Guitar Article Written by “Friend Of Mike Walsh” 

Your First Steps On Guitar Pt 2: Learning Lead Guitar

By Chris Glyde

Welcome to Part 2 of “Your First Steps On Guitar”. I want to encourage you to read Your First Steps On guitar Pt 1: learning basic songs if you have not done so yet. That article has critical information that I will not repeat in this article. Again, make sure you read part one.continuing where we left off, we are now going to look at the basic fundamental elements you must know to play basic lead guitar. a simple reminder, this article is not here to describe how you learn these things. This article would be considered a macro view of the subject. It’s here to guide you like a map.

1)Basic Lead technique to about 300 max speed.Max speed for lead technique is a little different then your average playing speed. Max speed doesn’t mean that it necessarily has to be clean. Max speed simply means that you need to be able to play at that speed and move your hands that fast. Take the following into consideration: If your max speed is 300 bpm, then playing guitar at 150 bpm is not that difficult. That’s what we’re considering when we are doing this. A good analogy is coming it to the gym. You have a weight that you can only lift once. This is a speed you can really only play a couple times.300 bpm can seem fairly fast, but this is actually a fairly easy goal to attain. Keep in mind that some pieces will be too complicated for you to play at 300 bpm. The 300 bpm rate for beginners is really geared towards getting you to be able to play pieces that don’t require a lot of shifting up and down the fretboard. For those particular pieces, I think that 180 to 220 bpm is great for an early beginner.

2) You should have the first two pentatonic shapes down (minor and major) and be able to apply rhythm structures that can be applied to lead.Having the first two or so in all five of the pentatonic shapes will be very useful to you. This doesn’t mean that it needs to be perfect at this point. If you have the pentatonic completely memorized, then I would say you’re probably at a late beginner level for that skill. That being said, getting the first two down is very useful. A few tips: Don’t just memorize the shapes! You need to understand when and how to use them within a given chord progression, and this will require some researching. You also need to understand how these two pentatonics fit together, meaning that you should be able to move in-between the two at a moment’s notice. It doesn’t need to be a perfect lick or have a lot of speed, but you need to be able to play a simple melody and move your fingers through the pentatonic. Finally, you should be able to play the rhythmic figures we worked on with the pentatonic shapes, so that you can come up with rhythmic ideas for your lead guitar.If you’re not sure what I’m talking about when I’m talking about rhythmic structures towards the end, you will need to revisit the first article.

3) Half-step bends, vibrato complete Half-step bends and basic vibrato should be under control and in key. We want to avoid any waspy, out-of-key sounds. You’re also going to want to get to used to using these in conjunction with pentatonic.

4) Theory-wise, they understand how to put basic open chords together.You should have a basic understanding of how the open chords, power chords, and other basic chords can be put together, especially if want to jam with other people at some point. When jamming, you will need to be able to make chord progressions on the spot for your friends to play over. This will require a little bit of theory. My suggestion for you would be to spend time looking over harmonic progressions and the circle of fifths. If you have no music background, then you will also need to understand the chromatic scale as well. There are some other pieces that may or may not be useful to you, but without knowing your specific situation, it will be hard to advise about that material. So, for now, start with that.

5) Start learning the notes on the neck. Memorizing the notes on the neck is a long-term project and not optional. In order to use power chords properly and to set yourself up to play more intermediate and advanced level chords (and other skills), then you need to know where the notes on the fretboard are. Taking the time to memorize this is essential. There are many online games you can play which will test your knowledge of the fretboard. Feel free to explore them!These are the first steps that you should take towards becoming the lead guitar player of your dreams. This may seem daunting, but in reality it’s very realistic. I will give you the same suggestion as I did in the first article: Make a checklist of what I stated here, and then get to work, taking these elements down one by one. Most of all, have fun and realize that you will reach your playing goals, one step at a time!

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Looking for more great advice about learning to play the guitar? Check out Chris Glyde’s guitar teaching website, Guitar Lessons In Rochester