Suggestions on Playing Lead guitar

[Marshall Stack]

I am embarrassed to say that I have been playing guitar for 35 years and still suck at playing lead guitar. I have been in a cover band and played a little lead guitar but I was just memorizing the leads that I figured out, got from sheet music or tab sheets. If someone had asked me to improvise, I would have wet myself.

Over the years I have collected various books. I have Mel Bay books (not real into playing "Go Tell Aunt Rhodie"), books on using Modes, Fretboard Logic, even "rock Guitar for Dummies". I am overwhelmed and suffering from information overload.

What is the "best' way to learn playing leads? The other guitar player that I was in a band pretty much just played the Pentatonic lead over everything he did. I just don't get how someone can memorize all the scales for all of the keys....

 

[Dogs of Doom]

Well, re: "all the keys" It's really all the scales & modes for 1 key, then it's chromatic.

example: You learn the E major scale. The F major is the exact same formula, & so is F# major, G major, G# major, A major, etc. Same goes w/ the minor.

When you learn the Major scale & all the modes, they translate the same up & down the neck. Triad theory works the same.

So, as far as technical learning, it's mechanical.

As far as originality, that just comes by developing your ear & taste, then putting it into sound. Michael Schenker constantly says, if you want to be original, stop copying...

 

[scat7s]

Michael Schenker constantly says, if you want to be original, stop copying...

indeed. you copy when your young, figuring it all out. at some point you have to leave the safety of the nest and spread your wings, if originality is a goal.

 

[Marshall Stack]

Well, re: "all the keys" It's really all the scales & modes for 1 key, then it's chromatic.

example: You learn the E major scale. The F major is the exact same formula, & so is F# major, G major, G# major, A major, etc. Same goes w/ the minor.

When you learn the Major scale & all the modes, they translate the same up & down the neck. Triad theory works the same.

So, as far as technical learning, it's mechanical.

As far as originality, that just comes by developing your ear & taste, then putting it into sound. Michael Schenker constantly says, if you want to be original, stop copying...

I understand that the scale is the same up the neck positionally as you advance chromatically in the keys. It still takes me time to think through it using that approach.

Another approach I have read is to learn the notes in the scales instead of the scale positions. Either way, it seems amazing to me that people can memorize all of this...

 

[gibguy]

Hey Stack was in about the same boat as you about a year or so back. What Dogs above has said is spot on. learn a scale and you can move that up and down the frets to match any key. One thing I would suggest is to bring up backing tracks from YouTube and just have at it. Say you know the Am pent. scale look that up jam along. Next look up Bm pent scale which is 2 frets up and also Pink Floyd type jam along pretty quick it gets easier with the improvising. Next learn another scale and another world opens up. l

 

[Biddlin]

Okay, a little psychological fact: If you've been playing for 35 years, your brain knows every note in every place on your fingerboard. Do you hear melodies in your head? Play them on the guitar, without thinking about what your fingers are doing, let your memory do the work. It might be worth learning some self hypnosis or other deep relaxation technique, but I guarantee, your brain and muscles can do it. Then do what I do, copy guys no one remembers.!
;>)/

 

[crossroadsnyc]

Well, re: "all the keys" It's really all the scales & modes for 1 key, then it's chromatic.

example: You learn the E major scale. The F major is the exact same formula, & so is F# major, G major, G# major, A major, etc. Same goes w/ the minor.

When you learn the Major scale & all the modes, they translate the same up & down the neck. Triad theory works the same.

So, as far as technical learning, it's mechanical.

As far as originality, that just comes by developing your ear & taste, then putting it into sound. Michael Schenker constantly says, if you want to be original, stop copying...

Hey Stack was in about the same boat as you about a year or so back. What Dogs above has said is spot on. learn a scale and you can move that up and down the frets to match any key. One thing I would suggest is to bring up backing tracks from YouTube and just have at it. Say you know the Am pent. scale look that up jam along. Next look up Bm pent scale which is 2 frets up and also Pink Floyd type jam along pretty quick it gets easier with the improvising. Next learn another scale and another world opens up. l

These guys pretty much summed up what I would have said. Just to add onto the second part (gibguy), you'll have an advantage applying them to backing tracks so that you can make it musical / enjoyable, rather than just sitting there working through the scales (that's not very much fun).

