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Sunday, November 30, 2008

7 Tips For Improving Playing Lead Guitar

By Joss Schuyler

If you would like to learn how to play the lead guitar then you need to know it takes more than just pure talent, you also need to know the right techniques and theory so that you can play it well. There are lots of people who currently play the lead guitar and would like to play it better than they already do, but for some this is much easier said than done. In this article we offer several tips that could help to improve your playing lead guitar.

Tip 1 - Although you may think that learning the basics of playing a lead guitar isn't important because it is boring, then think again. Certainly if you aren't willing to spend time learning even the basics when playing lead guitar it can prove very difficult indeed.

Tip 2 - Yes the great lead guitarists will play their instrument stood up or bouncing around the stage, but when it comes to learning this is not the best position to put yourself in. Instead it is much better if you learn to play lead guitar whilst sat down on a chair that is comfortable. If you are more relaxed when learning and practicing you will find it easier to retain the things that you have been taught, plus you may also find that you don't expend as much energy so you don't become tired easily.

Tip 3 - It is important that you discipline yourself to keep up with your practice. So if you make the decision that each day you will spend 45 minutes practicing playing lead guitar you should and not slope off early just because you feel like it.

Tip 4 - You should also learn alternate picking rather than just economy picking. If you don't then when you are trying to learn how to play more complex techniques or faster pieces it will prove that little more difficult. Alternate picking is where you learn how to alternate your picking when playing the down and up strokes on the instrument. Over time you will learn to play these reflexively and then you will find that you can actually pick the strings a lot more quickly.

Tip 5 - You have to dedicate time to learning the various different techniques for playing lead guitar. So you need to spend time learning how to play bends, slides, vibratos, pull offs, hammer ons as well as the kinds of tricks that other lead guitarists use. Through learning these techniques you can make your lead guitar playing more colorful and so make it more expressive.

Tip 6 - To play guitar solos of any kind you need to learn the scales and learn how to play them repeatedly. The scales that are most commonly used by guitarists these days are the E Blues and Pentatonic scales. If you can learn these you can then use them as a framework for your playing and also can help you to create your own music.

Tip 7 - This last tip when it comes to playing lead guitar is the most important of them all. It is the one where you get told that practice makes perfect. The more time you dedicate to practicing a piece the more you will find that you remember it and so it then becomes easier to play. When you first start off learning a new piece for the lead guitar do so very slowly and then gradually build up the tempo at which it should be played using a metronome.

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