Free Bird by Lynyrd Skynyrd is considered one of the most iconic and challenging guitar solos in rock music history. While the song itself is not overly difficult, the extended guitar solo pushes the limits of many guitarists’ technical skills. In this article, we’ll break down what makes Free Bird such a tricky guitar part and offer tips on how to learn it.
What Makes Free Bird Challenging
There are a few key factors that contribute to the difficulty of the Free Bird solo:
- Length – At over 5 minutes long, the solo requires excellent stamina and concentration to maintain the energy and emotion throughout.
- Speed – Sections of the solo feature very fast alternate picked 16th notes at over 200bpm. This requires great picking articulation and synchronization between the hands.
- String Skipping – There are many large intervallic leaps across multiple strings that demand accurate picking and fretting.
- Unusual Phrasing – The long phrases don’t always follow conventional melodic contours, requiring good ear training and improvisation skills.
- Bends – Aggressive full step and half step bends are used frequently for emotional impact and need good bending technique.
- Vibrato – A strong, wide vibrato is needed to give the long sustained notes enough expression.
Mastering all of these factors takes dedication and patience. Let’s break them down in more detail.
Length
The full Free Bird solo is over 5 minutes long, which is an endurance marathon for even experienced guitarists. Maintaining high energy, tight technique, and emotional impact through such a long solo is extremely challenging both mentally and physically. Most guitar solos are under a minute long, so Free Bird is in a category of its own. Building up soloing stamina takes time and requires playing the solo repeatedly from start to finish during practice sessions.
Speed
During the faster alternate picked sections, the solo reaches speeds of over 200 beats per minute (bpm). At this tempo, the 16th notes must be picked very cleanly and clearly. Any sloppiness in right hand picking technique will become very apparent. Developers alternate picking coordination between the downstrokes and upstrokes takes focused practice with a metronome. Start slow and gradually increase the speed once the passages can be played cleanly. The repetitions will help develop left and right hand synchronization.
String Skipping
Due to the complex melody, the solo also requires jumping across multiple strings in wide intervals. Quickly moving from the low to high strings with accuracy is challenging. Work on clearly fretting and plucking each note when string skipping. Don’t rely on legato techniques like hammer-ons, pull-offs or slides. Isolate smaller 3-5 note sequences that skip multiple strings and practice them with a metronome. Focus on both left and right hand accuracy.
Unusual Phrasing
Most rock solos tend to follow familiar scale patterns and arpeggios. However, the Free Bird solo has some unexpected twists and turns in the phrasing that catch some guitarists off guard. The fretboard movements don’t always follow logical patterns. Take time learning the unique melodic phrases in small chunks and memorize the finger movements. Having good improvisation skills also helps navigate the unusual sequences more naturally without getting tripped up.
Bends
For emotional impact, the solo relies heavily on bends, including aggressive full step and half step bends. These require good bending technique to accurately hit the pitch and execute the bend in time. Work on bends isolated from the solo to build hand strength and control. Achromatic tuners are handy practice tools for improving bend intonation. Always match the solo’s vibratos and intensity during the bends.
Vibrato
Long sustains are used to build tension and drama in the solo. This demands excellent vibrato technique to give expression to the notes. Use a wide, even vibrato motion in the fretting hand fingers and maintain it consistently as notes ring out. A good vibrato rate for this style is approximately 5-7 oscillations per second. Let vibrato notes swell in volume and imitate the original recording for authenticity.
Tips for Learning the Solo
Here are some helpful strategies for tackling this epic guitar challenge:
- Learn riffs separately – Break the solo down into smaller sections of 10-20 seconds each. Master these individual riffs before connecting them.
- Use a metronome – Increase the speed gradually after parts are learned cleanly at slower tempos.
- Watch live versions – Study how Skynyrd guitarists execute tricky parts in live videos.
- Find patterns and sequences – Many lines repeat or have slight variations. Recognize these patterns.
- Take breaks – Work on it for 30-60 minutes then rest your hands to avoid injury or exhaustion.
- Record yourself – Identify problem spots by recording practice sessions and critiquing them.
