Lead Guitar 2 – Playing solos

I known an electric guitarist who was playing in church for a service. The worship leader played a ‘50s rock’n’roll style song. He turned and gave the electric guitarist a nod to take a guitar solo. The guitarist panicked – he had no idea what to play or how to solo in that style.

Lead guitar 2 is all about being able to play a guitar solo in various styles.

We examine:

• The layout and significance of the pentatonic scale.
• The blues form/blue notes – 12-bar accompaniment patterns.
• Swing and straight eighths
• The blues scale in theory and practise.
• Intervals
• The major and natural minor scales in improvisation
• Arpeggios

We will also introduce some common techniques on the guitar – the mechanics of right hand motion, alternate picking, economy and sweep picking, legato and tapping.