Hey everyone... If you want some good, no-nonsense tips
on becoming a lead guitarist, look no further.
Adam St. James has some good free lessons that I published
here. These are from his new course "Logical Lead Guitar".
I also interviewed him and got some good info from him
about playing lead:
Check it out...
Click Here to Listen
"Free Lessons from Adam St. James"
Lesson
1
Two Great
Fret-Hand Exercises
By Adam St. James
"Hey, hey, I wanna
be a Rock Star!"
I'm diggin' that song
these days, and how it kinda sums up the way many of us feel whenever
we pick up a guitar. I'm pretty sure my potential rock star days are
behind me, but that doesn't mean I don't still keep hammering away at
my guitar skills. I mean, I just love this instrument, and anything I
can do to get better at it – I'm on it!
One of the easiest ways
to improve your guitar playing is to regularly devote time to
essential and basic exercises. I've been playing for 30+ years and I
still do exercises like the two below:
Exercise 1
Play the 1st
fret with your first finger, then the 3rd fret with your
third finger. Repeat as usual.
Exercise 2
Now let's play the 1st
fret with your first finger, and the 4th fret with your
fourth finger. This one might need more work because your fourth
finger probably won't be as nimble as your third finger.
Your Homework
Now you come up with
some variations on these two exercises, and add them to your practice
routine. Try your second and fourth fingers; your first, second, and
third; your first, third and fourth; etc. Everything you do in this
manner will add almost immediate improvement to your playing.
I sometimes tell
beginners I wish they were robots so I could set them off doing these
exercises and then come back 24 hours later, knowing they wouldn't
have stopped. After that much time on these simple exercises, their
hands would then work almost as well as an advanced guitarist with
years of experience, and everything I taught them thereafter would be
almost immediately playable.
Do not underestimate
the power of these simple exercises!
Lesson
2
Two Great
Pick-Hand Exercises
By Adam St. James
As a complement to the
previous lesson in which I showed you two fret-hand exercises, I've
now put together two pick-hand exercises. You've got to work on both
sides of the equation, ya know!
I've spent countless
time working pick-hand exercises, and while I'm not the speediest
picker in the world, I don't hit the wrong string very often, even
though I rarely look at my pick hand while playing.
With diligent effort on
the two exercises shown below – as well as many variations on
these – you'll reach the same point. And when your right hand
no longer requires constant supervision, you'll be able to
concentrate on what your fret-hand is doing. And that will add
professionalism to everything you play on guitar.
Exercise 1
Let's start with simple
alternate picking exercises, using eighth notes. Alternate picking
means down-up-down-up, etc. One measure of eighth notes is counted
"1-and-2-and-3-and-4-and." When playing eighth notes, you
strum down on the 1, 2, 3, and 4. Strum up on the "and" for
each beat. This exercise is about as basic as it gets:
Exercise 2
Now we'll double time
that, playing the same alternate picking, but as 16th
notes. Sixteenth notes are counted "1-e-and-a, 2-e-and-a,
3-e-and-a, 4-e-and-a." At the same tempo setting on your
metronome, 16th notes are played twice as fast as eighth
notes.
Your Homework
You can certainly dream
up multiple variations on these two simple exercises. For starters,
try doing them on every string. Then try alternating between strings
while using alternate picking to play both 8th and 16th
note patterns. And don't forget to count as you do it –
learning to count is a tremendously underrated musical skill.
Once again, putting in
a lot of time on these types of simple exercises pays huge dividends
in everything else you attempt to play on guitar. The earlier in your
guitar-playing life you make these exercises a regular part of your
practice regimen, the faster you will advance on guitar.
Lesson
3
Five Things You Can
Do To Improve Your Playing Without Your Guitar
By Adam St. James
1) Draw neck
diagrams and label the note names on the strings. This will
improve your knowledge of the instrument, and solidify your ability
to quickly jump to any note (like when a fellow musician tells you
it's an A chord). Start with just one string, such as the low
E string, and label every note: E, F, F#, G, G#, etc. Do this a few
times for each string and you'll soon know your way around the guitar
sooo much better than you do now!
2) Draw more neck
diagrams and fill in scale patterns. You know that old joke about
the school teacher making you write something stupid (I will not chew
gum in class.) 100 times on the chalkboard? That teaching method may
not have successfully kept you from chewing gum, but it will
successfully help you memorize scale patterns.
