So what's the role of the lead guitarist within contemporary music?

Well, I have played lead guitar for many years, within many guitar styles. The lead guitar's role is to add embellishment to the rhythm section. So let's have a look at the typical setup of a band as we study lead guitar.

The rhythm section could comprise of:

Drums/Percussion - Bass Guitar - Rhythm Guitar - Piano/Organ.

These instruments set the foundation for the music; but will leave gaps where melodic instruments can add embellishment.

Lead guitar must be added sparingly, do not over-do-it.

Avoid the trap of playing too much. Many guitarists get bored or just want to play, but to be honest too much is, really too much!

So, wanting to be a lead guitarist can be fun but also there will be large parts of the set where you just don’t play that much.

Many lead guitarists often play what is known as second guitar, where a rhythm guitarist (electric or acoustic) will keep the rhythm solid & the second guitarist will add power chords, flat picking the chords, arpeggios, fills, riffs, techniques, using effects etc, as required; then kick in with that killer solo, then draw back into the mix. Also many lead guitarist do not take the time to study lead guitar.

So, if you want to play lead guitar, then you have to have the right character for the job...

#2 The Attributes Required Of The Lead Guitarist

So why have I included this heading?

Lead guitarists are unique in the band set-up they often contribute the least to a song in effort but their contributions requires a great deal of knowledge, talent, skill & expertise & will have a major impact on the song or piece of music. Get it right you are a hero get it wrong... Not good.

As an all round musician, I understand that playing the bass can be on-times detailed but generally the odd mistake will go un-noticed by the listeners. With rhythm guitar mistakes are more noticeable but usually the riffs & solos of a lead guitarist are high up in the mix & attention to accuracy is paramount.

Also lead guitarists have to have a great deal of patience as there could be long periods within a song where they will just not be playing. So look into playing some rhythm guitar & backing vocals too.

One note, all too many lead guitarists become bored & want to play along with or even over the singer just to contribute.

Remember that lead guitar is the sweetener & always see the bigger sound, where often the less you do the better it is received.

The ideal setup in a band is where the lead guitarist will also play second guitar with rhythm's flat picking, making use of effects etc.

#3 Techniques Of Lead Guitar

The command of lead guitar techniques differentiates the beginner & experienced lead guitarist. Every lead guitar expert had to begin with the basics. Want to be an excellent lead guitarist? Then you will need an abundance of the following... Talent, flare, professional attitude, a winner mind-set, temperament, enthusiasm, commitment, patience, co-ordination, lots of time, effort, skill, excellent tuition & resources. Big list, well yes but to excel as a lead guitarist that's where you need to place your thinking & actions. Lead guitar does not happen over-night. It took me years of study & practice to get to the place I am now. So Technique is found in the following: The way you hold the guitar, the way you form chords, the scale boxes you choose to focus on, the use of vibrato, slide, tapping, sweep picking, bends & pre-bends the notes you focus on & the importance of playing notes that are linked to the chord in same way. So technique will certainly help you discover & unlock your true potential as a lead guitarist!

#4 Essential Scales & Modes

Once you have a handle on lead guitar techniques, you will need to think about the modes & scales that you should use to solo over. The www-guitar-lessons-for-beginners.co.uk web site covers 12 essential modes & scales, so what I want to focus on here is the selection & use of them.

Styles dictate chords & chords dictate scales.

You will of course find valuable teaching on both within this web site. So lets’ run with a few ideas. I will look at some of the more common contemporary styles & match modes & scales to them. As a lead guitarist you can’t just play any old mode or scale along with a bunch of chords. The chords dictate what notes you can use in the lead guitar riffs & solos. So take the following Rock example:

Rock Progression: C5, F5, G5.

Here you will be able to use many scales both major & minor. So what modes or scales can you use?

Well have a look at this mode & scale chart to work out which modes & scales can be used over the Rock Progression: C5, F5, G5.

Looking at the chart above you will find that the following modes & scales can be used.

C Ionian mode, C Dorian mode, C Phrygian mode, C Mixolydian mode, C Aeolian mode, C Major Pentatonic scale, C Minor Pentatonic scale, C Blues scale, C Melodic Minor scale & C Harmonic Minor scale.

