Switching from rhythm to lead?

[Sean is bored]

Well Ive been playing guitar for about 6 months now, have been taking some lessons, getting decent, but I can only play rhythm, really, chords more than anything, alot of folky stuff, like the rhythm to I used to love her and Patience.  Now, I was sitting around, watching the video for November Rain, now maybe it was the lack of sleep, maybe its the pot, but I decided shit, I gotta learn to play lead guitar.  Any tips on switching over from one to the other?  Keep in mind Im not a really good rhythm guitarist either, I can play some riffs, but I cannot solo at all.  So yeah, tips?  Good songs to start with?  Easy riffs, simple solo?  How did all you guys start on guitar?  Did you start on lead or rhythm, how long till you switched, if you did?  Does anyone here just play rhythm?

[Oddy]

i suggest learning all the boring stuff. If you've been taking some lessons ask you teacher to teach you the major and minor scales as well as the pentatonic and blues scales. That should keep you busy.

Then just practices them, develop your own licks, and start to get speed moving through the scale through the whole fretboard. A lot of guitarists, pretty much base all their solos on the pentatonic scale.

IMO thats the quickest way to get good at lead. Yeah you could go straight to Slash's slow NR solo but i think its better to do it this way.

[Slash Fan 2004]

Learn all the blues scales all over the fretboard, and practice scales alot- the most important thing for a lead guitarist.

[Oddy]

in answer to your other questions, i could do sloppy solos before i could even change from a g chord to a c chord.

i have been playing for 7 or so months now, and think i'm pretty damn confident as a lead guitarist (meaning i could easily be lead for a rock n roll band.........but no where near good enough to be lead for a metal band). But i play EVERY day......i make sure i do..........whether its 30mins or 6 hours straight i make sure i play something atleast once in the day.

I've focused simply on learning a lot of scales, and soloing over everything. Like i'd watch tv, if some form of music might be on the tv i would solo along to it.

But thats not to say i didn't learn rhythm all together. I can play barre chords and have a pretty good knowledge of chords and can change quickly, but i utilize them mostly in my lead playing.

I think not many people want to become rhythm guitarists, because you take a second spot to that of the lead guitarist who get all the spotlight. A good rhythm guitarist is just as important as any lead guitarist though (Keith Richards or Edge).

Damn i wish i had proper recording equipment for my songs to prove myself.

[Eduardo]

I've focused simply on learning a lot of scales, and soloing over everything. Like i'd watch tv, if some form of music might be on the tv i would solo along to it.

Hehe thats funny, I used to do that too... I play for about 2 years and a half now, but never had classes. I can improvise over almost everything though. Its not that hard, if you practice.

[Jesse James]

exercise alot using chromatic scales.
It will help you be more precise, sure and comfortable when you play fast.
Its also the best excercise that helps u achive better synchronization between your left and right hands

[Miz]

Chromatic scales and trills.  That' should build up left hand strength/speed.

For the right hand, try downpicking a scale, then up picking the same scale, then alternate picking it, all at the same speed, with a metronome of course.

If you don't own one, buy a metronome.  The metronome is your best friend.  Spend time with it and it will give you stuff in return.

[D]

a drum machine improved my playing 100 percent

somethinga bout playing along to a beat sparks the creative mind

patience is key

i know when picking up a guitar that u wanna play like slash instantly but thats impossible

practice is key, i sit at the computer while im chatting and talkin with my guitar and while im reading stuff i doodle, i just trill or do runs after runs

little stuff like that helps


it does help if u can afford a simple 4 track or something, playing rhythm

and then being able to solo over it is great practice

u will play andplay and it just sounds like musical non sense and then like a bolt of lightning u will bust out a phrase or a lick that just kicks ass


remember  a solo is a song within a song, its more than just running your fingers as fast as u can up and down the fret board, try to have some sort of theme and end your phrases well

thats my advice

guitar playin is just so subjective, my idea of a great solo to someone elses could be totally different

i love the articulating of certain notes, and the use of dynamics etc