[rploesser]

Ive been playing for over 25 yrs. And i just seem to hit a wall and cant get past it. For some reason i just cant get my head or fingers wrapped around lead guitar ability. You would think that after 25+ yrs id be able to shred like a mother f**ker. Well I dont.... id make a pretty good rhytm guitarist at best. I just can seem to break through that rhythm guitarist barrier. Which has become ever more frustrating / discouraging.

Has anybody else experienced this?
If you had this problem at one point how did you manage to get passed it?
What techniques methods did you use to break your barrier?

Thanks,

[jdgm]

rploesser, on 22 August 2012 - 08:45 AM, said:

Ive been playing for over 25 yrs. And i just seem to hit a wall and cant get past it. For some reason i just cant get my head or fingers wrapped around lead guitar ability. You would think that after 25+ yrs id be able to shred like a mother f**ker. Well I dont.... id make a pretty good rhytm guitarist at best. I just can seem to break through that rhythm guitarist barrier. Which has become ever more frustrating / discouraging.

Has anybody else experienced this?
If you had this problem at one point how did you manage to get passed it?
What techniques methods did you use to break your barrier?

Thanks,

This is very subjective but you are going to have to work hard. I too played rhythm for a long time thinking I'd never do any good lead.
But I knew that all good classical musicians are 'scale monsters' and if it was good enough for them it was a good enough place for me to start. So I began to learn major scales...which turn out to be minor scales and dominant 7th scales as well in music theory though I didn't realise that at the time. Doing this will also get you into arpeggios of the chords you already know.
You must train your ear to hear the lead stuff in order to have any chance of playing it. I started with simple blues licks in E - learnt the E minor pentatonic then moved it up 5 frets to A and figured out exactly what finger to use on what fret and not to barre it.
The very 1st lick I learnt was to bend the G string 2nd fret up, then down again, pull off to the open G then hit the E, 2nd fret on the D string. Took me at least a week of solid repetitive practice to make it sound any good at all. Then you can make it into a riff by mixing it into an E chord sequence of some sort, doesn't have to be much. You probably know this already, it's 'Voodoo Chile' and it comes from 'Still a Fool' and 'Rollin' Stone' by Muddy so apologies if I'm patronising you.
If you don't like blues try simple basslines - Peter Gunn, James Bond theme, Batman etc or hymns - anything. If you pick up your guitar now could you figure out '3 Blind Mice' from start to finish? Any of it? Yeah I know it's banal and stupid but it's also major scale - all nursery rhymes are simple learning tools to get kids to hear.
And as you know, the guitar is relentlessly logical; Wes Montgomery once said "you can only take off it what you put on it", meaning you have to do that practice more than you ever thought would be necessary in order to be good at lead. And practice means polishing up what you know, building on it and looking out for, hearing and getting new things - taking advantage of the variations in what you do. You have the foundation. Learn the basslines and riffs to songs you already know, for instance. But to get any fluency you must practice scales and patterns an awful lot more than you thought.
And the last thing is - attitude, attitude, attitude. You will get down but everybody does that and after awhile you just get up again and go at it some more.
Best wishes!

[crowdaddy]

I'm a noobie too on this forum. Playing guitar has that up and down level off that comes with it. Especially if you really love to play it and want to do well. And what was posted before is good advice for anyone really. Attitude, approach it when you can with a good attitude, fun, learn, play.

If you are down, play the blues, even if you only know a few blues notes or a million. But what really helped me break through some levels was Alan Warners, 100 Rock Riffs. It is an older teaching manual or reference, but came in little useful bites. I took on each riff, a roman numeral and played it over and over until I could do it without thinking about it. Like 25 or 50 times, if it was hard more.

Well, I was desperate, and knew it might not be the best way, but desperation and desire will carry you a long way. Scales too, but I intermingled artists lines, BB, Page, any of the greats that sounded in my audio sphere, either pleasing or put chills up my spine. Yeah, and they may not sound like great or something but, keeps me on the path. Learning is an adventure. Wishing you the best!