Draw neck diagrams and
put dots on the diagram in the shape of your five pentatonic patterns
and seven diatonic patterns. Do this repeatedly, until you drill
those patterns into your brain. Even without your guitar in hand,
this exercise will improve your ability to memorize the 12 basic
scale patterns you must know to play pro-level lead guitar.
3) Give your
fingers a workout with a stress ball. A tennis ball, or any other
squishy ball will work too. A big part of playing guitar
satisfactorily lies in the development of the muscles in your fret
hand and wrist. You'll recognize this fact real quick if you pick up
an acoustic guitar and try to play lead guitar. You can do this at
work, at school, or anytime actual playing is not an option –
and it will improve your playing abilities!
4) Analyze the
tablature in your favorite artists' songbook. Learning to read
the most advanced tablature notation is not much easier than learning
to read the actual sheet music – and it takes practice. Don't
forget that there is usually a key to all the weird symbols –
all those arrows and squiggly lines – in the back of many, if
not most, song or method books. Study that key until you know what is
meant by all those symbols, and then actually read through a few
songs – all the way through. Your tab reading will become a
whole lot easier after you've done this a few times.
5) Better yet, work
on reading sheet music instead. It's not really as hard as it
seems, but it absolutely takes practice. And sheet music has one huge
advantage over tablature – it can tell you the actual rhythm of
the music, which most tab does not. Start with easy stuff, such as a
Guitar Method 1 type book where all you're expected to read is
quarter notes and half notes, and only the notes as they fall on the
low end of the neck in the key of C major (no sharps or flats to
worry about!). Then work your way up from there.
Learning to read sheet
music is a skill that can be built one step at a time, one new
concept at a time. And you can practice reading without a guitar in
hand, by simply picking up any piece of sheet music and literally
reading it as if the notes were printed alphabet letters put into
phrases and sentences, just like the ones you're reading right now!
Understand that becoming really adept at sight-reading may actually
take months or years, so be patient with yourself. But you're
planning on playing your guitar for decades, right? The extra effort
will pay off a thousand-fold!
Lesson
4
Two Must-Know
Riffs
By Adam St. James
Is there one guitar
riff that is absolutely, without question, the most commonly played
guitar riff in the world? There probably is, and maybe someday some
supercomputer can analyze all songs ever recorded and give us the
answer.
In the meantime, I'm
betting on the riff I refer to in my private lessons as "Chuck
Berry #1." And after you learn that one, I've got "Chuck
Berry #2" here for you to learn as well.
Chuck Berry #1
I refer to this riff as
Chuck Berry #1, because, well…, because this is so
quintessential Chuck Berry. Yet every lead guitarist you’ve
ever heard since has probably used this riff at one time or another –
or a lot.
Chuck Berry #2
And I call this riff
Chuck Berry #2, because it is something he played regularly, and
something which all the great lead players in the next generation
(Hendrix, Page, Clapton, Beck, Richards, Harrison, etc.) worked very
hard to learn and perfect as well.
Lesson
5
The Main
Pentatonic Pattern In Two Keys
By Adam St. James
Pentatonic scale
patterns are the easiest patterns most guitarists ever learn. And
despite their ease of learning, they are exceptionally powerful tools
when used appropriately.
There are five
different pentatonic scale patterns which cover the fretboard of the
guitar. In this lesson we'll look at the main pattern, in the keys of
E and A – the two most widely used keys in modern music.
The Key of E
The main pentatonic
pattern in this key begins on the open E string.
I call it the "main
pentatonic pattern" because this pattern is simply the most
commonly used scale pattern in the guitar universe. If you hear your
favorite guitar player soloing, he's probably doing it using this
pattern – at least for a considerable portion of his solo.
Note: Of course
having open strings in the pattern messes up what is otherwise a
simple fingering plan – but we'll address/fix that later. Just
follow me here.
Now we'll play all the
notes in the E minor pentatonic scale across the six strings,
starting with the open E string and never stretching our fingers too
far.
Here is a diagram of the pattern:
And here is the same
pattern shown in sheet music and tablature:
The Pattern Now
Repeats
The main pentatonic
pattern, which we played above beginning with the open E string, now
repeats one octave higher on the fretboard.
Here is the
fingering that really counts as the "most commonly used
scale pattern in the guitar universe." Playing this same pattern
with open strings is not nearly as conducive to great lead playing as
when played by fretting all the notes, as you'll see here.
Now we'll play all the
notes in the E minor pentatonic scale across the six strings,
starting with E at the 12th fret on the sixth string and
never stretching our fingers too far.