All of the above will fit into the chord progression where the 5th chords are used. You will of course recall that the 5th chord is a power chord which means that it is neither major or minor as it’s a 3rd note that makes a major or minor triad. The power chord or 5th chord is made using a 1st & a 5th note.

You can see how each mode & scale listed above

Okay, so with power chords you have many modes & scales to choose from but what about the next chord progression, what scale/s or mode/s can you use as a lead guitarist if the Cm7 was the tone or root chord?

Cm7, EbM7, Am7b5.

Let's look at each chord in turn. The Cm7 is the first chord in 3 of the 12 modes & scales covered within this web site.

The C Dorian Mode, C Phrygian Mode & the C Aeolian Mode.

The EbM7 chord is found in the C Dorian Mode & The C Aeolian Mode.

The Am7b5 chord is only found in the C Dorian Mode.

So you could solo over all three chords using the C Dorian Mode.

#5 Creating Moods In Your Music

So what are musical moods?

Musical moods are created using scales, chords, effects, rhythm, instrumentation, effects, sound & tone & amplifiers.

Mood is the feel of the music, where the listeners feel good, sad, tense etc just by listening to a song!

Music scores used in TV & Film are excellent examples of mood change; where viewers & Listeners are taken through feelings or suspense, tension, feeling good & sad, brought to tears or laughter... all in one programme or film.

Pictures & sound combined are an excellent complement when wishing to create feel.

So as a lead guitarist you will want to play your part in creating the mood of the music. Lead guitarists communicate through the use of guitar fretboard scales & modes. So the more guitar scales & modes you learn to play over the entire fretboard the better you will be at creating moods. Mood is integral to every piece of music so it's vital that you learn what moods each of the 12 scales portray.

What makes for a happy mood? For a happy mood use: Ionian, Lydian. Mixolydian,

#6 How To Construct Lead Guitar Solos

Lead guitar solos are easy to create & play; when you have the know-how.

Think about the lead solos you have heard or play. Many lead guitarists just copy someone else's creation; whilst other lead guitarists are able to create their own lead solos. So what's involved in making lead guitar solos?

Lead solos often take hours, weeks even months to create, don't give up if nothing creative happens instantly!!! Guitar solos have to be based upon structure, they just don't happen all on their own & if they do, then they are almost impossible to replicate at another gig, unless they have been recorded...

So the title of this section is 'how to construct lead guitar solos'. So that's what we are going to do right now.

As I said earlier lead guitar solos takes structure, so what's this structure? Well I will let you in on the techniques that I use to create original lead guitar solos:

1. Record backing track
   
If you can record the full backing track then you have the opportunity to work your lead solo into the existing sound. After all, lead guitarists' are rated on their lead guitar solos!


2. Record your lead guitar solos
   
How often have you played a great section of a lead guitar solo only to find that you can not remember it once the music has stopped. I record all of my lead guitar solos in the development stage, to make sure that I catch anything of value; this method works time & time again. I suggest that you consider purchasing a digital recorder; you can pick the software up for well under £50 or even for free if you google it. The time spent searching & learning to use the software will produce benefits in developing your lead guitar solos. You can also slow down the tempo to help develop your lead guitar solos.


3. Know the chord progressions used
   
The notes that make up a chord can be used in your solo. Let's take a C major chord which is made up of C, E & G notes. It will sound great if you play any of the notes found in the chord being played. Use techniques & effects also such as slide, or bend up or down from the E to the C notes then to a G note. Let's say that the next chord is a C Major 7th, now you will want to play the B note along with the C, E, & G notes. Now you're talking! You can use this structure over all of the chords & before you know it; you'll have an awesome lead solo. Also, make use of the entire guitar neck; this really helps the solo, playing in just one pattern or box is limiting in colour...


4. Know the scale/s used
   
Knowing the scale patterns or boxes over the entire guitar fretboard will help you in your solos. Here you will be able to quickly move up & down the guitar fretboard with you lead guitar solos; as you move seamlessly between boxes.


5. Know the number of bars used
   
Working the bars is vital for a balanced lead solo. Let's say we have 8 bars to solo over, you can now add light & shade into your solo. There are a number of options available to you, for instance, you can start your lead solo slow & move into a full on lead guitar solo or start strong, with a slower middle then back to a stronger solo into a chorus... Experimentation is the key & the best way I like to experiment is to use full backing tracks. How you finish your lead guitar solo will depend on what happens next! For example, you may want to slow things down for a few bars, or go to a bridge, or move into a verse, or enter into a full-on chorus.


