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Q: Hi. I’ve been playing the guitar for 2 years and I solo pretty well. But, my solos sound the same mostly. I try to compose solos as well and they sound sound as well as I like. How can a add some flare and harmony to my soloing?

A: The good news is it sounds like you are starting to forge an identifiable style. It is those same tenancies toward certain licks and phrases that make your playing identifiable. The bad news is that this is something that every lead guitarist must constantly battle. There are a few things you can do to add some new influence to your playing.

1) Start learning some new licks. By bringing new licks into your arsenal or even new techniques, you can break your habits. Focus on using these new licks and ideas in your solos.

2) Listen to new music. Try listening to some different guitarists for inspiration. If you find a guitarist that you really like, then learn some of their licks. Incorporate these in your solos. See how it sounds. You may borrow some ideas and actually find out that you improve upon them.

3) Take some influence from other instruments. For example, listen to the way a vocalist phrases and uses vibrato. Try incorporating phrasing that is vocal like in your own solos. Personally, I like to listen to pop mega hits and learn the melodies on guitar. You can learn a lot about writing catchy melodies, leads, and motives from this. Singers phrase much different then guitarists.

4) Try practicing what I call “applied technique.” To do this, limit yourself to a constraint when soloing. For example, solo playing straight 8th notes and using only slides without stopping for 3 minutes. Another example could be limit yourself to only using 3 notes in the same position. Try to come up with as many rhythms as possible. There is an endless amount of ideas you can try with this. All of them will improve your soloing.

5) Experiment with harmony. Play a melody over a track. Record it. Then try different types of counter melodies. See what sounds good.

Good luck with your soloing! Hopefully you find this reply helpful.