Advice on Playing Lead Please !!!!

[Dave1968]

On a piano it is easy to visualise on a guitar the 'B' string gets in the way.

C D E F G A B C = IONIAN MAJOR SCALE (All the white notes on a piano)
D E F G A B C D = DORIAN MINOR (SANTANA, GILMOUR ESQ)
E F G A B C D E = PHRYGIAN (MINOR)
F G A B C D E F = LYDIAN (MAJOR) VAI'ISH
G A B C D E F G = MIXOLYDIAN (MAJOR) DRUG INDUCED HIPPY '60S, COOL!!
A B C D E F G A = AEOLIAN (RELATIVE MINOR) TRY IT OVER C MAJ
B C D E F G A B = LOCRIAN (DIMINISHED) VERY MOODY

Those my friend are you 1000+ yr old scale derived from the Greeks who put us on the right path. Learn these modes, interact with them as you have the time in your life to have the 'TIME' before you get other ideas. This is all you need to know, explore and use as your first language if you want to know your fretboard.

It is true, "Whatever you put in, you will get out". I learned them back in '87 and i remember enough to plod through to get me where I want at my own pace. I met a girl who took my 'TIME' and the 'Modes' gathered dust. The moral is don't 'STOP' whatever you do, save if only 15 mins a day, I didn't.

I did play LA and SF 18 months ago though, dream fulfilled for a Limey!!

 

[fsenseman]

On a piano it is easy to visualise on a guitar the 'B' string gets in the way.

C D E F G A B C = IONIAN MAJOR SCALE (All the white notes on a piano)
D E F G A B C D = DORIAN MINOR (SANTANA, GILMOUR ESQ)
E F G A B C D E = PHRYGIAN (MINOR)
F G A B C D E F = LYDIAN (MAJOR) VAI'ISH
G A B C D E F G = MIXOLYDIAN (MAJOR) DRUG INDUCED HIPPY '60S, COOL!!
A B C D E F G A = AEOLIAN (RELATIVE MINOR) TRY IT OVER C MAJ
B C D E F G A B = LOCRIAN (DIMINISHED) VERY MOODY

Those my friend are you 1000+ yr old scale derived from the Greeks who put us on the right path. Learn these modes, interact with them as you have the time in your life to have the 'TIME' before you get other ideas. This is all you need to know, explore and use as your first language if you want to know your fretboard.

It is true, "Whatever you put in, you will get out". I learned them back in '87 and i remember enough to plod through to get me where I want at my own pace. I met a girl who took my 'TIME' and the 'Modes' gathered dust. The moral is don't 'STOP' whatever you do, save if only 15 mins a day, I didn't.

I did play LA and SF 18 months ago though, dream fulfilled for a Limey!!

I ain't falling into that trap. I've give my wife 15 minutes, the rest goes to my harem of guitars Actually what I've truly done is start to teach her how to play. She likes it and we can play together, as long as it's a song in C. And only C chords are allowed

 

[Dave1968]

I ain't falling into that trap. I've give my wife 15 minutes, the rest goes to my harem of guitars Actually what I've truly done is start to teach her how to play. She likes it and we can play together, as long as it's a song in C. And only C chords are allowed

You got it!!! Roles reversed, I like that!! Now she gives you the foreplay Guitar, of course

I was young and paid too much attention to what became my wife all them years ago. My 7 yr old loves us jamming in Amaj and we're 'Rock Gods' in our living room!!!

I kept my hand in so to speak throughout those dark years

 

[darkr_reaver]

Hello everybody. My first post here. I am 19 years old. I have been learning guitar for about a year. I know all my major chords, minors, sevenths, and barre chords. I am wanting to now learn to play lead.
I have looked online and there is alot of info out there. So much so that it confuses me more than helps. I took the advice I found on one site and started with the pentatonic scales. I have learned the 5 forms and practice them everyday. I have some jam tracks that I try to play with but although I know the scales I just cant make them sound like music.
Some people say to learn some " licks ". Where do I learn these licks ? I practice everyday for usually at least 2 hours, often times more. I just want to know that I am headed in the right direction. I also recently ordered a book that I read would help me learn the fretboard called " The Fretboard Workbook ".
Any and all advice will be appreciated.

