Lead Guitar Tactics

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I have heard this question enough times to grow potatoes in my ears. How do I play guitar scales fast?
Or just in general, how do I get faster on the guitar?

I really only know one way and here it is.

First, let me start off by saying that speed is a by product of accuracy. That why it’s a fatal mistake to just try and play fast. You will be sloppy and it will get you nowhere. You have to practice slow and clean and it’s a good idea to practice the same thing over and over, like your scales or a cool lick you are trying to learn.

And it’s important to use a metronome. A metronome give you a numerical value that you can use to track progress. Otherwise, how do you know? One last point here from a technical standpoint. Stay relaxed…this is another problem with trying to go too fast, it creates tension.

Alright, here we go. How to play guitar scales fast step by step.

1. Pick what you want to practice. This should seem obvious but a lot of people screw this one up.
2. Set your metronome at a comfortable speed. Practice playing the scale in time along with the metronome. I would suggest using eight notes for this.
3. Slowly increase the speed of the metronome to find your “breaking point.” What I mean is that at some speed you will no longer be able to play the scale without mistakes. You will be right on the edge of your technical capabilities. This will be a very small change in numbers on the metronome as well.
4. Once you find this “breaking point” drop the metronome back down a few notches and practice the scale at that speed for a few days. Then start to bump it back up again.
5. You will find that you will slowly be able to go faster and then it’s just a matter of repeating this process over and over.

That’s is, it’s not glamorous but that’s’ the way you do it. That’s how to play guitar scales fast.

If you would like to get a report on how to use a metronome with video instruction and a second report on ear training,
click here for details.

Let me know if you have any questions.

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Today, I want to talk about something that is important for any player at any level…practice. In fact, I ran into a friend who is a wonderful guitarist at the movies last Friday night (Iron Man, if you have not seen it, check it out! ). He said something that really hit home that he shares with his students.

You know the old saying, “practice makes perfect?” What he tells his students is…
“practice makes progress.” I would like to add to that. You see, not all practice makes progress.

It’s possible to practice and not be effecient. A well structured lesson plan and strategy can be the difference between really moving ahead or making no progress at all.

I have been studying the practice routines of a few of my friends that I think are great musicians and here are a few things that are consistent with all of them when it comes to effective practice.

1. None of them practice to get better. Huh? That’s right, the most important thing to all of them is learning and making discoveries. They all feel that this leads to the improvement they want, but improving is not the main focus.

2. They start their practice sessions with the end in mind. They know what they want to learn and have goals and strategies to help them get there.

Do you have short and long term goals? If yes, do you know how you are going to reach them?

3. They know how much time they have to practice and how they are going to break the material up into smaller pieces.

4. The more difficult the music, the smaller the pieces.

5. They practice at a speed that allows the development of muscle memory. This usually means at a slow speed, striving to play error free. They know that it’s much harder to correct a mistake than it is to learn it properly from the beginning.

6. Mistakes and struggle are part of learning and indicate that progress is indeed taking place.

7. They are consistent. They practice everyday.

Think about these things the next time you sit down to practice. In the meantime, here is a sample practice routine for someone just starting out learning the chords C, A, G, E and D.

First things first. Things should be memorized so that you can concentrate on what your hands are doing, not looking at a diagram or a book.

Assuming these chords are memorized and you have 30 minutes to practice, an effective practice routine would be as follows.

Practice switching between the following chords.

1. C to G
2. G to D
3. D to A
4. A to E

The goal… to be able to switch between the chords at a steady tempo with a focus on proper technique ( being able to move the fingers from chord to chord at the same time, not one at a time ).

Break up the session as follows:

5 minutes on each progression…total 20 minutes.

Identify the more difficult progressions and spend more time on them, for example
another 3 minutes on C to G and another 3 minutes on G to D.

Total 26 minutes.

Another 2 minutes each on the remaining progressions.

Total 30 minutes.

Repeat the next day adding or subtracting time to each progression depending on your progress.

If you are a beginner and you follow this, I guarantee you will make progress. If you have more time you can determine how to break up your practice time. You might add in new material or spend a few minutes applying what you have learned in song.

You have to use your brain to a certain extent. You know what you want to learn. Use this knowledge to put together and effective practice strategy for yourself and enjoy the ride. Before you know, you will be playing at a new level and enjoying the guitar more than ever.

In closing, I thought you might get a laugh out of the following video.

If you have any questions or comments, please leave them below.

Best Wishes,

Bob

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Yesterday I gave you the transcription to the first chorus of the solo I played on the Freebird video.  Today I have broken it down and added a short analysis.

I hope you find it interesting and helpful. Remember, the point is not that you play my solo, or solo like me using the same fingerings, etc.

The point is to understand the concepts of building a vocabulary, having a library of licks and ideas to draw from to create your own solos. And then being able to take those ideas and create variations on them.

When you can do this you will never run out of things to play. Enjoy this lesson and please leave any comments or questions below.

Best Wishes,

Bob

Freebird Solo Analysis Part One

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Hello fellow guitarists. I have had quite a few requests for the tablature for the solo in the Freebird video. I have started the transcribing process and have part one ready to go.

I haven’t had a chance to move it up an octave yet but it’s coming in the near future, with comments. I just wanted to go ahead get this up so you could start to play around with it.

The tab is written using the G minor pentatonic scale at the 3rd fret. The video was done using the G minor pentatonic scale at the 15th fret. All you have to do is take the licks from the tab at the 3rd fret and play them at the 15th fret.

In fact, this is a great device to use in your soloing. Play a lick a restate it an octave higher. Play around with this idea and see what you think.

If you have any questions or comments, let me know. Stay tuned for the next installment.

Best Wishes,

Bob

Freebird Tab Part 1

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Hi fellow guitarists,

It’s been crazy around here as I get ready to launch my new book and website (not to mention the Christmas preparations. After spending the weekend dealing with technical problems I am almost ready to go. In just a couple of more days you should have all the details on the new site and book.

In the meantime, here is one last sample taken from the book and website. In the last video I discussed the major arpeggios taken from the major scale. In this lesson I play over a backing track, discuss arpeggios a bit more and look at the other notes in the scale.

It’s how you blend the arpeggio tones with the scale tones that really go a long way towards defining your playing. Soloing is about creating varying degrees of tension and release. There are several ways to go about this but a very important one to consider is the amount of tension that each scale degree produces.

That’s the main focus of this lesson. Also, even though it’s not discussed in the video, pay attention to the theme and variation idea again. If you missed the video below on themes and variations, make sure you watch it too.

I hope you enjoy the lesson. Remember that these concepts apply to all styles of music. If you have any questions or comments please feel free to leave them.

Best Wishes,

Bob

Major Scale Excerpt Two

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