6. Make use of your guitar effects
   
Guitar effects offer you the chance to make your lead guitar solos unique. Again by making use of a backing track, you will be able to spend time working through a mix of effects, where you must experiment with effects until you are satisfied. Now you must keep a record or log of the effect/s & the precise settings used, for future use.


7. Work the techniques
   
Add that professional touch to your lead guitar solos by using a variety of techniques. Try every technique you know & look to learn new ones & experiment with them all; mixing them until you are happy, then again, log the techniques once you have them.


8. Edit the recorded lead solos
   
Once you have used all of the above tips & tricks then it's time to listen to your recordings make use of cut, copy & paste, to alter the notes, even consider using pitch shift, harmony & octaves to accentuate a part of the solo.


9. Tab your guitar solo
   
Once you have that killer guitar solo make sure that you tab it because after some time of not using the lead guitar solo it is very easy to forget parts or even most of a lead guitar solo. Also it will help you to develop your 'lead guitar toolkit'.

#7 Chords & Lead Guitar

I have briefly mentioned the relationship between the chords played whilst soloing, but now it's time to look a little deeper into this concept & particularly the importance of the relationship.

Let's take a look into soloing in different types of instrumentation. For instance let's say that you play in a 3 piece band with drums, bass & guitar & that you want to play a solo whilst the bass guitar is playing notes drawn from a scale or more so chords; you will want to complement those bass notes by either playing the same notes as the bass player over certain parts of the solo or by complementing the notes played. Take the C chord made up of a C, E G notes if the bass plays C E G repeated then you can play E G C repeated & they will sound great together.

Bass players often play notes from chords so you can do the same. Let's take a simple chord progression of 3 chords in the C minor scale or C aeolian mode, where the solo involves playing over the following 4, 5, 1, chord progression, which means that the chords & notes available are:

4th chord is Fm - the notes used are, F, Ab, & C

5th chord is Gm - the notes used are, G, Bb, & D

1st chord is Cm - the notes used are, C, Eb, & G

You will notice that in the above chord progression that all of the notes found in the c aeolian mode are used.

So you have the choice of just playing any of the notes from the C aeolian mode in any order or you can work with the bass player & decide the notes that you are going to use over each chord.

Whatever you decide experimentation is the key...

#8 Guitar Effects For A Lead Guitarist

The use of guitar effects in lead guitar is quite different to the use of guitar effects for rhythm guitar. The role of a lead guitar is to sweeten the sound of the piece of music to punctuate through & often high in the mix. To do this the use of guitar effects are useful. On stage the lead guitarist will often be seen to be very busy moving through a variety of guitar effects in any song. So what guitar effects are the most popular in contemporary music?

Styles often dictate guitar effects, but as in all areas of music experimentation is fun & rewarding.

Rock Music Guitar Effects

For Rock music, I mainly use; overdrive, distortion, compression, reverb, delay & chorus. I will discuss what each generally offers later in this lesson.

Blues Music Guitar Effects

For Blues music, I mainly use; a little overdrive, reverb or delay & wah wah on times.

Jazz Music Guitar Effects

For Jazz music, I mainly use; a little reverb & a warm tone.

Pop Music Guitar Effects

For Pop music, I use; all types of guitar effects, such as; distortion, overdrive, fuzz, compression, limiters, chorus, flanger, phaser, wah wah, delay, reverb, pitch shift, modulation, vibes & tremolo.

Before we study each of the guitar effects in detail, you need to make sure that any guitar effects you use are plugged in the right sequence & in the right place!

Are Your Guitar Effects Wired Correctly?

If you use guitar effects answer the following:

1. Are you confident that you know the order in which your guitar effects should be plugged into the amplifier?
   
2. Do you know which of your guitar effects should be placed before the amplifier input?
3. Do you know which guitar effects should be placed after the input via the guitar effects loop system?
   
4. Do you know that if you get this wrong then your sound could suffer?

In this part of the lesson you will discover the essentials about wiring guitar effects & how to use guitar effects to create your sound.

