Welcome again! As always, if you're not warmed up, you should. I've given warm-ups in the first two lessons. Here's another one, my favorite. It really improves dexterity and chromatic playing.
Four times on each string, play these fingerings:
1234 2134 3124 4123 1243 2143 3142 4132 1324 2314 3214 4213 1342 2341 3241 4231 1423 2413 3412 4312 1432 2431 3421 4321for example, the first one starts like this:
|-1-2-3-4-1-2-3-4-1-2-3-4-1-2-3-4---------------------| |-----------------------------------1-2-3-4-1-2-3-4---| etc. |-----------------------------------------------------| |-----------------------------------------------------| |-----------------------------------------------------| |-----------------------------------------------------|This lesson will focus on beginning lead techniques.
Start out by fretting your first finger on the fifth fret on the third string. Now pick the note and slam your third finger onto the seventh fret while still keeping your first finger anchored (you'll find out how hard). This is called a hammer-on.
Now you're going to do the exact opposite. Fret both the fifth and seventh fret on the same string. Now pick the string and take your third finger off the fretboard. But as you do, sort-of pluck the string with that finger. This is a pull-off.
Now put your first, second, and third fingers on the fifth, sixth, and seventh frets on the G string, respectively. Now push the string, or bend it up toward the low E string. This is appropriately named a bend. You can do a bend either way with any finger, but this is easiest because you have two other fingers pushing, too.
Now that you know some basic lead techniques, it's time to make your own leads.
This pattern is known as the Minor Pentatonic scale, shown in tab and a fretboard diagram:
|---------------------5-8------- ------ |-----------------5-8----------- OOOOOO 5th |-------------5-7--------------- |||||| |---------5-7------------------- |OOO|| |-----5-7----------------------- O|||OO |-5-8--------------------------- ||||||It is commonly reffered to as the 'box' pentatonic pattern because of its appearance. It is used a lot in rock, metal, and blues.
Playing in a certain key is exactly like moving the E form bar chords. Take the lowest note in the scale and use the note chart to find the note on the 6th string and key. For example, the pattern above starts on the fifth fret, an A, so play that scale over a chord progression that starts with Am. Here is the scale in the key of Gm:
|---------------------3-6------- ------ |-----------------3-6----------- OOOOOO 3rd |-------------3-5--------------- |||||| |---------3-5------------------- |OOO|| |-----3-5----------------------- O|||OO |-3-6--------------------------- ||||||But don't just play the notes in order, link different ones together. Like this:
|--------------------------3---3---5-- |----------------------------3---3---- |-5-3---3-------3---5--3-------------- |-----5-----3-5---3------------------- |------------------------------------- |-------------------------------------And be creative! Throw in some bends and hammer-ons and pull-offs.
This is the major pentatonic scale. It is used over major chord progressions. Here it is in A major, root on the 5th fret, 6th string:
|---------------------5-7--------- ------ |-----------------5-7------------- |OOO|| |-------------4-6----------------- O|||OO 5th |---------4-7--------------------- |||||| |-----4-7------------------------- OOOOOO |-5-7----------------------------- ||||||Here's something interesting: If you play the same _notes_ a few frets down, you get a pattern that looks like this:
------ OOOOOO |||||| |OOO|| O|||OO 5thIn the key of A major, the root is on the 5th fret and it's the same pattern as the minor pentatonic scale. This pattern could also be used over F#m, root on the second fret. So you can use your favorite minor pentatonic licks over major chords if you play them three frets down.