We’ve all been there: watching in awe as a lead guitarist’s fingers fly across the fretboard, wrenching out notes we didn’t even know existed. And we’ve all thought, I wish I
We’ve all been there: watching in awe as a lead guitarist’s fingers fly across the fretboard, wrenching out notes we didn’t even know existed. And we’ve all thought, I wish I could do that.
But being a good lead guitarist is much more difficult than good players make it look. Sure, you can learn a few scales, do finger exercises religiously, and maybe even build some monster chops. But if you don’t understand the nuances of a style—phrasing, note choice, dynamics—you’re going to come off sounding too mechanical, too much like an exercise—all theory, no balls.
So to help you shine in the spotlight, we’ve pulled together some essential moves for improvising in rock and blues. For each, we’ll explain key elements of the genre, such as which scales are most appropriate, and then demonstrate licks representative of the style before pulling it all together in a short solo.
So get out your guitar and dig in.
ROCK
Add up all the techniques, phrases and scales required to sound like an accomplished hard rock god, and even the snobbiest jazzbo might start sweating. This lesson breaks down the art of rock and metal soloing, starting with some universal pentatonic rock licks and venturing into the trickier territory of licks modeled after big-name shred heads.
Much of hard rock, classic rock, southern rock, and 70’s metal improvisation is based on the minor pentatonic scale (1-b3-4-5-b7). If when soling with this scale you get stuck in a rut—a disturbingly easy thing to do—try unloading some looping pentatonic licks like the ones in FIGURES 1A–E to take the intensity of your lines up a notch. These patterns, depicted here in E minor pentatonic (E-G-A-B-D), combine hammer-ons, pull-offs, and bends into rapidly repeating note sequences—a staple sound of