Wow! That sounds alot like me a while back!!! Hah hah... Anyways, I think I have an easy way for you to develop a sense for lead playing.

Find the key of whatever song or progression you want to play over and then play lead in the relative minor key of it. Soo... G major > E minor. C major > A minor. Etc... So a quick formula for a minor scale would be (from the root note, in whoe steps and half steps)

Root - Whole - Half - Whole - Whole - Half- Whole - Whole.

So in A minor the notes would be A - B - C - D - E - F - G - A. You can do that up and down a string or use some type of cage system. Either way, it'll be alot easier to play in C major using the scale above. Putting it in a different key won't change the 'shape' of it either, just the notes. Hope this helps.

 

[57VOS]

Heya Futurerockstar,

I am a beginner too - been playing since January. I wish I was 19 like you! I wasted so many years...you are lucky to start so young. I'm just a tired old man but I am enjoying learning.

Anywho, in this video I am just using the A Minor Pentatonic scale shape in the first position only with a slow blues backing track. It helps me to use slower tracks right now. I can think about what I am doing better when it is a slow backing track. I hope the speed will come later.

Keep practicing every day brother you can do it!

[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=c3Z9GCZYXFg]YouTube - SDV_0176.MP4[/ame]

Please accept my sincerest wishes for a Happy Easter!

I am, Respectfully,
57VOS

 

[solidwalnut]

Futurerockstar--

You have such excellent advice here. Plenty of food for thought. But here's a little more (old man, been playing for 40+ years).

Learn to LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN. Strive to transfer what you hear in your head to your hands. Emulate successful guitarists by listening to certain things that they do and then learning how to play exactly that (or just make it close or make it your own). Learn a few riffs and string them together.

Playing lead is much more than just stringing notes together. It's learning to make the guitar literally sing. Think of the best guitar players sound and hear how it's as if the guitar is singing when they play. You can make the guitar sing by playing melodies (whether they are blues/rock melodies from pentatonics, or whether they are more melodic riffs played from the major scale). Learn not only the pentatonic scale, but the major scale, for all western scales are derived from it. You can play blues and rock styles with major scale formation riffs.

I like a to play with a mixture of both. Whatever you play, make it fit what the chord structure of the song is giving you. Make a melody from the chord tones of the moment. Learned CAGED and you will go far.

Lastly, keep it simple and learn tricks. Learn about vibrato, sliding up to/down from notes, pinch harmonics, tapping, and regular harmonics. Just add these tricks to your toolbox and use them on the notes you already know how to play. It's not that you have to learn a bunch of new stuff, you just need to learn how to play the stuff you already know even better.

Here's a solo I did to a backing track about 10 years ago. It's your basic 12 bar I-IV-V chord pattern blues. Much of the stuff I'm doing is coming from the pentatonics, but I'm using the notes in between as well, plus thowing in some well-worn licks that I've made my own.

http://www.solidwalnut.com/realaudio/Faster_Bluesy_SC.mp3

All the best,

Steve

 

[Dolebludger]

Once you have learned a few scales in the keys you use most, the question is how to move on into lead playing. If you want to craft your own leads and develop your own style, a good place to start is by simply playing the melody of the song single string. Once you have that nailed, use the scales you've learned to develop variations around that melody.

If your goal is to cover another artist's work, note for note, there is a machine that will help you. You put a CD into the machine, and it slows down the solo without changing the key or pitch. I don't know the name or make of this machine, but a local music store here had one on sale for $250, and the salesman called it a "lick stealer" Stupid me, I was feeling broke that day and didn't buy it -- big mistake.
.

 

[SteveGangi]

I'd try learning solos from your CDs/records and just getting the basic ideas of them. You don't need to get them note-for-note, but you can learn a lot from learning other people's solos.

You'll eventually realize that it's not just a bunch of random "licks" thrown together. A solo tells a story (whether it's 3+ minutes long or only 10 seconds). It is a bit tough to explain in words technically.

Also, the benefit of learning other people's solos is you start to see how people stray outside of the pentatonic scale and you learn what to do in certain situations.

With all that said, there really is no right or wrong. Afterall, all the greats broke rules and were not typical.

