to Clapton play when I was a kid is what inspired me the most. I was listening to Clapton before Cream......such as when he played on John Mayall's " Looking Back" album. Those firey blues leads he was doing always caught my ear ! Here I was, as a young kid playing with plastic green army men on my living room floor listening to all this great music. I ended up being a career bass player but I still want to learn guitar too.

Es un gran solo. Cuando lo escuché por primera vez se me calleron unas lágrimas. Me resultó emocionante, y claro está que lo toqué incontables veces con mis guitarras de todo tipo.

For me his best solo was Something. Paul's bass lines play the male character of the song and George plays the womans parts. That's why the motif is played in sync obly for the two instruments to start playing their own melodies. What they did the instruments was created a conversation. The solo is the woman's plea to the male character to stay with her. Because of this, it has a unique blend of slides and vibrato. Paul's bass playing sounds much like a dribbling man having an existential crisis. I love how Paul wrote bass. Let it Be is a great solo to me but it's not as unique as Something.

Funny, that's the solo that grabbed me when I was 12. I had gotten the album and saw the movie Let it Be but was mesmerized by that solo. I still love playing it.

Good one Mark. Have a great holiday .

I grew up absorbing the essence of the beautiful 70s, my mom said I'd crawl to the mammoth sized radio/turntable that was popular and then attracted by the tunes fall asleep with head on the speaker. I swear it was the Ozark Mountain daredevils if it wasn't it was something similar, I'm playing more than ever now, helps me be stress free and using music to decompress, thank you for helping us fill our toolbox with the techniques to do it...Peace n Love

There are so many incredible solos to choose from. One of my all-time favorites is 'Blue Sky' by The Allman Brothers. Dicky and Duane both played solos on that, and they played a few harmony parts together as well. That might be my #1 as far as perfection goes. Not to dis George's solo in 'Let It Be' - fantastic. I'd agree with others and say 'Something might be even better. I've never been big on ranking things, it's rare I can come up with a true number one for any category or band.

George has been a favorite for a long time and like alot of others "Something" is most favorite.

I love the solo in Bob Marley’s No Woman No Cry. That’s a solo that that you can just hear the chords in it. This was a great video as always.

Great post Mark! I started taking lessons in 1966 at the age of 9. Like you, I began with the Mel Bay books, then graduated to the Gibson books. Then, my teacher thought I was ready to take on the Mickey Baker jazz books. Those chords were too much for my little fingers, so I gave up on lessons. I can't remember how to read music, but I've been playing for 57 years. The more I learn, the less I know!

My favorite George Harridon guitar are the fills he plays on She Came in Through the Bathroom Window.

Always my favorite guitar solo too , glad you choose it

I gotta tell you, man. That was one of the best several minute guitar tutorials I've ever seen. Maybe it's just that, at this time in my journey, I'm finally wrapping my head around how this stuff works, but this lent a tremendous level of clarity to the way things are coming together for me right now. Thanks

Thank you, Mark, for reminding us of this great solo, song and lesson.

Outstanding video Mark, love George’s playing and you highlighting chord tones used in this solo was magic. Thank you!

I LOVE THIS VIDEO ❤️ LOVE IT...THANK YOU FOR UPLOADING THIS VIDEO..

Thank you Mark, great and helpful . Blessings.

That Let it Be solo was the first one I learned when I started learning on KZfaq. I knew I had to play it.

I just remembered, Reelin' in the Years by Steely Dan. Great solo there too!

Great story and even better lesson that piques my interest to dive in deeper. You always have great content. Thanks!!!

So cool to hear this because this solo is the archetype on which I base ALL of my solos. I often return to it to see if I’ve lost any of its nuances, which I often do. You offered new insight, thank you.

Mel-Bay books are fabulous! Those are a great collection you have there, Mr. Zabel. You’re a great guitarist! Mel Bay’s Complete Modern Drum Set is also a fabulous book for anyone who loves the drums. I’m glad I clicked on to this video. Thank you for sharing it. 😊

I was expecting George Harrison’s something was the perfect solo you’re gonna talk about

My favorite George solo is the one on Something, a piece of genius...

Great lesson Mark. Always prefer these less is more melodic solos versus the shred. George was masterful. Very helpful for my practice to hear the tones within the progressions.

Having played electric guitar for last 3 yrs I had a lot of Eureka moments learning let it be solo,so Many solo's done similar shape

This break-down is wonderful, thank you, Mark!!

The first guitar leads that picked up my attention were earlier, Jimi Hendrix Purple Haze and his version of All Along the Watchtower. I didn't pick up guitar (I mainly play bass now, but play guitar too) for years. The main things I think are playing with feeling and a good tone within the scales, and the end being a resolved note. The solo in let It Be has all this qualities. George was always very melodic (which I really like).

Thanks. Everything Michael Schenker did from 1974-1979 for me.

