10 legendary guitar solos that are deceptively simple

Van Halen – ‘Ain’t Talkin’ Bout Love’

Look, nothing that Van Halen plays is simple, and from the moment they first started making music, it became clear that Eddie Van Halen was tapping into (quite literally) a new style of playing that nobody had heard before.

“[Eddie] said, ‘I’ve been playing [‘Into the Void’] like this all these years. And, of course, I showed him how to play it,” said Tony Iommi when he was asked about going on tour with Eddie Van Halen. The Black Sabbath lead guitarist went to admit that despite jamming together, he didn’t bother trying to learn any of Eddie’s music: “I didn’t ask him how he played any of his. Because I wouldn’t be able to do it”.

While it’s easy to see where Iommi is coming from, there probably are a fair few Van Halen songs that he could try his hand at, with one of the most prominent being ‘Ain’t Talkin’ Bout Love’. The track is still a masterclass in guitar playing, but there is no doubt Eddie holds back somewhat, and it makes this solo one of his more simplistic offerings.

Coldplay – ‘Fix You’

A lot of the time, a good solo doesn’t actually sound like as much because of the notes being played, but because of how much the song surrounding them complements those notes. One of the greatest examples of this is Coldplay’s ‘Fix You’, as everything about the guitar solo in this song sounds epic; however, that’s more a result of the song as a whole rather than the solo on its own.

When you look at how you play the actual solo, the whole thing is made up of no more than three or four notes, and they’re repeatedly hit with aggression and a growing excitement. While those notes build, so too does the song around them, and the result is a piece of music that sounds borderline euphoric. If you’re new to the guitar and want to learn a great-sounding piece that won’t push you to the limit, this Coldplay anthem is a good place to start.

The White Stripes – ‘Seven Nation Army’

Two of the most important parts of any riff are recognisability and accessibility; not only should a good guitar riff catch your attention and be instantly recognisable, but it should also be simple enough that people believe they could play it themselves. Jack White manages to do this on the riff for ‘Seven Nation Army’, and it seems he loved it so much, he used the same combination of notes for the solo.

All White did was add a bit more distortion and move the notes further up the fret; however, if you want to be ambitious, you can throw a few bends in there as well. Essentially, so long as you can nail the riff for ‘Seven Nation Army’, you can play the solo as it’s all incredibly straightforward.

Nirvana – ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’

When talking about the song ‘Smells Like Teen Spirit’, Dave Grohl admitted that he doesn’t think Kurt Cobain knew what he was writing about, but that being said, the lyrics, melody and feel of the song all come together to make what would eventually be recognised as one of grunge’s biggest ever hits.

“Not just lyrically or musically,” said Grohl when discussing how they heard the potential of the track, “but the groove of the song; it was really powerful.” 

The groove was so infectious that when it came to adding a guitar solo to the song, Cobain opted to just replicate his vocal line over the guitar. There is so much energy in the song that this sounds excellent, but technically, the solo is very straightforward, and you only need to be hitting a few notes in order to nail that melody, which is pretty simple to do, despite sounding so aggressive.

AC/DC – ‘Highway to Hell’

AC/DC’s approach to music was pretty straightforward: Malcolm Young would write a great guitar riff, while Angus Young would put together a face-melting solo. The riffs would be made up of three or four chords, while Angus’s solos tended to use as many notes as possible, which makes the majority of his guitar lines pretty tricky to play, but ‘Highway to Hell’ is simple. However, that doesn’t take away from how good the solo sounds, though, complementing the track in a big way.

“It was written about being on the bus on the road where it takes forever to get from Melbourne or Sydney to Perth across the Nullarbor Plain,” said Brian Johnson when talking about the song, “When the sun’s setting in the west and you’re driving across it, it is like a fireball. There is nothing to do, except have a quick one off the wrist or a game of cards, so that’s where Bon came up with the lyrics.”

Metallica – ‘Nothing Else Matters’

This is one of Lars Ulrich’s favourite Metallica songs because of how much it seems to mean to people.

“It’s about being on the road, missing someone at home, but it was written in such a way, it connected with so many people, that it wasn’t just about two people, it was about a connection with your higher power, lots of different things,” he said, “I remember going to the Hells Angels Clubhouse in New York, and they showed me a film that they’d put together of one of the fallen brothers, and they were playing ‘Nothing Else Matters.’ Wow. This means a lot more than me missing my chick, right?”

You can understand why so many listeners form an emotional connection with the song, as Metallica are one of the biggest thrash metal bands in the world, but they took a step back and created a more subdued number with this hit. That approach applies to the solo as well, as the band decided to make something that was slow, melodic and accessible, and by combining these elements, they also managed to come up with something that was really simple, so much so that almost anyone could learn it.

Def Leppard – ‘Animal’

Sure, some Def Leppard music might sound a bit cheesy here and there, but they’re a glam rock band from the ‘80s, everything was cheesy, and on their song ‘Animal’, they champion this style of music wonderfully with big riffs, a catchy chorus and what sounds like a face-melting solo. However, when you actually pick apart what is being played, the monstrous sound of the song is doing a lot of heavy lifting, and the solo itself is deceptively simple.

“We’d revisit it, and I remember we were recording vocals in Paris for something, and one day Joe [Elliott] had done this vocal and Mutt Lange had said, ‘Wow, this vocal’s killer. Let’s rewrite the song around that’,” recalled Phil Collen, “So we did, and it was our first English top ten single, so it was worth waiting.”

Eric Clapton – ‘Wonderful Tonight’

Steve Van Zandt was always adamant that Eric Clapton was one of the best guitarists on the planet, not just because of his overall talent, but also how well he could merge the styles of guitarists who came before him.

“Eric Clapton is the most important and influential guitar player that has ever lived, is still living or ever will live,” he said, “Do yourself a favour, and don’t debate on this.”

His merging of different styles led to the creation of some truly exciting music; however, it also gave rise to more stripped-back and slow numbers. Perhaps one of the greatest examples is ‘Wonderful Tonight’, which is a beautiful piece of music, but so long as you have mastery over bending strings, it’s incredibly easy to play.

Guns N’ Roses – ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’

I’m not going to sit here and say that the main solo to ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’ is easy to play, as that would be a ridiculous claim; however, the rest of the guitar work in the song is pretty straightforward, including the opening riff and the other solos, which you can find slotted in between choruses. They are very rewarding to play and really aren’t as complicated as you might think, regardless of how difficult it may have been for Slash to truly throw himself into these solos initially, as he famously wasn’t a huge fan of the Guns N’ Roses ballad. 

“You know, Guns N’ Roses was always a real hardcore, sort of, AC/DC kind of hard rock band with a lot of attitudes,” he said, “If we did any kind of ballads, it was bluesy. This was an uptempo ballad. That’s one of the gayest things you can write.”

The Beatles – ‘While My Guitar Gently Weeps’

Despite being written by George Harrison, it’s Eric Clapton who plays the guitar on this Beatles classic. The other band members weren’t stepping in line when it came to recording the track, so Harrison decided to bring in some external help and hope it made the rest of the band act a bit more accordingly.

“What happened when Eric was there on that day, and later on when Billy Preston… I pulled in Billy Preston on Let It Be…it helped,” said Harrison, “Because the others would have to control themselves a bit more. John [Lennon] and Paul [McCartney] mainly because they had to, you know, act more handsomely.”

Clapton was nervous about playing on the song, saying, “I can’t do that. Nobody ever plays on Beatles records”, but he wound up playing incredibly well, no doubt holding back slightly, making an effort not to overpower the track; thus, the result is a great guitar solo that’s actually quite simple in theory.