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#1
10-24-2017, 08:05 PM
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Best approach Learning to play Electric guitar (lead)
Hi guys, so I have an acoustic and an electric guitar and have been playing since June. I’ve followed a few of the online lessons like Andy Guitar, Justin Guitar, Marty Schwartz and guitargate and I use riffstation mainly to play songs on my acoustic.
So chords I’ve got down pat and am learning and playing new ones all the time. However I’m not happy with my progression in playing lead guitar on my electric. I’ve tried to follow along with some of the lessons on Andy guitar and Marty Schwartz although his electric guitar lessons ones were limited. Marty Schwartz has a heap of lessons based on learning and playing different licks and all of that which all seems overwhelming to me. Andy guitars seem ok but it’s all basics a few power chords and what not and some songs to learn. I think he only had 6 lessons on his lead guitar course. So I suppose my question is what’s the best way to proceed in trying to learn lead guitar? Should I just find songs on YouTube that I like and learn to play them? Should I follow some lessons that teach scales and learn to play all the different scales first before progressing to other things? Does anyone know 0f some really good online lessons that concentrate just on lead guitar? Appreciate some advice?
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Greg Bennet D7 acoustic Squier classic vibe 60s Strat 
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#2
10-24-2017, 08:22 PM
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If you learn how to play just songs in You Tube, then you'll know how to play those songs. If you learn a little theory, and a few scales, you will be able to play anything. I've never had formal training, but I know three scales, and how they fit together and what the relative major/minor is and I can pick out a melody by ear within 10 seconds to 99% of songs. Learn theory, but useable stuff that gets you up and playing right away if that's your goal otherwise you'll be playing scales and arpeggios for years and eventually may break through.
I don't know the proper names of the scales I know, but my understanding is two are movable pentatonic scales - one a major, one a minor. The other was described to me as the Alpha pattern. I've also heard it called the Aeolian. The minor pentatonic starts 3 semitones down from the major. The Aeloian starts 4 semitones above the major. Best of luck.
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As my username suggests, huge fan of Yamaha products. Own many acoustic-electric models from 2009-present and a couple electric. Lots of PA too.
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#3
10-24-2017, 09:16 PM
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Take the same approach with lead. Learn by the song (one's you like, hopefully). Learn a couple by rote if you need to (tabs or videos). Theory should apply to what you DO, so if you actually just do it for a while the theory will make a lot more sense. Start simple: maybe with a short famous lick, like the one from "Sunshine of Your Love", or the intro to "Wonderful Tonight" (Clapton fan, what can I say?) Longer solos I like to teach early on: Green Day's "21 Guns", The the first and second themes from the Santana version of "Oye Como Va", B.B King's intro solo on "The Thrill is Gone". It's up to your personal taste, of course, but I would start with short and simple. There are tons of lists online: "Great Guitar Solos for Beginners" that kind of thing. Check them out. Find ones you like or know, and see if you can find a decent online lesson to go with it (sounds like you have a feel for what's decent and what's crud online). The better lessons will also make reference to the shapes and patterns and forms, without dumping the whole world of theory on you all at once. You should pick up quite a bit just by working through the solos... You might also be a person who does well at "jamming". If you can learn just one scale, learn the standard pentatonic/blues scale. Open position first -- G/Em/E blues, they all use the same "group" of notes. Then find songs in G or E minor, or look up "Jamming Tracks in G or Em" on your favorite streaming service, and try to jam along. Just play some notes, use your ear, make something up. Later, you can learn the closed-position version, and learn how to play in other keys, string bend etc. For some beginners it's a natural approach, for others it is not. But either way, you should also be playing and learning from real solos... Anyway, hope this helps, good luck and play every day.
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https://www.christophervolak.com/ https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCen...TNrJcTiGu9aPkw Last edited by Guitar Slim II; 10-25-2017 at 01:47 AM.
