You’ve got your chords down, but soloing still feels like a wall you can’t climb. The trick is to skip the shred and start with short, melodic solos you can see through to the end.
A solo like the one in “Californication” proves you don’t need blazing speed to sound good. Simple, singable lines teach phrasing far better than a flurry of notes.
Below are ten beginner-friendly solos, from “Smells Like Teen Spirit” to Green Day’s “Holiday.” For each, we point out what makes it a smart first piece for your lead playing.
Want chords to practice alongside them? Our easy guitar songs for beginners list pairs well with these.
Good Beginner Guitar Solo Songs to Learn
1. Wonderful Tonight - Eric Clapton
This song has no chorus and gradually builds in tempo. It sits at a moderate pace, and its rhythm is relatively simple, which makes it easy to play.
The chords are straightforward and the rhythm is easy to pick up, so you’ll find yourself getting comfortable with the guitar quickly. Eric Clapton’s tasteful lead work also gives the song an edge, and studying it’ll make your own solos more interesting and expressive.
2. Smells Like Teen Spirit - Nirvana
This fast, energetic song has several solo sections that show off Nirvana’s mastery of dynamics. The rhythm is relatively easy to follow and the chords are pretty straightforward, so getting started is simple.
The hardest parts to play are the pedal notes between bars, but the lead itself is fairly basic, so you don’t have to practice too much to master it.
3. High and Dry - Radiohead
Although the lead is more complex, this song is an excellent example of why lead guitar is vital to a band. It has a memorable riff that’s catchy enough to get stuck in your head, but there’s much more going on in the lead part.
The rhythm guitar takes on the same riff during the verses, and in the section after the solo it plays a different rhythm while the lead guitar weaves over the top.
4. Californication - Red Hot Chili Peppers
The bassline will get you hooked immediately, driving the rhythm with one of the coolest grooves of any band. The solo is relatively simple compared to the band’s usual work, but it’s still worth going back to study after a while.
It starts slowly to build tension, then explodes with a fast-paced, sharp melodic line that’s a joy to learn.
5. Where Is My Mind - The Pixies
This Pixies classic pairs a quiet, hypnotic verse with a soaring lead line. It starts slow and a little restrained, then the solo takes over and lifts the energy of the whole track.
The solo is fairly simple, but it manages to be incredibly catchy. It makes a great song to practice your phrasing over, and it’s just as fun to revisit once you’re more advanced.
6. Holiday - Green Day
This song has a great solo that starts slowly and then explodes into an insanely fast, catchy run that keeps the audience on their toes. It begins gently, but it gets surprisingly involved once you push past the first few notes.
The solo repeats a few times throughout the song, and it’s entertaining to hear. It’s simpler than many other solos you might attempt, yet it plays an essential role in the song, making it perfect for someone just starting to learn how to solo.
7. Come Together - The Beatles
This song has some great solos, and one worth checking out arrives in the first half of the track. The lead is relatively simple but repetitive and fun to play, and the song as a whole is endlessly catchy.
It’s easy to pick up, and there are plenty of other tasteful guitar moments in the song that a beginner will enjoy exploring.
8. Champagne Supernova - Oasis
This song features a more complex, slow-burning solo that’s challenging but rewarding to play. It’s fairly simple at first, but it quickly builds up, often with surprising changes.
Some phrases repeat in dramatically different ways, and there are shifts in feel and rhythm throughout. The solo is most rewarding once you master the techniques and phrasing that make it sound so big and emotional.
9. Easy - Faith No More
This solo lives in the first section of the song and is pretty easy to play, except for the tricky eighth note around the E minor chord. It isn’t too strenuous, though, because if you pay attention to the chorus you’ll notice the guitarist uses similar ideas to the ones in the solo, so the parts reinforce each other.
10. Black Magic Woman - Santana
This solo is reasonably involved, but it’s well worth playing because you can quickly pick up some excellent techniques and fold them into your own style. It’s a slow, smooth solo, but it packs a lot of power.
The intro and outro are very repetitive, which makes them easy to learn, and the solo only gets faster and more expressive as it progresses.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need an electric guitar to play these solos?
Not necessarily. Many of these solos, like “Wonderful Tonight” and “Where’s My Mind”, sound great on an acoustic guitar, and learning the notes is the same regardless of the instrument.
That said, an electric guitar makes it easier to play smooth bends, fast runs, and sustained notes, which is why songs like “Black Magic Woman” or “Smells Like Teen Spirit” feel more natural on one. Use whatever guitar you already have and focus on getting the notes and timing right.
What scale should I learn first for soloing?
The minor pentatonic scale is the best starting point for almost every beginner. It only uses five notes per octave, sounds good over a huge range of rock, blues, and pop songs, and forms the backbone of many of the solos on this list.
Once you’re comfortable with the pentatonic shape, you can add the blues note and start exploring the full minor scale. Learning these patterns will help you understand why the solos here move the way they do.
How long does it take to learn my first guitar solo?
With steady daily practice, most beginners can play a simple solo like “Wonderful Tonight” or “Come Together” reasonably well within a week or two. Speed and clean phrasing take longer, so start slow and gradually increase your tempo.
The key is to break the solo into small chunks, practice each one until it feels automatic, and only then stitch them together. Rushing leads to sloppy notes and frustration.
Should I learn solos note-for-note or improvise?
When you’re starting out, learning solos note-for-note is the better choice. Copying a great player teaches you phrasing, timing, and technique far faster than improvising in a vacuum.
Once you’ve learned a handful of solos and feel comfortable with a scale, start improvising over backing tracks. The licks you absorbed from these songs will naturally find their way into your own playing.
Final Thoughts
Once you learn to play solos like these and fold them into your playing, your guitar skills will grow quickly. These songs inspire you to practice more, and they keep rewarding you as you continue to learn and develop your ear.
They also help you play more confidently alongside other musicians.
Start with the simplest solos on the list, nail the timing before you chase speed, and treat each one as a small lesson in phrasing and technique. Before long you’ll be improvising lines of your own and recognizing the ideas these guitarists used.
When you’re ready for your next challenge, be sure to work on learning these beginner funk guitar songs too.
