Where should I start?

Hi,

I've been here for a while but I've been absent. I haven't had internet at home but now I have a pretty decent phone with data so I am back on guitartricks.com

I wanted to ask if someone can point me in the right direction here.

I know rythem guitar pretty good. I know a lot of chords when it comes to open, Barre and power chords.

And I've been playing off and on since i was 16 and that's really all I've ever known to play. Just chords. So i I haven't really advanced any. I've been stuck for years! Just playing those 3 types of chords.

I want to advance my playing. So i am guessing I need to learn lead guitar which will take me to another level.

I don't want to keep being "Guitar George who knows ALL the chords but doesnt want to make it cry or sing"

Im in a band playing rythem guitar but we keep going through lead guitarists all the time. Either they move, they are jerks, they have a big ego or just want to get wasted on stage and embarrass us all during shows.

So the signs keep pointing to me "learn lead guitar. Learn lead guitar!"

I've mentioned it to my singer and our drummer and they just both ignore me. They are probably like "yeah right, whatever."

As they put out more ads on Craigslist looking for new lead guitarists.

So besides wanting to prove them wrong I also want to learn lead so i can advance my playing.

I know several scales. I know all the pentatonic scale patterns.

And i know a few G major scale patterns.

But how to apply them to make it sound good and not make it sound like I'm just playing a scale up and down is where I am weak at.

Also trying to figure out which scale I should play that goes good with chord progressions doesn't make sense to me.

I can't just Jam with people and improvise. I can't find the right scales or notes and then I get embarrassed and just stop playing and think "Wow! I really suck"

I'd love to improvise and to be able to jam with other musicians on the fly... and actually have fun...

And i want to write good music and make up melodic guitar melodies.

So can someone point me in the right direction and give me some tips and advice? Which lessons should I start with?

I'm here to learn and rock the guitar

Hi there!

There's a few different resources you can use on our site!

Here's some scale practice for beginners: https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=451

Of course the toolbox will have a metronome which you'll need to practice with: https://www.guitartricks.com/toolbox.php

And really, our Core Learning System is the best place to start:

https://www.guitartricks.com/course.php?input=fundamentals1

Hope that helps!

Hey, Nick. Welcome back!

Originally Posted by: NickFerra

I want to advance my playing. So i am guessing I need to learn lead guitar which will take me to another level.[/quote][p]Lead guitar playing (or improvisation) has two basic components.

1. Knowledge of the scale or key & the chord progression.[br]2. An existing repertoire of licks that you can already play.

Since you're on GT, the best path to take is the guided path through the Rock or Blues style courses. I don't know your exact skill level & technique skill set or target genre. 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

Ultimately, playing lead guitar just comes down to learning a basic set of licks, little melodies & things to play. Just like learning chords or songs. You have to know a certain number of stock skills that you can play automatically as needed when the occasion arises.

Originally Posted by: NickFerra

I know several scales. I know all the pentatonic scale patterns.

And i know a few G major scale patterns.

But how to apply them to make it sound good and not make it sound like I'm just playing a scale up and down is where I am weak at.[/quote][p]Right. This is the difference between knowing a scale pattern & building a little lick from a scale that sounds like a little melody that you can play on the spot when you need it.

You need to learn, practice & internalize a bunch of those. A repertoire of those.

[quote=NickFerra]

So can someone point me in the right direction and give me some tips and advice? Which lessons should I start with?

I'm here to learn and rock the guitar

Start working on the Rock Course.

https://www.guitartricks.com/course.php?input=rock1

Start at Chapter 3 where Anders starts to get into soloing.

Learn little licks like this that you can play all over the neck & easily adapt to any chord or key.

https://www.guitartricks.com/tutorial.php?input=1614

Then think about the song you like with simple solos. Learn those solos. Change them around & reuse them in your own solo playing.

[quote=NickFerra]

I've mentioned it to my singer and our drummer and they just both ignore me. They are probably like "yeah right, whatever."

As they put out more ads on Craigslist looking for new lead guitarists.

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

Thanks! :-)

Really looking forward to this!