Lead Head

It has gotten to the point in my life where I'm confused regarding as to how to progress and improve my guitar playing. As frustrated as I am, I thought perhaps that maybe by going back to where I had started and to answer those musical questions of "why" that had come up so frequently in the past might help unravel this mental knot.

Which brings me to the "leads" (I apologize for my ineptitude of the musical rhetoric) of contemporary music. What allows for certain notes to comprise a lead? What sort of know-how should a lead guitarist have to be at the very least proficient at his craft? Are there specific guidelines one must follow so that the guitar leading portion of a piece sounds "in place", for a lack of a better phrase, with its rhythm counterpart?

Maybe someone out there whose been in my kind of plight can suggest reading material for a wannabe artist? (Like for sight-reading, I seriously sometimes can't tell a rest from a clef.)

I thank you for any offered assistance, for it is always welcomed.

On a side note: I'd like to say Hey to y'all. First time poster, short time reader, prospective long term supporter. Once again, thanks.

The first thing to do before even thinking about coming up with a solo is finding out what key the song is in.

From there you have a million possibilities. (Well maybe not a million, but you get the picture)

Check out: http://www.zentao.com/guitar/

It has some pretty good lessons going on there.

Look dude - the problem is, that it all is a matter of taste. You can write the technical most proficient solo that fulfills all the rules of music theory and is simply brilliant, and noone notices it - and then again you can just play something that is "wrong" in terms of music theory and isnt even well played, and peeps like it. you end up asking yourself "WHY??".

I am no friend of the thought that there has to be a recipie for good music - there is none! there are so many bands and artists out there that get alot of credit for their work that i cant understand.

the basic question is "who makes the rules? who sets the standards? whos says its good or bad?" - the answer is, that the crowd sets the standards - if the crowd decides that your music is crap, then it IS crap - no matter how good it is in your opinnion. sounds wierd and it sucks, but thats the way it is!
The quality of an artist is not defined by his art, but by the ones who admire it!

And that leads us to the next question: "what are your goals? why do you make music at all?" Do you make music for fun? do you make it ust for the sake of it? just for you? - in that case you shouldnt worry about the others - just play what feels natural to you and what expreses yourself the most (basically thats what i would recommend to everyone no matter what their goals are)

INcase you wana make music for the masses and you wanna make a living out of it, then you have to find out what they like most.. and you probably wont like the answer...

[Edited by Azrael on 08-06-2003 at 01:28 AM]

You have compromise so that both you, and the audience, are happy with your playing. Simple as that (As difficult as that may seem).
Note that sometimes, you don't have to compromise for your audience, if you have a direct hit on a 'good tone', that you came up with yourself. This is a rare phenomenon, though.

~Incidents

I won't write a philosophy essay, but provide an answer.

What you want to achieve is improvisation. In 90% of the cases, the Minor Pentatonic will work...

Cheers :)

*Agrees to that*

In responce to Azreal's first paragraph, and the thread as a whole. What makes a certain solo stand out and become memorable is a good melody. The most paladable thing to the listeners ear, so if you can outline a melodic tune with your solo it will have a better chance of being liked by the listener. If not you can always smile and shrug knowing that they will drive themselves crazy cause they can't stop humming it. :D

As for good places to start. Think of the chord or key your soloing over. i.e. C major. Now think of what notes make up the C major triad, C, E, G. Any 3 of these notes is a good starting point. Try C using the C minor pentatonic over a C major chord. Contrasting but interesting. Think of each scale as a different color of harmony that you can apply to an individual chord or entire key.

Disgusting subject line. Azrael, I actually agree. May not happen soon.