This solo is from the Jamzone where you can also find the rhythm guitar part.

Listen to the normal speed audio at least a few times to get a feel for how the solo should sound. The start and end parts are easy - it is the fingertaps in the middle part that will be the real challenge.

Don't let the speed put you off. Finger tapping is naturally very fast, and is the easiest way to get tremendous speeds during solos. If you get unstuck, just backtrack to the Core Skills section on Finger Tapping to see how to do it.

The solo doesn't start until halfway through the first 'E section' (which we covered in the Rhythm guitar part). The solo comes in with a brief slide before just cycling through some chords.
These chords are: Em - D major - C#m - Bm. Repeat.

Notice that these chords marry very closely with those you played in the rhythm section. They are played an octave higher, with regular down / up strokes (always 8 strikes per chord). Use the muting / thumb muting as shown in case of overstrikes with your pick. This will help omit unwanted notes.

If you can already play the rhythm guitar part, then this part of the solo should come very quickly. The finger positions are the same, just higher up the neck, and the picking is easier.

After that, we use the G chords in the Backing music as a short 'interlude'. That means we're bridging between the fast rhythmic playing we've just done, and the upcoming fingertaps of fury. We do this with a short melodic phrase here.

This part works on a couple of levels. So far we've just been following the rhythm guitar closely. Now we 'introduce' the lead guitar in a more melodic way. This is a nice slow melody, with bends for emphasis. It's not just nice to listen to - it's also quite functional. It 'sets up' the next part where we tap like lightning as the rhythm guitar kicks back into gear. Let's examine this further...

The melody here is a simple one, using the E natural minor scale. Notice that as we play, we are using a little vibrato as we bend the notes. You can use the whammy bar for this if you wish. We did. Just waver it up and down lightly on those long high notes where you see the V symbol.

Notice that as we play this little melody we are holding notes that actually get higher and higher in pitch. This is a prelude to the fast tapping about to be unleashed. Holding those notes and gradually getting higher, helps raise the tension in the solo. Also - and this is very important - notice that as we end the slow solo part, we are now in perfect position for the finger tapping!

The 1st and 3rd fingers finish on the 10th and 12th frets of the High E string. These are the notes we want to tap with! So as you end this slow solo, just move your 2nd finger (of your picking hand, remember to keep your pick held between forefinger and thumb) up to the 17th fret and start tapping like hell as soon as the Rhythm guitar kicks in again.

Remember to tap with the 2nd finger so you can keep holding your pick! That means you can switch back and forth between finger tapping and picking without having to drop / pick up your pick. Plus your 2nd finger is strong and will be very well suited to tapping with some practice.

The tapping is fast, but simple. It sounds great and learning this will help you a lot with your speed playing. Think of it as very fast 'triplets' (3 fast notes in the place of 1 normal note):

Tap 17 to - 12 Pull Off to - 10 (repeat as fast as possible!!) This gives us 3 notes A - E - D in rapid succession. Triplets. Just practice slowly at first and get the technique down, then, start speeding it up until you get faster and faster.

Do this 17 - 12 - 10 triplet 8 times, then just tap 1 fret lower for the next 8 times to get 16 - 12 - 10. The notes here are Ab - E - D.

Go back to 17 - 12 - 10 for another 8 triplets, and once again to 16 - 12 - 10, for the last 8 triplets.

Now the next tapping part is a little more difficult. What we do here is stick to the triplets, with the finger tap always on the 15th fret and the last note always the open E string. It is the note in the middle of the triplet that we vary (the pull off note):

The tapping pattern is therefore:

15 - 10 - 0
15 - 9 - 0
15 - 7 - 0
15 - 9 - 0

Repeat 4 times, but notice that the first time we use the 1st finger to descend through the first 3 middle notes. We do this to get into position (i.e. to move the 1st finger down to fret 7, so we can continue tapping the same notes, but using other fingers - they will make the tapping easier). From that point, continue tapping using the 4th, 3rd and 1st fingers at the 10th, 9th and 7th frets respectively.

The fourth time, don't tap the very last triplet. This gives you time to switch to picking and play the Low E. Divebomb the whammy bar (lower it). Then strike the natural harmonics on the 12th frets here. Lift the whammy bar high and then waggle it up and down lightly to get that cool effect you can hear.

After the whammy fun, its back to playing a similar chord progression as we did the start: Em - D major - C#m - C#m. Repeat.

The difference this time is that we play the C#m another 8 times, rather than moving down to the Bm.

End the solo like a rockstar, and waver the whammy bar as you do it. Mirrors optional.