Here is a diagram of the pattern:
And here is the same
pattern shown in sheet music and tablature:
The Key of A
In the key of A the
main pentatonic pattern is played beginning at the 5th
fret on the sixth string.
Here is a diagram of
the main pentatonic pattern.
Changing Keys
As you can see, this
pentatonic pattern can be slid up and down the fretboard. In fact,
all scale patterns can be slid up and down the fretboard – this
is how you change keys!
Here is a chart which
lists the key and the fret you'll place the main pentatonic pattern
on, for all 12 keys.
-
|
Key
|
Fret
|
|
|
|
|
C
|
8
|
|
C#
/ D-flat
|
9
|
|
D
|
10
|
|
D#
/ E-flat
|
11
|
|
E
|
open
or 12
|
|
F
|
1
or 13
|
|
F#
/ G-flat
|
2
or 14
|
|
G
|
3
or 15
|
|
G#
/ A-flat
|
4
or 16
|
|
A
|
5
or 17
|
|
A#
/ B-flat
|
6
or 18
|
|
B
|
7
or 19
|
Lesson
6
How To Practice Your
Scales
By Adam St. James
Scales are the key to
advanced-level guitar playing. Here are the steps to mastering your
scales and turning them into shreddin' lead guitar:
1) Learn and memorize
each of the five pentatonic and seven diatonic scale patterns.
Needless to say, this isn't going to happen overnight. Play each
pattern straight from the lowest note of the pattern to the highest
note of the pattern and back again. Don't do anything tricky with the
pattern. Play each pattern starting as low on the neck as possible
(open string or first fret), play the pattern across all six strings
and back, then move up one fret and repeat the same pattern. Continue
to move up one fret at a time until you've played the pattern at
every fret you can comfortably play. Consider this one "round"
of playing a pattern. It may take you 10 or 20 or more rounds to even
begin to become fluent with the pattern. Personally, I put in
hundreds, probably thousands, of rounds of each scale pattern over
the course of a few years in my teens and early twenties. In all
honesty, that's what it takes.
2) Then start working
on the patterns using exercises – the kind that have you play
sequences of scale notes that are not just playing straight from the
lowest note to the highest note. Exercises like this can be found on
the net, and there are dozens of them in my course, Logical Lead
Guitar, demonstrated on DVD and written out in tab and notation.
These exercises help you to become fluent playing the scale patterns
in a non-scale-like fashion. And this is the all important bridge to
actually being able to play lead guitar.
3) Next, begin doing
what I refer to as "puzzle locking exercises." Scales fit
together in one key up and down the neck like puzzle pieces, so you
have to work on sliding from one scale pattern into the next pattern
without going to the wrong fret. That's why I suggest these "puzzle
locking exercises." There's a ton of them in Logical Lead
Guitar, on DVD and in tab and notation.
4) Learn a melody –
something really easy and familiar, such as "Twinkle, Twinkle
Little Star" – in each of the scale patterns. No
matter which melody you choose, you'll find that it's probably easier
to play that melody in some scale patterns than others. After you've
attempted enough different melodies, you'll usually find that there
are certain melodies that work best in each of the five pentatonic or
seven diatonic scale patterns, and not quite as well in the other
patterns. And at first you might think that there are only a couple
of patterns in which most melodies can be played very easily, and
most of the other scale patterns are not so useful. But with time –
and with the exploration of more melodies – you'll find that
every one of the patterns has its strong points.
5) "Noodle
around," as I call it, in each of the scale patterns. Plan on
doing a lot of this, if you really want to become fluent at
improvisation – creating your own unique solos – instead
of simply knowing how to play other guitarists' solos. By noodle
around, I mean that you should spend five or 10 minutes straight
playing any and every simple, or even silly riff or melody that you
can find in one pattern. Then choose another scale pattern and do it
again for five or 10 minutes. You can easily do this unaccompanied,
or you can put on a CD of some song by your favorite artist and play
over the top of them. Really, you should use both techniques to
really learn your chops. Actually, after you've done this a few times
and have begun to feel comfortable doing so, it becomes kinda fun!
6) After doing plenty
of noodling around in each of the patterns, you should have begun to
find specific licks that work really well only in one specific
pattern. You need to catalog these licks, at least in your mind, if
not by writing them down (in tab or sheet music) or even by recording
them so you can refer back to them in the months ahead.
