Q: Hammer-ons and pull-offs are two essential techniques to use if you're soloing on guitar. With a hammer-on, you basically tap the string with your finger on a higher fret to play another note without strumming. A pull-off is the reverse, when you remove a finger on a higher fret so that the string plays a lower note.  When done correctly, the 2 notes slur together, creating a smoother sound. And since you don't have to strum each note separately, you can play much faster. Combine the techniques and go back and forth between 2 notes for several beats to create a sort of trill in your solo. This works well at the end of phrases. It's commonly understood that lead guitarists play single notes rather than chords – but there's no rule that says you can never play a chord just because you're the lead guitarist. Use chords to add body to root notes in your solo or emphasize a particular phrase. For example, if you used whole notes to build the basic outline of the structure of your solo, you could play some or all of those notes as chords, then fill in with single notes in between. To bend a string, fret it with 2 fingers and pull it across the fingerboard. As the string gets tighter, the pitch will go up. Pull from your wrist to bend the string, using your fingers as levers. This puts less pressure on your fingers and wrist by distributing the effort.  Don't try to bend a string if it's not in tune. You could break the string. If you've never bent strings before, it's a technique that will take some practice to get right. Play the note you want to bend, then the note you want to bend the string to. That way you'll know when you've bent it far enough. Vibrato is a technique similar to string bending, except that you gently move the string up and down for a slight variation in pitch. Lock your fretting finger against the neck of your guitar to get a good pivot point, then wobble that finger up and down after strumming the note.  Vibrato is more difficult on the outside strings, since you don't want to pull the strings off the side of the neck. Experiment with your vibrato, doing it at different speeds and bending the string at different distances. A small, slow vibrato is typically more appropriate for ballads while bending the string further and faster works well with rock songs. Listen to guitarists you admire and watch their solo technique. If you see something you like, practice it and try to emulate it. The same goes for motifs or riffs that capture your attention. Simply copying others won't make you a great guitarist. Once you've learned how to emulate someone else's idea, play around with it and try to make it your own. All guitarists have influences, but the greatest have a signature style that builds on their influences rather than mimicking them.
A: Use hammer-ons and pull-offs to play notes faster. Mix in chords to bring power and drama to your solo. Bend strings at the end of phrases. Use vibrato to add emotion to your solo. Throw in ideas borrowed from other guitarists.

Q: Your total rise is the height from one story to the next that the stairs will connect. The total rise should be set in most cases, so you simply need to measure the height. This distance should be from the top of the finished floor below and the finished floor at the top. If the floor is unfinished when you are calculating your stringers, you need to take that into account. The height of each step can vary a bit but there are general standards. It is standard to have your riser be about 7 inches (18 cm) tall, so use this measurement unless you have specific parameters that prevent it, such as limited headroom.  This measurement is sometimes called the individual rise of the stairs. For this calculation you are simply figuring out how many stairs it will take to get the height you need. Use a calculator or do the arithmetic by hand, as it is generally pretty simple.  For example, if you want 7 inches (18 cm) tall stairs and your overall rise needs to be 56 inches (140 cm), then 56/7=8. You will need 8 stairs. The number of treads you have (individual runs) will automatically be one less than the number of risers. Your total run is the horizontal distance between the top and the bottom of the stairs. How far the stairs stick out can vary depending on your needs, but keep in mind that stairs should usually be at an angle of about 40 degrees.  In general, the run of each stair should be about 10 inches (25 cm) in order for people’s feet to fit comfortably as they walk up them. There are many stair calculators that you can use online to figure out stair measurements. You simply need to input your rise and the angle you want for your stairs and they will calculate the other measurements you need, including your run. Once you have the overall rise and run of the stairs, you can calculate how long the stringer needs to be. You can either use an online stair calculator, a hypotenuse calculator, or you can do the math yourself. To calculate the length yourself, you will need to use the Pythagorean theorem, which is a2 + b2 = c2. So, for example, if the rise needs to be 60 inches (150 cm) and the run needs to be 84 inches (210 cm), then you would calculate 602 + 842 = c2, with “c” being the length of 99 inches (250 cm). Ensure your math and calculations are correct so that you don’t waste your time and materials cutting risers that don’t fit. It’s better to take a few minutes to double check yourself than to waste a whole lot of time redoing your work.
A:
Measure out how much total rise your stairs need. Determine how tall you want each step to be. Divide the overall rise by the individual rise to get the number of stairs. Determine how much run each stair will need. Calculate how long the stringer needs to be. Double check your measurements before you start marking your cuts.