Who doesn’t love a killer shred-fest guitar solo? Believe it or not, guitar solos don’t have to be particularly flashy in order to be great. These four legendary guitar solos prove that simplicity can work in your favor as a musician. Let’s take a look!
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1. “Smells Like Teen Spirit” by Nirvana
“Smells Like Teen Spirit” is an incredible song, even without Kurt Cobain’s guitar solo. But that very solo made the iconic grunge track even better. And it’s not that complicated of a solo, either.
Cobain simply rehashed the melody that he sang earlier in the song, and it worked perfectly for that particular solo. The guitar tone is perfect, and the riff has an edge to it that makes it snatch the attention of listeners.
2. “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love” by Van Halen
There are a lot of legendary guitar solos out there, and many of them come from Eddie Van Halen. The master of guitar solos, Van Halen knew how to inject something wild and ferocious into any song with his guitar. “Ain’t Talkin’ ‘Bout Love”, however, is on the simpler side.
The guitar line is incredibly precise. It starts out as a droning movement before Van Halen jumps into a flashy riff toward the end of the solo. The whammy bar closes out the solo and brings the listener back to reality.
3. “Holiday” by Green Day
This standout track from American Idiot is a fan favorite, and for good reason. The whole song is excellent, but Billie Joe Armstrong turned this song into a legendary piece of work with that guitar solo.
As the solo hits, Armstrong jumps back and forth along a minor scale. The arpeggios are like candy for the ears, and it’s not even that complicated of a solo. It’s simply a matter of a guitarist having solid taste and knowing what suits the particular song.
4. “Californication” by Red Hot Chili Peppers
When John Frusciante rejoined Red Hot Chili Peppers, he had a lot to live up to. After years of drug abuse affected his ability to play, he wasn’t quite where he was in the early days of his career with the band. However, he proved he still had it with the title track for Californication with one of the most legendary guitar solos of his career.
This solo starts off simple with a three-note phrase and small flourishes. Then, Frusciante dives into a riff that tells a story; and that’s not an easy thing to do.
Photo by Francesco Castaldo/Archivio Francesco Castaldo/Mondadori via Getty Images
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