7) Begin learning solos
from your favorite artists, as close to "note-for-note" as
you can. Use any resource you must to get the solo correct in the
beginning – free tab off the Internet (many, if not most of
these, are incorrect, however); the very accurate songbooks published
by companies such as Hal Leonard, Mel Bay, Warner Bros., etc.; DVDs,
such as the awesome Signature Licks series by Hal Leonard; or even
from a teacher or friend. And here's a hint: If you are closer to
beginner lead guitarist than expert, don't waste your time trying to
run before you can walk. Whether you want to or not, you really need
to learn simple, slower solos before you're going to be able to
tackle something by Joe Satriani or Eddie Van Halen or Metallica or
Avenged Sevenfold. Don't bother trying to fool yourself, you're just
wasting time. Learn a couple of simple solos, then move up to
intermediate solos, then start working on the harder stuff.
Lesson
7
Playing In
"B.B.'s Box"
By Adam St. James
Whether or not you
listen to blues – even if you're a die-hard metal-head –
your guitar heroes almost certainly play licks in an area we know as
"B.B.'s Box." We all owe a debt of gratitude for the
following licks to the King of the Blues, B.B. King.
B.B.'s Box is located
on the top two (or three) strings of the second pentatonic pattern,
the pattern which immediately follows the main pentatonic pattern up
the fretboard. Whether or not you know all five of your pentatonic
patterns yet, try out these licks:
This is an absolutely
essential little riff heard in thousands of famous guitar solos, as
shown, or in slight variations.
Now the combination of
the two riffs above, as played in B.B.’s Box.
Lesson
8
Quick Riffs:
Legato Rolls
By Adam St. James
When you want to play
really fast leads, you'll want to throw in a few legato rolls.
"Legato" means one note blending into the next (as opposed
to "staccato" which means that each note is played and
quickly ended, before the next note is played).
To play a "legato
roll" you'll pick a note, then hammer on one or more additional
notes without any additional picking.
Exercise 1
This first legato roll
exercise utilizes your first, second and fourth fingers on one
string. Pick the first note, then hammer on your second and fourth
fingers without picking those notes.
Exercise 2
Now we'll use our
first, second and fourth fingers again – but this time
alternating between two different strings.
Play the legato roll
from Exercise 10 on the sixth string once, then on the fifth string,
then back to the sixth, then the fifth again. Repeat.
Advanced Studies
If you really want to
become fluent with this technique, and possibly even become one of
those blindingly fast players many of us dream of becoming, you'll
want to add every possible fret-hand variation to the two legato roll
exercises above, ie. First, second and third finger; first, third and
fourth finger; and all kinds of combinations including stretching
fingers beyond the one-fret-per-finger rule. Just go for it!
Lesson
9
Five More Things You
Can Do To Improve Your Playing Without Your Guitar
By Adam St. James
1) Read about music
theory. Don't be scared off by this stuff! If you can count to 13
and you know your alphabet through the letter G, you'll be able to
understand the basics of music theory without much trouble. And music
theory explains so much about how your favorite songs work –
not to mention your favorite instrument – that you owe it to
yourself to at least learn the basics.
For example, you may
have heard of a I-IV-V (one-four-five) chord progression. That would
be your simple 12-bar-blues or basic Chuck Berry style rock song. Did
you know that those chords are numbered according to their place in a
major scale? If you're playing in the key of C major, the chord built
on C is the one chord. Count up the scale/alphabet a bit and you'll
find the other chords (C, D, E, F – F is the four chord; C, D,
E, F, G – G is the five chord). See how easy that example of
music theory is? Now go out and learn more – it will do wonders
for your playing!
2) Watch concert
DVDs of your favorite artists. View them and even rewind them
over and over and analyze as best you can what they are doing on the
guitar. Try to name the chords they play as they're playing. Watch
how they might play the same shape chord in different places on the
neck (such as sliding barre chords around the fretboard). Try to
determine which scale pattern they are using during their solo –
and watch to see if they move from one scale pattern to another.
There's so much you can learn by simply watching the pros play, but
your understanding of the guitar – and your playing –
will improve even faster if you really pay close attention and
analyze what they're doing.
3) Work on your
counting skills. Maybe you can get some help from a drummer –
they're supposed to know how to count (though they don't all possess
this skill). Count the beats while you're listening to your favorite
artist, or to the radio, or when you see a band play. Most popular
music is in 4/4 time, so you should be able to count 1-2-3-4 right in
time with the music. If you can't now, you will after you've worked
on it a bit.
