The Greatest Guitar Solo Ever Played 

Get Nebula using my link for 40% off an annual subscription: go.nebula.tv/12tone Or go straight to The Ballad of John and Yoko: nebula.tv/videos/lindsayellis-the-ballad-of-john-and-yoko?ref=12tone Some additional thoughts/corrections: 1) This solo was a huge pain to transcribe, so I wanted to shout out Jon Chorba of Really Easy Guitar Lessons, who had by far the most accurate transcription I could find: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-lPL4KfA1kg4.html I still double-checked everything myself, and my transcription differs from Jon's in some places (Although who knows, maybe he's right and I'm wrong. there's certainly some parts I'm not confident on, and a few outright mistakes that I caught after filming, although nothing that would significantly affect my analysis.) but having such a good starting point made this process go a lot faster than it would have otherwise. 2) When I say Prince opted not to play the solo in rehearsal, that's glossing over a bit of nuance. Basically, Mann had been playing this song in other tribute contexts before, and so when they went to rehearse he basically assumed he'd be doing the same thing and played them by default. Gallen pulled Petty and Lynne aside to address Mann stepping on Prince's toes, but when he eventually talked to Prince himself about it, he told him not to let Mann take the middle solo. From what I can tell, it's not clear whether that had always been the plan or if he was adapting, and it's also not clear if Prince intentionally hid his solo or if he made that call once Mann interrupted him. I compressed that 'cause it wasn't the point of the story, but I wanted to acknowledge the fuller context. 3) Honestly there's not all that many F#s in the solo either: The major 6th clashes with the minor 3rd, and since the first five bars all have C in the harmony, he doesn't get a lot of space to use it. They mostly come as approach notes to G, until the octave section at the end where he does more clearly settle on the F# itself. Still, though, the complete lack of Fs makes it seem like he's thinking of the whole thing in Dorian, even if he's mostly drawing from a hexatonic pitch collection. (That is, minor with an added 2. I've seen some sources call this mainly pentatonic, but there's too much of an emphasis on B for me to feel comfortable with that analysis.) 4) Another difference between the two open-E 16th parts is that in the first one he does a really quick pull-off so you barely get the note, whereas here he lets it sit for a full 16th, giving it a clearer melodic shape. Didn't think of that 'til I was editing. 5) I realized after filming that the long gap in release between Godfather Part 2 and Part 3 might make the reference I made seem like I was saying Part _2_ was disappointing, but I was just really struggling to come up with a good pictogram for a bad sequel, and Godfather Part 3 is famously underwhelming. Sorry for any confusion. 6) In retrospect I wish I'd talked a bit more explicitly about his tendency to take an idea and repeat it over and over, and the impact that has in making his solo seem intentional and meaningful. I touched on it indirectly, but it's a really important point: A solo that's just one long string of unrelated ideas is less interesting than a solo that ties everything together, and those connections come from repetition. Sometimes this is really explicit, like that G-A bend or the lick he plays after the four-bar break, and sometimes it's more about playing around with a figure, like the pattern accelerations of that constant return to the A-B-A thing in different shapes, but the point is he's building something, and to do that he needs to acknowledge his foundation.

Irony...there was NOTHING gentle about the weaping of Prince's guitar. It was full throated sobbing and screaming in anguish. And we were here for every note of it.

The best part is him throwing the guitar in the air and it never landed

Watching this, I'm mostly just heartbroken that we've lost Harrison, Petty, and Prince.

Prince told them "don't worry about it." Around the 5-minute mark of the song he smiles at the rest of the band as if he was saying "see? I told you!"

he did not throw the guitar in the crowd. he threw it up, there was a stage hand who had to catch it and keep it from falling down. making the impression it just disappeared. the solo is fantastic, but this final surprise move makes it unforgettable.

I was watching this live on TV as it happened (or as it was broadcast), and I did an immediate 180 on Prince. I was 12 and had only known Prince as the guy from that weird movie that was played on cable constantly. As I type this, I'm suddenly realizing I started playing guitar that same year. I might have started playing because of Prince, and never realized it.

There will never be another Prince. He was a goddamned miracle, and a gift to the world. Rest in peace, you absolute legend.

"He's more painting a picture of A Dorian..." Oh man, I don't know whether to give you a standing ovation or a hearty Bronx cheer for that one. So bad and so very good!

