Scales and some sort of lead playing

hogman
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Tue Aug 14, 2012 8:54 am

Hi '
My name is Chris and i have been playing for about 5 years. I started out thinking after 5 years i would be a pretty good guitar player. Maybe I'm ok at this point in my opinion. I dont play in a band, i play for relaxation and i enjoy it very much. I have not learned any lead and now i think i need to go back and start again with scales and be able to transition into different positions/patterns and all that to go to the next level. Yea, I feel stuck and dont know where to start.
Need some help here.
Thanks,
Hogman


sbutler
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Tue Aug 14, 2012 12:42 pm

Well Hogman, you ain't the lone ranger. Leads are a big subject in about every guitar site I've seen. Neils approach is an achievable one. Check out the lesson on "Lead Secrets/Triads".

I think its a good start. I've come to the conclusion that being a good lead player also takes some imagination, and the ability to hear a rhythm in your head. I haven't gotten there yet. But its a journey, not a destination.

Scott


Fred
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Tue Aug 14, 2012 2:56 pm

Hey Chris;

Our guitar playing bio is about the same - playing for 5 years, and would rate as ok player.

For me, I thought that gettting chords down would allow me to play throught songs and sing along. That part has seemed to materialze and I'm still working on songs from a chord point of view.

Recently, I too wanted a bit more from playing and broached the Pentatonic Scales with Neil. So I've been getting into these for about a week. In addtion to Scott's suggestion, I would recommend checking out the "pentatonic scales and patterns" in the theory section. There have been recent forum discussions on this with Willem and others as well.

Good Luck on this - let me know how it goes, maybe we could compare notes on each others progress.

Best -

Fred


willem
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Tue Aug 14, 2012 3:08 pm

Hogman,,we have a few lessons were Neil teach us something on lead playing for example playing the pentatonic notes from the key of Gmaj or Em.(over a chord progression in that key)these notes are G-A-B-D-E and these are the 1-2-3-5-6 notes from the Gmaj scale,,the 4 and 7 are skipped.. learning to play these notes all over the neck or in a sort melody or improvised lead/melody you first have to learn were to find these notes,,how to...well a tool for learning is learning the patterns called by number,,the numbers are called by numbers of the major scale and that number tells you on which note to start(on the sixed string) ,,so we have in Gmaj the patterns 1-2-3-5-6 so pattern 3 would start on the note B (on the 6 string) after that you can find all the other pentatonic notes in that pattern(3) by playing them with a run down on all the sixed strings and with two notes on each string.. well I am no teacher,you have to watch the lessons and also the more you see and hear a bout it the more you understand,,,I hope you can figure out for example were to find pattern 5(remember the starting note on 6 string) and put it in a box..

there are also lessons called ''lead secrets: triad'' little chords on the top three strings,,they are very interesting too..


Of course these lessons are all in the TARGET program or the possibility by purchasing them has packedge..

Cheers,,such a great place here

and welcome from the Netherlands

Willem


beaker
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Thu Aug 16, 2012 4:29 pm

Hogman, looks like you've got some good tips here. I might add..... try to find a friend who you can jam with, then learn a couple of Neil's lessons where he gives some tips on exploring the leads. I would suggest Melissa, Down by the River, Cowgirl in the Sand. Then work on experimenting with those. If you can't find someone to jam with, then try playing along with You Tube video's or Neils Play alongs or his Preview sections. Good luck. Beaker.


BigBear
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Thu Aug 16, 2012 9:18 pm

Chris- it's pretty simple really. You must learn and memorize the Pentatonic (five note) scales. There are 5 of them, 1,2,3,5,6 (no 4). They are connected together and move as a group up and down the neck depending on which key you are playing in. They start over at the 12th fret.

Learn all five patterns and where the root notes are in each pattern. I say the root out loud when I play it. People think I'm nuts. I am so I don't really care. LOL!

When you've got those mastered, learn the "Blue" notes, usually flatted 3rd,5th, or 7ths. After that learn all the major and minor chord patterns. Did I mention it is immensely helpful to memorize all the notes on the fret board? Neil will often call out the note he is playing and it really helps to know which note he is talking about.

Seems daunting and it is at first. Play little games with yourself. Learn the Albert King "box" and learn the scales up and down the neck not just across. Before long you will be a master.

Good luck and let us know know how you are progressing!

Cheers! :cheer:


peleus
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Sat Aug 18, 2012 9:19 am

Hi Chris. Feel free to post your vid. I'm pretty much sure everybody would be excited to see this.


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