And then try counting
multiple measures – that's how good players keep from getting
lost when playing a repetitive phrase or rhythm pattern. The way to
count multiple measures is 1-2-3-4, 2-2-3-4, 3-2-3-4, 4-2-3-4,
5-2-3-4, 6-2-3-4, etc., where you replace beat 1 with the measure
number. This is how you can play 16 measures of one chord while your
band-mate plays lead guitar, and then come back to the verse of the
song right in time with the singer and drummer.
4) Listen to other
instruments. There's a lot you can learn about guitar playing by
listening to piano players, or sax players, or even drummers.
Melodically, we're all playing the same notes, regardless of the
instrument. But on some instruments, certain riffs are easier than
others, just because of the way the instrument is built. That's why a
piano player may be heard to play the same riffs over and over again,
but when a guitarist tries to mimic them, they struggle.
Still, there's a great
learning experience to be had by listening for the phrasings of other
instruments, and in trying to duplicate them. And of course, once
again, a thorough knowledge of the 12 basic scale patterns makes all
of this much easier. Just do a lot of listening, and open your mind
to new styles of music – you'll grow even more as a musician.
5) Learn the basics
of guitar "set-up." There are tons of great books
available which detail the mechanics of the instrument we all love.
Unfortunately, many guitar students and players struggle with a
guitar that is difficult to enjoy when their instrument might only
need a couple of turns of a screwdriver to be so much easier to play.
And I'm not even suggesting you do the work yourself – most mom
and pop music stores will handle these tasks for you for a small fee
(sometimes even free).
But you've got to
learn a little bit about "action" and "intonation"
and "adjusting the truss rod" and "fret buzz"
before you might even realize there's something that can be done to
make your guitar easier to play. One book that delves into these
issues in a reader-friendly way (among many other useful topics, both
mechanical and musical) is the book I wrote a few years back for
music publisher Hal Leonard: "101 Guitar Tips: Stuff All The
Pros Know And Use."
Lesson
10
Three Essential
Fret-Hand Exercises
By Adam St. James
The following exercises
are what I believe to be the most time-efficient way to improve your
fret-hand abilities – better than playing scales, or even lead
guitar, at least to some degree. When I go out and play a show, and
leave the club disappointed with my playing, you can bet I hit these
exercises hard within the next few days. They've always worked
wonders for my lead playing.
Also, they're so easy
to remember and to play (after you've put in a little time with
them), that you can do them even while you're actually concentrating
on something else, like watching a movie, reading a magazine, or
talking on the phone. Hey, multi-tasking is even possible with guitar
practice!!!
Exercise 1
You'll use your first
and second fingers for this exercise. Also, use alternate picking if
possible. If you don't know what alternate picking is, read and study
"Bonus Section: More Pick-Hand Exercises," and/or watch the
video segments of this course.
Play the 1st
fret on the sixth string with your first finger, then the 2nd
fret with your second finger. Then play the same thing on the fifth
string, followed by the fourth string, etc., until you've crawled
your first and second fingers all the way across the strings, and
back again. When coming back from the first to the sixth string,
continue to play the first fret with your first finger, followed by
the second fret with your second finger.
When you've played from
the sixth string to the first and back again, slide your first finger
up one fret and do it again, this time playing the 2nd and
3rd frets with your first and second fingers. Continue
this process, using nothing but your first and second fingers, as far
up the neck as possible.
Exercise 2
Now we'll do the same
with your second and third fingers. Play the 2nd fret on
the sixth string with your second finger, then the 3rd
fret with your third finger. Do the same on each string, to the first
string, then back again to the sixth string. Then move up one fret
and continue up the neck as far as possible.
Exercise 3
And of course we'll
continue the trend by using the third and fourth fingers on our fret
hands. Play the 3rd fret on the sixth string with your
third finger, then the 4th fret with your fourth finger.
Crawl across all six strings this way, then back to down to the sixth
string again. Then continue up the whole neck as far as possible.
Your third and fourth fingers will probably seem the least
coordinated, so obviously they'll need the most exercise. Work on
them twice as much as you do with the other fingers and you're
playing will grow by leaps and bounds.
Lesson
11
The Five Must-Know
Pentatonic Scale Patterns
By Adam St. James
Many guitarists learn
only one scale pattern in their whole guitar-playing lives –
and then they wonder why they can't tear it up on the guitar like the
player in some rival cross-town band. The big picture probably has
something to do with musical training, a skilled teacher, or perhaps
knowledge of music theory through years spent on another instrument,
such as early piano lessons or years logged playing trumpet in a
high-school marching band.
