Originally Posted by: j_mccrossin05hi everyone,
i am very new to this web site so far i am nothing but impressed.
so i am a self taught musician, i can play drums guitar and recently realized i can do the simple bass chords because of my knowledge with power chords lol. but any ways i have been playing in a band in my youthgroup at church for several months, i have been trying to step it up a notch but i dont know where to begin, i ussually play out of powerchords just to get that rockier sound but i need more like on pridges and verses to kinda mix up the sound. so here it is hopefully someone will understand me lol. i want to learn how to play lead, i know a little in d and g but its very little and the person who showed me is a very good guitar player but doesnt know how to explain what it is he is doing. is there a pattern to playing lead throughout different keys? where should i start to begin to playing lead which scales, i want to be a more blues rock mix sound, im just confusing myself with to much things you can find on the web but i am not learning any of it, i know this doesnt make any sense, but if anyone can help me it would me much aprreciated sorry for the confusion lol

If you want to start playing lead, (or rhythm) the best way to get it right, and get good is to learn the diatonic scale pattern,(which is the key pattern) throughout the neck starting at the top, (1st fret) and learn your way down. This pattern is the same in all keys, and can be thought of as starting from the root note, (for example) Key A minor- A-BC-D-EF-G-A thru out the neck, on all strings these are the only basic notes played, (what order you play them in is entirely up to you), but any other notes outside the above scale played will be out of key, (which can be good, or bad depending on the sound your after). But for starters just work on trying to stay in key by only practicing the notes in the Key your first learning!
Another example- Key of G major is- G-A-BC-D-E-F#-G, These are the only notes to be played on any string, up, and down, left, and right in order to stay in key, (which is the only way a band can all play together in the same pitch by all playing in the same key) "very important".
The Major scale pattern is WS-WS-HS-WS-WS-WS-HS starting at root nt
G A BC D E F#G WS- means whole step, HS means half step. Look these terms up if you dont understand them.
The minor scale is WS-HS-WS-HS-WS-WS starting at root note.
A BC D EF G A
The above patterns can start from any root note, but the spacing between frets stays the same in all keys.
Find a chart of the neck of the guitar with the notes labled and start to study these patterns all up, and down the neck, and you will start to see the pattern develop. No matter what direction you play these notes within the key, up, and down, or left and right you will start to notice the tonality, and Quality of sound created by simply staying in key while you play, which in my opinion is the most important aspect of creating good music.
I think it would be a good idea to look up the term Diatonic scale, and study these principles in more detail for good messure.
You should also understand that Rhythm parts, and bar chords also fall into the diatonic pattern, so learning the diatonic scale throughout the neck of your guitar, and playing within the scale using only the 7 notes of the key your playing in (with LOTS of practice) will have you on your way to some serious shredding.
And that my friend is the way to get her done!
Give it a try, you will see.