I've started learning and practicing scales but I'm starting to wonder if its worth it. My goal isn't really to improvise my own lead parts but rather to play lead parts from songs I like. Should I keep working on these scales or should I go ahead and learn the lead parts of my favorite songs and practice that way? Thanks in advance.
Do both, and add arpeggios to the routine as well. Scales and arpeggios build the technique to carry out the lead lines.
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Yeah, you've got to know your scales. But don't just play them like a lesson starting at the 6th string and playing the notes in order to the 1st string. No, you've got to know your scales inside out. Play them every possible way you can think of. And listen while you practice. Get to know that scale and how it sounds and makes you feel. That is the secret to playing by ear and improvising. You also need to learn to move effortlessly from one scale position to another.
Learn every scale you can. They all have a different flavor.
And like NoteBoat said, practice arpeggios as well.
Always practice good rhythm guitar. Know your chords. Learn rhythm techniques. 90% of your guitar playing will be rhythm.
And it is good to copy other guitarists at first. Everybody does that. But you will arrive at a point where you want your own sound and style. Start today! Make up your own original licks. Nobody likes or respects a copycat. The most popular musicians are those that have their own distinctive style.
If you know something better than Rock and Roll, I'd like to hear it - Jerry Lee Lewis
Learn other solos to see how scales can be applied in a practical context. You'll see there are some licks in every genre that pretty much everyone use. That's ok, every guitarist needs a bag of licks as a foundation, own style comes on top of it. Then start by learning the major/minor and pentatonic major/minor scales, plus appergios for the common (major, minor, 7th, 9th) chords.
However, if you really only want to copy others, then STILL learn the above things. Why? Because pretty much all those solos are build by these scales and appergios, and by practicing them your fingers will get 'used' to them. Your hearing will improve, and after a while you won't need to memorize each note as you start to see some logic in them. Just mindlessly repeating other solos won't get you very far if you don't really know what you're doing.
Finally, by learnin your scales you'll learn your fretboard, and where each note is. I've had quite a few occassions where the original guitarist would play the solo in a way that is very uncomfortable to me (hey, there is more then one string on your guitar mr. Bellamy!). Since I know where each note is, I can find out a way to play the same notes in an easier way.
