Originally Posted by: dsaydakHi Everyone,
I have played guitar all my life, but until recently only acoustic. I am 59 years old. I have a new stratocaster, and have been learning mainly rhythm parts so far. Can anyone suggest songs in the Guitar Tricks repertoire for me to try out playing my first guitar solos? The only real "solo" I have played is in "Wonderful Tonight" by Eric Clapton, which is pretty simple.
Any suggestions would be appreciated!
Dan
Have you been looking through the Guitar Tricks scales lessons? A great place to start is learning the Major scale. You may already know this but a little refresher might not hurt. You'll want to know this scale as it's part of the overall scale world. For rock playing, get to know the pentatonic scale too.
Below, I'm stealing from a post I made some time back but what it really means to do is to give a simple explanation of how solo/leads work. If you really want to dig in, start with Lisa's major scale lessons as well as a great number of lessons by Chris that go in to this and all scales with a better understanding than I could possibly give you here.
With that, you'll need to know the structural stuff. If you play mostly rock/pop music, the pentatonic below is really the majority of what you'll need. It's the springboard for expanding outward with other scales when that time arises. However, for rock, the pentatonic is the meat and potatos. Knowing this will help you understand that when you take on a solo, where it's core is likely at. It's like a roadmap.
So here's a brief primer on how to use pantatonic scales. Overwhelmingly, the pentatonic scale will be central to your lead playing. Get comfortable with this the rest opens up for you.
You may know the pentatonic shape, but how do you use them? Major versus Minor? All that stuff.
When I was learning this a long time ago, I found that everything I was being fed had overcomplicated the key/scale question. I knew the pentatonic shape but nobody really gave me a simple explanation on how to use it. I had to guess my way through.
Like, if I'm playing in the key of C, what is 'in bounds' to play and why?
The simplest 'cheat' to wrap your head around it: It's the 'pinky versus index (pointer) finger'.
What does that mean?
You'll see below but assume that:
--The 'song' is in the key of C.
--The root note on the 6th string of the 'song' is the 8th fret (C).
--That 8th fret is like an anchor from which either (major/minor) scale can spring.
So, the pinky v. index?
If you're in the key of C and what to play -
Key of C (Major) - Your root note is the 6th string 'pinky' (8th fret) of the pentatonic scale
---I----O----I----------I----------I----O----I--- 1
---I----O----I----------I----------I----O----I--- 2
---I----O----I----------I----O----I----------I--- 3
---I----O----I----------I----O----I----------I--- 4
---I----O----I----------I----O----I----------I--- 5
---I----O----I----------I----------I----O----I--- 6
Fret 5 (A) ---- 6 (A#) ---- 7 (B) ---- 8 (C) Root
Key of C (minor) - Your root note is the 6th string 'index finger' (8th fret) of the pentatonic scale
---I----O----I----------I----------I----O----I--- 1
---I----O----I----------I----------I----O----I--- 2
---I----O----I----------I----O----I----------I--- 3
---I----O----I----------I----O----I----------I--- 4
---I----O----I----------I----O----I----------I--- 5
---I----O----I----------I----------I----O----I--- 6
Fret 8 (C) ---- 9 (C#) ---- 10 (D) --- 11 (D#)
Root
You'll note that your root is the same (C + 6th string = 8th fret) but it's actually your hand placement that moves.
If you want to be in C Major; your root is still that 8th fret but you're really just playing a pentatonic with your index finger starting on the 5th fret. If in C minor; your index finger starts on the 8th fret.
So what's the difference between major and minor?
The simplest explanation is happy versus mean/dark. That's a way oversimplification but it helps. When you hear a solo and it sound very pleasant and 'up', it's more likely being played as a major. If it sounds darker or more agressive, it's more likely in minor.
This is just a very simple rule of thumb. Lot's of hard rock is in minor scales. Why you use one of the other depends on the vibe of the song (though there is more theory on this subject, I'm only giving you a mental starting point). If the song is a happier progression of strummy open chords, then it's likely a major scale will fit better. An agressive metal song? Minor.
Though the actual pentatonic scale is above in my examples, the useable pentatonic has more notes (below). This is what's used for all that rock lead playing:
---I----O----I----------I----O----I----O----I--- 1
---I----O----I----------I----O----I----O----I--- 2
---I----O----I----------I----O----I---(O)----I--- 3
---I----O----I----------I----O----I----------I--- 4
---I----O----I----O----I----O----I----------I--- 5
---I----O----I----------I----O----I----O----I--- 6
Note: the '(O)' (3rd string) is a note not within the pentatonic scale but is often added in to lots of blues based leads.
Given all that information above, what this does is help lay a foundation. When you're being taught a lead and the instructor or tool you're using says it's an 'A minor pentatonic', you'll have an idea what that actually means.
As for the physical skill? Take your time and don't hurry. Most folks learning leads have to do it over and over. At GT, you can loop a section and choose the speed. Use those tools. Just learn a section and get that going. Move to the next and so on. Don't take on a whole lead in one bite. You'll feel like you'll never there. It takes a bit of work.