Using guitar effects is an essential part of the role of the lead guitarist, therefore it is essential that you understand the basic rules with regard to the use of sound effects. For instance there is a set way in which you connect your guitar effects! Get it wrong & you could lose a lot from the sound quality produced through the amplifier. Get it right however, & then you will start to create amazing guitar tones & sounds that you will want to keep. That said, once you know the rules there is of course merit in experimenting with the guitar effects; who knows what you may find, after all, lead guitarists want to be unique!

Normally guitarists plug the guitar into stomp boxes & then into the amplifier; but this will cause a complete change in the sound produced by the amplifier with some sound effects, for instance reverb should be placed behind overdrive/distortion effects! The following rule is important:

Place guitar effects that modulate a signal, e.g. (chorus, phaser, flanger) etc, behind preamps or overdrive/distortion boxes & place guitar effects that boost a signal to the amplifier before overdrive.

The best way to use the guitar effects is to make use of the built in guitar effects loop. Does your amplifier have a built-in effects loop? (look for Send & Return sockets usually at the back of your amplifier). If it does then you really will benefit from using it & this lesson will show you how to get the most out of your guitar effects.

So what guitar effects should be plugged into the guitar input & what guitar effects should be added to the built-in effects loop.

If the amplifier you have has a built in effect loop then trying the following may just amaze you with regard to the clarity & professional sound produced.

So lets look at what happens to your guitar signal as it travels from your guitar right through to the sound produced through the amplifier speakers. Signals sent from your guitar enter the amplifier input into the preamp & travels through the send/return loop effects where the signal is shaped by any guitar effects placed in this loop then it travels to the power amp to the speakers.

So firstly, stomp boxes that should come prior to overdrive should be placed between your guitar & the amp's input & all the stomp boxes that should come after on-board overdrive should be placed in the loop.

Series or Parallel Effects Loop

With regard to effect loops some amps offer a series link which basically means that all of the signal leaves the preamp via the Send socket & travels through the pedals attached to the effects loop then back into the amplifiers via the return socket.

Whereas the parallel loop allows the amount of signal sent to the loop via the Send socket to be set from zero through to 100%, controlled via the FX Mix control on the from of the amplifier. Signals can be dry or wet, the signal is dry if not sent to the loop & wet as it enters into the Return socket; remember that we control the amount of signal that will be wet or dry.

With parallel loops set the effects pedals to 100% effect as this will complement when mixed with the dry signal.

Compression Effect

I often use compression to bring balance in sound & sustain. Compression will reduce the highs & lows of the signal. If a signal is above your set threshold level, the signal will be lowered & if your signal is below your set threshold then the signal is boosted! The result of compression means that you will have a balanced sound level & sustain is increased which will deliver a smoother sound.

How is sustained increased through the use of compression? Well, a plucked string sends a signal to the compression unit & as the sound fades the compression will keep the note for as long as it can.

COMPRESSION SETTING CONTROLS:

Threshold: Set the level where you want the compressor to be activated to make the signal quieter or softer.

Attack: This adjusts the amount of time that the compressor will take to decrease the gain when your signal is higher than the threshold.

Release: This adjusts the amount of time that the compressor will take to increase the gain when the signal falls below the lower threshold.

Sustain: Sets the length of the time when poor signals will be amplified.

When To Use Compression?

When playing funk chords where those 16ths can cause a fluctuation in the sound signal or where you want to keep a laid-back lead break within a tight dynamic range

When recording & the signal needs to be kept within an acceptable range

Many guitarists view the use of their compressor as a back end (or out of sight effect) that people don’t need to know about; as it brings balance particularly whilst playing fast legato solos in speed metal & rock music

In the effect chain, a compressor comes before a distortion device. So what about distortion?

Fuzz Overdrive & Distortion

Back in the early days of electric guitar musicians battled to be heard as the size of the venues increased, as a result amplifiers were run at high volumes & the valves were overloaded offering guitarists an exciting new direction to explore, where many sounds become available on stage.

So what's the difference between Fuzz, Overdrive & Distortion?

Fuzz: The fuzz places an emphasis on harmonics, listen to "Foxy Lady" or "Voodoo Child" by Jimi Hendrix or the Beatles' "Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band" or the Rolling Stones' "Satisfaction" for examples.

