Hey guys!

Thanks for any help with this in advance. 8D

As of yesterday, me and this dude, Nick, have officially started a band. We've decided that he's to be the lead guitarist, and I'm to be the rhythm guitarist, and I'm perfectly alright with that. I'm way better at chords than soloing, and he loves to solo, so it all works out very well.
It's just that I've always wanted to be a great lead player, but I can't figure out how to make it happen.
I know a TON of scales and arpeggios, but when I choose to solo using one of them, I find myself staying in that one position for the whole song.

I also have an annoying problem while doing bends. My nails always get hooked on the next string as I'm bending, no matter HOW short I cut them. And if by some miracle my nails don't get caught on the string, my finger manages to.

God, any help here would be AWESOME.
Thank you!!

_________________
"If it's planned, it's boring." - Freddie Mercury

Congrats on starting a band. I think you should hone your skills as a rhythm player and take credit for being the heart of the band. Now as far as lead playing my skill isn't great in that area but as i've been told practice until you are sick of it then practice some more. Then you will get better. Good Luck

Ahaha, thank you!!

Yeah, I know.... But I want to be able to take the occasional solo and be able to pour out my feelings into each individual note.
God, that was sappy.

You get my drift, though?

Some of the best advice my eyes have ever read!!

_________________
"If it's planned, it's boring." - Freddie Mercury

After learning the scales and arpeggios way back in the day, I started listening to a lot of my favourite (and occasionally not favourite) guitar players. By listening I began to develop a sense of how they managed the neck; positions and hooks and ideas started to clarify themselves in my hands, and I rapidly improved as a lead player. The other thing to remember is that you don't have to play guitar all the time. There are lots who suggest that adage is worthless, but I find that a tasty bend or even silence can add a whole lot. I'm not one of those players who go for a million notes up the neck; instead, I have a few positions I really like, and I try and keep it simple within them.

Listen lots, my friend, and play more!

"Adage"?
But yes, I completely agree!! Whenever I listen to a great solo, having a moment of silence or a bend is the kicker for me.

Great advice, thank you!!

_________________
"If it's planned, it's boring." - Freddie Mercury

some good advice so far. Obviously practice is crucial. Your brain could have the most amazing ideas and melodies running through it, but if you can't move your fingers it does you no good. I tell my students to think of their hands as athletes or even sometimes as NINJAS!! You want your hands to be well conditioned and able to take on any situation at a moments notice. (Hence the 'Ninja' joke I make with them.)

I would also suggest finding some great solos to practice over and over, and over and over, and over and over, etc till you can rip them out without thinking about it. Some good examples to learn might be:

Led Zeppelin
Stairway to heaven solo
Communication Breakdown solo
Whole lotta love solo

Metallica
Fade to black and One solos
Harvester of Sorrow solo

Once you get a few under your belt it gets easier to think in that 'solo' manner. A good solo is like a really cool song, in the middle of a really cool song. It has a beginning, middle and an end. It tells a story. When a solo doesn't tell a story it just sounds like mindless wanking (similar to most if not all Slayer guitar solos, they're pretty interchangable.)

As for the string getting caught thing, I can't really picture what you're describing, but one of the things I do when I bend is I bend mostly with my 2nd and 3rd fingers, wrap my thumb around the neck and push more with my wrist then I do my fingers. I also use my 1st finger to reach up and mute the other strings. For example if I'm bending the 15th fret of the 'B' string, my first finger is riding on the 'G' and possibly the 'D' string as well, to mute them and make it so when I do vibrato at the top of my bend I'm not hitting the 'G' string over and over making it sound.

But anyway, it's the same old story that guitarists tell other guitarists for a hundred years.

Practice, practice, practice. Spend some time in the Woodshed with your guitar.

If you truly love guitar, it will never feel like practice, just time well spent with a good friend.

Cheers man, good luck in your soloing. Hope some of this helps.

Holycrap, what a wise man's message!!

Some awesome advice you got there! Thanks!!!!

And practice does feel like practice most of the time, but it's only because I do the same thing the same way, over and over again. I REALLY need to mix it up.
And being able to solo will definitely help me get out of the rut of routine.

I'll definitely listen to those songs and try and pick out the solos. Great song recommendations, by the way.

And placing the 1st finger over the other strings to mute them is a perfect idea!! So simple, yet I don't think I've ever done it before.

Thank you very much once again for your advice. Too awesome.

_________________
"If it's planned, it's boring." - Freddie Mercury

Oh, and my guitar instructor also uses the analogy of the hands being like athletes: athletes train every day, as should your fingers.

_________________
"If it's planned, it's boring." - Freddie Mercury

glad I could help. I've been doing this fulltime for 22 years (since I was 10) So I've picked up some good tips here and there.

good luck man, the world always need more good guitar players.

I gleaned a lot of information from this guy who teaches on SRV style blues. This particular series on the essential blues boxes is a cool shortcut into the minor pentatonic patterns. Once you have mastered a key, switch to another key, master that and move to another key, etc. Personally, I practice, (or warm up), playing progressions like:

Am F Dm E
or
Bm G Em F#

Here are some links:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=i4ZLMgFZ ... re=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R6NqVa9x ... re=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3Mjyl-xH ... re=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mBUge5TP ... re=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVM_hKXS ... re=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I9eJl-jp ... re=related
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=C3xfVdJN ... re=related

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Calling an illegal alien an undocumented immigrant is like calling a drug dealer an undocumented pharmicist.

I have to figure you know the 5 shapes of the pentatonic scale as you state you always wind up in first posistion which would be 5th fret in A. Try lick transposing -which means take a lick you play in 5th posistion and move it to 4th posistion 12th fret same notes sounds different and because the way the scale is made up will lead to different note choices.The 4th posistion is probably my favorite as there are some great licks there.You should also play the scale starting on 3rd fret high E string and just play the E and B string all the way up to the octave then back down do the same on the B and G string then use all three the G-B- AND E. Also practice soloing on just on string up and down you will be amazed at what you can come up with the most basic of exercises and always play to a backing track of some form

Wow. Those are some excellent videos! I learned a few cool things -- been watching them all morning!

Wow, that's awesome.

Haha, yeah, and especially good GIRL guitar players. There aren't nearly enough female guitarists out there and showin' their skills.

_________________
"If it's planned, it's boring." - Freddie Mercury

Haha, yep, I always seem to be stuck in the first position. But all those are awesome tips!! Thank you!!!! 8D

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"If it's planned, it's boring." - Freddie Mercury

Those seem like awesome videos!! I don't have the time to watch them all now, though, so I'll check 'em out later on today. Thanks!!!!

_________________
"If it's planned, it's boring." - Freddie Mercury