Sunday, November 30, 2008

7 Tips For Improving Playing Lead Guitar

By Joss Schuyler

For you to learn how to play lead guitar you need to know that it not only takes natural talent but you also need to understand the theory and technique with regard to playing the instrument. There are many people who already play the lead guitar and would like to play it even better. For some people this is easier said than done. Below we provide a few tips which can help improve your playing lead guitar in the future.

Tip 1 - For you to learn how to become a great lead guitarist you have to learn the basics of playing it first. Although the basics of guitar playing may seem boring and not worth bothering about, then you need to rethink what you consider is important. If you don't learn the basics then when it comes to playing lead guitar well you find it is very difficult indeed.

Tip 2 - Okay so the great lead guitarist will stand up and jump around the stage when playing, but this is not the best way to learn. It is much easier if you actually sit down in a comfortable chair when carrying out your lessons or when you practice. If you are relaxed you will find it much easier to retain information and you won't tire so quickly when you need to practice for some time.

Tip 3 - It is important that you discipline yourself to keep up with your practice. So if you make the decision that each day you will spend 45 minutes practicing playing lead guitar you should and not slope off early just because you feel like it.

Tip 4 - You should also learn alternate picking rather than just economy picking. If you don't then when you are trying to learn how to play more complex techniques or faster pieces it will prove that little more difficult. Alternate picking is where you learn how to alternate your picking when playing the down and up strokes on the instrument. Over time you will learn to play these reflexively and then you will find that you can actually pick the strings a lot more quickly.

Tip 5 - You have to dedicate time to learning the various different techniques for playing lead guitar. So you need to spend time learning how to play bends, slides, vibratos, pull offs, hammer ons as well as the kinds of tricks that other lead guitarists use. Through learning these techniques you can make your lead guitar playing more colorful and so make it more expressive.

Tip 6 - To play certain lead guitar solos you will need to learn how to repeatedly play scales. The types of scales that are most commonly used by guitarists today to help them with their playing and which they learn are the Pentatonic and E Blues scales. If you can master these scales then you will find that they make a good framework for your playing and can help you to then start creating your own music.

Tip 7 - This final tip for playing lead guitar is of course for many the most important and is the one that says that you should practice, practice, and practice. The more time you spend on practicing a piece then you will find it much easier to remember and over time you will find them much easier to play. It is best when you start learning to play each piece you do so slowly at first and then build up the speed of playing them using a metronome. - 15275

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