This is the latest solo I am working on. I started 5 weeks ago / 20hrs in so far. I thought initially it might be too difficult, but it seems it was a good choice. I am happy with the progress so far - things are happening faster for me now and it makes me want to play more, then I see more results and want to play more… Infinite loop kind of, and I am enjoying it properly.
This is challenging for sure, there are many mistakes. There are also things I never tried before and I slow them down and practice separately. This is mostly around fast combinations of bending and legato. Occasionally I can make them at this speed, but I made mistakes almost at every such part in this video, which is representative of my current level.
The “backing track” is a YT lesson video (there is no Justin’s lesson, unfortunately). It is a bit weird because it is split into parts (with some guitar 2 parts as well), maybe due to copyright issues with the song. This is good as it gives me time to prepare for the next part.
The main intention of posting this is to track progress through time and to get some early feedback. Any tips, suggestions, or comments are all appreciated! Thank you for watching.
Thank you for sharing this Boris. I’m not as far along as you, but I can hear that you’re really getting this down! I really needed to read what you wrote:
I’ve been pushing myself recently too, and disappointed in myself that progress is slow. I haven’t put in nearly the number of hours on my challenges as you have on any one thing, and spent the weekend convincing myself that I need to put in more quality time. You just proved my thinking is right, and showed me what I can look forward to by getting some serious time in!
That’s awesome. Thanks for sharing. I certainly underestimate the effort it will take me to learn some of the harder stuff but the reward once learned is immeasurable
Good start, and progress mate. 20hrs is not a long time. Its an iconic solo, very tricky for sure in parts, and full of technique, partcularly bending, vibrato and bending/vibrato.
One suggestion if I may. Now that you’ve got the general note sequence going over several bars, I would go back, bar by bar, or phrase by phrase, and get the phrasing, bends, vibrato, bends with vibrato etc, spot on regarding pitch, intensity, duration etc.
Its certainly a challenge I know, but its just about the best learning you can do I reckon.
Hi Boris,
That’s way beyond my playing ability to offer any tips, but your playing was enjoyable and inspiring for me to watch. For the amount of time you have put in you seem to have made good progress so far. I look forward to hearing updates on this. Keep up the good work and thanks for sharing
@liaty
Thank you Dave! I do measure in minutes actually with the stopwatch and then note this down. The only exception is when playing with people where stopwatch would just be too much, so I simply divide the full time by 2. I think that is a good estimate of effective playing time. The good thing with all of this is that you get very nice statistics over time telling you what you practiced.
@judi
I am sure there are talented kids 3 times more efficient, but even they still have to put some considerable time in. The guitar is difficult, I kind of see it as fun second university. Proper dedication and time is necessary, but it must be consistent. Skipping days and then putting 5hrs will not work. Thank you Judi!
@tony, @Tim_Wilson
Thank you Tony and Tim for watching and kind words, I appreciate it!
@sclay
Thank you Shane, that is really useful! I started slowly working on pieces in isolation, especially some more challenging parts. I get what you are saying, there is a lot more work required to get it even to a solid state. Probably years to fully perfect it, as some things require time to fully automate.
I can’t believe you made that much progress in only 5 weeks ! Congratulation, you did great !
That’s not an easy piece. Just the fingering of the solo in itself is a challenge, but then you have all those legato techniques that are hard to get right.
It’s a great idea to record yourself at different timeframe. It adds an extra layer of motivation since you will have a feeling of progression when you watch the video back in a few weeks/months. I’ve never did it, I only record at the end. I might borrow your idea for BIM.
This is inspiring. Could you send me the links to the tutorial / backing track ? Thanks.
It also puts some online pressure and creates accountability. Everything that helps and motivates us to play is good!
I used this video lesson. It is just a video with tabs at slow speed, but no explanations there. Unfortunately, there is no Justin’s lesson for this solo.
No because Don Henley slaps a copyright writ on anyone using his material. There’s a big thread around here somewhere and it risked Justin getting booted off YouTube. Even posting your vid here may expose him to legal action from DH and his legal eagles.
I didn’t have as much time for practice due to BLIM course, but I still managed to practice on a regular basis, almost every day. I focused on part one and trying to play as accurately as possible with all the details. The speed is a bit faster than the first take, but still at 80% of the actual tempo. There are some very tricky parts, especially the one below. It requires bending(muting/fast releasing)/staccato note/pre-bending, all on the same string. This tripped me many times, and even this selected attempt sounds clumsy, the phrasing is off.
Definitely can hear the progress between two videos, keep up the good work and dont be too hard on yourself! Its definitely a very difficult one to get under your fingers
That’s awesome! It sounds like you’re making great progress and really enjoying the process.
The infinite loop of motivation is the best feeling, isn’t it? Those fast bends and legato sections are tricky, but it’s great that you’re breaking them down and working through them at your own pace. Keep pushing through, and those parts will get smoother with time.
I’m looking forward to seeing your progress—keep it up!
Just awesome. Inspiring. Im so ADHD I cant stick with anything for that much time. I start picking at tabs of a song, then oooh shiny! Off to some other thing. Youre kicking ass working hard and extremely focused. I need to try and do so myself way more. You want to learn that solo and you are putting full efforts into doing so. Rock and roll man.
Thank you Scott, I appreciate it! You are right, time and focus are necessary to play something like this. But further to that, I try to improve my skills through songs. Once you feel you are ready, you can try this solo. It has so many cool licks and challenging technical details, you might feel it is a new shiny thing with every part.
This is good as it gives me time to prepare for the next part. 
The trouble is that things that used to excite you become regular and you always have to find new ones. But that is the progress.