Lead Guitar Styles

[abspatz]

It seems to me like when I'm playing with my friends, I see two styles of lead being played:

1) using scales (which I think regular tab caters to)
2) playing lead out of the chords.

i'm really interested in learning more about the 2nd way to play....I asked a friend about it and he told me to apply scales to my chords and it will all fall in place. A little general for me. Does anybody have any advice? thanks for the help!

-Andrew

[spilly]

start with an open A, but barre it and don't play the high E. while playing this bent the fourth fret of the G string on whole step and release it into arrpegios. ontop of this you can lay down any notes from the D (x0423x) try that a bit, it might get you started

[ch0ke]

start with an open A, but barre it and don't play the high E. while playing this bent the fourth fret of the G string on whole step and release it into arrpegios. ontop of this you can lay down any notes from the D (x0423x) try that a bit, it might get you started

which appreggios if you would mind sharing?

[eyeprod]

using chords to build lead lines is easy. you dont really need to know any scale just use your ear.

here'sa quick lesson, start with an open D chord. it helps alot to barre the top 3 strings with your first finger and use your 2nd finger to play the 2nd string. this way may be hard to get used to if you are used to doing it another way, but what it does is it frees up your 3rd and 4th fingers to add 'embellishments' to the chord. so, try this out while holding the D chord as described and using your 3rd and 4th fingers to play some notes on the 6th string exclusively(3rd and 5th fret). you can play these notes in any way or order you like, but as long as you know they are there and sound good with the chord then you can use them whenever you want. ok, so now apply this technique to the other strings used in the chord. a scale will typically use 3 notes(frets) per string before it jumps up or down to the next string. knowing this, you can fairly easily figure out several simple patterns of notes that will work for little lead lines. they are built from chords. hope that was easy to understand

[ch0ke]

Yea man that really helped thanks a lot <3!

[chinacat2002]

Learn the major scale and learn it well.

Play it in many variations over various chords.

For example, in the key of A, use the A major scale starting on string 3, fret 2.

G string 2 - 4 (A B)
B string 2 - 3 - 5 (C# D E)
E string 2 - 4 - 5 (F# G# A)

play this over the A chord

Alternately, change to A mixolydian, by changing the above to

G string 2 - 4 (A B)
B string 2 - 3 - 5 (C# D E)
E string 2 - 3 - 5 (F# G A)

Notice that only the G# note on the E string has been changed, to G. This is known as the flatted 7th of the A scale. You are now actually playing all the notes of the D major scale. Since you start on A, it is called A mixolydian.


In a typical A - D - E progression, the mixolydian should work nicely.

In songs where the major 7th chord is used, stick with the major (example, Eyes of the World, with its famous Emaj7). E major scale is a great way to move around on the E major parts in that song.

As for playing over the chords, you will soon see the chord shape under your scales, and can strum them freely in between notes of the scale, or in a broken fashion, i.e. the arpeggios.

The arpeggios are scale tones 1,3,5 in the key, starting from the various notes of the A major scale.

In A major, for example, the arpeggios are

A C# E (A major)
B D F# (B minor)
C# E G# (C# minor)
D F# A (D major)
E G B (E major)
F# A C# (F# minor)
G# B D (G# diminished, dim because the 5 is D, not D#)

I hope this helps, and if I goof, just post and I'll fix it.

[chinacat2002]

I realize that this is probably the exact opposite of what you asked for (playing out of the chords).

And yet, in a weird way, I think it pertains.

Have fun