Improving lead work

[chille01]

I am an at best average soloist on guitar.  Luckily I am in a band with another guitarist who is pretty good at it, so we usually just do the AC/DC approach, with me playing the Malcolm to his Angus.  However, everyone else in the band also sings, and he doesn't get to sing as often because he's always busy playing the leads.  So I'd like to be able to fill in some of those blanks, both for the band and also just to expand my range as a player in general.

I pretty much stick to pentatonic based soloing, and it is technically fine.  I'm not hitting wrong notes... but it just kind of comes across as noodling.  There isn't anything exciting about my lead work typically.  And I'd like to change that.

Any tips?  I'm thinking maybe I should start actually composing some solos, like I do for the rest of the song.  I come up with all the chord progressions etc. and lock that down, but when it comes to a solo I usually just wing it.  I'm starting to think this might be the wrong approach. 

Anybody know some good websites to learn some exercises or methods for coming up with more interesting phrasing?

[Ranbat]

I looked at whose playing I admired and started learning their solos. Then took all those licks and started composing my own solos. i can improvise, but it usually works better if I compose it.

[sylvesterlowery]

I am an at best average soloist on guitar.  Luckily I am in a band with another guitarist who is pretty good at it, so we usually just do the AC/DC approach, with me playing the Malcolm to his Angus.  However, everyone else in the band also sings, and he doesn't get to sing as often because he's always busy playing the leads.  So I'd like to be able to fill in some of those blanks, both for the band and also just to expand my range as a player in general.

I pretty much stick to pentatonic based soloing, and it is technically fine.  I'm not hitting wrong notes... but it just kind of comes across as noodling.  There isn't anything exciting about my lead work typically.  And I'd like to change that.

Any tips?  I'm thinking maybe I should start actually composing some solos, like I do for the rest of the song.  I come up with all the chord progressions etc. and lock that down, but when it comes to a solo I usually just wing it.  I'm starting to think this might be the wrong approach. 

Anybody know some good websites to learn some exercises or methods for coming up with more interesting phrasing?

Honestly, this is where I am (except that I do occasionally hit the odd bum note). Most of the leads that I do are more or less set and planned, but with a few of them, I'm always tinkering with and tweaking.
I play mostly melodic, pentatonic stuff and it works well for what we play.
I'm not trying to discourage you from seeking further education, but a lot can be done with pentatonics. Work on picking dynamics and bending to help spice things up. Also, it's not a bad idea to have a basic idea of where you want to go melodically with your leads. Play along to a recording of the rhythm parts of where you are supplying the leads, and kind of create a simple melodic guideline that you can play off of. It works for me anyway.

[Jor el]

I couldn't play a solo if my life depended on it.
I'll stick to strumming and singing.

[VOLVO)))]

I played neo-classical shred-type shit before finally realizing I was a pretentious Malmsteen clone, before I got into doom and stonerrock. The best thing I can tell you to do, is use the internet. I learned every scale I could, even if it wasn't relevant to what I was doing, because at some point, you'll use it. As many chords as possible, suspended, diminished, major, minor, anything, just learn it. I'm not telling you to learn theory or anything, I'm just sayin' that the more you have in your arsenal, the more creative shit will be. The internet has opened up a vault of information for anyone with a connection, and the initiative to get better.

[dk419]

I actually run my laptop through our pa system, and jam along with some looped music from a website: www.chordbook.com

There is a link called "cool stuff"... and then one called Guitar Jam Session. Pretty neat. Decent loops of stuff to practice with.

Great website!

[black_out]

I actually run my laptop through our pa system, and jam along with some looped music from a website: www.chordbook.com

There is a link called "cool stuff"... and then one called Guitar Jam Session. Pretty neat. Decent loops of stuff to practice with.

Great website!

This is definitely a good suggestion. You're going to feel more comfortable experimenting while jamming along with a recording than you will with other human beings. Most people that are really good at soloing/improvising are good at it because they've spent hours doing this kind of shit, even if it seems kind of mundane at times.

[VOLVO)))]

Get a looper! Record a riff! Jam out over it! Forgot about that...

[db3jed]

Something that so many guitarist fail to do is learn where ea. note is on the fingerboard (i.e.; find every A on the fingerboard then pick another note and find all of them.).

Once you know beyond a shadow of a doubt where they are then sliding up to them on whichever string you're on is a no brainer.
It just becomes second nature.

[VOLVO)))]

Bend to the correct pitch.  

[dk419]

Bend to the correct pitch.  

Agreed!

[black_out]

Bend to the correct pitch.  

Agreed!

Definitely important, but I also like to over bend just a little bit sometimes just to add a little ugliness.

[spookstrickland]

The Spook Strickland Guitar Method:

[/b]

Here are two things that will really help you solo like a Master.

Number One:  Exercise your hands and fingers so that you have increased dexterity and stamina.  This is so that even with out thinking about it your hands will have the ability to do runs that you normally could not do and some time on the spur of the moment when you tap into "The Big Sound" you will and you'll be so surprised how easy it was.

Number Two:  Start playing solos over your favorite songs.  Don't wait for the lead break to come, start soloing from the start to the finish.  What this is going to do is get you able to make your leads sound good in any type of situation.  It also makes for more opportunities solo instead of fast forwarding and rewinding and looking for lead breaks which are already taken up by some one else's lead work anyway.  At first just worry about staying in the general key of the song don't worry about any scales or chord changes after a while you will find all the right notes for that song at any given time then you can use that to build your own synthetic scale to use for soloing.  Just relax and don't think about the notes you are going to play your fingers already know were they are just let them start playing.  This is how you tap into "The Big Sound"

Once you get good at that and you apply it to your own songs you will be amazed at the stuff you can come up with all with out any real musical knowledge or technique.


Cheers

-Spook

[dk419]

Opiates & Bonghits will improve your leads.

[chille01]

ACTUALLY improve them, or just make you THINK you rule?

[neighbor664]

Invest this video series. http://www.metalmethod.com/lead-guitar-lesson-speed-kills.htm