Tired of Rhythm

Hi everyone,

What a great site this is......!!!

OK, been playing rhythm guitar since I was big enough to hold a guitar and have been in loads of bands over the years.

Starting to feel a bit stuck in rut (great song) and now at 35 years old want to learn lead guitar. Of course over the years I have picked up the odd riff and can widdle a bit when required, but what I really want to know if where should I start? There's so much information on here!

I predominantly play rock, but would like to ensure that I can diversify, and seamless melt into any musical genre when required (beggers can't be choosers and I'd rather be gigging with any band than not!).

Its a bit of a lame question, 'where do I start', but being 100% self taught, just want to get an experts opinion, and this was a good way to say 'Hi' and 'thanks' to everyone who has contributed to make this site so cool.

Cheers for now,

John M.

Hi John,
The fact that you have been playing for so long will benfit you a lot in the transition to lead. First things first, learn some basic scale shapes and patterns. Pick a key eg A and work out the scales across the fretboard for major, minor, harmonic minor and pentatonics - this is as good a place as any to start. It's boring as hell learning scales but you will find that you probably know a lot more about the fretboard than you think when you start practicing. Assuming you can do alternate picking, the next step is to practice established runs, 123's ascending and decending, 1234's ascending and descending in the various patterns available throughout each of the scales. Then start trying to create your own runs.
The best way to create a piece of lead in my experience is to listen to the backing music then either hear the lead in your mind or hum along some improv. Then sit down and work it out. Eventually you will be able to directly play what you want to straight onto the fretboard - it just takes a lot of practice learning the fretboard before you can play an idea directly without having to work it out first. I'm not sure what level you are at yet so some of this could be to advanced or too basic. I'm self taught too and that's what got me going. Hope some of it helps.
What kind of music do you play or want to play anyway? That will have a bif bearing on how and what you practice.

I was self taught for about my first 4 years of guitar until I found a teacher. I must say that finding a good teacher that can teach you lead will be very beneficial to you.

Some key things you'll need to work on for lead are:

Ear training
Improvisation
Scale Patterns/ Attaching patterns together/ Fretboard Identification
Arpeggios
Accuracy through slow tempo practice and muscle memorization

Superhuman had some good points...You'll need to start learning a scale, and then learn how to play in as many different ways as you can on the fretboard..lower octave, higher octave, 5 string patterns, 6 string patterns, single string patterns, etc.

When starting it's good just to get comfortable in one position..then later on, add on another close position and play both at the same time. After that, just keep going from there.

Good luck!

To wind it back a touch (although the others make very good points) - the first thing I teach in this ballpark would be the minor pentatonic scale, followed by the other shapes for the pentatonics - 5 in total (CAGED Shapes you may be aware of from the different voicings of chords?)

The pentatonics are easier to learn as they have fewer notes, and are easier to fit over a rhythm track for improv for the same reason - almost no chance of hitting a note that isn't in key and creating a mess! It will probably be more fun for you as well - you'll be able to start using them musically almost immediately once you have the patterns under your fingers.... The 5 patterns link together so you can blow from one end of the fretboard to the other and start building runs as Superhuman suggests.

Modal stuff is where you want to go, but I think the pentatonics are a better place to start off from. Having a read on diatonic harmony, and having a look in the theory section of this forum will also help you...

i play purely by ear...i kno scale shapes but no names i dont think this limits me as a guitarist at all..i kno what sounds right if you get me..i kno friends who are theory nuts and they get bogged down by it all...'oo that chord sequence is too samey try this try that'

Hey Dude,
I'm sure you've been told this before, but start with learning the pentatonic scale. It's really very simple. In the key of A, here it is: 5th fret, 6th string- (A) is the first note or the root of the scale. Then, 8th fret, 6th string-(C) is the second note. Then, 5th fret, 5th string-(D) is the third note. Then, 7th fret 5th string-(E) is the fourth note, and it is quite convenient that this is also the fifth of A, as I'm sure you know. Then, 5th fret, 4th string-(G) is the fifth note in the scale and the last. Hence the name pentatonic. Penta means five as I'm sure you know. So the notes in the A pentatonic scale are A,C,D,E and G. To continue the scale to the 1st string: 7th fret 4th string-(A), 5th fret, 3rd string-(C), 7th fret, 3rd string-(D), 5th fret, 2nd string-(E), 8th fret, 2nd string-(G), 5th fret, 1st string-(A), and finally, 8th fret, 1st string-(C).
Just mess around with that for awhile. The pattern remains the same no matter what key you are playing in. Have fun. If you want to know more scales, just ask. (or look them up!) Other key scales are the Minor, Major and Blues. There are thousands more, but only bite off as much as you can chew and pratices your ass off.

Just an addition to what i said before; run chromatic exercises up and down the neck in as many patterns that you can think of. That is, play four notes in a row using all four of your fingers and move up and down the neck by shifting your position. And remember, accuracy is way more important than speed. Speed will come naturally, so don't try to go any faster than you can. I know that sounds stupid and you probably want to just start ripping right away, but it doesn't work that way. So play slowly and precisely and your speed WILL increase, i promise. You have to be dedicated as well.
Try these little tricks to make your playing more interesting:
-pinch harmonics
-hammer ons and pull offs
-string skipping
These are only a few kool tricks but they are good to start with. BE CREATIVE!!!