INTRO TO PLAYING LEAD

Interested in playing lead guitar? Of course you are. Lets take a look at some of the techniques and tools used to play lead guitar.

Alternate Picking

Alternate picking a is a picking technique that utilizes a constant up and down motion to pick the strings. You can start the pattern either on the down stroke of the pick or on the up stroke. Choosing how to start the pattern can sometimes depend on the melody or lick you are playing. Sometimes starting on an up stroke will work out better than a down stroke. Practicing, learning different licks, and gaining experience will make it comfortable to start a lick or melody in either direction.

The diagram above shows the alternating pattern starting on the down stroke (the symbol that looks like a table) on the open low E string (6th string), continuing the pattern with an up stroke (the “V” symbol). And then down and up again before continuing the pattern on the next string and so on and so forth. How you hold your pick and the angel at which it strikes the string will aid greatly in being able to generate a lot of speed with alternate picking.

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The Pentatonic Scale

The pentatonic scale might just be the all time most used scale for guitarists. It’s almost always the first scale pattern that beginners learn. It’s versatility crosses all genres and it’s a great scale to start off your lead guitar playing and practicing.

The above diagram depicts the A minor pentatonic scale. Following the diagram, to play the scale in ascending order, you would place your first finger on the 5th fret of the 6th string (low E) and then play that note (the A note). While leaving your first finger one the A note, you would then place your fourth finger on the 8th fret of the 6th string (the C note) and then play that note. All of the other strings will follow the same procedure, except you will use your 3rd finger for the second note of strings 5, 4, and 3. String 2 and 1 go back to using your 4th finger for the second note.

In summery, you have two notes on each string. The first note of each string will be played with your first finger and the second note of each string will be played with either your 4th finger or your 3rd finger. While playing the scale in ascending order (lowest pitch to highest pitch) you will leave your first finger on the first note of each string while you play the next note of that string.

In descending order (highest pitch to lowest pitch) you will start with your 4th finger on the 1st string and play that note. Then simply take your 4th finger off and put your 1st finger on to play the next note of the string. 3rd finger to 1st finger if you are on strings 3, 4, and 5. You will not be able to leave a finger on the fretboard while playing the next note of a string while descending in pitch.

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Hammer Ons And Pull Offs

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