This is what worked for me. I didn't know the pentatonic scale/mode back then, I didn't know there was such a thing as modes or "alternate scales". But I developed a feeling for what the major and minor pentatonic sound like, and then by making mistakes and hitting clams/clunkers it started to come to me. And then years later I found out I was playing this pentatonic thing all along. Most rock and blues, and a fair bit of country too is pentatonic. Some of it is straight major or minor scale, and some is ummm some other stuff (lots of modes and things). I decided to NOT over analyze.

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

Heya Futurerockstar,

I am a beginner too - been playing since January. I wish I was 19 like you! I wasted so many years...you are lucky to start so young. I'm just a tired old man but I am enjoying learning.

Anywho, in this video I am just using the A Minor Pentatonic scale shape in the first position only with a slow blues backing track. It helps me to use slower tracks right now. I can think about what I am doing better when it is a slow backing track. I hope the speed will come later.

Keep practicing every day brother you can do it!

YouTube - SDV_0176.MP4

Please accept my sincerest wishes for a Happy Easter!

I am, Respectfully,
57VOS

As an aside, I love your tone here.

 

[fsenseman]

Once you have learned a few scales in the keys you use most, the question is how to move on into lead playing. If you want to craft your own leads and develop your own style, a good place to start is by simply playing the melody of the song single string. Once you have that nailed, use the scales you've learned to develop variations around that melody.

If your goal is to cover another artist's work, note for note, there is a machine that will help you. You put a CD into the machine, and it slows down the solo without changing the key or pitch. I don't know the name or make of this machine, but a local music store here had one on sale for $250, and the salesman called it a "lick stealer" Stupid me, I was feeling broke that day and didn't buy it -- big mistake.
.

If you happen to be able to practice near a computer (I use a laptop) there is software that will do that as well. Transcribe! is one, there are many others. You could also purchase a DAW (software used for recording, but also plays back music and allows you to slow the song without changing pitch). Reaper is the one I use and it can be had for only 40.00 US right now. Quite the bargain as it does videos as well so if you have a video of someone teaching something it will slow the video so it syncs with the music. It's been very helpful to me.

Kind Regards,
Fleet

 

[Rick Wine]

All good advice, but there's one bit that I didn't see: Listen. Listen to blues, jazz blues, delta blues, blues funk, blues rock, straight ahead jazz, country, standards, horn solos, listen, listen, listen, listen, listen, listen,listen, listen, listen, listen, listen, listen,listen, listen, listen, listen, listen, listen. And when you think you can't listen any more, let the melodies play in your head and analyze what you hear. It takes a long time, but I promise that you will hear certain patterns emerge and cross over from song to song. And all the while, close your eyes and play those melodic passages over an over again until your fingers go to them as though they were on autopilot, and your brain is disconnected and only watching from a distance. When you're finally able to do this, you know you're on your way, and your playing stops being work and becomes a higher order of self-expression.

 

[lanniepig]

WTF??? Is this a joke? I ain't never seen $hit like this. It looks so bizarre to me it's almost funny. I'm definitely not there yet. I'll stay with the minor pent.

... and don't stop at the pentatonics. Once you've got those down, check out major and minor scales in all modes, and then look at exotic stuff:

 

[lanniepig]

Excellent advice in this thread. I'm in the same boat. I am trying to learn a little of everything at once and it's very frustrating. I've got to slow it down and take smaller bites and chew them up good before swallowing and going on to the next one. Thanks for the help in this one.

Futurerockstar--

You have such excellent advice here. Plenty of food for thought. But here's a little more (old man, been playing for 40+ years).

Learn to LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN. Strive to transfer what you hear in your head to your hands. Emulate successful guitarists by listening to certain things that they do and then learning how to play exactly that (or just make it close or make it your own). Learn a few riffs and string them together.

Playing lead is much more than just stringing notes together. It's learning to make the guitar literally sing. Think of the best guitar players sound and hear how it's as if the guitar is singing when they play. You can make the guitar sing by playing melodies (whether they are blues/rock melodies from pentatonics, or whether they are more melodic riffs played from the major scale). Learn not only the pentatonic scale, but the major scale, for all western scales are derived from it. You can play blues and rock styles with major scale formation riffs.

I like a to play with a mixture of both. Whatever you play, make it fit what the chord structure of the song is giving you. Make a melody from the chord tones of the moment. Learned CAGED and you will go far.