But the easy answer is
probably that cross-town shredder simply knows his five pentatonic
scale patterns, and you don't.
It's not difficult to
learn these five simple patterns, and if you want to play authentic
sounding guitar solos in the style of anyone from the '50s Chicago
Blues greats to Jimi Hendrix, Clapton, or Led Zeppelin right on
through to today's modern rock and metal guys such as Zakk Wylde
(Ozzy Osbourne), or Keith Nelson (Buck Cherry), you've got to master
these five patterns.
The following diagram
illustrates the Five Must-Know Pentatonic Scale Patterns in the key
of A minor – one of the two most popular keys for all rock
songs.
Practice each of these
patterns individually, sliding that pattern up and down the fretboard
to play it at every fret you can comfortably reach. This is called
one "round" of practice. Plan on putting in 50 or more
rounds for each of these five patterns before you've completely,
totally memorized the pattern. You want to get to where you could
"play it in your sleep," as they say.
In upcoming lessons,
I'll show you different ways to then take these patterns beyond
sounding like scales and closer to sounding like actual lead guitar.
Be patient with
yourself, and keep pushing on. Truly advanced guitar playing does not
come without effort, and lots of hours of hands-on practice.
Lesson
12
Scale Practice
Exercises
By Adam St. James
To go from simply
playing scales to actually playing lead guitar, it is helpful –
mandatory, actually – to begin playing those scale patterns
with a series of exercises. These exercises are actually more complex
ways of playing the scale patterns. Doing this teaches you how to use
the notes of the scale pattern, but make it sound not quite so
"scale-like." It’s the intermediate step between
practicing scales and playing actual lead guitar. Don't skip this
step, you'll be wasting time.
Using the following
practice exercises – not just with the scales and patterns
illustrated here, but with ALL the patterns – will pay huge
dividends.
Learn these exercises
as shown, then, after you become comfortable and fluent with them,
apply them to all the diatonic and pentatonic patterns (and try them
on the arpeggio patterns as well).
Working with all the
various scale patterns using these exercises will not only improve
your manual dexterity, but will help to drill the scale patterns
deeper into your memory. And besides that, while working on scale
patterns can sometimes seem a bit dry, it becomes more fun to
challenge yourself with these various exercises.
Exercise 1
I'll use the F minor
pentatonic pattern – the main pentatonic shape beginning at the
1st fret – for exercise 1.
This exercise is played
in groups of three notes, and rhythmically, as triplets (counted
one-trip-let, two-trip-let, three-trip-let, four-trip-let).
Play the lowest note in
the pattern, then the next highest note, then your first note again.
So you've played a note, the next highest note, then the original
note again – you've used only two different notes. The exercise
then repeats, beginning each group of three notes on the next higher
note in the scale pattern.
After you've played it
once through beginning at the 1st fret, slide up a fret
and – using the same main pentatonic pattern – play it
again. Then again at the 3rd fret, 4th fret,
5th fret, etc. Remember, repetition is the key to
mastering the guitar – or any skill for that matter.
This is a very basic
exercise, you've got to know this one.
Exercise 2
I'll again use the F
minor pentatonic pattern – the main pentatonic shape beginning
at the 1st fret – for exercise 2. I'm doing this
just to get you going with the main pentatonic shape at the lowest
fret on which it can be played without open strings. When I practice
these exercises, I start there, then move up one fret at a time until
I've played the exercise at every fret I can reach. You should do the
same.
For Exercise 2 we'll
descend the pattern from the highest note, using the same grouping of
three notes. However, this time we'll play the highest note first,
then one note lower, then back to our original high note.
The second and
subsequent groups of three will follow that pattern: play a high
note, then one note lower, then the high note again. And each time
we'll start the group of three notes one note lower in the scale
pattern.
Exercise 3
Now we'll ascend the
main shape of the minor pentatonic pattern again, this time moving up
three notes at a time.
Play F at the 1st
fret on the sixth string, then A-flat at the 4th fret,
then B-flat at the 1st fret on the fifth string. Then
repeat that three-note pattern starting on the second note in the
main pentatonic shape: A-flat at the 4th fret on the sixth
string. Continue moving up through the pattern one note at a time,
playing a group of three notes each time.
