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“What people tend to do is learn licks and then try to stick them into the solos – and that’s not really the way to do it”: Iron Maiden’s Janick Gers shares his tips for better guitar solos

The Iron Maiden stalwart explains why he is a big advocate for guitar solos with the safety off: no soundchecks, no warm-ups, and something different each and every night
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Janick about guitar solos and playing.

''Spontaneity is important. For me personally, if that disappears, it becomes a cabaret act. So I like to change the solos slightly, not to the point where people get pissed off, but utilise different areas within the solo. Every night I try to make it a little bit different, but still keeping the main melodies. Even my chord inversions change, I’m looking for better ways all the time''.

''I never work out my solos. I purposely try to and do something different every time – if I cut a solo on a track three times before choosing, each one will be different''.

More:
''You need to practice your alternate picking and scales, but you have to remember a lot of those things you can’t actually put into songs. You need to have the ability to do more than that. What people tend to do is learn licks and then try to stick them into the solos, and that’s not really the way to do it. You should think about what you actually want to do with each solo.

You have to be innovative and remember that nobody does it right. There is no right. There is no best. Everything is what you make it. Try to find the best way to get what’s in your mind into your fingers and onto your guitars. That’s how you find melodies. Put your personality onto your guitar.

You can use a lot of different tunings. I keep a lot of guitars around the house in different tunings. That way, when you pick one up different things come out. You have to experiment and see what interests you. Once you know, you have to carry on and try to push your boundaries.

I find that before a gig, I very rarely touch the guitar. I want to see what happens when I get out there. I don’t like to warm up; the first time I’ll pick up my guitar is when I’m about to walk on stage. I find that exciting because I don’t know what’s going to happen!

I'm not backstage with a metronome, thinking I’m not ‘on’ tonight or anything like that. I’ll check the tuning and then I’m out there, feeling that buzz every night. It’s always a shock. We don’t soundcheck, because when the halls are empty, the echoes are ridiculous.''
 
Kalata said:
www.guitarworld.com

“What people tend to do is learn licks and then try to stick them into the solos – and that’s not really the way to do it”: Iron Maiden’s Janick Gers shares his tips for better guitar solos

The Iron Maiden stalwart explains why he is a big advocate for guitar solos with the safety off: no soundchecks, no warm-ups, and something different each and every night
www.guitarworld.com www.guitarworld.com

Janick about guitar solos and playing.

''Spontaneity is important. For me personally, if that disappears, it becomes a cabaret act. So I like to change the solos slightly, not to the point where people get pissed off, but utilise different areas within the solo. Every night I try to make it a little bit different, but still keeping the main melodies. Even my chord inversions change, I’m looking for better ways all the time''.

''I never work out my solos. I purposely try to and do something different every time – if I cut a solo on a track three times before choosing, each one will be different''.

More:
''You need to practice your alternate picking and scales, but you have to remember a lot of those things you can’t actually put into songs. You need to have the ability to do more than that. What people tend to do is learn licks and then try to stick them into the solos, and that’s not really the way to do it. You should think about what you actually want to do with each solo.

You have to be innovative and remember that nobody does it right. There is no right. There is no best. Everything is what you make it. Try to find the best way to get what’s in your mind into your fingers and onto your guitars. That’s how you find melodies. Put your personality onto your guitar.

You can use a lot of different tunings. I keep a lot of guitars around the house in different tunings. That way, when you pick one up different things come out. You have to experiment and see what interests you. Once you know, you have to carry on and try to push your boundaries.

I find that before a gig, I very rarely touch the guitar. I want to see what happens when I get out there. I don’t like to warm up; the first time I’ll pick up my guitar is when I’m about to walk on stage. I find that exciting because I don’t know what’s going to happen!

I'm not backstage with a metronome, thinking I’m not ‘on’ tonight or anything like that. I’ll check the tuning and then I’m out there, feeling that buzz every night. It’s always a shock. We don’t soundcheck, because when the halls are empty, the echoes are ridiculous.''
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I agree with a lot of what he's saying. But I also prefer solos and performances by people like Adrian, who generally use through composition and try to make the solos virtually perfect every night.

Also, guaranteed someone doing soundchecks, just not the band.
 
The crew used to play Highway to Hell as a soundcheck.

Last tours I think the soundcheck is a live recording from the tour played over the PA. In 2016 I believe it was Children of the Damned, LOTB it was Revelations and this year Stranger in a Strange Land.
 
Poto said:
The crew used to play Highway to Hell as a soundcheck.

