Words by Chris Dair
One thing I remember doing, when I was about six years old, was choosing a phrase, making up my own scales and working out a pattern before I even knew about scales.
The phrases were based on flamenco because that was mainly what I had heard at the time, and what I wanted to do. I would fall asleep playing and wake up thinking about the pattern.
Some years later I started to learn guitar scales, though I still preferred my own. Much later, in my twenties, I concentrated on guitar scales and Indian classical sitar scales, but I still really play what I played originally with many variations.
When I was a kid I watched and listened to the guitarist in a band, always trying to get as close as possible to see what they were doing.
The only real way is non-stop playing. Listen and watch other guitarists when you can. Solo guitar is not all about speed. It is about creativity, precision and a great deal of feeling, particularly for blues and jazz.