How to play Lead Guiter

2007-01-22T01:43:00.000-08:00

How to Play Lead Guitar - Getting Started by Russ Moore
In this article I'm going to show you a simple way to improvise lead guitar over a chord progression. Of course, the best way for me to show you how to play lead guitar would be for me to sit down with you. Since we don't have that option, I'm going to try to get the point across in print. So please ... wish me luck.
The first thing I want to talk about is your relationship with your instrument. It's important that you spend time with your guitar, and not just when you are practicing. Many times you will catch me watching TV with a Fender Stratocaster in my hands ... my fingers running patterns on the fingerboard and not a sound to be heard.
What I'm doing is bouncing around through a scale - embedding the pattern of that scale into my subconscious and building muscle memory. While on the subject of scales, let's talk about one that is very easy to play and remember, while also giving you a wide range of possibilities.
The basic pentatonic blues scale pattern (in case you're wondering - it's used quite a bit in playing rock leads, so it's not just for the blues).
---1------------4-----

---1------------4-----

---1-------3----------

---1------------4-----
Pick a spot anywhere along the neck of your guitar. Actually, pick a position where your first finger (the one you point with) is lined up with the dot in that space between the frets. The tip of that finger (finger #1) is going to bounce from string to string across that position. Easy, right?
Well, we are just getting started on how to play lead guitar. We're not going to be doing anything fancy (yet), and it's not likely that you're going to impress anyone (yet). Give it time.
Ok, now finger #2 (a.k.a. 'the bird') gets to chill throughout this basic pattern, but #3 and #4 (ring and pinky) each have notes to play. Just remember that each finger occupies one space between frets so that the pattern is covering four spaces. If you're not familiar with tablature, also remember that the bottom line in the diagram is your top string (low E string) when holding the guitar as you should.
Now the thing to do is spend time running your fingers through this pattern. Pick each string twice (once with each finger position) and move on to the next running up and down this scale over and over and over again. Get very familiar with the pattern.
As you practice your ear will get used to the sound each note makes. Soon you will be playing through the scale without looking, and you will know when you hit a note that doesn't belong as soon as it sounds off.
This would be a great time to have a friend who can play basic chord progressions. If you don't have someone to play along with, you may want to consider searching for rhythm tracks or jam tracks online. That's what they are for. I plan to record a few of these and make them available soon, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. No worries. I'm sure you can find something.
If you can't round up any rhythm tracks to play along with - consider the radio or your favorite CD. Often (especially with rock music) if you know how to play bar chords you can figure out which chords are being played in the song, you can play notes from our pattern in the same positions as the bar chords - you can play along with your favorite band, adding your own touch to their song.
As with anything worth doing, it takes time and practice. I'd love to spend more time with you on this but I set down to write you article and it's trying to turn into a book. The main thing I want you to remember while learning how to play lead guitar is that it should never be frustrating. Instead, it should always be fun. Getting upset will only slow you down. Besides ... it's called 'playing' guitar, right?
I hope you've enjoyed getting started on how to play lead guitar. I plan to write more articles to follow this and continue as a series.

Article By Russ Moore

Teaching Guitar

2006-12-19T01:28:00.000-08:00

It's tough to find someone to teach your child an instrument. It's hard to find a reputable place that has great teachers and a budget friendly program. I learned guitar in the late 1980's when hair-do's and technique were more important than substance. There was this place locally called People's Music in Queens, NY that was your run in the mill mom and pop instrument retail store. I bought my first guitar there for $300 bucks which I paid for with the money from my paper route. Now, interestingly enough, Aria Pro and paper routes for 11 year olds no longer exist. Kids today have access to Sam Ash and the like for their instrument purchases and as far as finding a job to pay for their instrument well that's a different story. Mom and Dad probably pay for the thing. Needless to say, I took lessons for two years and built a great relationship with my teacher. He taught me all sorts of things, or tried to, and I never practiced! Mom was just happy that I was doing something constructive and found something I liked. She was a big proponent of role models and looked to my guitar teacher as one. After the two years, my guitar teacher told me that he was leaving and was giving me his number in case I wanted private lessons. I of course told my Mom and we obliged. Apparently everyone else did too as the store closed down soon after that. Years later when I was old enough to understand, or care for that matter, he told me how bad the place was run and how the owner didn't really care for his teachers. I ended up taking lessons for 4 years privately and today, almost 20 years later, I am still playing professionally I might add. So what was it- the love of the instrument or the teacher that got me to play? It was the teacher and I'll tell you why. Music lessons are great for anyone that want to learn the instrument of their choosing. But great teachers- those are few and far between. When I started teaching guitar, I did it for the money obviously. I had an average of thirty students and like my guitar teacher of the 80's, I taught in a Mom and Pop Retail store. As time went on, I realized what my old guitar teacher gave me that was way more important than my love of music: it was a friendship and mentorship that would last a lifetime. When I started incorporating this into my teaching style, not only did I see the results in the playing of my students, but the turnover rate of kids falling out of the lesson program declined dramatically. So what did I do that was so great? 1. I listened. We always begin a lesson with just chatter. Believe me, I remember being a 12 year old kid with divorced parents and sometimes it is just great to have someone to listen to you. A meaningful "How are you?" goes a long way. 2. Laughter. To this day, I do not take myself seriously. Yeah, I've recorded albums and I've gotten my music licensed on TV - but what does that mean to your student? I made the learning environment fun. All the pretentious babble about you and what you do and how you do it can wait. 3. Listen to what they want to do. I briefly had a guitar teacher that was all about making me a solo player- like all the metal players. He was adamant about it and made me do all these boring scales. Don't get me wrong- scales are important but he never told me what to do with them. It wasn't until my 80's guitar teacher asked me "So what do YOU want to learn?" that I understood all the scale babble. He inserted all the difficult stuff in our lessons without me knowing. 4. With that said- songs, songs, and more songs! Write down what your student listens to and then make it a goal to learn the songs he or she likes. When learning those songs, pick out the little techniques in it that give it character and incorporate it into you lesson. For example, if he or she hasn't learned a trill yet and you hear it in the song, point it out while listening to it and make it part of the lesson for that day. Hearing what something sounds like in a song they love goes a long way. 5. Have fun. When you are bored I guarantee they'll get bored too. Now, we all have the students that will never be able to play an instrument for whatever reason but their parents make them. I am not saying that by using these teaching techniques that every student you encounter will be a pro in no time. All I am saying is that once you build a strong healthy relationship with your student you will be their friend and that is something that lasts a lifetime no matter what.Daniel Powers is the owner and operator of Real Brave Audio: a recording studio and music lesson facility. Real Brave Audio also has a music library online for license in TV and film at http://www.realbraveaudio.com

Article By Daniel Powers

TEACHING GUITAR LESSONS : HOW TO ?

How to play Lead Guiter

Teaching Guitar