Overdrive: Simulates the sound of an overdriven valve or tube amp offering a warm alternative to the harsh sound of Fuss.

Distortion: Produces a harder more metallic sound that overdrive placing an emphasis on the upper harmonics.

In addition to pedals, amplifiers without built-in overdrive can produce the overdrive effect by increasing the gain control on the amplifier, experiment with the amount of gain and watch how the tone totally changes.

Controls:

Drive: Adjusts the distortion of the effect unit. Level: Adjusts the output volume of the effect unit. Tone or Bass, Middle and Treble: Adjusts the highs and lows.

Experiment with these settings: Settings will be indicated with regard their position on a 12 hour clock face.

CLEAN BOOST
Drive - 8
Tone - 2
Level - l4

MILD DISTORTION
Drive - 11
Tone - 10
Level - l2

HEAVY CREAMY DISTORTION
Drive - 5
Tone - 10
Level - 12

HEAVY CRUNCH DISTORTION
Drive - 5
Tone - 2
Level - 1

I suggest that you limit these effects when playing or recording rhythm guitar as not to muddy the sound. You can still create a thicker sound through multiple recordings; but as always, experiment then right down or log anything that you like & will potentially use again.

If you find it difficult to cut the lead guitar through the other instruments try lowering the lead guitar's volume & raise the mid & gain frequencies.

Chorus

A chorus modulates the sound, where the dry sound is mixed with a swirling/doubling effect; a stereo chorus offers a wider or more spacious sound. The effect offers a delay between 20 to 80 milliseconds. It's all about experimentation but here are a few setting that you may want to check out.

Controls:

Rate Controls the modulation speed
Depth Control the intensity of the modulation
Delay or Filter This allows control over the time delay between the original & modulated signals.
Effect Level Controls the volume of the modulated signal.

DEEP RICH SOUND
Level - 12
Rate - 10
Depth - 2
Filter - 2

SUBTLE WARM SOUND
Level - 10
Rate - 7
Depth - 5
Filter - 5

Flanger

A Flanger effect allows you to control a slight delay as it is combined with your original signal; the result is a swirling doubled effect, often said to sound like a jet engine. The length of the delay automatically fluctuates where the original signal is mixed with the effect. The delay time used with the flanger is very short around (1 to 20 milliseconds) & this means that the echo is not heard but felt in the effect.

It was Ken Townsend, an engineer at EMI's Abbey Road Studio, who devised Artificial Double Tracking in the spring of 1966 in response to John Lennon’s request to double track without all the hard work. The first song to feature flange was "Tomorrow Never Knows" from Revolver.

Ken created flanging by touching the rim of a tape to slow down the signal, thus changing the pitch of John's voice check out the song, it's a great example of the first use of flanging. The flanger effect is quite similar to the chorus effect, but the chorus uses the option of a longer delay between (30 to 50 milliseconds) and has no feedback. The flanger is best added to the effects loop after distortion & overdrive.

Controls:

Depth: Maximum delay time added to the time you set with the Delay control.

Rate/Speed: Adjusts how quickly the notches move up and down the frequency spectrum.

Delay: Sets the minimum amount of delay.

Feedback/Regeneration: Not offered on all phaser effect units with this you can take a portion of the flanger's output and route it to the input.

Phaser

A phaser mixes an out-of-phase signal with your original signal the result is a spinning or rotary sound. The phaser is similar to a flanger but not so noticeable. The notches in the frequency spectrum of the phaser are created by sending the signal through a group of filters, called allpass filters, before arriving at the output. But the signal needs a certain time to pass through the filters so it is delayed in comparison to the original signal. If you now mix the two signals, the delayed signal competes with frequencies of the original signal much like the flanger where one is delayed for a short time. The phaser must be connected in the effects loop after overdrive & distortion.

Controls:

Rate: Adjusts how often the notches move up and down the frequency spectrum per second.

Depth: Sets how far the notches move up and down.

Feedback/Resonance: You can adjust the phase shifting effect intensity by using feedback (by adding part of the filter output to the input again), this control sets just how much of the filter output is sent to the input again.

Mix/Level: Sets how much of the filter output (the delayed signal) is added to the original.

A phaser is very often used for clean rhythm guitars in pop and funk music. A good example is Lenny Kravitz, are you gonna go my way.

