There are techniques you can employ to make this easier. Practice "singing" your guitar parts. What I mean here is that you know where you should go and what it should sound like. Gilmour did this all the time. Like anything else it will take practice, but if you "sing" each note you play, you'll become familiar with where your hand should be in relation to what you hear in your head.

The other option is to carry a small recorder. Use it to "sing" your part and then use that recording to help work out the line you heard in your head. Doing this will help to keep your idea intact while you work it out. I'm guessing you get part way through and then can't remember exactly how it goes because you get frustrated.

Yeah, that happens to Ill have a nice riff going wanna go somewhere next and its bam blank same with a solo idea or lick, but I will try that out my MP3 has a little recoder on it, bit crappy but its not bad would that do?

I admire that you build the riff in your head before you play it. For me it works a little different. I play until something cool comes out of the guitar then I record it before i forget it. It's amazing how quickly you can lose an idea if you don't capture it. Sometimes I'll come up with a cool riff and play it for several minutes. When I think I got it mastered I'll try to build an accompanying riff that goes with it or like a verse riff. Then when I want to go back to the original riff it's difficult to remember it. This is why I am a huge fan of recording.

Thanks JTC, I sometimes do that as well, but I can have it in my mind but getting out is the hard part, I guess I think too much for my own good lol

This is one thing that I do. I will listen to something totally different, whether it be a different genre, or not even guitar music. Then I go to the guitar with a different part in my head, such as the drum beat of a Tool song, or the trumpet from Bitches Brew, or here lately I have actually been plaiying trumpet, so my outlets aren't limited. But I have certain riffs that I play over and over again, so as not to forget them. I have only had my cell phone to get down ideas for the longest here. But I can listen back with it right up to my ear which is good.

So, how do I get the voices out of my head?

Answer them, Confusious.

When I was in college, my roommate was a classical music composition major. He used to sit in his room and write scores for classical music all day. And he didn't even OWN any instrument. He had learned the pitch, relation, and interval of notes to such an extent that he only needed to use an instrument occasionally to write his music. I thought that was really far out and still do.

Yeah, That happens to me I'll here a riff in my head like a rhythm but with tone and higher and lower sounds but sometimes I can but sometimes you just can't get it to happen I hate that man. I know this is off topic but for those of you who are in school do you ever get this awesome beat and want to just go home so you can write it down but you can't and then by the end of the day when you go home to write it you forget it? Sorry but doesn't that just piss you off?

I do that sometimes sitting in class with math my hated subject(formulas formulas formulas!) :P and I have little band in the back of my mind , yeah...........they rock lol