As someone who grew up obsessively playing Guitar Hero as a kid, I've always had a fixation on guitar solos, but I noticed that a lot of music analysis videos hardly ever devoted much time to breaking them down. I always wondered if the generally fast and chaotic nature of solos just didn't really lend themselves to detailed analysis, and perhaps they were simply better enjoyed "from a distance" instead of under the microscope of musical theory. Actually seeing a bar-by-bar breakdown of a guitar solo like this is genuinely fascinating to me.

22:25 "How can you possibly bring this to a conclusion without disappointing?" Draws a House Stark crest.

I’m not a musician, but I know this solo by heart. I watched it live and it felt like I was watching the moon landing (which is similar to how I felt watching Prince’s halftime show). I’m so glad to see it get the attention it deserves!

If you go to the Rock hall, they have a show designed to give you the feel of attending an induction ceremony using archival footage. The solo is so legendary that it's what they use to close the show. If I had a nickel for every time Prince did a mic drop moment, cementing himself as the greatest to do a show ever, I'd have two nickels. It's not a lot, but it's weird that I have two; one for the Rock Hall and another for the Superbowl. The man was legend.

The moral of the story: Contrasting flavours are the spice of a good solo.

When I worked at the House of Blues Sunset Strip, we had Prince come play a full 2 hour set in the concert hall, then do an hour acoustic set in the restaurant, then play another 2.5-ish hours of jazz-fusion jam session with his band in the upstairs bar/lounge area. Over the course on the night he played literally every single instrument on every stage better than almost anyone else I’ve ever seen. It’s one of my fondest memories of my time there, and really cemented him for me as probably the greatest single musician of all time. Dude was a fucking legend.

I've never been a particular fan of Prince, not that there's anything wrong with his work its' just not my thing, but whatever else you want to say about the man, could certainly play the dang guitar. RIP

Knew it would be this performance. I love how Tom Petty and Steve Winwood go from annoyed to stunned while Prince shreds on

Thank you for this analysis. I watched this solo so many times over the years. Not only because of Prince's playing, but also because of the looks of delight and disbelief on Dhani Harrison's face; that's priceless.

Prince was a goddamned fucking genius and we lost so much with his death.

when all the legends are staring at you with their mouths open... i think thats proof you are the best guitarist they've ever seen ! RIP Prince Rogers Nelson. an amazing force for music.

Can’t believe you didn’t mention his awesome hat.

The guitar toss at the end btw

Prince is a very underrated guitar player. As soon as I clicked the video I knew you was gonna mention this performance. Real fans know this performance. R.I.P Prince.

Nearly 20 years later and I'm still processing that performance.

Saw this live and I remember thinking "well that was probably the greatest live solo I've ever seen, and of course it was prince. This human is an enigma."

Really just par for the course for Prince, most people just never realized it because he mostly saved guitar lead cathartic extravaganzas for his live shows and not as much on singles or albums. If you didn't go, then you didn't know...

Prince was the most phenomenal musician anyone I know has ever experienced. His guitar mastery and technique is belied by what I have come to call “Prinsimplicity”. Keep Bustin’ We miss you 💜

I had never heard this tribute song. I'm in tears after listening to it for the first time.

The first time I heard this solo was a life-changing experience; there were chills, goosebumps, the whole 9 yards. Sadly it was after Prince himself had passed, as well as Petty, so the experience was poignantly bittersweet. Thank you for doing this passionate cry justice.

For beginners and intermediates just know Prince did not improvise this solo. It’s ok to have a plan….

I’ve been a guitarist for many years, I’ve seen all the greats, Prince impressed me the most.

I've always loved this solo, but I never realized just how appropriately the notes in it were chosen. This is instantly one of my favorite videos you've done.

I like the points you make about the rests/pauses. Silence and the space between notes were important to Prince/his music. He's mentioned how Miles Davis' music had that.

What an amazing video. Thank you for introducing me to this.

This solo is one of the best pieces of content that RU-vid has to offer, period. I think more should see it. I'm surprised but so grateful you made this video on it!!!

Dude I needed this analisis. TY

I only needed to hear that opening guitar note and I knew what performance we were going to be hearing about.

Phenomenal video. Thank you for this. What a great breakdown of a beautiful musical moment.

“Because he’s Prince” words that say a lot.

Brilliant analysis. Thank you

Dog I already KNEW what solo it was gonna be. I just already knew.

This video is both magisterial and majestic. Well done

God, this cover is like a yawn! the second I even think about it I have to immediately go listen to it at least twice!