Exercise 4
Now we'll play Exercise
3 backwards, descending the main pentatonic pattern. Start on the
highest note in the pattern, play three notes descending. Then start
on the second highest note in the pattern, and descend three notes
from there. Then start on the third highest note in the pattern and
descend three notes from there. Continue this until you play through
the whole pattern.
Lesson
13
Locking The Scale
Patterns Together
By Adam St. James
Moving Between
Adjacent Scale Patterns
The point of these
exercises is to lock together two adjacent (or even non-adjacent)
scale patterns – whether they are diatonic or pentatonic –
in your muscle and mental memory.
In other words, after
you've done these exercises a whole bunch of times, you'll be able to
slide from one scale pattern to the next one up the neck without
going to the wrong fret. And after you've done these exercises enough
times, you'll be able to soar through various scale patterns without
even thinking about what fret you're at – or where you're
supposed to be.
It's truly amazing how
the muscle memory of the hand can perfect things your brain might
still be struggling with. Just do this exercise a lot, and trust your
hands!
In the book and DVD
section titled "Mastering The Seven Diatonic Scale Patterns"
I referred to these exercises as "Puzzle Locking Patterns."
I did so because, upon examination of any two adjacent scale
patterns, you see that they fit together like puzzle pieces.
And the goal here is to
"lock" the puzzle pieces together, so that, when you're
playing lead guitar, you can slide effortlessly from one pattern into
the next without even having to think about the hand movement, or how
many frets you need to slide.
Also, when you change
keys, and you change the position of any one of your scale patterns
(for me it is typically the 6th diatonic pattern that I
use as a sort of "home base") all the other patterns will
fall immediately right into place without my even having to think
about what fret they need to be at – all because I've done the
following exercises so many times.
You too can accomplish
this by doing the "Puzzle Locking Exercises" demonstrated
in the Diatonic Scales section of this course, and by practicing
Exercises 18 through 27 below. Take your time with these. You can do
this!
Exercise 18
For Exercise 18 we'll
use the main and second pentatonic patterns. Key doesn't really
matter here, but on the DVD I demonstrated in the key of F minor,
simply because I want you to think about starting all the exercises
in this book at the first fret, and then repeating them on every
fret.
So, we'll play the
first four notes in the main pentatonic pattern, slide up into the
next pentatonic pattern, then descend back to the lowest note of that
pattern, then end by sliding back into the original pattern.
Here is the sheet music
and Tab for the exercise:
Step 1) Play just the
notes on the two lowest strings of the main pentatonic pattern,
ascending, beginning with F at the 1st fret on the sixth
string.
Step 2) Immediately
after playing C at the 3rd fret on the fifth string with
your third finger, slide your fourth finger up and play E-flat
at the 6th fret.
Step 3) Then descend
through the notes in the second pentatonic pattern until you play
A-flat at the 4th fret on the sixth string with your
second finger.
Step 4) To complete the
exercise, slide your hand down into position to play the main
pentatonic pattern at the first fret. Use your first finger to play F
at the 1st fret.
Exercise 19
Now we'll follow the
same concept, but play three strings of each pattern instead of two.
So, we'll play the
first six notes in the main pentatonic pattern, slide up into the
next pentatonic pattern, play the notes in that pattern descending
back to the lowest note of the pattern, then end by sliding back into
the original pattern.
Here is the sheet music
and Tab for the exercise:
Step 1) Play all the
notes on the three lowest strings of the main pentatonic pattern,
ascending, beginning with F at the 1st fret on the sixth
string.
Step 2) Immediately
after playing F at the 3rd fret on the fourth string with
your third finger, slide your fourth finger up and play A-flat
at the 6th fret.
Step 3) Then descend through the notes in the second pentatonic
pattern until you play A-flat at the 4th fret on the sixth
string with your second finger.
Step 4) To complete the
exercise, slide your hand down into position to play the main
pentatonic pattern at the first fret. Use your first finger to play F
at the 1st fret.
Lesson
14
Putting The
Pentatonic Shapes Together
By Adam St. James
Throughout the Logical
Lead Guitar course, we've analyzed riffs from within each of the five
differently shaped pentatonic patterns. Now let's put them together
in a flowing collection of phrases that stretches from one end of the
neck to the other.
In this Example I'll
demonstrate how you might slide from one pattern to the next to the
next – all the way up or down the neck.
In doing so I'll play a
riff or two in each pattern, then move up – or down, depending
on my starting point.
Once you've completely
memorized the five patterns, and have become somewhat fluent with the
various exercises shown in this course which help to lock the
patterns together, you'll find it easier and easier to do this kind
of thing.
