Saturday, April 26, 2008
Mastering Lead Guitar
When in Ddr Soundtrack band, guitarists are conventionally assigned Legends Of Bottleneck Blues Guitar Dvd duty Epiphone Amplifiers rhythm or lead. However, Ultimate Beginner Blues Guitar Step One And Step Two lead guitarist often only gets the chance to stand above the mix and shine during their designated solo or interlude. As a lead guitarist, when it's The Blues Scale Lesson 1 time to shout, Blues Guitar Solo Lesson had better know what you want to say. Not only that, you need to know how to say it in a way that is unique to your own creativity, yet not boxed in by lack of knowledge of the basic lead guitar techniques or theory.
The larger the pot of techniques and theory you have to draw from, the freer your music, and the more open you are to experimenting confidently, without being afraid of the unknown... or your competence!
Time to focus your learning on the things that matter. I'm sure you're not interested in just being a parrot of your guitar heroes - you want the freedom to inject a bit of -you- into your soloing!
There are two main types of learning with lead guitar - theoretical and physical.
Theoretical involves learning scales, note/string relationships, anything to do with the music itself, rather than the instrument you're playing it on. Here's some examples of this type of learning:
Scales: learn as many different "flavours" as you can. Start with the major scale, then work through the other 6 modal scales (just called "modes"), then move on to more exotic scales. The more scales/flavours you learn, the more you will understand which flavour really compliments which type of melody/music. E.g. the Spanish scale (sometimes called the Gypsy scale) goes well with flamenco style music and also works nicely with some heavy metal. Of course, this is down to your own judgement - you might think a particular melody is complimented well by using the Lydian scale (a major flavour), even though it sounds slightly unorthodox - experimentation is the key to originality and really wowing your listeners!
Note/string relationships: Free Guitar Lesson Learn To Play Guitar 20 comes naturally over time, the more you experiment with scales and chords. The Acoustic Blues Guitar Styles Larry Sandberg is to know the different options and positions you have across the fretboard without having to guess and hoping not to hit that bum note. E.g. fretting the G string at fret 5 - that's a C note, and it's also the octave of the lower C note at fret 3 on the A string. Additionally, if you learn about how chords and scales are made up, you'll know The Scale With Blues Guitar the "3rd", "5th" and other related intervals lie, in relation to that initial root note! This might all sound complex reading it now, but trust me, just continue to learn those scales and explore the fretboard and you'll build up these relationships in your own personal way.
Other theoretical stuff includes arpeggios (similar to chords and scales - knowing where certain interval "flavours" lie in relation to a note or key) and just generally getting to know how notes work in a key or over a particular chord.
Now, the physical aspects of lead guitar are about really working creativity into the fretboard, taking your fingers to the gym and nurturing that muscle memory. Some of these essential techniques include:
String bending - self explanatory! Top Ten Groups the pitch of the note instead of just jumping to the next interval in the scale/arpeggio.
Hammer ons - a technique where you pick a fretted note as usual but then "hammer" down on a fret interval above on the same string using another finger. In a lead guitar phrase, you can mix this technique with...
Pull offs - fret and pick a string as usual, but release your finger in a way that it "twangs" and sounds the string, falling back onto another fretted note below, on the same string.
Vibrato - making a note sing in a similar way vocalists "warble" during a held note. This involves physically bending and releasing the string, whilst all the time fretted, to create an oscillating effect.
Tapping - a more specialist technique, tapping (often called two-hand tapping) involves fretting a string as usual, but bringing your picking hand down to the fretboard to tap on a particular fret and essentially create a large interval hammer on/pull off.
...And there are other physical techniques that can help make your lead guitar soloing more dynamic and unpredictable.
Fuse these two elements of learning together, and you'll find you have all the foundations you need to confidently pull a solo out of the bag, whether it be improvised or more contemplated and scored. At the end of the day, if you ever feel like your physical ability or theoretical knowledge is holding you back from truly expressing yourself, you still have learning and exploring to do!
Take your time, build your foundations, and although I am about to make myself and many others cringe with this clichd piece of lead guitar advice... always use this knowledge to play from the heart!
Mike Beatham runs a free, easy to follow guitar lessons site, with backing tracks and audio exercises to help develop your unique style of playing. To follow on from this article, visit the lead guitar lessons section and start building your foundations!
