Transcription: Vinnie Moore - "Rain" Solo

About The Solo​
Vinnie Moore’s track “Rain” comes from the 1999 album “The Maze.” I was struck by this track, particularly the solo, when I was in college. I remember hearing it and being blown away by the melodic control Vinnie Moore has while still maintaining the badassery of a great rock guitar solo.
The solo starts with what I’m pretty sure is an E-bow to create these beautiful, long, sustained notes. If it isn’t used in the solo, it’s definitely used earlier in the song. Some of those notes sustain for days!
The first half of the solo sticks to the key of G Minor and it sounds like Vinnie is thinking just that; G Minor. As a result, when the C minor chord comes around, you can hear him landing on the 9th (D) just before resolving to the 5th (G) later in the phrase. While it’s great to be able to look at chord changes and play to them in a vertical fashion (playing to each chord as it comes up), the horizontal approach will yield different results. In the case of the opening of this solo, I think it makes the melodic content sound more cohesive as the chords under it help color the melody.
The next section hangs on the bVI and bVII chords, which I’m absolutely a sucker for! I could listen to a bVI-bVII-i chord progression all day. The beauty of the changes in this section is that the resolution to the i chord is delayed. Once it hits, the resolution is very satisfying. But, wait! It gets better.

The Modal Interchange Section
For those unfamiliar with the concept, Modal Interchange is when a chord or chords are borrowed from a parallel mode (starting from the same root) to add a different color to the harmony. This is most commonly heard in songs that are in a major key and borrow chords from the parallel minor key, or vice versa; a song in a minor key that borrows chords from the parallel major.
In the second half of this solo section we have the chords Eb F and G major. Eb and F are the ♭VI and ♭VII chords respectively from the key of G Minor. However, the G Major chord that follows is borrowed from G Mixolydian.

The reason that we can tell the G Major chord is being borrowed from G Mixolydian and not some other Major mode (eg. Ionian or Lydian) is by looking for clues in the solo. Vinnie is hitting Major 3rds and Minor 7ths all over the second half of this solo, so this is a dead giveaway.

Melodic Control​
Vinnie Moore is very precise with his phrasing. His bends are extremely well intonated and used very melodically. You can hear in the intro the emotion he creates with his bends as the notes die out. His usage of rhythms is a great example of how you can add tension rhythmically.

Using triplets to increase tension

Speaking of control, but more in the physical sense, measure 13 has a very challenging lick that sounds great. Vinnie bends up a whole step (likely with the 3rd finger) on the 20th fret of the first string to sound a D note, but then as he still holds that bend, he frets the 21st fret (likely with the 4th finger) to sound an Eb note. You’ll find a smattering of great bending licks all over this solo so you’ll have no shortage of practice.

Pre-bending a note and then fretting an even higher note

Here is a performance I did of this solo a few years ago:

This is one of my favorite solos of all time as it showcases what I think makes a great solo. It tells a story, has a great senses of melody, and adds to the song as a whole. While Vinnie can definitely shred a lot faster than this solo showcases, it was not necessary for this song. I hope you enjoy this solo as much as I do as so much can be learned from it. If you are interested in learning it, check out my transcription here:
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Thanks for reading!
-Andrew