I love RU-vid. You've obviously been around for a while, but just found you tonight (through a rabbit hole involving Big Country and Level 42). This is the most brilliant, imaginative format for music/audio channels I've ever seen. Congrats on being THIS talented! Insta-sub.

Prince - like many guitarists, possibly most of the other guitarists on the stage that night - couldn't read sheet music and really just played by ear. For many of us when we improvise like this, we don't even know what we're actually playing, but we know what we *should* play. I would confidently say here that Prince didn't really *know* which notes to go for, he wasn't looking for a specific note at any point, but it was more like walking around your house in the dark. He knew what his intentions were, he knew what he wanted to express, and he could *feel* his way around the fretboard to the right places. I think that's partly why blues, rock, metal, folk, any other guitar driven styles of music can be so powerful and moving. They're not written with calculated understanding and methodical measured harmonies, they're written with feeling, with an intuitive understanding, an intimate connection with the instrument that defies being written down in notation. So more power to you for making such an in depth analysis and for even attempting to write any of it down!

Great piece of analysis. Love it!

This is just incredibly good content, thank you

As a recording studio owner and music producer who is, ultimately, just a slightly-reformed drummer, this is an epic video. You're illustrating theory over emotional moments I had, watching Prince play, with additional context. Thanks man!

I read the title and immediately thought of this solo!!! I completely agree! Love this video 🎉

Awesome. I knew the guitar solo you are talking about! I'm on my knees! Thank you!

What a great breakdown of a perfect guitar solo. Time to watch that performance again! 🔥

Analysing this performance with anything approaching accuracy, is an achievement in and of itself. You should be proud.

I've always felt that this was the best someone ever got to play the guitar, I showed all my friends it. Now I can show them this video!

I just watched this on Nebula. Helpfully, it included a link to the performance on RU-vid, which of course I had to play immediately. And this here was at the top of the Recommendations in the right margin! Perfect!

This is a brilliant video !!!!!!

thanks for explaining all this!

Wasn't a large part of Prince's performance that night based on the act of his getting snubbed on the Rolling Stone's top Guitarists of all time list? I don't recall if that was the exact situation off the top of my head, but I remember learning about the solo myself from that

Bro, the only thing you're missing from your retelling of this classic tales that… Everyone on-stage that night has NO idea where Prince's guitar went at the end of the solo. There are on-record interviews with a at least 2 of the band that night, and they have no idea where Prince's guitar went after he threw it up into the air. It might as well have disappeared. Truly it was a magician's show that night.

My favourite cover of this song is probably the one by Jeff Healey. I'd love to see a video about some of his works

Prince is an untouchable guitarist, but I have a pet theory that his control freak tendencies sometimes bit him in the ass. Like, "I'm gonna write my own songs, perform all the instrumental tracks and do the mixing myself" is impressive as hell, but he could have trouble being objective, sort of wanting to spotlight everything at once. The guitar solo on Little Red Corvette is fucking AMAZING but it's kind of buried in the mix, I guess because he didn't want the work he put in on the other parts to get lost or whatever. I really wish it came through better.

Prince's legacy is a touch weird to me, the man famously refused parody whatsoever until relenting somewhat in his later years, though he maintained an almost petty relationship with Weird Al. His estate is also infamously controlling and litigious of his music and image. Which is a shame because the man also did some incredibly selfless philanthropy he would keep anonymous about just because he wanted to. And he was such a god damn showman, as evident by this performance and the Super Bowl halftime where he ascended above everyone to ever do that gig. We really did lose the man too soon.

Wow, great analysis! Thanks! :)

I was a tour guide at paisley park for a while and it was such a treasure getting to walk into work every day and see and talk about the madcat guitar he played this solo with. fun fact! it looks like a telecaster but it was actually a cheap knockoff that, according to himself, he bought in front of a gas station from a guy for 50 bucks when he was on his way to play a show and forgot his guitar

This is an excellent video.

Awesome video.

Another note to put the solo in "historical context": A few months prior, Rolling Stone magazine had published its first list of "100 Greatest Guitarists". As is par for the course with these lists, there were some real head-scratchers: Eddie Van Halen at #70 but Kurt Cobain at #12. Joan Jett was on it, but one name totally absent? Prince. Of course Rolling Stone and the RRHoF are (were) both controlled by Jann Wenner. So there's no doubt in my mind that part of Prince's motivation to empty his entire bag of tricks onto that solo was to send a message to Jann Wenner and Rolling Stone.

