This is the first part in a two-part article concerning learning to play lead guitar. The theory behind playing classic lead is simple, but much practice is needed to develop technique and dexterity. I do not claim that you will be able to play like Jimmy Page or Slash after reading this article, but you will have the basic tools needed to begin building your skill as a lead player.
Practice Makes Perfect
I know that most people would rather find out that there is a magic formula or scale that will transform them from your average guitar player into the next shredding super star. But reality is much practice and dedication to the art is required. Slash did not get where he is because he learned a scale or two and then just faked the rest. Hours of practice and rehearsal were needed for him to develop his skill. So from the start you must be willing to dedicate yourself to at least one hour of practice a day. You will need to practice the scales I am going to teach you and you will need practice putting them to use by jamming with other musicians or playing along with recorded music. I will give you the building blocks here but you must do the work. So if you are ready to dedicate yourself to being a better musician, then let us begin.
Basic Music Theory
I want to give you a basic overview of music theory. Now do not worry that I am about to load you down with a bunch of terms and abstract concepts that will go over your head. I am simply going to tell you what you need to know in order to understand the scales we will learn later. Music theory is really very logical and once you see how it works you will wonder why you never bothered to learn it before.
The basic building blocks of music are notes. Notes can be strung together to create riffs. But notes can also be combined to create chords and chords can be used together to create progressions. Now you can not simply put together any group of chords and expect it to sound right. There is a method to the madness. The method I am referring to is key signatures. When writing a song (or solo) for any given song you much know what key you are going to write in and you must know what chords or notes are associated with that key. The major scale for any given key has 7 notes. The note you start on is the root note. It corresponds with what key you are in. So if you play a major scale that starts on C, then you are playing the scale for the key of C. Now each of the seven notes is separated by a determined number of steps and half steps. A half step is one tone. So if you play C and then C# you went 1/2 step up. Now if you play C and then play D, you went up one whole step. Another example is F# to G is 1/2 step. E to F# is one whole step.
The step/half-step patter for a major key is this:
Root–1 step–1 step–1/2 step–1 step–1 step–1 step–half step–root (one octave higher). Here’s the tab for the C major scale starting on the fifth string on the 3rd fret. Notice that you start and end on the C note.
————————————-
————————————-
——————2–4—5———
———2–3–5——————-
–3–5——————————
————————————-
This pattern on guitar works for any key. Just start on any note and play this pattern and you will be playing the major scale for the note on which you start. All of the notes within that patter are the notes for that key. For example here is what the pattern would look like for the key of A (starting on the top string, fifth fret).
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————————————
————————————
——————4–6—7——–
———4–5–7——————
–5–7—————————–
Now songs are just a bunch of notes from the major scale. You actually have to play chords. Well when you look at the C major scale the notes are C, D, E, F, G, A, B. These are the chords you would play for a song in the key of C. But their not all major chords. For any given key the chords will go like this:
The root=major
2nd=minor
3rd=minor
4th=major
5th=major
6th=minor
7th=diminished
So the chords involved with any song in the key of C will usually be C, Dm, Em, F, G, Am, Bdim. And of course not all chords have to be used. The root, 4th, 5th, and 6th are most often used. The sixth note is called the relative minor. Go ahead and check out the chord progression of some of your favorite songs. If you know the key you will see that the chords used are probably the four I just mentioned.
Lead Guitar Scales
Now let us talk about the basic most used lead guitar scale, the pentatonic scale. This is the scale used by every popular guitar player you can think of. This technique was used by Jimmy Page, Jimi Hendrix, Billy Corgan, Slash…practically everyone. As you learn the different positions of the pentatonic scale and how they work together with chord progressions, your lead ability and knowledge will grow exponentially. You will also begin to see how other guitarists have used these scales.
Pentatonic means “five tones” or “five notes”. This is because on five notes comprise the pentatonic scale. The pentatonic notes for any given key will be the root, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 6th. So in the key of C the notes of the pentatonic scale are C, D, E, G, A. What makes the difference is where you start. And the unique layout of these scales allows you to easily mix up and move between the different scales so that you can play all over the fret board. Combine the scales with lead techniques like the pull-off, hammer-on and bend and you will produce solos that are in the same style as your favorite guitarists.
Am Pentatonic Scale
In the key of C the A chord is the relative minor and therefore is a minor chord. So the scale that starts on A (for the key of C) is called the Am pentatonic scale. It is one of the most used scales so we will start there. The Am pentatonic scale for the key of C is:
————————————–5–8-
—————————–5–8———-
———————–5–7—————-
—————-5–7———————–
———5–7——————————
–5–8————————————-
All of the scales I am going to show you are best learned by rote. Simply practice them over and over. Learn the pattern, not necessarily the notes. Learn the pattern. It helps to be able to easily remember what the root, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, and 6th notes are for any given key, but as for the scales learn the pattern. So once you learn this pattern, you will be able to play the minor pentatonic scale for the relative minor of any key. You just simply need to know the relative minor (6th note) of whatever key you want to play in. So what is the relative minor of the key of A? The answer is F#m. So the F#m pentatonic scale for the key of A starts on F# (top string, 2nd fret). Now start there and play the pattern. And the pattern will work no matter which F# on the fretboard you choose to start on. The patter works on the top string at the 14th fret (which is F#). It will also work starting on the fifth string and the 9th fret (though the scale is not as long since you are not starting on the top string).
Pentatonic Scale Starting On the Root
Now I want to show you one more scale before this first article comes to a close. Let’s look at the pentatonic scale starting on the root note. Since we are focusing on the key of C I want to show you the root pentatonic scale for the key of C. The scale will of course start on C.
——————————————8-10-
———————————8-10———-
————————-7–9——————
—————–7-10————————–
———7-10———————————-
-8-10——————————————
You start on the C note. The pattern works not matter which C note you start on. And what if you were playing in another key, say the key of G? If you were playing along with a song in the key of G then this pattern would start on the G note, but the pattern would be the same.
In the next installment I will show you the patterns for starting on the 2nd, 3rd, and 5th positions. Thanks for reading. I hope you will check out the second part of this series and I hope this helps you become a better guitarist.