Last tours I think the soundcheck is a live recording from the tour played over the PA. In 2016 I believe it was Children of the Damned, LOTB it was Revelations and this year Stranger in a Strange Land.
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Highway To Hell is still the line check. There is a video of the crew playing it in Wiener Neustadt in 2022.

For soundcheck (FOH mix) Pooch used to use multi tracks of Revelations during LOTB and is using SIASL now.
 
Jer said:
Plus his videos don't say anything useful -- he just blathers on, saying obvious shit for as long as possible to pump ad revenue.

As far as clickbait goes, just about every YouTube video has a stupid exaggerated pose from the host(s) or some over-the-top title with big arrows or circles on it to try to grab your attention, and it's all ridiculous.
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Yea, this is the crux of it, and I should've worded my argument better. It's not just the clickbait titles, it's the combination of clickbait titles and next to no actual news or substance in his videos.
 
MrKnickerbocker said:
I agree with a lot of what he's saying. But I also prefer solos and performances by people like Adrian, who generally use through composition and try to make the solos virtually perfect every night.

Also, guaranteed someone doing soundchecks, just not the band.
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I feel like Janick's approach works so well because there are other, more composition based players in the band. That's why I love Janick: he's doing what he wants to do and with three guitar players, he has the space and freedom to do it.
 
chaosapiant said:
Yea, this is the crux of it, and I should've worded my argument better. It's not just the clickbait titles, it's the combination of clickbait titles and next to no actual news or substance in his videos.
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Isn't this basically the modern YouTube clickbait formula? Stupid clickbaity titles, those awful attention grabbing thumbnails everyone hates (but you see the video creators have to do it, it's the algorithm you see, they totally hate it too!) and a video that has like a minute - two at most - of actual content, stretched out to 8 minutes or so which is apparently YouTube's current "gold standard" for video lengths to maximize the chances it gets picked up and recommended. It fucking sucks and blows.
 
MrKnickerbocker said:
I agree with a lot of what he's saying. But I also prefer solos and performances by people like Adrian, who generally use through composition and try to make the solos virtually perfect every night.

Also, guaranteed someone doing soundchecks, just not the band.
Click to expand...

Is it controversial to say that I think all of Janicks guitar solos sounds like shit? His quotes in the article is totally spot on because that's exactly how he plays. Just going bananas all over the fretboard. I don't think I can recall any solo by Janick in my head. Adrians way of composition is how I like it.

Love the guy though, he's a still a great guitar player and really makes up for it with his songwriting. He doesn't deserve the hate that some idiots tend to give him on Youtube and such
 
naikon said:
Is it controversial to say that I think all of Janicks guitar solos sounds like shit? His quotes in the article is totally spot on because that's exactly how he plays. Just going bananas all over the fretboard. I don't think I can recall any solo by Janick in my head. Adrians way of composition is how I like it.

Love the guy though, he's a still a great guitar player and really makes up for it with his songwriting. He doesn't deserve the hate that some idiots tend to give him on Youtube and such
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There are, at least, two solos from Janick you can recall : those of "Be Quick Or Be Dead" and "Brave New World"... ;)
 
Ruflux said:
Isn't this basically the modern YouTube clickbait formula? Stupid clickbaity titles, those awful attention grabbing thumbnails everyone hates (but you see the video creators have to do it, it's the algorithm you see, they totally hate it too!) and a video that has like a minute - two at most - of actual content, stretched out to 8 minutes or so which is apparently YouTube's current "gold standard" for video lengths to maximize the chances it gets picked up and recommended. It fucking sucks and blows.
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That’s the point: in a world where this is the standard, I find Metal Pilgrim egregiously bad.
 
I remember most of his solos, but, he should concentrate more when it's his time for solos, live, 'cos, many times, he repeats much of his patterns and licks.
 
MrKnickerbocker said:
I agree with a lot of what he's saying. But I also prefer solos and performances by people like Adrian, who generally use through composition and try to make the solos virtually perfect every night.
Click to expand...
I agree.
Jeffmetal said:
I remember most of his solos, but, he should concentrate more when it's his time for solos, live, 'cos, many times, he repeats much of his patterns and licks.
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Of course Janick has a lot of memorable and great/really cool solos (even the sound of some of them). His style is unique.

The lick he repeats in his live solos the most is from the end of his 3rd Parchment solo (in the studio) for the Hallowed and Phantom solos. But every guitarist has its own specific pattern that will be repeated in some form both in the studio and live. Adrian and Dave including.
 
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