Hi..new guitarist..need some help

I've only been playing for a few months, but what I have learned is that you have to walk before you can run. Those boring scales that you do or the other boring practice eventually pays off when you try to play a song. Sorry that I can't help you with any riffs.

thanks man...now that i can play songs..should i go BACK and learn those scales and stuff?

thanks a million 8)

I think that if you play electric guitar the scales are more important ( I could be way off ). I don't think it would hurt to learn some scales. Learn a few and practice 20 - 30 minutes a night for a while. I play acoustic but you have inspired me to practice some.

The relationship between scales and soloing is something I liken to reading. You cannot read (solo) unless you know the alphabet (scales). But when you see the word "guitar" you don't think to yourself, "Ok, that is a 'g' and when you put that together with a 'u'..." You just read it. So with that said, the scales are something you have to learn.

Now when it comes to solos for you look at, I have no clue as to any hardcore solos. The only ones I can think of in the metal catagory are pretty difficult. Maybe there is a metal buff lurking around this forum somewhere that could help you out.

Okay, advice from newbie to newbie (I started last August) :

First off, take things slow, and yes, do scales. If you want to solo, you've got to understand what "shape" you want the sound to take, and once you start associating "shapes" with the notes involved, then you can take it that step further and figure out the shape of a solo done in the key of, oh, A sharp.

Practice rhythm. Find nice, melodic metal songs (or even just rock or heavy rock) that you can do slowly, and then faster to get a sense of what rhythm is.

Learn and practice the progression of notes (half-steps and whole steps) on the fretboard up until the twelfth fret, and learn to tune your guitar by ear. This will give you the basic groundwork and help you gradually learn the sounds of the notes. (past the twelfth, as you know, everything repeats itself - so all the notes are just an octave higher!)

I just performed in public for the first time on Wednesday - I was playing for a dormwide talent show and learned a few valuable lessons that you should know as a fellow newbie -

1) Never trust other people's equipment, i.e. borrowed P.A. systems. Bring your own if possible.
2) Don't play songs that have effects on them (distortion, flange, delay) without the effects - if you practice with effects on, you'll be disoriented when you don't have 'em.
3) If you feel frustrated trying to play something newer and more challenging to a crowd, don't give up and throw the towel in because you're doing poorly - cue to the other musicians (or if you're performing with a friend, give them some warning) to switch to a different song that you're more comfortable doing.

This will make all the bad feelings go away for you AND the crowd. They see you struggling, they think you're not practiced / confident. Pick something that you're confident playing and that you've practiced, and it will flow through you.

I was trying to play American Idiot for my dorm's "Loyola Idol" competition, not doing so hot as I was screwing up the string muting a bit, and about a minute and a half through could feel things weren't going well, turned to my friend on vox and said, "F* it, La Bamba". From there, it was clear sailing, I nailed the rhythm dead on, did some duck-hopping showman stuff, and finished up strong. We both knew that, even if the audience didn't like it as much as the other acts, it kicked some derierre.

I didn't win because I was sick and couldn't sing, I only have a year's experience under my belt, and oh yeah, I didn't play any Dispatch / Jack Johnson. But I don't care about that. I won't even be in town for the school-wide part of the competition. I know for somebody who, one year ago, could barely play chords, this is a big step up in the right direction.

Good luck, take care, keep rockin'.

- Rodya

AtreyuGuitaristFreak - easy solos for metal are not that easy to come by (not that i recall) just to get started nirvana solo's are pretty easy they are just a handfull of notes and pretty easy to learn.

good luck and welcome to GN

Minus Human

AtreyuGuitaristFreak

It takes quite a while to become a good lead guitarist. How long depends on how much you practice.

I would recommend that you learn the Minor Pentatonic scale. This scale is used far more often than any other scale in Rock music. The minor pentatonic scale has only 5 notes in it. In the Key of A these notes are A, C, D, E, and G. That's it.

Most guitarists learn the pentatonic scales in "positions". A position is just a location up or down your guitar neck where you can play these 5 notes belonging to the scale. In modern terms they are "user friendly". You can usually play all the notes in the scale from the 6th to the 1st string without having to move your hand up or down the neck.

When you are playing the A Minor Pentatonic scale you are always playing the notes A, C, D, E, and G, regardless of which "position" you are in. You might ask, "If I'm just playing the same 5 notes, why should I have to learn more than one position?" The answer to that is tone. You might play a riff on your bass strings, and then go up and play the same riff on the treble strings high on the neck. The different tones add color, and tension and release to a solo. You will hear many a solo start slow on the lower strings. When the solo builds to a climax the guitarist will play much faster on the high strings. So this is why you must know the "positions".

The Minor Pentatonic scale has 5 of these user friendly positions. Learn each position by heart. Play it up and down, and whichever way inbetween until it is engrained in you. Learn everything you can do in each position. Learn to move from one position to the next.

But soloing is more than playing scales. It also involves intense listening. Different techniques like slides, hammer-ons and pull-offs are used for effect. When you solo you have to put your feelings into it and the feeling should reflect the song. So, you might play very slowly with subtle bends here and there to get a sad, or melancholy feel. You might play with a quick and bouncy technique to get a happy playful feel. These things take time. There are no shortcuts. You can't buy this or learn it in a book. You must spend the hours practicing these scales and techniques to become a good lead guitarist.

You have been playing 8 months. That is not too long. Just keep practicing every day. These things come in time. And believe it or not, your ear will develop. You will become familiar and recognize certain sounds over time.
So, be patient and just keep practicing.

Here is a page that shows the Minor Pentatonic scale in the key of A. It shows the 5 positions I talked about. Remember as you move to other positions you are still playing the same 5 notes but the tones will be different. Practice these 5 positions until you know them by heart. Once you learn them, you simply move up or down the neck to change keys. If you wanted to play the B Minor Pentatonic scale you would just move each of these 5 positions up 2 frets on your guitar.

Sorry to talk you to death. Here is that link.

The 5 positions of the A Minor Pentatonic Scale

Wise words from everyone here: Take it easy. Learning the guitar is a life long process. I'm in the school of learn it first, then you can improvise and fly solo. I've only been playing for a little over a year and trust me, it takes time to master even the basics.

Keep at it though, what a payoff!!

Julius

First solo I ever learnt was Smells Like Teen Spirit.
Other easy ones are Snowblind by Black Sabbath and Come as You Are by Nirvana

the first solo i learned was dr. worm by they might be giants

Here are some ear training programs I have found on the internet (mostly from threads here on GN):

A great web-based ear training program:
http://www.good-ear.com/index.html

Another good website with multiple web-based ear training programs:
http://www.musictheory.net/

An innovative software program for ear training (click on the link for the functional ear trainer):
http://www.miles.be/