Help with lead and soloing!

Hello guys,

In 2008 i became member for the first time of this sites, then i stop using this sites to find another sources, now, in 2016 i have the same problems that i had on 2008, i cannot play lead guitar, soloing, improvisation, triads, arpeggios and so son. Right now i'm on the same spot that i was on 2008. If a learn a new scale i can play it over a certain key, but always sound like scales, robotic, without feeling.. Right now after many years, you think this sites have lessons to help me in this area to progress in my playing?

If so, there is anyway to get a guide from the site or a moderator to get a path to follow on the site?

Thanks guys!

From your description, you may want to think of where you're at this way; you've learned the grammar and rules of soloing but you haven't learned the language of solos. That is to say that you've got the information part of it down but haven't really put together how to use that info.

When you speak, to convey an idea, you speak in commony used patterns and phrases to present your thoughts. You've done it so long that you don't even realize that you do this, but you do. It's not a bad thing. As a matter of fact, it is a good thing. If we didn't use common denominators (so to speak) in speech, we'd all be going 'wait, what did you just say'? all the time. Not unlike when you speak to someone that is just learning your native language, it's broken and awkward be cause they are speaking based on the 'rules' of speech but not really the generally uses phrases.

So, that said, learn the langauage of solos. That is to say that you should spends lots of time learning the leads of other peoples solos. What you'll see is that certain common themes and patters emerge. There is a vocabularly of licks and moves that is unwritten but as you start playing other people's stuff, you start seeing variations on common themes.

A good place to strt is learning the blues licks vocabulary. Southern rock guys of the 70s own this. Listen to the solo in 'Freebird'. We all think of it as a long lead but what it really does is evolve smaller themes as it goes. It's not a long raging, speedy run but smaller chunks of lead themes. This is where you learn to start buling leads.

So, food for thought. Scales are the parameters you use to build solos but they are not the ideas of solos themselves. Learn the language.

Hey, there! Welcome back to GT.

Jeff gave you some great advice. His main point is exactly correct, you need to build a vocabulary or repertoire of licks. Of things you can play on the spot. The best way to do this & avoid sounding like you're doing scale exercises is to build little phrases that sound like melodies or melodic statements.

Originally Posted by: drakeman

If so, there is anyway to get a guide from the site or a moderator to get a path to follow on the site?

The best path to take is the guided path through the Rock or Blues style courses. But I don't know your exact skill level, technique set or target genre. So, with all that in mind, I recently wrote an in depth blog post about how to improvise or learn to play lead solo.

https://www.guitartricks.com/blog/how-to-play-a-guitar-solo

Have a read through that. It has a lot of links to tutorials from understanding the basics of improvisation all the way to exercises that will get you started on the path toward improvising.

Please ask more if necessary & best of success with it! Let us know how it goes!

Thanks guys,

JeffS65, i will try to follow your advices to si if i can see and improve in my playing, just for general info, Since i started to play guitar i never learned any solo or lead part for any song, just the base chords, power chords, some triads, but never learned any solo part. It always seems really hard to play it for me.

ChristopherSchlegel, thanks, i've seen that you are active on the site since i started on the first time on this site. So you think, this sites have everything i need to reach my goals? I will try to follow the blues path.

Thanks

I came to this site with a desire to improve my lead playing. I went throught the Blues course and got some advice from Anders (who teaches the blues course). It all helped me take things to a whole new level. I still have a ways to go, but I got over a big hump that really opened things up for me.

Anders has a minimalist approach which really shows how much you can do with so little. Much of what he teaches comes out of the first pentatonic position. He gives you useful strategies to improve your soloing. As an example of how important phrasing is, he has an example of a one note solo. Sounds rediculous and may not be something you'd do in the "real world", but it helps make some points. When he teaches you a lick, he demonstrates things you can do to "make it your own"...and it's the "make it your own" part that's critical.

Anders can still tear it up, but he shows how you don't always have to :).

So I think you are in the right place, and I think you've made a good decision going down the blues path.

Originally Posted by: drakeman

Since i started to play guitar i never learned any solo or lead part for any song, just the base chords, power chords, some triads, but never learned any solo part. It always seems really hard to play it for me.

[/quote]

It sounds before you work on learning solos or licks you'll need to practice basic techniques like playing single note lines. All the things you listed (chords & triads) involved strumming more than one string at a time.

