Tips for lead playing?

[Osensei]

Re: Tips for lead playing?

Hey Aceman! What's wrong with being versitile? If the kid has more knowledge than necessary then he can still play whatever gets him laid! Some ppl have a passion for playing, and exploring harmonic devices and creating endless interplay btw melody and harmony. Others just wanna get laid and are perfectly happy playing a lifetime of mediocre pentatonic BS and head banging to achieve undeserved fame! :chairfall :flush: The first type is a musician. The second is a marketer.

And don't tell me that a person can't do both. Look at Scott Henderson. He played complex fusion for years but he can still rip your guts out with the sweetest blues you ever heard.

 

[Diocletian]

Re: Tips for lead playing?

The kid is 13. He's looking forward to getting some action in 3 or 4 years. That will NEVER get him laid.

True, but he can probably already play everything Ace Frehley ever recorded.
:chairfall

 

[Aceman]

Re: Tips for lead playing?

Hey Aceman! What's wrong with being versitile? If the kid has more knowledge than necessary then he can still play whatever gets him laid! Some ppl have a passion for playing, and exploring harmonic devices and creating endless interplay btw melody and harmony. Others just wanna get laid and are perfectly happy playing a lifetime of mediocre pentatonic BS and head banging to achieve undeserved fame! :chairfall :flush: The first type is a musician. The second is a marketer.

And don't tell me that a person can't do both. Look at Scott Henderson. He played complex fusion for years but he can still rip your guts out with the sweetest blues you ever heard.

But this one goes to 11.

 

[Zane]

Re: Tips for lead playing?

Get a wah pedal, and play with it like a toy. Anything that starts with a D- and ends with an -unlop. Wah tone really helps with solos, it increases your range and makes your playing sound more interesting.

 

[guitfiddle]

Re: Tips for lead playing?

My tip is that if you use a wah, don't be the guy who only rocks it back and forth on the beat...use that thing with slow swells to make the money notes of a solo stand out and cry and sing.

 

[dr. ad]

Re: Tips for lead playing?

The kid is 13. He's looking forward to getting some action in 3 or 4 years. That will NEVER get him laid.

how's the sustain ace?!

i don't know about that, learning to play some latin jazz type rhythms could ah... help
people love to dance, and most ladies are completely unimpressed by the shred factor.
this won't necessarily help your playing, mind

 

[Destructone]

Re: Tips for lead playing?

1) VIBRATO - no matter how fast or technical you are, if you dont have a great vibrato, you will sound like @#$#!

2) RAKE - dig in the strings. its a subtle nuance in your playing that no one really notices but makes a huge difference.

3) PHRASE - try to sing or hum the leads you have in mind. if it sounds like "asdkjfhkgjhsdfsj" in your head, it probably will sound like that on your guitar.

4) PICK ANGLE - the angle of your pick will affect the tone of how your strings will sound, especially on fast runs. Paul Gilbert plays his pick on an angle to get his unique tone.

 

[everdrone]

Re: Tips for lead playing?

learn 2 play blindfolded. wax on wax off. mr miagi will teach u. sweep the apreg'.

 

[NecroPolo]

Re: Tips for lead playing?

What?!?!?!? All he did was rip off Yngwie...

...rip off...?


"Release the f'n fury!"


Is "quotation" ripping off...? I thought, with the marks, it's pretty obvious that way, it's not my saying...


Still, the best f'n advice from a f'n great guitarist


/ that is, not me for being double clear. Eh... /

 

[Fikealox]

Re: Tips for lead playing?

I really don't feel particularly qualified to contribute to the discussion, only having been playing a relatively short time and only considering myself scratching at intermediate level, but I have a couple of (maybe obvious) tips that seem to have helped me pick things up faster than some folks:

- Learn as much as you can from as many people and places as you can. Keep your mind open; there's probably a lot of use that you can learn from even the genres/artists you can't stand listening to. Listen to a lot of music - and I mean really, actively listen to it, with reference to whatever theory you've learnt.

- Practice, obviously. As other guys have said, accuracy and articulation will set you apart from the crowd. Practice clean so distortion doesn't mask your mistakes, but also practice with distortion so that you don't find yourself having trouble with your muting (like I am at the moment!)

- Work on your weaknesses, but focus on your strengths. I think this is the key to advancing quickly, developing your own style, and keeping yourself motivated. Obviously there are fundamentals (timing, rhythm, etc) that you'll need to master, but if, for example, you find string skipping comes naturally and that you just can't get sweep picking, focus more of your energy on becoming fantastic at the former, rather than wasting too much energy on the latter with the result that you're merely average at both (somewhat parallel) techniques. (I think this point plays into what wah wah was saying, too).