Have you ever taken a look at the scales written out as a diagram over the fretboard? If not, that's probably a good place to start, as you can begin to see how they work with each other / replicate themselves (and how different positions are actually different scales … don't want to confuse you, but you'll start to see how they work once you put your eyes on it).

 

[DirtySteve]

I am embarrassed to say that I have been playing guitar for 35 years and still suck at playing lead guitar. I have been in a cover band and played a little lead guitar but I was just memorizing the leads that I figured out, got from sheet music or tab sheets. If someone had asked me to improvise, I would have wet myself.

Over the years I have collected various books. I have Mel Bay books (not real into playing "Go Tell Aunt Rhodie"), books on using Modes, Fretboard Logic, even "rock Guitar for Dummies". I am overwhelmed and suffering from information overload.

What is the "best' way to learn playing leads? The other guitar player that I was in a band pretty much just played the Pentatonic lead over everything he did. I just don't get how someone can memorize all the scales for all of the keys....

Great question! I think, because I'm in the same boat. only a couple of years behind you. Leads still elude me. I know a few scales and I know I can move them up and down the neck, but that hasn't gotten me anywhere.

 

[Dogs of Doom]

A couple things that help you think different...

Learn to play a scale in different positions using all 6 strings.

Like this:

Now, do it w/ the full major scale.

If you understand triads/inversions, now, mix this w/ your scale. Try playing triplet patterns, so you are picking & playing a note, 1-2-3-1-2-3-1-2-3-1-2-3

When you do this, start off by playing each note in the scale & so you play the
root-2nd-root
2nd-3rd-2nd
3rd-4th-3rd,
4th-5th-4th
5th-6th-5th
etc... up the scale, throughout the fret position. Go up/down.

Next, skip a note, so that you play:

1-3-1
2-4-2
3-5-3
4-6-4
5-7-5
etc...

Then, skip one more note:
1-4-1
2-5-2
3-6-3
4-7-4
5-8-5
6-9-6
etc.

then:
1-5-1
2-6-2
3-7-3
4-8-4
5-9-5
etc..

1-6-1
2-7-2
3-8-3
4-9-4
5-10-5
etc...

skip so that you are doing 7ths, octaves & even more.

Play them slowly, learn to speed them up. Let them ring, play staccato. This will help develop harmony sense.

If you've learned triads, learn to play the triad all the way up & down the neck. This will get you into advances arpeggios. You will learn the sense of where the harmony for each scale is up/down the neck.

Realize, that each "key" has the formula of maj/min/min/maj/maj/min/dim

do the same for each position of the key. So, if you are playing in the key of C maj, then you will arpeggiate:

Cmaj (root)
Dmin
Emin
Fmaj
Gmaj
Amin
Bdim

arpeggiate all of them up & down the fretboard.

The point is to get to where it's all natural mechanics & you won't have to think. Too many x's, thinking will only get in the way. Have it already thought out & practiced, then just let it flow live.

 

[EndGame00]

Ear training worked for me... I was able to recognize and identify notes, and then visualizing them on the fretboard... In my experience, its all about mechanics... I don't have the speed and dexterity that I used to have when I was still gigging... Being not in a band for several years has a negative effect on my technique... I am definitely sloppy now compare to what I used to be.

 

[poeman33]

Try to be natural. Don't try to be someone you are not. If you can only play slow melodic leads...then play slow melodic leads, but work on making them sound great, and putting all your emotion into them. That's what makes leads stand out. It's not all about speed or how far you go down the neck. It's about making something that sounds good. If it aint complicated, that's fine. Not everyone can do that stuff. Just do what you can do...and do it well.