And once you find
yourself playing riffs in the various patterns, and sliding from one
pattern to another, you'll really start to enjoy yourself.
This is what advanced,
pro-level guitar playing is all about!
Note: Remember
to practice Exercises 18 through 27 in the book "Course Overview
and Tips, Tricks and Techniques" and in the DVD section titled
"Tips, Tricks and Techniques" to master the art of sliding
between patterns.
Now let's look at
examples of moving between the five patterns, putting the pentatonic
shapes together. This example is meant to demonstrate moving between
the five different pentatonic scale patterns. It's not meant to be
any kind of example of virtuosic playing. Practice these techniques
enough and you'll get there.
Ex. 123
Lesson 15
Following The Chords
By Adam St. James
Novice guitarists are
usually pretty frustrated in their early attempts to play lead
guitar. After they've learned a scale pattern or two, they're often
left saying, "OK, I learned the pattern, now what do I do with
it?"
In my new course,
Logical Lead Guitar, I demonstrate on DVD (and in sheet
music/tablature) exactly how to improvise with each and every one of
the five pentatonic scale patterns, the seven diatonic (major and
minor) scale patterns, and the five major and minor C-A-G-E-D
chord arpeggios. Then I put it all together in a collection of sample
solos. I know you'll find this course to be invaluable in your quest
for guitar playing excellence.
You Can Do This!
In this lesson, I
demonstrate an easy way to add some sophistication to your early
soloing adventures. This lesson is not the be-all, end-all key to
mastering lead guitar – but it provides a very useful technique
for playing more realistic sounding solos with only a minimum of
effort. You've probably heard at least a couple of rock legends use
this technique. You'll pick this skill up quick, and best of all,
it's fun!
And here is the
tablature and sheet music for the examples:
Following The
Chords
Following the chords is
a simple (and simplified) way of looking at lead guitar. It's a
pretty easy way to add some sophistication to your sound, even if
you're practically a beginner.
The concept in this
section of the course and demonstrated on the DVD does not work 100
percent of the time, but it works a lot of the time. Even rock
legends such as Jimmy Page and Stevie Ray Vaughan used this technique
on some of their most memorable recordings.
We'll use the main
pentatonic pattern as our demonstration tool, but this concept can
eventually be applied using any scale pattern or arpeggio.
For ease of
demonstration however, we'll stick with the key of A, a simple I-IV-V
chord progression (A-D-E) and use the main pentatonic shape.
Note: It's very
important that the phrase and concept "Follow The Chords"
stick in your head. The idea is that, wherever your barre chord goes,
your main pentatonic pattern goes. In this case, I'm talking about
what would be considered an E shape or E form or "root 6"
barre chord – not the A shape, root 5 barre chord.
In other words if you
play a G barre chord at the 3rd fret, you would solo using
your main pentatonic pattern at the 3rd fret. If the barre
chord moves to the 5th fret, your main pentatonic pattern
should move to the 5th fret. If your barre chord slides
way up to the 10th fret, your main pentatonic pattern
slides way up to the 10th fret. You get the idea.
Exercise 81
With Exercise 81, we'll
play a riff in A, using the main pentatonic shape at the 5th
fret.
When the 10th
fret D barre chord comes up, we'll simply slide the main pentatonic
shape up to the 10th fret and play the exact same riff.
Then we'll do the same
for the 12th fret E barre chord by sliding the main
pentatonic pattern up to the 12th fret.
We'll end the "song"
by hitting the D riff on our way back down to the final riff in A
again.
Here is the notation
and tablature for Exercise 81:
Exercise 82
Now we'll use the same
three chords (A, D, and E), and the same three main pentatonic
patterns at the same frets (5th fret, 10th
fret, and 12th fret), but we'll play something a little
more like lead guitar.
Here is the notation
and tablature for Exercise 82:
Exercise 83
Exercise 83
demonstrates a similar use of this technique of following the chords,
but with something other than a I-IV-V chord progression.
In this case we'll take
the common progression
I-(flat)VII-(flat)VI.
In the key of A that means the chords A-G-F.
You might recognize
this as the same three chords during the solo at the end of "Stairway
To Heaven."
The same chord
progression, though in the key of E (chords: E-D-C) makes up the
majority of the Neil Young song "Keep On Rockin' (In The Free
World), as well as thousands of other songs.
Here is the notation
and tablature for Exercise 83:
