Having Trouble Becoming A Better Lead Guitarist Options

[Amitai Kedmi]

Hello everybody!

Well, I have been playing for a while now, and there is something bothering me. I have tried to develop
as a lead guitarist; playing and listening to different music styles, improving my technique, and trying to extend my knowledge.

Generally, I would describe myself as a very practical guy, but not when it comes to guitar playing. I am having a writer's block.
I know some theory, some modes, but when it comes to improvising, I always get back to the first position of the Pentatonic scale, and
the Ionian mode.

I am sure that every guitarist goes through this block at some point, but I would like to here about your experience, and would
also like to have help from you guys! How do you turn something that your brain knows, to something that your fingers play?

Thank you and have a great week!

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

[jstcrsn]

Hello everybody!

Well, I have been playing for a while now, and there is something bothering me. I have tried to develop
as a lead guitarist; playing and listening to different music styles, improving my technique, and trying to extend my knowledge.

Generally, I would describe myself as a very practical guy, but not when it comes to guitar playing. I am having a writer's block.
I know some theory, some modes, but when it comes to improvising, I always get back to the first position of the Pentatonic scale, and
the Ionian mode.

I am sure that every guitarist goes through this block at some point, but I would like to here about your experience, and would
also like to have help from you guys! How do you turn something that your brain knows, to something that your fingers play?

Thank you and have a great week!

this might sound weird, but the only way to get better at improvising is by improvising, first of all having some one to jam with is important in improving this , spend time learning the different shapes and jam specifically staying away from the first shapes, don't worry about sounding good for now-just understanding what and how the other positions sound

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

[Gabriel Leopardi]

As always regarding guitar playing, the key here is practice. There is a cool article about tips for guitar improvising that I shared many times at GMC because I find it very clarifying. It lists all the things that we should learn and do to keep on improving our improvising abilities.

http://www.guitarhabits.com/10-essentials-...-improvisation/

Check every item there and let us know if you need help finding these topics here at GMC.

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

[Cosmin Lupu]

Hey man! To back up Gabe's post, I will record a little movie for you in which I will talk about the way I see improvisation Stay tuned today, ok?

And here we go:

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

This post has been edited by Cosmin Lupu: Apr 29 2013, 03:12 PM

[Ben Higgins]

this might sound weird, but the only way to get better at improvising is by improvising,

This is very true. A lot of answers in life are actually hidden in the questions. 'How do I get better at A, B or C ?' Usually, by doing more of A, B or C. However, I understand that sometimes there is a psychological barrier that is holding us back.

spend time learning the different shapes and jam specifically staying away from the first shapes, don't worry about sounding good for now-just understanding what and how the other positions sound

That's why this second piece of advice is also very good. Cast off any inhibitions you may have and just try things, it's the only way to develop. The great thing about practise is that it is your time, so it doesn't matter how you sound. This is the time to get all the experimentation done, all the mistakes out of the way.

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

[The Professor]

Hello everybody!

Well, I have been playing for a while now, and there is something bothering me. I have tried to develop
as a lead guitarist; playing and listening to different music styles, improving my technique, and trying to extend my knowledge.

Generally, I would describe myself as a very practical guy, but not when it comes to guitar playing. I am having a writer's block.
I know some theory, some modes, but when it comes to improvising, I always get back to the first position of the Pentatonic scale, and
the Ionian mode.

I am sure that every guitarist goes through this block at some point, but I would like to here about your experience, and would
also like to have help from you guys! How do you turn something that your brain knows, to something that your fingers play?

Thank you and have a great week!

Hey

Great question, and a ver common problem that all of us face at some point in our development, so it's good that you are tackling this head on.

There are a couple of things you could start doing that would be helpful. The first being training your fingers to react to your ears and the music that's in your head, instead of just playing up and down the modes as you said.

Try this exercise and see how it feels.

1. Play 2 notes from any mode/key on the guitar and then sing them back. Try again if needed until you sing the exact notes.
2. Continue this exercise and add 1 note every once in a while when you want to up the challenge. As well, change the key and mode you are working on to experiment with different sounds.
3. Then reverse the exercise. Sing 2 notes while playing a chord, so you are in the right key, then play those 2 notes on the guitar.
4. Again, start adding notes and changing the chord/key/mode when 2 notes becomes easy.

That is a great way to get you started on connecting your ears to your fingers.

The other thing you can do is to learn solos by famous players by ear. Since this can be tricky to do, start with easier solos such as blues or classic rock solos before moving on to the faster shred/fusion stuff.

B.B. King is great for this sort of exercise. He has great licks and is a clean player, so you can hear each note that he plays clearly.

Try that as it will help get more sounds into your ears, work on connecting your ears and fingers at the same time, and provide you with further licks/phrases to solo with in the future

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

[Minks]

As always regarding guitar playing, the key here is practice. There is a cool article about tips for guitar improvising that I shared many times at GMC because I find it very clarifying. It lists all the things that we should learn and do to keep on improving our improvising abilities.

http://www.guitarhabits.com/10-essentials-...-improvisation/

Check every item there and let us know if you need help finding these topics here at GMC.

That's a good read, thanks for sharing

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

[Darius Wave]

Hey man! To back up Gabe's post, I will record a little movie for you in which I will talk about the way I see improvisation Stay tuned today, ok?

And here we go:

Cosmin...don't be angry but I really dig Your video response method and...gonna borrow it


Back to the main topic. The most common problem is an idea of that there is one particular thing You can do or practice and You'll make it. Nothing more wrong than this. Being a goog lead guitarist is something You work years for. Also it's a summary of many different issues You did through yeers and they all make Your soloing better and better. Knowig theory is a must but I recommend to get known with it by the little steps. Also...very important at the beginning is experiment with what You already know. There are many great solos played over simple scales and concpets. My way to develope my lead playing was always to do maximum variations of any just learned lick. This mean...deep analyzis and many tries of it in different keys, different strings combination (including string skipping), and starting from a different scale key note.

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

[Cosmin Lupu]

Cosmin...don't be angry but I really dig Your video response method and...gonna borrow it


Back to the main topic. The most common problem is an idea of that there is one particular thing You can do or practice and You'll make it. Nothing more wrong than this. Being a goog lead guitarist is something You work years for. Also it's a summary of many different issues You did through yeers and they all make Your soloing better and better. Knowig theory is a must but I recommend to get known with it by the little steps. Also...very important at the beginning is experiment with what You already know. There are many great solos played over simple scales and concpets. My way to develope my lead playing was always to do maximum variations of any just learned lick. This mean...deep analyzis and many tries of it in different keys, different strings combination (including string skipping), and starting from a different scale key note.

Hey Darius, no problem mate

You are very right when you mention the fact that this is a lengthy process, spanning over years of trial and error.

Now, for everyone - The most important thing is, never to give up in your quest for utmost musical self expression It's no race, but a journey.

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

[Amitai Kedmi]

Guys, you are absoloutely amazing! You helped me so much!
Thank you.

And for you Cosmin,
I would like to thank you for your video, it's just great. Very helpful, and I will get right on it.


And again, thank you guys!

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

[Cosmin Lupu]

Guys, you are absoloutely amazing! You helped me so much!
Thank you.

And for you Cosmin,
I would like to thank you for your video, it's just great. Very helpful, and I will get right on it.


And again, thank you guys!

Absolutely thrilled to know it sparked ideas and if I managed to inspire you I'd be more than happy Let me know if you have questions along your journey

You are at GuitarMasterClass.net

Don't miss today's free lick. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!

Don't miss today's free blues, jazz & country licks. Plus all our lessons are packed with free content!