johncmarks
Junior Member
"She's my sweet little baby, I'm her little loverboy" SRV
Posts: 64
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Post by johncmarks on Sept 21, 2009 7:27:02 GMT -6
I thought I would throw this up for discussion. Can Anyone Learn to Play lead guitar? Hmmmm  I have been a chord progression, songwriting, coffee house performer in the near past. Written some good tunes but when I went into the studio to record I always had to have someone else do lead work.  What a pain to coordinate that  So 2 years ago as I started building my own guitars, I decided it was finally time to learn to play lead guitar. Not an easy task so far. Been at it for a while and I really like the Blues stuff and of course I'm a VH addict. Some times I come up with some cool riffs....some times. Most of the time it tends to sound like stinkin scale playing  Maybe I just don't think like a lead player. Sometimes I think that some poeple just aren't cut out to play lead guitar. So what do you all think? |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 21, 2009 8:43:12 GMT -6
I have played all kinds of music. Back when I was like 14 to 17 I played a lot of hard rock stuff. I learned a lot from jamming with people. Plus it didn't hurt that I was able to hear the notes being played and being able to copy people playing. It use too make lead guitar players mad because I could copy them even when they would turn there backs on me.
I have played at a lot of concerts and and churches coffee houses as well as everything in between.
Today I love the blues stile guitar playing I play a combo of cords and lead. I will say that there is a feel for the blues. A lot of people say they can play the blues but in most cases it's just someone trying to sound like someone else. I guess that's not a bad thing if you are just starting out. But SRV BB King, and many others had there own sound.
So I said that to say this I do think anyone can learn to play lead but each person will have there way to express what it will sound like. (did that make since?) I have been blessed to play with so many good and grate guitar players and some can play rings around me but when it comes to felling the music it's a whole other story.
Blues is all about whats inside of you trying to come out. It's not about how many scales you knoe and how you execute them. Even though I can sound like SRV, OR B.B. King or others does not make me a better guitar player. That just means I can copy them. To me it takes someone with a real feel for music to make people hearing it feel it too.
I learned to play the blues stile music from just sitting in my room and letting myself feel the music at first it did sound like scales but over time I became better and better at how to make the notes on my guitar tell the story inside of me.
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Mach Twang
Full Member
"The large print giveth and the small print taketh away."
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Post by Mach Twang on Sept 21, 2009 12:15:38 GMT -6
I suggest you check out this thread then ask yourself that very same question.I would say that you learning to play lead is an reasonable and attainable goal. I will not use the worn out saying of "you can do anything if you put your mind to it.." Because it's just not the case. I will never be able to compete on an Olympic level on the balance beam, it just physically impossible. But with enough time, passion and plain old fashioned 'wood shedding', you'll be squeezing out notes like you never thought you ever could. Practice, practice practice... But more importantly, PLAY, PLAY, PLAY.Just my two cents...
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Post by hoz on Sept 21, 2009 14:05:22 GMT -6
I'll make this short," you can do it!" haha. I've been playing for 17 years and I'll never touch EVH. More like Neil Young.
For me scales are a building block or guideline. I may be more of a hack, but the cool stuff happens when I play myself into a corner and try to get out. As crappy as I think I play people consider me a lead player. I've got those solos recorded with my band, and they sound pretty inspired.
I think what I'm trying to say is, don't compare yourself to somebody else. Use their inspiration and find your own voice.
If I can do it, you can. I'm serious! -Chris
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johncmarks
Junior Member
"She's my sweet little baby, I'm her little loverboy" SRV
Posts: 64
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Post by johncmarks on Sept 21, 2009 15:29:00 GMT -6
I suggest you check out this thread then ask yourself that very same question. :-[Yeah I saw that guy  Pretty incredible. I get yer point. Good stuff coming in so far |
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johncmarks
Junior Member
"She's my sweet little baby, I'm her little loverboy" SRV
Posts: 64
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Post by johncmarks on Sept 21, 2009 15:32:24 GMT -6
Thanks Chris and everyone else that have posted so far. It's encouraging to hear what others think.
Maybe I be saying' that to somebody too!
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 21, 2009 18:25:17 GMT -6
I know I get wordy but yes If it's in you to play you can do it. The trick is not to get frustrated and keep it fun.
Believe me there are those out there that make music work and a work out. But after it's all said and done to me it's about having fun with music.