Soloing requires a lot of isolating one note at a time, on one string at a time. The Blues course has exercises for that, but you might want to spend some time with basic scale exercises also.

[quote=drakeman]

ChristopherSchlegel, thanks, i've seen that you are active on the site since i started on the first time on this site. So you think, this sites have everything i need to reach my goals?

Yes, I do! :) At GT we've created a curriculum that will help you get to where you want to go in an efficient & fun manner.

Having said that, this site, any site, any teacher can only do so much. No matter which kearning resource you choose, everything comes down you picking up your guitar & practicing. A lot. :)[br][br]Best of success!

I felt the same way for a long time (and sometimes still do). So, here is what I have done and recommend as an option. First, steal one lick from a player. I just recently did this with the lick

Chris Schlegel has this lick at about 0:14 found at this lesson.

https://www.guitartricks.com/lesson.php?input=16551&s_id=1219

Learn this one lick (or one you like). Do nothing more than play this one lick over and over again until you have it down. Then, add in your own variaitons on the lick. Change the tempo, add in a slide, hammer on, change the bend, add or subtract a note, and so on. Just take a tried and true lick and squeeze as ,uch out of it as you possibly can.

Don't try and move up and down the fretboard with more notes. Adopt the philosophy that less is more.

I have done this for about the last 6 month learning one small lick at a time and then adding in my own flavor to each lick.

Now I have a set of go-to licks at different parts of the fretboard but I can play each of them in a different way so I can get a lot of mileage from each lick.

I saw a BB King interview where he says he thinks of soloing like walking through a neighborhood. He visits one part of the fretboard (neighborhood) and stays there for a while, then moves to a different neighborhood and hangs out there for a while and so on.

In the end, I have become more successful when I just stopped trying to learn too much. I decided to learn one and only one lick and how to add variaiton to it. I only started adding in more licks once I was very proficient with the first one.

Originally Posted by: hdoran

I felt the same way for a long time (and sometimes still do). So, here is what I have done and recommend as an option. First, steal one lick from a player. I just recently did this with the lick

Chris Schlegel has this lick at about 0:14 found at this lesson.

https://www.guitartricks.com/lesson.php?input=16551&s_id=1219

Learn this one lick (or one you like). Do nothing more than play this one lick over and over again until you have it down. Then, add in your own variaitons on the lick. Change the tempo, add in a slide, hammer on, change the bend, add or subtract a note, and so on. Just take a tried and true lick and squeeze as ,uch out of it as you possibly can.

Don't try and move up and down the fretboard with more notes. Adopt the philosophy that less is more.

I have done this for about the last 6 month learning one small lick at a time and then adding in my own flavor to each lick.

Now I have a set of go-to licks at different parts of the fretboard but I can play each of them in a different way so I can get a lot of mileage from each lick.

I saw a BB King interview where he says he thinks of soloing like walking through a neighborhood. He visits one part of the fretboard (neighborhood) and stays there for a while, then moves to a different neighborhood and hangs out there for a while and so on.

In the end, I have become more successful when I just stopped trying to learn too much. I decided to learn one and only one lick and how to add variaiton to it. I only started adding in more licks once I was very proficient with the first one.

I think this is great advice!!! It wasn't a concious decision, but this is the approach that eventually worked for me.

Adopt the philosophy that less is more.

^^^ YES!! I need to remind myself of this. When I listen back to things I've played, it's not the speedy things that jump out at me as "that was cool", inevitably it's something else...some rhythmic thing, clever note sequence, etc. Most of us want to play faster...and that's cool. Rather than think "once I can play fast, THEN I can play", embrace what it is you can do at the moment and be creative with it...use the less is more approach.

Thanks for sharing that BB King quote...hadn't heard that. I had to laugh because I've found myself doing that on longer jam tracks. I've also found myself in "strange neighborhoods" and discovered some interesting things.

Really thanks guys for all your advices, i think everyone here have a good advice to follow, so far this is me:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iBYWPSaiDV4

Yes, i'm the guy on the background with the rythm guitar, just playing chords. Well, thanks again, i will try to follow any comment here to see if finally i can get better.

And i now im wrong, but i always though that learn licks was useless because i will end "copying" somebody else solo, and never will be able to create my own lead part. I guess im wrong.

Thanks