Hi Guys... I desperately need some help. I have been playing guitar for many years, mainly fingerpicking just about any style of music that I like, blues, country, folk, jazz, etc. I have never played lead but sometimes throw in a short run between chords of my own invention, but very basic. I have never played lead because every time I start to look into what I should do first, I end up completely frustrated by the hundreds of tips or advice on offer, for example on YouTube. My basic knowledge of music theory is pretty basic but I can read music, I know what makes a chord, I know most of the notes along the fretboard, I know a lot of chords both bar and alternative fingerings, etc. etc. but I know nothing about scales, or playing a lead. I simply want to be able to play a lead in tune and accompany a friend no matter what key he plays in. When I try to find a good starting point I am told that pentatonic scales are the first thing I must learn, others say that I must learn major and minor scales first, others say don't bother with scales go for 3 notes on each string, others say forget that and learn boxes, cages, BB box, L shape, power chords, or... be able to play lead guitar in any key with just one scale... I usually give up after a few minutes because I really don't know where to start. My aim is to understand what notes I can play in any given key... if my friend is playing in G I want to be able to play notes that are in tune... so how and where do you think I should begin. I don't want to play professionally, I just want to be able to build on something and play nice accompanying runs... can anyone help me by telling me the very best place to start? Many thanks, Hansi
TO DO IS TO BE - Nietzsche TO BE IS TO DO - Kant DO BE DO BE DO - Sinatra
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Once you have those down you can fill them with the missing notes: 4th and 7th for Major 2nd and 6th for minor.
Since you mentioned you know the notes on the fretboard, here are the notes from above:
C Major pentatonic
CDEGA -> add F and B to get all the notes from C major
C minor pentatonic
CEbFGBb -> add D and Ab for all the notes from C minor
Sorry for being such a dimwit...! Cheers, Hansi
Penta is 5 notes scale.
easier to learn 5 than 7.
for example. C Major pentatonic has the notes C D E G A. As you say there is more than one shape pentatonic scale because there is more than one of these notes on the fretboard.
The first shape you should learn falls easier under the fingers (most comfortable) to play and so is the scale most players learn first.
Once you learn this shape you can then take it and line it up with the notes on your 6th (low E string). Using shape 1 If you play from the G note you will be playing G minor pentatonic.
You can play the notes of that shape Randomly over a G minor chord progression or for blues Play it over G7 blues Progression. just use the notes of the shape you have learned and let your ears guide you.
With regards to the Major and Minor Pentatonic the good news is there is only 5 shapes to learn. Major and Minor have the same 5 scale shapes so once you learn the Minor then you also have the major.
Bear with me, because I have a different way of looking at this. When we communicate, either in speech or in music, we use a sequence of sounds. In a sentence there are a mixture of important and less important words. As listeners we pick up on the key words, and the brain fills in the blanks between them. Imagine yourself listening to a friend in a noisy crowd. As long as you here a few words you can fill in the rest. If you are in a quiet place then you hear more, not just words but intonation, which adds detail to what your friend is saying.
It’s the same in melody. There are important notes, and there are others which fill in the gaps to add interest. Luckily you already know the important notes in any melody. They are those you find in the chord which is being played. Particularly the ones called root, third and fifth. That’s C E and G in the chord of C. In A minor they are A, C and E.
So if you use tones from the chord at critical points in the melody, particularly at the end of each phrase, then you can fill in the spaces between them - or even leave them empty.
There are lots of ways to identify the filler notes which work when soloing. The easiest three are scales, chord tones and (for guitarists) finger patterns. Which is “easiest” depends on you and which genre of music you play. That’s why you can find so many conflicting approaches. Different ones work for different people and different types of music.
Since you already know a lot of chords I suggest that you start there. Look at a couple of basic chord shapes, and spend a few minutes experimenting with the notes which fit between the notes in the chord. This is what you actually need to know. When you’re playing there isn’t time to use theory to work out which note should come next.
(If you want to read the theory behind this then look up CAGED.)
Major arpeggio and scales:
Minor arpeggio and scales:
P.S. Just a quick mention that the order C -> A -> G -> E -> D -> C is useful when thinking about moving up the neck - if you look at the root shapes of the arpeggios you can see how one links to another in that order as you move higher up the fretboard. If you want to look for how the shapes move across the fretboard - the stuff I was talking about re: the 2nd string, look at C -> E -> A -> D -> G -> C (when moving towards the high e string).
Cheers, Hansi
Supportact said: [my style is] probably more an accumulation of limitations and bad habits than a 'style'.
Cheers, Hansi
You will quickly learn how they relate to your standard open chords which can be barred (C and G shapes being rather awkward).
Because you can read music you will naturally think. "Ah the song is in Am therefore the 3rd is flat"
Now obviously there are lots of different Am type scales that fit over Am, some might have a dominant 7 some a M7. Which note you choose is up to you.
The reason the standard minor pentatonic is often suggested is that over a standard rock/blues progression, I.e I IV V. The minor pentatonic just works, Even though you are playing a minor 3rd over a major third, this is what makes it sound bluesy, Even though music theory says it should be wrong. It also has the advantage that you can stick to the same scale in the same key over the changes.
However over chord progressions outside of I IV V the pentatonic scale will sound wrong.
Also once chords have more than 3 notes it becomes even worse. Say the song starts with AM7, A standard Am pentatonic will not work as the 7 and the M7 will clash.
Supportact said: [my style is] probably more an accumulation of limitations and bad habits than a 'style'.