Life is just to short to be so serous. But music does take a lot of practice and trial on error.
I use to practice 4 to 6 hours a day. When I was 13 years old I want to play guitar so bad I wold play so long and hard my fingers would bleed. Then I would meet some guy or girl that would just blow me away then want to give up. But down inside me I knew I could play.
By the time I was 15 I had tried out for a rock group they had over 250 people try out for this working band and I was blown away that they picked me! That was one of the best times I ever had in playing music. I have had others but for a 15 year old making good money in music and getting to travel around was just awesome!
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Post by dnic on Sept 22, 2009 22:47:16 GMT -6
My 2 cents. I started attempting to play some lead a few years back. Got the minor pentatonic down pretty good but didn't have a clue how to use it. I'm still stuck in minor pentatonic by the way trying to break out. I have figured and blundered some things out with this scale but really feel there is a certain amount of gifting that no amount of practice can create. To me that's the feel it factor. The close your eyes and let it flow thing. Man if I close my eyes it's all over and I'm totally lost. Some will say that I should practice that way (with my eyes closed) and they are probably right. I should definitely practice. d |
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Post by hoz on Sept 23, 2009 7:22:33 GMT -6
I think a couple of beers may help too, but I didn't want to promote that. Haha. Honestly, I get lost when I close my eyes. But that could a sign I need to play more too.
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Post by cknowles on Sept 23, 2009 9:00:36 GMT -6
It's taken me 4 years but I'm finally at the point where I can start to play leads with my eyes closed and they don't sound like a train wreck. I am stuck a bit in the B.B. King box shape, however I can modify it to adapt to different keys as needed.
The key is still practice.
I agree with what hoz said, try to find your own voice.
Another favorite quote is "Define your own style or one will find you"
Can't recall who said it though.
Chris
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Post by dnic on Sept 23, 2009 23:10:39 GMT -6
another right answer Chris. Train wreck IS MY STYLE. Me and my bass player have been trying to decide if there is a better name for our duo then Nichols Rust. Well I'm thinking Train Wreck just might work. d |
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johncmarks
Junior Member
"She's my sweet little baby, I'm her little loverboy" SRV
Posts: 64
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Post by johncmarks on Sept 24, 2009 14:14:47 GMT -6
Yeah a neighbor of mine I purchased a guitar from a while back told me that it took him a long time to figure out how to make it all work together and sound like something. I'm still working that one out  |
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johncmarks
Junior Member
"She's my sweet little baby, I'm her little loverboy" SRV
Posts: 64
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Post by johncmarks on Sept 24, 2009 14:26:55 GMT -6
Nothin' wrong with that! A buddy of mine from NJ that is ..well.. pretty stinkin' good on guitar said to me once: "John don't worry about being fast, speed will come or it won't" "Worry about playing cleanly, every note, that's more important than speed right now for you" This coming from a guy who I respect greatly! And I think he's right. I could play 100 miles an hour VERY BAD, or 10 miles an hour VERY WELL. Doesn't matter how fast you are if it sounds bad. |
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Sept 24, 2009 16:27:05 GMT -6
Yeah just play clean and have fun!!! If you mess up then you learn not to do it again no reason to get up set over it. I love to play There are sill days I'll play for hours on in. Not as much as I use to but there are still those days...
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Post by shattered on Sept 25, 2009 11:56:36 GMT -6
If you learned how to play well enough to be writing songs and performing in public, you can learn how to play lead lines.
I suppose there are some poeple who aren't cut out to be lead guitar players, but I think it's more a case of only EVH can sound like EVH, or only Steve Vai can play like Steve Vai. Everyone thinks differently, and the only way for you to figure it out is to jump in and learn it.
The things that helped me the most were taking music theory courses in high school and college, and learning another instrument. I'm the most ham-fisted piano player in the world, but learning the basics helped me make more sense of the guitar. Theory showed me how to think through a chord progression when I was writing.
Another thing I did was join band in college. That taught me how to play well with others - literally. Intonation, dynamics, timing, different styles of music, and that a guitar is not always the centerpiece of a song. There's a quote somewhere about the notes you don't play being as important as the ones you do...
If you have the chance to work with other people, don't look at it as a reflection of what you can't do; look at it as a chance to see how much you can learn.
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What a pain to coordinate that 
Pretty incredible. I get yer point.