My 5 cents. (no more pennies in Canada)

 

[CaptainZero]

I can play all positions everywhere on the neck, and I STILL suck at improvising. Tell me a scale to play, I'll play it. Tell me to make up a solo... Sounds like shit. To be honest, I don't practice it like I should. I can 'solo' by playing notes in the scale, but unless I spend hours on it, it doesn't sound like it fits with the song.

Maybe I need to practice it more!

 

[roycaster]

If you want to play lead guitar, then play leads. You study and read all you want, but when it gets right down to it you just have to do it. You’re going to start off sucking. There’s no way around it. You’re going to have to play through it. And after a while, you’ll build up some confidence and you’ll start to feel better about your solos…

 

[blues_n_cues]

I understand that the scale is the same up the neck positionally as you advance chromatically in the keys. It still takes me time to think through it using that approach.

Another approach I have read is to learn the notes in the scales instead of the scale positions. Either way, it seems amazing to me that people can memorize all of this...

plug your guitar in,turn the radio on,& start flipping through the dials just riffing w/ as many styles as you can. eventually it'll stick & your brain will start to recognize what goes w/ what.
that is to say until you get to progressive jazz, then just any old notes will do.just play them super fast.

method #2- whangy bar.

phrasing is also just as important as note choice. sometimes,especially in blues you can slur a note or be behind the beat just a hair,or even slightly stop a bend short of the actual note. not exactly a 1/2 step flat but diminished.

vibrato- the single most important part of playing. w/out vibrato it's just sterile crap that doesn't "sing" & might as well be a (gasp) keyboard.

 

[MaxFrames]

Now, I am no Jimmy Page, but I still feel I can try to give you some advice.
Nowadays it is easier than it used to be, technology will help.
Learn some scales, just the basic ones, and then forget them. Yes, forget them as in "don't practice them anymore, ever".
Listen to a _lot_ of music you love. Try to play along. Don't mind reproducing the parts, just try to jam with the record.
Finally, find a few guitar backing tracks channels on YouTube (there are a million) and improvise over the backing.
Repeat over. And over. Don't give a **** about what notes you are playing and if they fit in. Eventually they will, and you will find yourself adlibbing by heart and you will gain confidence as you go.

 

[big dooley]

i see scales as a helpful tool... and not a necessity for playing some good leads
i'd rather tell one good story by playing a single note then bombard the audience with a telltale notes that are played faster then the speed of sound

i have a very high admiration for technical players, but i can listen to gilmour for days non-stop, while malmsteen bores me already after 30 seconds

 

[paul-e-mann]

Learn a few popular scales your guitar heroes use then jam on top of their songs and improvise, play whatever sounds good. Practice, practice, practice.

 

[tubes]

Okay, a little psychological fact: If you've been playing for 35 years, your brain knows every note in every place on your fingerboard. Do you hear melodies in your head? Play them on the guitar, without thinking about what your fingers are doing, let your memory do the work. It might be worth learning some self hypnosis or other deep relaxation technique, but I guarantee, your brain and muscles can do it. Then do what I do, copy guys no one remembers.!
;>)/

Good points Biddlin.
I often think this way.
I mean, I have put time into learning my scales and modes - but THAT alone doesn't mean I can pick out the right licks for any genre.
But I know have done my homework: my brain and muscles know where the notes are.
I have relied on this in unfamiliar territory.
If I can let go a bit... trust in what I have absorbed.....

 

[Feeling Supersonic]

Experiment and improvise over chords and chord progressions.

It's all Hendrix did and it's pretty much what all the greats have done, even the knowledgeable nerd-shredders like Satriani, Petrucci etc.. I bet most of their good stuff came from jamming and improvising.

I've been more experimental and happy with the development within my playing by just trial and error, more so than any studying a scale or mode or memorizing shit.

 

[TwinACStacks]

Wish I could help, but alas.... It took me 40 years to master the lead in Cinnamon girl.

Try this link, It makes it easy to learn the fretboard:

http://www.guitartheoryrevolution.info/blog/gtr-printable-e-books/


TWIN