Alright, heres the whole thing. I've been playing since 1.5 years now and have managed to learn quite a bit. I'm totally self taught (surely at times i used the net,my dad,and uncle too). I practice everyday but its kinnda as if i'm not making any progress. My practice session includes, Chromatic Warm ups Barre Chords Power Chords Strumming Scales Major Minor Pentatonic Minor Blues Chromatic But ALL OF THESE ARE BASIC STANDARD POSITIONS!!! Things i can play, I play Stuff like Greenday (Good for powerchords) Metallica,Megadeth Riffs (Good for speedy riffs) And all the usual songs finger picking n all that. Things i wanna play.. I wanna play Solos (my dream is to become a lead guitarist) So finally......what should i include in my practice????? Thanks in Advance. Sam
Recording a backing track (this in itself can be surprisingly difficult)...try not to get into a rut with rythm, time and keys. Practising over it. Recording over it. Posting it online.
or even if you're not posting it online, let people around you (musicians AND non musicians) listen to it and give you their opinion. The non-musicians are also very important here.
^^ The Thing is that ..the stuff i play is decent ... But i cant play stuff i want to ....like soloing n stuff.....
did someone from the back mention practice???? dude/dudett...........pick a solo......look at its tabs......put in hours of gruelling hard work......there'e absolutely no substitute for that...... you can try creating tracks if you wanna become a musician.......but if u wanna become a lead guitarist......then i suggest you pick up your axe and start practicing........ cheers! :beer:
The thing with soloing is there is no magic formula. You have to accept the fact that you are most likely going to sound awful the first few times you try your hand at soloing. It's a bit like being thrown into the deep end of the pool to learn to swim. The key to playing well is to first listen well. You have to listen to anything you can lay your hands on and more....you have to start from the roots. Go back at least as old as Duke Ellington and finish at Jamiroquai and don't forget anything in the middle. Listen to the people the modern guys were influenced by and then you'll see them in a whole new light. Now that you've listened to them, list things you like about them. Study these things carefully....it might be a catchy like, a fretburning solo or maybe a single note. Perhaps you'll develop favourites as you go....study their music. See what chords they use and what scales they use over these chords. Also see what tricks they use....eg- the last slightly blitzy solo at the end of Sultans of Swing (a regular favourite) by Mark Knopfler is just 3 arpeggios put together (well, that sounds horribly cold and it's more than just notes that make a solo but if you look just at notes, thats what it is). Learn lots of chords and arpeggios. You're usually never playing an entire scale over a bunch of chords...you have to choose your notes carefully and your notes will more often than not be extensions of the chords you play. I read in a John Mayer interview recently that the lead line to one of his songs (Gravity or lifelines) was just different voicings of the same chord. This really broadens your horizons as a player. Congratulations, this was the first step....but it's a phase that never ends. Even 20 years down the line, you'll probably be doing this and that too with more vigour than now. Once you've started, there's a few questions you need to ask yourself: a) What do you want to play? Do you have a rough idea of which direction you want to head in? Having listened to music, you'll start developing this idea. Try not to restrict yourself genrewise. b) Is there any artist that has a sound similar to yours? How does he do it? Influences know no genre and you're bound to take from different people but there'll be people you're more partial to than others and you need to study them extra well. And influences are in no way a bad thing. Duane Allman just upped the tempo on a Marvin Gaye song to make the riff of Layla. Also, try reading up on your favourite musicians....some classics have been composed in such a ridiculous way that it gives you hope. I just read this today: or maybe even: It's a long post but I could go on and on. This is just a start and I'm at work so this should be enough for now. Good luck. The first post is still valid after you do this.
Here's the article I posted stories from...its decent though controversial: https://www.rollingstone.com/news/coverstory/20947527/page/1
Completely agree..........this is the easiest way u to progress.............try to implement about waht the other people say about ur recording........rerecord it...repost it..........u'll improve a lot.........
Ya sometimes just sitting and playing around u get something really intrsting out of ur guitar.......i had this experience this many times but i did a mistake in not recording that melody....and i forgot it afwarwards........... so people, whenever u feel u created music....record it there and then bcoz afterwards u will not remember a single note........who knows someday u write a song and u need a solo...atleast u can lisen to ur recordings before creating something new... i knew a poet..........he has write pads kept everywhere in his house....even in the bathroom...so that if he creates something new; there and then he can write it up....!!!!
I do that....but i have only a handful of solos which work properly. ...My ear seems to be weak even now . And Thanks everyone!! Also, Can anyone link me to some article about scales? i searched but couldnt find anything complete..
