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Lead Guitar Lesson : Where to Start with Improvisation
So you want to play your own guitar solos but are not sure where to start? This lead guitar lesson will explain the fastest and easiest way to get started with lead guitar and guitar soloing. Lead guitar requires playing the right sounding notes over the musical backing piece or track. The question is; how do you know what notes will sound right? Well, it’s actually not that hard, but to most people the thought of learning guitar scales is a little scary, difficult or just plain boring. There is no way around it, if you want to play lead guitar and improvise, the easiest way is to learn a few basic guitar scales and know how to implement them.
Now, if you’re playing the guitar, you absolutely, positively, without a doubt, have to learn the minor pentatonic scale. This is the most important tip from this lead guitar lesson. This scale is the centre of the rock and blues universe and is also used in many other genres of music. If you had to pick one scale to learn for guitar, this would be the best choice – hands down. There are so many scales used in music, why this one?
The minor pentatonic scale is one of the most commonly used scales for guitar solos. When you hear a guitar solo, chances are it most likely contains the notes of the minor pentatonic scale. This scale is used extensively in rock and blues as well as many other genres of music.
By adding a note or two to this scale you can create many other scales and modes. It is the scale that many other scales are constructed around. These include the Aeolian mode or natural minor scale as well as the Dorian mode and blues scale. These scales and modes are very useful and will be discussed in more detail in future lead guitar lessons.
By learning the minor pentatonic scale, it is very easy to learn the major pentatonic scale as well. Both scales form identical scale shapes on the fretboard, the only difference is the position of the shapes and the root notes. This scale is also very useful for improvisation and lead guitar.
The minor pentatonic scale is very versatile. In fact, it is one of the few scales that can be played over minor and major chord progressions. When applied properly it can be played over most chord progressions and sound good.
It is important to mention in this lead guitar lesson that the minor pentatonic scale is very easy to learn. It only contains five notes which form simple box shapes when mapped out on the fretboard. Start by learning these shapes, and once you know them, simply add additional notes to create other scales and modes. Learning this scale will establish a solid foundation for all future lead guitar playing and improvising.
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