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#4
10-25-2017, 04:58 AM
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The point is to make sure you learn as many songs as you can, and steadily build on your chord knowledge. (Not much point in learning chords you haven't yet found in songs, but understanding chord theory is always useful.) "Building on what you know" is critical when it comes to learning lead guitar. Don't regard it as something entirely separate - eg., learning all kinds of scales, modes or licks, and then learning how and where to "apply" them. Electric is no different to acoustic in principle. You can solo just as well on acoustic as electric. (Electric just gives different tone options, a slightly higher range of notes, and may allow more bending than acoustic. But the notes and chords are all the same!  )Improvisation is based on the raw material of the song. If you know the song, if you can play the chords (and ideally the vocal melody), you have everything you need to begin playing lead. Everything. It's like you've been given a pile of food ingredients and have to make a recipe. You're not starting from nothing! Moreover, the song already has a "tried and tested" recipe using those ingredients, which is the melody. If you know how that works, it has a lot of great tips on how to play a solo. It shows you how the chords work (by harmonizing the melody), it gives you ideas for phrasing and rhythm. The basis of jazz improvisation was always "embellish the melody". So, you try and taste that "recipe" first. Then fiddle around with it a little - change its rhythm, add or omit the odd note to see what happens. As long as you're using the ingredients you've been given (which includes the notes in the chords, of course), it will "taste good". IOW, playing lead is not about studying various theoretical principles or techniques. It's about two things: (1) studying the song itself - in depth; (2) mastering your fretboard. Both these are progressive, of course. Even if you only know part of your fretboard, and only know the chords of the song (not the melody) you have plenty of stuff you can work with to play a solo. The better you know both the song and your instrument, the more variety of stuff you can play. The more songs you know (especially melodies), the more vocabulary you have to construct good sounding phrases. (The melodies will go into your head anyway, but you need to play them too to get them under your fingers, otherwise you will hear ideas in your head that you can't reproduce.)
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"There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in." - Leonard Cohen. Last edited by JonPR; 10-25-2017 at 05:04 AM.
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#5
10-25-2017, 06:20 AM
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Melody and harmony aside, a big part of playing lead on electric is learning basic techniques for manipulating the string. Things like string vibrato, hammer ons, pull offs, bends, slides, left hand finger muting, right hand palm muting, etc. Some are more advanced but all are what will make your leads have character. Vibrato is essential and I would recommend starting there. Again the internet will provide a roadmap. Bending is essential. And you can work from there.
There are jam tracks all over the internet. Take one of the scales you are learning in a key you can manage, find a simple track at a pace that allows you to use the notes in your scale and work on giving the notes you play character. And of course all the melody and harmony other stuff. Playing since June? Admirable that you working on progressing. Pushing yourself with expectations should produce results. Otherwise, all I can say is guitar is a long road and lifetime trip. You are still putting your shoes on. hunter
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#6
10-25-2017, 07:31 AM
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If budget and location permit, consider taking in-person lessons from someone who can provide feedback. Online lessons are great, but in my experience the personal feedback really helps push one's playing ability to the next level.
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#7
10-25-2017, 07:52 AM
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From my on again/off again guitar journey I can tell you that this post above is worth reading multiple times. Actually all of the responses on this thread are so right on but this one really resonates with my experience. I often think about what would I have done different if I were starting again and I would do what Guitar Slim says. In contrast to most of the guys on this forum, you are learning at a time when information is so accessible. The problem with that is that it can be overwhelming or made to look easy enough that you should be able to pick it up right away. Like you, I found learning chords and songs to be pretty easy at least in basic forms. I have had a much harder time figuring out lead. After a number of starts and stops I think I have kind of figured out MY best approach. Just like Guitar Slim said, keep learning the songs and even learn some note for note solos. But at the same time be learning those pentatonic scales. Don't worry about completely getting it at first. Then once you have that solo down, try to find it in that scale, just to see where the notes land. Then start to figure out the relationships or intervals. Then move on and do another one. At some point then, take those scales and pick one and/or an extension and just noodle over a backing track. But just 3 to 5 notes at a time. Don't feel like you need to fill up all of the space. Just use 3 notes to make your guitar say something interesting. Not just play the scale. That is just a suggestion and the teachers here will have far better examples but the point is, don't expect it all to come together or even make sense right away. It takes a while for all of the pieces to fit. But by doing something similar to the above, your ear and your knowledge will eventually start to work together. If you can swing it I'd suggest a teacher although I'd also suggest talking to a few and finding one that fits your personality and goals. Otherwise, I also think it is good to watch the online teachers. Don't get married to one, and don't take any one person's word for it. There are a lot of ways of saying and teaching something so sometimes it is good to hear it a few different ways. I've seen all of those guys you mentioned and then I found Stitch Method and for some reason his approach helped me make sense of all those other guys. Maybe check him out too. Overall I think it comes down to time on the guitar but try to be as efficient as possible. These guys gave you great advise on how to lay out your path. Stick to that and you will be ripping your own solos by Christmas.