Delay

The delay effect samples the original signal and plays it back delayed to simulate "echo".

Controls:

Delay time: This is the time between original signal and delayed signal.

Feedback: This sets the number of delayed signals or the number of repeats.

Doubling: Use a short delay time (50 milliseconds or less) and cut feedback so only a single delay is produced. The result sounds similar to two guitars playing in unison the result is a bigger or fatter sound.

Tip: You may want to try to keep the direct sound and delayed sound separate for a stereo effect which makes it sound like recording left and right cannels separately.

Reverb: Use about five delays at 100-200 milliseconds and set a low volume and you have a reverb-like sound.

Tip: try setting the delay time to the same as the song tempo where you can play notes at a constant speed and have a delayedsignal right between those notes; it will sound as though you are playing twice as fast. For example play constant quaver or eight notes and have the delay set to repeat your eight notes right between two of your notes the result will be sixteenth notes being played.

Harmony: Using long delay (800 milliseconds or longer) is good for creating harmony; where you play a note and the delay repeats this note at the same time you play a 3rd then the third is played as you play a 5th.

Slapback: Use a short delay time (40 - 120 milliseconds) and no feedback and you have the sort of delay you hear on many rockabilly songs. Generally, setting the delay so that it matches the speed of the song produces a highly musical effect!

This is achieved by the following. Delay time for quarter notes =60/Tempo(bpm). You get the delay in seconds, and then you just multiply or divide that to get the desired note value. For example if you want a 16th note delay at 120 BPM:

60/120=0.5 (500 ms) then divide by 4 (to get 16th)=125ms

Listen to U2's Pride, in the name of love & Brian May's guitar in Brighton Rock.

Controls:

Try the following as examples of slapback delay.

Effect Example 1

Time: 8

Repeats: 8

Volume: 11

Effect Example 2

Time: just before 12

Repeats: just before 12

Volume: 1

Effect Example 3

Time: 1

Repeats: 7

Volume: 5

Delay belongs in the effects loop.

Reverb

A reverb adds the natural acoustic ambience present in rooms through to concert halls. Types of reverb include:

Early Reflections.

Where for a short period after you play a chord or note there is a set of well-defined and directional reflections that are directly related to the room's shape, size, amount of dampening & where the listener is positioned in the room.

Diffuse Reverberation or late reflections

This type of reverb is where the rate of the arriving reflections increase greatly. These reflections are more random and difficult to relate to the physical characteristics of the room. This diffuse reverberation is considered to be the primary factor establishing a room's 'size', and it decays exponentially in good concert halls.

One measure used for the reverb in a room is reverberation time.This is the time it takes for the sound intensity to 1/1000000th of its original value. Longer times mean that the sound stays in the room longer before being absorbed.

Controls:

Pre-delay: Sets the amount of time before the first reverberations of a signal are heard.

Reverb Time: Sets the duration for the reverb.

Effect level: Adjusts the volume of the reverb.

Direct level: Adjusts the volume of the direct signal.Sometimes reverb units also contain controls like High Pass or Low Pass Filters. A special kind of reverb is the Gated Reverb. Here a sound is allowed only a certain number of reflections. After a certain amount of time where the response is cut off (in contrast to a normal reverb where it fades away). This time is the gate time.

If you want to use your amp's overdrive channel, the reverbbelongs in the effect loop. In all cases add the reverb to the chain or loop last.

Order Of Effects In An Effects Chain

Not all amplifiers have an effect loop or some peple prefer not to use them or have not yet learnt how to use them.

Well here's a typical order that you could use for your effects chain, that is between you guitar output & the amp input.

1. Octaver
2. Auto Wah
3. Compressor
4. Wah
5. Volume Pedal
6. Distortion/Overdrive
7. Equalizer
8. Flanger
9. Phaser or Pitch Shift
10. Delay
11. Chorus
12. Reverb

Effects That Belong Before Amplifier

1. Octaver
2. Auto Wah
3. Compressor
4. Wah
5. Volume Pedal
6. Distortion/Overdrive

Effects That Belong In The Effects Loop

If you are going to use overdrive or distortion then the following effects should be placed into you amp's effect loop.

1. Equalizer
2. Flanger
3. Phaser or Pitch Shift
4. Delay
5. Chorus
6. Reverb

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