Good at rhythm playing but can't play leads?

[RacerX]

GTFO ya bastid! You don't belong in this thread!

Vitamin G: Gary, let's hear you.

[VitaminG]

Take it away, Ronnie! Damn, man. That first note made the camera operator fall over!!

Don't have any video, but I might be able to find some audio somewhere.

[VitaminG]

Not bad - but watch me aimlessly wander around in E minor!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUH-f...e_gdata_player

hey, I've seen this jagoff playing before. You're right Ron, no business being in this thread. Articulation, vibrato, a vocab...vak....vo....an array of licks at his disposal. I mean, just check that sneer at 0:09 to see that this fucker means business.

[RacerX]

+1 Though, I write solos to fit my bands original music. I have no desire to play someone elses solos. The more complex the rhythm, the better.

How about you, Twitch? Do you suck?

[MakeAJazzNoiseHere]

I don't know about Twitch, but I'm horrible. People have actually died while listening to me play lead... That's why I haven't posted any videos, I wouldn't want anymore blood on my hands (although I admit that it makes getting around the fretboard a lot quicker until it dries.)

I still keep practicing though.... Mostly because I hate my neighbors.

[Musician78]

Funny you should say that... I used to live below these obnoxious people who were always loud. I talked to them about it soon after they moved in because I worked 3rd shift at the time and kinda need to sleep.... they got worse.... so I decided to practice guitar more often and for longer periods of time. It didn't help the situation, but I knew how badly I was pissing them off (I would hear stomping and all sorts of shit), and it motivated me.

[Spivonious]

Not bad - but watch me aimlessly wander around in E minor!!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RUH-f...e_gdata_player

Ha, shows how bad I am. I think this is pretty good.

[Twitch]

How about you, Twitch? Do you suck?

Pretty much, but I get by I guess. Theres plenty of video on Youtube of me playing bad, epically boring solos, especially the Alrosa Villa show video.

[Trem]

Pretty much, but I get by I guess. Theres plenty of video on Youtube of me playing bad, epically boring solos, especially the Alrosa Villa show video.

Not a bad song Twitch,
The main riff reminds me of something i think maybe a local band from here back in the day i can't put my finger on it but anyway there's some stage dive material there with the right crowd and enough beer

[NatG]

James Hetfield?
Scott Ian?

Seriously - it's actually rather common. Lots of people are simply rhythm players - and there's nothing wrong with that. Biggest part of playing, is playing what you enjoy. If playing lead isn't your thing - nothing wrong with that.

Yeah, I see what you mean. I never really thought about it that way.

[AussieTerry84]

I think nowadays people seem to forget how good a simple slow solo can be ala Dave Gilmour, i'd take him over any shredder any day!

[quadperson]

great stuff...I now have a new signature, lol.

[kamalayka]

Allow me to quote tqo of my favorite guitarists. . .

Akira Takasaki: I am self-taught. I used to practice for six hours a day!

Van Halen:I never had a [guitar] lesson in my life, except when a friend of mine a long time ago showed me how to do barre chords. I just learned from there.


And to think that they learned BEFORE the days of internet and videos!


The best way to learn how to write solos is to take your favorite ones and analyze them. A good example is Randy Rhoads' solo in Goodbye to Romance. Look at what chords he is playing over, and look at the actual notes he uses when playing over each one.


Generally, a good rule is to focus on the chord tones of whatever chord you are playing over. For example, suppose you're in the key of A Major, and you're soloing over an A Major chord. An A Major chord consists of the notes A, C#, and E. Write a melody focusing mainly on those three notes, using the other notes in the scale as "passing notes" to prevent it from sounding dull and boring. (In my opinion, chord-tone soloing is most useful for slower passages. For faster runs within a solo, it is not as important, although it can still be a good idea to end such a run on a chord-tone. If you're playing over an A Major chord for four measures, and the first three is a fast arrage of notes, the fourth measure might be an A note held with some vibrato. Ultimately, though, music is a hearing art. Just let your ears guide you!)

[triplehold]

NatG- You have some good advice here. Don't sell yourself short and say you can't play lead. It just takes time like anything else. Good rhythm skills are the bedrock of it all to be honest. A solid rhythm guitarist is an ace in the hole to any lead player. Find another guitarist and jam, switching back and forth playing leads and rhythms. This is happening depending on how driven you are, some lead players totally wimp out playing rhythm. Better yet find a bass player and drummer and jam hard. You'll start whipping out some leads, it will come naturally. A lot of times it sounds better than you think.