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#8
10-25-2017, 10:09 AM
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Have you considered private lessons? I've found that lessons (in person, actually
 ) accelerate the learning process by about 300%. They're usually not cheap, but neither is time. When I was taking electric lessons, one of the best things I got out of them was a tip to buy _Guitar Pro_. The cost is $75 and provides access to thousands of songs' tabs/standard notation sheet music. It also plays the tunes for you with the built in midi player. Many of the GP files have parts written out for an entire band! They have a free trial which you can find here: https://www.guitar-pro.com/en/index....-pro-whats-new Learning to play lead guitar takes time, practice, musical knowledge, some creativity... and did I say time? IMO, next to solo acoustic technique is the hardest area of guitar playing. Some people take to it easily, others (like me) have to work very hard at it. Just be patient and stay with it. Good luck.
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Assuming is not knowing. Knowing is NOT the same as understanding. There is a difference between compassion and wisdom, however compassion cannot supplant wisdom, and wisdom can not occur without understanding. facts don't care about your feelings and FEELINGS ALONE MAKE FOR TERRIBLE, often irreversible DECISIONS 
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#9
10-25-2017, 11:52 AM
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I forgot to add that the single thing that has increased the speed at which I improve is getting together with others to play. I find it to be a blast even though I was really intimidated to try. Since doing it a couple of times I am so much more inspired to play and the process makes me play better because other people can hear it.
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#10
10-25-2017, 08:05 PM
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Wow,, thanks once again everyone for the advice. Lots of great ideas here for me to follow. I think I’ll follow some of the online course I’m doing but in particular do the lessons on scales, whilst also maybe picking a song or 2 and working on them unti l I’ve mastered them.
I have this habit of starting on a song but then getting bored with it and moving on to another, which is why I have a heap of songs on riffstation. (BTW Riffstation does recognise suss4 and add9 chords but it’s still not 100% accurate.) I actually was taking private lessons for awhile but felt I was getting nowhere with them so stopped. I would go in and he would ask me what I’ve been doing and we would just work on that a bit. Thanks again.
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Greg Bennet D7 acoustic Squier classic vibe 60s Strat
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#11
10-26-2017, 05:27 AM
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Either you have to find more interesting songs - songs you like more, want to master more - or you have to find a way to stay interested in each song. The latter is going to be the most useful strategy, IMO. You need the kind of attitude that finds every sound interesting. Even a one-chord groove can be interesting if you think about rhythm, dynamics, accent, articulation, syncopation, staccato/legato, etc. Good improvisers can play an interesting solo on just one note - or at least make it into a cool riff.
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"There is a crack in everything. That's how the light gets in." - Leonard Cohen.
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#12
10-26-2017, 07:04 AM
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Try learning old pop favorites. Try your local library for sheet music. Songs from the 40's thru 60's tend to be more melodic and playing these will help you learn how the notes fit together in a song as opposed to playing scales or riffs. Good luck.
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#13
10-26-2017, 07:06 AM
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I found this to be the biggest challenge when I started. There are great teachers out there it seems hard to find one that fits. If I were to do them again I would probably ask around more for recommendations and interview them before I started. I also think there is enough info online to get going with. I think it is a matter of mapping out a strategy, like you are doing, and sticking to it. I think at the beginning I bounced around too much and wasted some time. As for getting bored with songs, I had that happen too but for me it was because I could get to a point where I could play it fine in a simplified way but wasn't good enough to pull off the interesting things that made the song cool. Maybe it was a strumming pattern with chucking or sliding a chord up or something. Either way, I found it was ok to move on to the next song and once I improved I could always go back and expand on those songs. But I agree at some point it is good to bear down and work a song out all the way.
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#14
10-26-2017, 08:07 PM
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I’m also going to keep going with Andy guitars lessons as he has both electric and acoustic. Once I finish them then I might look into something else. I also get to a stage in a song where it’s too hard so I move on. Being bored with a song was probably a bad choice of words. It’s more so I get to a hard part and can’t do it so go onto something else instead. Need to persevere I guess..
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Greg Bennet D7 acoustic Squier classic vibe 60s Strat
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#15
10-27-2017, 05:44 AM
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Old guy here. I played lead in a power trio in the 80s, and we covered all just about every Clapton, Hendrix, SRV, etc tune you can think of. It was pretty straightforward in those days, because you could tell where those guys came from. They 'rockified' the blues, and I was totally fluent in that language. But Eddie Van Halen changed the world. I have no freaking idea what he's doing, how he does it or where it comes from. Even his rhythm playing astonishes me. When his style became the norm, I just gave up. I wouldn't want to learn lead guitar these days.
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