That Les Paul looks the one i learned on. Gold top with mini humbuckers? So sweet and crunchy. Also Octopus Garden. That is one whacky solo. So much melody, but all over like a crazy man!! Tasteful like only George could do it.

Great lesson and story Mark. Don't forget the solo to Something. It might be the Perfect solo. Thx keep up the great work 🎸

Thanks as usual, Mark. Beautiful Goldtop!

Something in the way he plays guitar attracts me like no other...

Great video Mark! One of my favorite solos! Thanks!

Heh, for everyone who grew up in the 60s and 70s, the Mel Bay books were the go to references. I learned my first chords from those books, but did most of my playing by ear.

The single to "Let it Be" was magic, every time I heard it on the radio. The album version wasn't quite the same, and the guitar solo was one of the reasons.

I love this series, Mark. So much taught in such a short amount of time. I too struggled with the Mel Bay Method. When I was first learning guitar at age 8, my father (who was an accomplished musician) taught me using that first book in the series - it was how he had learned. I didn't last very long before quitting. For so many years I hated the fact that I couldn't play, and wished I could. MTV came along and I thought, "How did all these guys (and girls) do it?" About 10 years later, I couldn't take it anymore and started learning again. This time my father taught me how to read chord notation and it was a world of difference. I got pretty good at playing rhythm guitar, but for years I had no idea how to play lead/solos. I thank you and all the others on KZfaq who explain these concepts so well. Playing a solo is a such a blast when you understand how to.

Really well encapsulated way to teach this. It’s often too techy. This rocks.

Steve Stills solos on Carry On were my training ground.

Great lesson 💪🎸 thanks very much 👍

My solo was Willie Nelson’s Blue Eyes Crying In The Rain. So simple yet so full of expression.

"Ears and fingers in synch" And that my guitar friends is the goal.

This was a great, simple lesson. Pausing on a chord tone keeps you from noodling. You can also learn phrasing. GH pauses on each chord during the 1st pass thru the progression. 2nd time through, he is adding more interest by being pentatonic up until the progression resolves. I saw a take from the Nagra reels where GH is still figuring it out. He's basically noodling but you can tell he's picking out which notes he's going to include. He's finding landmarks before building the pathways in between.

Ha! I am practicing this solo for a party in a few weeks. And it dawned on me that George was playing over the chord tones. So this was on my list to look into. And here we are. With a first class explanation. Short and to the point. Thanks

Mel Bay👍. George's let it be rocked and ended all the phases on the roots of the chord. Nothing like his later slide work!!!!!!

One of Harrison's best!

The solo on "Peg" by Steely Dan is pretty good too.😉

It was Trower for me Daydream second solo live album. I said man I’ve got to get a guitar ! That’s right I can take you to the very note and we can look at it if you want!

Thanks for sharing. Best solo for me, Bark at the Moon.

For me , George's solos on "Someplace else" and "Free as a bird"

Great solo and video The Beatles did everything right!!! For me jimmy Lyons solo in Two tickets to paradise The build and climax He really got it on that one

Great lesson BTW.....

Wonderful lesson Mark. Cool. My favorite Guitat solo is Hotel California! It's awesome.

Good tip Mark..! Thanks man.!👍🏼

That’s the solo that inspired me, too. And also the first solo that I learned note-for-note.

Very well done !

Very Cool, Thankyou. Definitely one of, if not my favorite solo ever. (The correct version of course). Is a handful of Versions of George playing this solo on Beatles records. Thanks for the awesome lesson, had me playing the solo in my Beginner fashion, Instantly. So Happy. Cheers

Thanks Mark. Awesome content

Brilliant, and Let it Be also inspired me. GH was such a melodic player. His playing on Something blew me away, not to mention ‘And your Bird can Sing’ I still can’t get that one. Hey Bulldog also another tricky one. In fact Taxman too there were so many

So glad you made this video 😊

wow just magical thanks

One that gets me is "Right On Time" Lucinda Williams. Not sure who plays the solo.

Love this video. You’re doing great with the 2024 kick off on KZfaq ❤’ you’re running strong. I had Mel Bay books too.

I still like Mel Bay but I've stalled at Grade 3 for the last so many years lol. I love the display.

That was one of the first solos I ever learned to play too but I didn't realize at the time it was a scale I could apply to many other songs.

Yes great vídeo gracias

George is completely under-rated.

Let It Be might be my favorite song of all time. Listened to it hundreds of times to learn to ply it on piano. This guitar solo was the one on the single. There was a different solo on the LP.

I'm happy to say I know and use this little trick as well, although it's more by ear than targetting the specific notes on the fretboard or the notes in each chord (although I do know them). Like you said, if you've been playing long enough, you'll notice those notes just "fit" better!

SuperGreat explanation of the secret 🎉 Thx! between tons of videos available nowdays, you share The quality of teaching 🎉

James Williamson's flourishes at the beginning of "Search and Destroy" by Iggy and the Stooges, and the break later, were what really broke me out of mid-80s college rock. Finally something that said "follow me!".

Excellent Mark