Q&A for How to Master Lead Guitar Basics

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  • Question
    Where do I start to learn lead guitar?
    Michael Papenburg
    Professional Guitarist
    Michael Papenburg is a Professional Guitarist based in the San Francisco Bay Area with over 35 years of teaching and performing experience. He specializes in rock, alternative, slide guitar, blues, funk, country, and folk. Michael has played with Bay Area local artists including Matadore, The Jerry Hannan Band, Matt Nathanson, Brittany Shane, and Orange. Michael currently plays lead guitar for Petty Theft, a tribute to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
    Professional Guitarist
    Expert Answer
    Practice all the way up and down the fretboard. The notes in a pentatonic scale are called court tones, and when you learn how to find those notes, you can connect the whole neck of the guitar and start playing like a master. It's hard to play a note that sounds bad if you're using pentatonic scales.
  • Question
    How do I get better at lead guitar?
    Michael Papenburg
    Professional Guitarist
    Michael Papenburg is a Professional Guitarist based in the San Francisco Bay Area with over 35 years of teaching and performing experience. He specializes in rock, alternative, slide guitar, blues, funk, country, and folk. Michael has played with Bay Area local artists including Matadore, The Jerry Hannan Band, Matt Nathanson, Brittany Shane, and Orange. Michael currently plays lead guitar for Petty Theft, a tribute to Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers.
    Professional Guitarist
    Expert Answer
    Try practicing solos from songs you like to get a feel for them. Everyone has their own voice, so even if you learn someone else's solo, the way you play it will help it come across as your own. It's a very effective and engaging way to learn to play the guitar!
  • Question
    What are the pitch names used in lead guitar?
    Community Answer
    Lead guitar uses the chromatic scale; Ab, A, Bb, B, C, Db, D, Eb, E, F, Gb, G. The pitches of the strings follow regular standard guitar tuning; first is E, second is B, third is G, fourth is D, fifth is A, and sixth is E.
  • Question
    How do I learn a minor guitar lead scale?
    Community Answer
    You should get a guitar book that shows you all the scales. It would also help if you found someone who already knows how to play to teach you.
  • Question
    For a song with a relatively complex chord structure, how do I assess what key and/or scales to play if I'm having to think on my feet?
    Community Answer
    In some songs you can stick with the same scale all the way through, but you can't go wrong matching your scale to your chord. For example, if you have a Bm7 chord, use a Bm pentatonic.
  • Question
    What should I learn before starting to make my own solos?
    Community Answer
    Learn to stay in time, and learn to make it sound good.
  • Question
    How can I master chords?
    FreeAdvice.Com
    Community Answer
    Just keep on practising, it will come naturally if you practice. Chords are quite hard at first but they get easier over time.
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