Playing The Scales & Lead Guitar…..
Playing the Scales
Now that we’ve been having so much fun with chords and songs…. It’s time to get into the more tedious part of learning the guitar. Scales! Ugh! Right!? Well, I can assure you that if you learn just a few scales you won’t regret it. Scales are basically a series of notes played in consecutive order for the purpose of practicing fingering technique. Eventually, these scales will be put together in different order to become “licks” or lead guitar. This is a very crucial part to your guitar playing journey. If you dont’ know scales you will just end up playing a few chords and songs and really won’t be able to play the fun stuff which is lead guitar.
Lead guitar is what basically makes up the melody of a song. It’s what gives it it’s uniqueness. With out the lead guitar…. Bands would just sound boring and ordinary. So, let’s get right into learning Scales and lead guitar.
The basic scale we are going to focus on is the Minor Pentatonic Scale. The minor pentatonic scale is the most used universal scale known to man. This scale is widely used in Rock, Jazz, Country and contemporary music. Plus, we believe it is the easiest to learn.
1= Index Finger
2= Middle Finger
3= Ring Finger
4= Pinky Finger
Click The Diagram To See Video
We are going to start by playing the Am pentatonic (penta meaning 5 notes) scale. These notes will be A,C,D,E,and G.
Using a pick, start by placing your 1st finger on the 5th fret 6th string. In consecutive order pick the strings as shown in the above diagram: 1,4,1,3,1,3,1,3,1,4,1,4. Then, back up: 4,1,4,1,3,1,3,1,3,1,4,1.
Practice this scale up and down until you have confidence to move on.
For a more in-depth look at minor pentatonic scales and to practice using the whole fretboard Click Here!
Alternate Picking
The next lesson we will be covering is alternate picking. Alternate picking is what will give you your speed while playing the scales. This must be practiced constantly while playing and practicing scales.
Playing the pentatonic scale using a guitar pick. pick the strings in an up and down alternate order like so:
1 down, 4 up, 1 down, 3 up, 1 down, 3 up, 1 down, 3 up, 1 down, 4 up, 1 down, 4 up. Then back up…
1 down, 4up, 1 down, 4 up, 1 down, 3 up, 1 down, 3 up, 1,down, 3 up, 1 down, 4 up.
Practice this over and over at least 15 minutes per day. You will gradually be getting faster and faster until you can do it with your eyes closed.
String Bending
String bending is a very important part of lead guitar playing. String bending is the action of bending a string up a step or half step tuning while playing lead guitar. You’ve heard it a thousand times. It’s what makes or breaks a solo. Let’s dive right into it.
Using the Am pentatonic scale. Place your first finger on the 5th fret 3rd (G) string. Then place your third finger on the 7th fret 3rd (G) string. pluck the 3rd string while pressing down hard in an upward motion bend the 3rd string 7th fret with your 3rd finger.
Hammer on’s
Hammer on’s are the action of plucking a note and then slamming or hammering your finger on another note. We will be putting hammer on’s in your practice schedule later on in the lesson. To see an example of a hammer on being played…… Watch the video below.
Pull off’s
Pull off’s are the action of plucking a note and then immediately releasing your finger from that not to a lower note that you already have placed on the finger board. We will be putting pull off’s into your practice schedule later in the lessons. For an example of a pull off being played…. Watch the video below.
These are the basics to lead guitar. Make sure that you can smoothly play all of the above before you move on. Practice can be made a lot more fun by signing up for a backtracking service. This allows you to practice your scales, string bending, hammer-on’s and pull-off’s along with music. This also will greatly improve your lead guitar skills to improvise on new sounds. This is truly where practice can be fun! So, keep up the good work and Practice! Practice! Practice!