[adam411booking]

I agree with Jdgm.
Attitude is everything. Make sure you're having fun while doing it.

Yeah, it's mundane playing scales over and over again but every single guitar God that ever existed did the same thing. Just gotta keep practising.

And a piece of advice I got earlier is learn to branch out of your comfort zone or favorite genre. If you listen to Country, start learning some rock riffs. If you like rock, learn some metal. Keep learning new songs and experimenting. You'll be surprised by how well you can pick up some of these riffs and leads (especially after 25+ years of playing). But just don't stay in a comfort zone while playing because you're only limiting yourself.

Keep us posted on your lead progress!

[Maskanda]

All of the above is good advice. You don't mention your aspirations? I have been playing for 45 years purely for FUN. I would have starved if I had to make a living from music. When I branched into lead, almost unintentionally, it was through Rockabilly. First the base run ups into your chords then the riffs (which use a lot of chord slides. All stuff you already know. And it's FUN. Crank up a backing track and try it. To play serious lead though, will require a pretty thorough knowledge of the fretboard notes and the dreaded scales.

[bigtim]

Man I been in the same boat as you are several times but somehow I always find a way to get through it. I approach my wall a little different than the other forum members have responded. I have always wondered how those guys like Vai and Eric Johnson among alot of other great players seem to be able to play what I call a never ending guitar solo all over the whole dang neck. Heck I do not even know what the heck I am doing either or what scale or mode it was derived from and if I do or do not play demented notes or whatever, heck I do not even care about all that because it seems to take all the fun out of playing to me. I still try alot and this is what I do when I hit one of those plateau type walls.

1. I listen to music styles I would not normally listen to. You would be surprised at how much this inspires your playing even if it is just a simple riff or run, and because it is a different style, it sounds way better played in a different method or techique.

2. I change the settings on my amp. If I have been playing with a little gain, I take all the gain out and play clean for several weeks or if I have playing clean, I will throw in some gain and do that for a couple of weeks, with reverb..................then without reverb. That simple

3. If I am up against a wall, alot of times I will just put the guitar down for a week. Especially when I have been practicing scales to no end and trying new licks and not seemingly getting anywhere, I will just drop everything and not even look at it for a while. You will be surprised how much easier and faster you play once you pick up the guitar again since your hands and fingers have had a chance to rest a little while. I notice this especially when I am trying to develope my faster picking techniques, my picking is faster and my fretting hand seems more relaxed after a weeks rest and I like to play at LEAST minimum 10 minutes everyday and that is MINIMUM and during the break from playing I am thinking about playing too.

4. I like Randy Rhodes crazy train from the rythmn to the lead break and all in between and as bad and hard as I try I could never really get second nature to even do the rythmn style like what he played on that song. So when I get in a slump on a certain style I like, I again resort to other guitar players inspiration. I am a Blues/Rock player at heart but I like jazz, rockabilly and anything else that sounds good too. When I am getting no where in my little blues/rock world then I might listen to Brian Setzer for a while and try do do some rockabilly licks or Brad Paisley comes to mind too with those sick chicken picken licks and I will go down that road a while.

5. I never limit myself to one style of playing or music style. I always wanted to be a well rounded player and be able to keep up with other players when I go jam or go to a gig with. So do not keep your music intrest and likes to 1 particular style of playing.

Anyways this helps me out quite a bit and I know it is not your typical guitar teaching method or advice but it does work for me, Good luck, Tim

[trelf]

I tend to just learn something outside of my comfort zone. Shredding can be fun but I found trying to play Eric Johnsons riffs at speed a nightmare!

I agree with the other guys - learn different stuff

If you want to get technically better then repetition of a short passage can help.

I use different riffs a lot to warm up - Steve Vai - the picking section from Eugene's trick bag is good for picking speed and the tapping section from elephant gun is handy as well. Thunderstuck (ac dc) is also a good un!

