Sing along with your solos. That’s a bit of advice that’s been passed down through the generations of guitar players that is still very relevant today. It’s the idea of singing what you are playing when you improvise a solo. This has an interesting effect on how you play phrases.
If you’re not satisfied with your phrases and if you find yourself to be a soloist who just rambles on, or just plays too many notes, singing with your solo will force you to phrase more like a singer. That’s because singers have to breathe. Because they have to breathe, they can’t sing endless phrases. They have to pause and breathe.
Singing with your solos helps you be a more motif-oriented soloist and likely will give you the space to be a more melodic soloist. Give it a try. See how you do singing with your solos. Singing the exact pitches isn’t as important as singing the rhythmic phrases.
This is a tried and true method of forcing you to leave space between your phrases.