Please examine something by Björk some day. There’s plenty there to analyze with her vocal melodies alone and you’d be one of the only people outside of David Bennett to make a video on her

Loved this

Heavily played in my playlist. What a performance from ALL on stage.

Prince was never big in my country, but this will definitely get me to delve deeper into more of his music. Also, I'm happy to be this early to a vid!

My appreciation for Prince's talent went skyhigh after I saw this solo. I must've watched it a hundred times. The best guitar solo performance I've seen. Just unbelievable!!

Fascinating analysis of a wildly memorable moment in rock history. Would have loved to have seen Prince play this live with George…but hey, that’s for an alternate universe. Subscribed! 🎸

A great breakdown of an iconic solo. One thing that goes unmentioned here is Prince’s incredible tone. Yeah, it looks like just any old Tele and I don’t know what kind of amp he’s playing through but the tone is just massive. Prince’s aggressive vibrato adds to the overall effect but I’ve just never heard a Tele sound like that.

We will never see his like again, and the world is poorer for it.

9:18 "Interrupting cow" - genius. 😎

This guitar solo is about half as good without the choreo and stunts. It was at least as much of a show as it was a piece of music.

If you ever get a chance to go to The Rock and roll hall of fame there's a room with incredible speakers and incredible sound and they play this and it just blew me away

Dhanis orgasmic glee at every moment of this solo is the best

The very first time I heard this solo it seared into my soul. Even though I was alone I yelled " And THAT is how you play electric guitar!"

This solo is so much more than just the music too, the showmanship is easily the greatest ever.

Unrelated to the video, but is any one else here who is also currently trying to more or less only listen to 3rd studio albums. For me that lead to a very different way of especially searching for the music I want to listen to and also I've made a list of the stuff I already discovered. So Cory, thanks for that idea, I love your videos and the podcast!

My absolute favorite guitar solo ever. Thank you for helping explain why I like it so much! (also love the dig at GOT)

This is the most masterful editing display I've seen in YEARS on RU-vid. What NLE are you using?

I don’t think I’d ever heard this; brilliant bit of work, both in the original and Prince’s tribute.

Your intrinsic jokes are killing it! The Dr Manhattan when playing loose with time, the Dire Wolf of Game of Thrones while talking of a disappointing ending? Savage. I love it!!!

This solo is good, I wish it was on DSPs. It perfectly has all the flare, theatrics and build up of a guitar solo. Seeing the video is almost as important as hearing the solo itself

FINALLY! Some Prince love 💜

Hello... relatively new to your site, but I've watched several of your videos and have really enjoyed them, and have learned quite a bit. This breakdown of Prince's solo was incredible, as was the solo itself, but even as a Prince fan I still take exception to it being called "The Greatest Guitar Solo Ever", when Mr. Hendrix left us a little something called Machine Gun. Message, intent, intensity, and special effects... it's all there. I'd love to see and hear your analysis of that, especially to see how you'd notate the bombs and machine gun fire. Either way, thanks for all the knowledge!

The Greatest Romance That's Ever Been Soloed

Prince returning to the rhythm part with that huge distortion but short staccato mutes is just so iconic.

This impressed when I saw it, and it's in one of my playlists

I never heard of Prince outside of his song Kiss, but was a huge Beatles fan. When discovering more of the Beatles catalog in the early 2000s, I found this and at first was shocked that a cover would be done by anyone not touted as a classic rock legend. I quickly learned that this was one of the most incredible performances in history; I may not have known who prince was, but i certainly knew he was incredibly talented and had an aura about him.

This is the kind of solo that encourages me to keep practicing

Obv I don't disagree with any of this, but I think the renown of this solo is more because for a long time it was the only bit of Prince that didn't get aggressively pulled from YT. I'd love at some point to see a video on Joy in Repetition - my personal favourite of his lead guitar work, and possibly my 1st or 2nd favourite song of his overall (and which actually exhibits a bunch of the features you talk about here, too)

This performance, and Prince’s SB Halftime Show, were just epic … ❤️‍🔥🎸

they remastered the video and recording of this performance a couple years ago. i listen to it constantly.

Absolutely agree.

Absolutely

I agree immediately

I can't tell which I love more, the solo or everyone playing staring Prince down for showing them up lmao 🤣