Lastly, keep it simple and learn tricks. Learn about vibrato, sliding up to/down from notes, pinch harmonics, tapping, and regular harmonics. Just add these tricks to your toolbox and use them on the notes you already know how to play. It's not that you have to learn a bunch of new stuff, you just need to learn how to play the stuff you already know even better.

Here's a solo I did to a backing track about 10 years ago. It's your basic 12 bar I-IV-V chord pattern blues. Much of the stuff I'm doing is coming from the pentatonics, but I'm using the notes in between as well, plus thowing in some well-worn licks that I've made my own.

http://www.solidwalnut.com/realaudio/Faster_Bluesy_SC.mp3

All the best,

Steve

 

[adkima00]

I'm far from a great lead player, but I try to start with the melody that the singer sings - or at least something close to it. Les Paul gave the advice to someone (I think it was in Chasing Sound) that people want to hear melodies. Listen to some of Les's solos. Most were very melodic. The Beatles are another great one to study. Pick a few songs and learn the melodies. Then just change the phrasing a little...then change the rhythm a little...then change some notes a little.... Build from there...

Good luck!

Matt

 

[Thumpalumpacus]

WTF??? Is this a joke? I ain't never seen $hit like this. It looks so bizarre to me it's almost funny. I'm definitely not there yet. I'll stay with the minor pent.

No joke. Call me up when you get bored with one scale.

Also, the best advice came from SolidWalnut:

Learn to LISTEN, LISTEN, LISTEN.

 

[AngryHatter]

HEY GUYS هل توافق على التدخل الاجنبى على مصر لحما...

Bet that is what those scales look like to him.
Yeah, lets overwhelm the new guy.

Best hint - if you have a favorite player, sit and play with his/her albums and just try to do what they do.
Find a note and work it.
One day, you'll be noodling when suddenly the dam'll burst and you'll be playing that riff you heard so many moons ago.

That said, everyone learns differently. If you are aware of how you learn best, try to mold some of the replies you got here into it.

 

[BUDOKAI]

Learn theory.

 

[djlogan33]

I'm cool with the emphasis on improvisation, but not with breaking blues down into a formula.

======================================================
The "formula" of the Blues is very simple:
- 12-bars
- 3 chords (I-IV-V)
- minor pentatonic scale (see below illustration)

The most common form of the blues is a 12-bar pattern of chord changes.

That is, a repeated twelve-bar chord progression.
This is called “12-Bar Blues”.
You should remember a bar is the same as a measure.
Most often in blues you will count 4 beats to each bar – 4/4 time.
In a blues song this 12-bar cycle gets repeated over and over through the course of the tune.
A blues song might play through it 20 times.
It will depend on the specific song.
The blues can be played in any key.
In whatever key you are in, 12-bar blues uses the same basic sequence of I, IV, and V chords.
It is most easily thought of as three 4-bar sections – the first 4, the middle 4, and the last 4 bars.
The first 4 bars just use the I chord - I, I, I, I.
The middle 4 bars go IV, IV, I, I.
And the last 4 bars go V, IV, I, V.
Then you repeat the whole thing again.

 

[JonR]

Learn theory.

I disagree. I like theory personally, but I say learn SONGS. Ie, learn to play tunes (not just strum chords).

I was just watching this video on another site:
[ame=http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dzLqRX2XV6c]YouTube - Fly Me To The Moon - Frank Vignola/Bucky Pizzarelli[/ame]
- check from 1:10. OK, it's jazz, not rock, but the principle is same. To improvise, you need the vocabulary (licks, phrases, etc). Theory won't give you the vocabulary; songs will.
So, learn the kind of songs you want to improvise on - whatever they might be. And copy what the singer does (as well as what any guitar soloist does). (I think someone above said the same thing: we're right! )

 

[insp.clouseau]

To some extent I'm at that same point.
Being that I have to feel the music to be able to play a decent solo for it.
If it's a sad song, it needs a sad solo...happy song, happy solo etc.
If you're not really in that correspondant 'zone', your solo wil be sterile.
Diffenece between the two lies in details, curls, speeds, bends etc
Everyone can go up and down a pentatonic scale, but only few know how to express their feelings doing so.

Anyway, keep trying, but play with feeling, Play because you really want to...not because you feel bored.
PS.: a slight alcohol intoxication might loosen things up