Start slow and then gradually build up speed from there.

Here's me messing about with my strat - just bog standard pentatonic riffs played in a slightly twiddly manner?

[bigtim]

trelf, on 28 December 2012 - 02:19 PM, said:

I tend to just learn something outside of my comfort zone. Shredding can be fun but I found trying to play Eric Johnsons riffs at speed a nightmare!

I agree with the other guys - learn different stuff

If you want to get technically better then repetition of a short passage can help.

I use different riffs a lot to warm up - Steve Vai - the picking section from Eugene's trick bag is good for picking speed and the tapping section from elephant gun is handy as well. Thunderstuck (ac dc) is also a good un!

Start slow and then gradually build up speed from there.

Here's me messing about with my strat - just bog standard pentatonic riffs played in a slightly twiddly manner?

Hey man that is a pretty good riff you got going on with the video you posted. Like the color of strat you have too. What model strat??? Tim

[fletch1957]

rploesser, on 22 August 2012 - 08:45 AM, said:

Ive been playing for over 25 yrs. And i just seem to hit a wall and cant get past it. For some reason i just cant get my head or fingers wrapped around lead guitar ability. You would think that after 25+ yrs id be able to shred like a mother f**ker. Well I dont.... id make a pretty good rhytm guitarist at best. I just can seem to break through that rhythm guitarist barrier. Which has become ever more frustrating / discouraging.

Has anybody else experienced this?
If you had this problem at one point how did you manage to get passed it?
What techniques methods did you use to break your barrier?

Thanks,

I feel your pain. I've been playing for 45 years and I never ever thought I'd be able to play lead guitar. I just never really got it.

Recently, I developed a renewed interest in playing again. And, I've always wanted to learn to play lead but, just never knew how to go about learning. I decided I needed lessons but, didn't really have the money to take lessons from a professional instructor. So, I signed up for lessons with one of the on-line guitar courses and it's made a huge difference in my progress. To me, one of the biggest advantages of an on line course is having unlimited access to backing tracks for practice.

However, aside from taking lessons, as jdgm pointed out there's no substitute for practice. In just the last couple of months, through the combination of lessons and a rigid practice routine, I would now feel comfortable playing some simple lead quitar with my old band. I'm currently practicing about 1-2 hours a day and would practice more than that if I had the time. On weekend days, I might spend 4-5 hours per day practicing but, my routine is much less rigid and I'm able to spend more time jamming with a backing track.

Once again as jdgm pointed out, learning scales in your sleep is crucial. Major scales, minor scales, and especially pentatonic and blues scales. Most of us (myself included) don't spend near enough time practicing scales (IMHO). BTW, don't limit your practices to just using an electric guitar. Make some time during your practices to work with an acoustic guitar, especially for scales and speed exercises. You don't have to practice with an acoustic every day but, try to work with one at least a couple of times a week.

Finally, doing exercises to improve you finger strength and coordination is a great idea. I start off every practice by doing speed exercises up and down the neck with a metronome. I also have a GripMaster which allows you to exercise your fingers individually. When I first read about guitarists exercising with the GripMaster, I was a little skeptical. However, working out with it has improved my speed and coordination dramatically in a short period of time. Heck, it's even made a difference in how fast I can type on a keyboard.

All I can say is hang in there and practice, practice, practice.

[rploesser]

Thanks for the replies guys. Much appreciated. I know the importance of learning scales and such. I have been learning them for yrs. Thats how i warm up before playing. My problem isnt so much about writing solos. It is more with learning existing ones from my favorite songs. On paper it seems pretty straight forward. Put finger here pluck this string, bend this note etc... but i just cant seem to pull any of them off. And it has nothing to do with remembering each string/note. I have a very good memory for that stuff. Its the coordination/speed i cant seem to nail down. I just cant seem to break that speed/cordination barrier.