- Be patient – Don’t expect to learn it overnight. Consistent daily practice is key.
- Have fun – Learning an epic solo should be enjoyable. Don’t force progress.
How Long Does It Take to Learn?
For most intermediate guitarists, learning the full Free Bird solo to performance standards will take somewhere in the range of 2-4 months with regular, dedicated practice. Expect it to take longer if you are a complete beginner. Naturally, this varies based on each guitarist’s initial skill level. Some learn pieces faster than others. Set realistic expectations and don’t get discouraged by the time investment required.
During the first week, spend time breaking the solo into small sections and getting each section learned cleanly at a slow tempo. Spend the next 2-3 weeks gradually increasing your speed using a metronome. Work on nailing bends and vibratos accurately. As you get towards the 1 month mark, start combining the riffs together into longer sections. Use the next 1-2 months polishing transitions between sections and building stamina to play through the entire solo without mistakes. Record yourself often to evaluate progress.
Learning this solo should not be rushed. Taking shortcuts early on by ignoring the challenging parts or not developing the techniques correctly will cause problems later. Patience and diligence will pay off in mastering this rock classic.
Easier Alternatives
The full Free Bird solo may be too advanced for some students. Here are a few options to make learning it more accessible while still capturing the spirit of the solo:
- Learn a shortened version – Focus on the first 2-3 minutes which contains the most recognizable melodies.
- Lower the tempo – Practice at slower speeds like 150bpm if it’s beyond your technical limits.
- Simplify techniques – Substitute slides/hammer-ons if string skipping or alternate picking is too hard.
- Add effects – Use distortion or effects like reverb/delay to ease minor mistakes.
- Play electric instead of acoustic – The electric guitar’s forgiveness can help when learning.
- Watch lesson videos – Teacher walkthroughs highlight the nuances that aid the learning process.
Adapting the solo to your current skill level makes the process more rewarding. You can always keep working to get closer to the original recording over time. Mastering even just the first minute of this iconic solo is still an impressive feat!
Tools and Exercises for Practice
Having the right tools and using targeted exercises goes a long way when learning challenging guitar solos like Free Bird. Here are some recommendations:
- Metronomes/Drum machines – Use these for gradually building speed and endurance.
- Recording devices – Analyze and critique your playing to measure progress.
- Amtronics/Tuners – Ensure accurate intonation on bends and vibrato.
- Guitar method books – Carcassi, Sor, and Giuliani studies strengthen technique.
- Alternate picking drills – Work on continuous down-up strokes between two strings.
- String skipping exercises – Move across multiple strings in sequence.
- Bending drills – Sustain whole step and half step bends in time.
- Legato drills – Hammer-ons, pull-offs, and slides improve transitions.
- Pink Floyd solos – “Comfortably Numb” builds melodic sense.
With this solo practice toolkit, you’ll make measurable progress each week. Even 10-15 minutes per day spent on targeted exercises makes a big difference long term.
How to Memorize the Solo
Memorizing a 200 second solo with complex harmony and phrasing is a challenge. Here are techniques to commit it to memory:
- Chunk parts into 4-8 bar phrases – Smaller sections are easier to memorize than the whole.
- Analyze the structure – Recognize repeated themes like the outro arpeggios.
- Muscle memory – Let your fretting hand learn the patterns through repetition.
- Record parts – Test yourself by playing over backing tracks.
- Visualization – Picture how frets/strings look for each part.
- Say note names out loud – Verbal reinforcement trains your ear.
- Write out parts in tab – The physical act of writing engages the memory.
- Find mental cues and triggers – Associate riffs with images or phrases.
Be sure to memorize gradually in stages. Rushing through the process leads to weak memorization. Drill short sections to perfection first before expanding. Stay relaxed and don’t overthink during the initial learning process. Your hands will develop muscle memory faster this way.
Conclusion
Learning the full Free Bird guitar solo is a right of passage for many rock guitarists. Though quite difficult, it’s an achievable goal with dedication. Breaking it down into segments, analyzing the techniques required, using practice tools consistently, and memorizing methodically are keys to success. The journey to master this legendary classic may be lengthy, but it will make you a well-rounded guitarist.