How To Play Mick Taylor's Guitar Solo In Winter By The Rolling Stones

In this video we learn how to play Mick Taylor’s guitar solo in Winter by The Rolling Stones with a full guitar lesson ! Winter is on the 1973 Goats Head Soup album. We go over the full solo and do a note-by-note inspection of how it’s done. We also analyse the notes against the harmonies to see what it gives us and what makes this solo feel so great!

Theory Takeaway

We’ll do a lot of overthinking notes in the video but if there’s one quick and dirty idea you can take from this great solo is that the bending of the Major 2nd to the Major 3rd, played on the 4th Degree gives a very characteristic lush sounding major 7, but still executed as a pentatonic rock idea. 

'Fun' Fact About Winter

Winter is of course on the 1973 Goat’s Head Soup album. Winter was the first songs recorded in studio sessions for the production of Goat’s Head Soup. It’s the creative work of Mick Taylor and Mick Jagger, yet songwriting credits went to Mick Jagger and Keith Richards. 😉

If anyone still wonders why Mick Taylor eventually left the Rolling Stones, we can probably come up with a few reasons. Anyway, Goat’s Head Soup, though it’s a bit of weird album IMHO and in the later stages of their absolute creative peak, is of course a fantastic album and an important piece of Rock and Roll history.

Why Did I make This Video?

Making these can be quite intensive, but I got a few requests on Winter. Doesn’t mean you immediately go and do it, but the idea kept burning on the shelf. So just went in and hopefully it helps keeping this playing style out there in recorded and live music. I’ve also created an on-screen transcription video, which you can see here below: 

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