Introduction To Lead Guitar. Part 2

Table of Contents:

1. Great lead guitarists
2. Great rhythm guitarists
3. Homework assignment
4. Songs to try
5. Warm up exercises for beginners

Great Lead Guitarists

Because of the glamor they can often carry, lead guitarists can be an inspirational bunch. Below are some clips from legendary lead guitarists in some of their most memorably work. Note how the best lead guitar work is also fueled by a strong sense of rhythm and timing; ultimately, being a successful guitarist will requires cultivating skill on with your lead hand on the fretboard and with your rhythm hand over the sound hole.

Below are three examples of exceptional lead guitar work by some of music's finest guitarists. Listen to the clips below to help gain a feel for how lead guitar can play its part in music.

Purple Haze.
Arguably the most revolutionary guitar player to receive critical acclaim, Jimi Hendrix's incendiary style of guitar playing changed rock music permanently. Check out the video below of the classic Jimi Hendrix song "Purple Haze" for a sample of some of his lead guitar and solo riffs.

Stairway To Heaven.
Jimmy Page, the guiding force behind the legendary hard rock band Led Zeppelin, penned a remarkable solo for the song "Stairway to Heaven" off the band's fourth album. Note how towards the end of the song the lead guitar works in tandem with Robert Plant's screeching vocals to drastically re-energize the song till its completion.

The Thrill Is Gone.
Blues great B.B. King illustrates the power of blues music for soloing purposes. King's mastery of the blues, particularly from a lead guitar perspective, has influenced countless guitar greats in various genres. Check out the video below of him playing his song "The Thrill is Gone" with another guitarist known for his lead guitar capabilities, Eric Clapton.

Great Rhythm Guitarists

As noted earlier, rhythm guitarists provide the backbone of a song's structure. While often overshadowed by their more flamboyant and theatrical counterparts who play lead guitar, the rhythm guitarist is indispensable in the process of creating a great song. Below are some song clips of the most memorable work from the most critically acclaimed rhythm guitarists of our time.

Angeles.
Prior to his tragic death, Elliott Smith had established himself as an immensely talented musician with an uncanny sense of rhythm: he played virtually all instruments on a number of his albums, and utilized rhythms that were instantly infectious. The video clip below from a live performance of his song "Angeles" is only of many examples of Smith's rhythmic brilliance.

Satellite.
The Dave Matthews Band as a whole is a remarkably rhythmic bunch; the band has managed to merge country, folk, blues, and rock stylings into a single coherent groove. Dave Matthews himself blazes the way on the song "Satellite." Check out the video clip below of a live performance of "Satellite" by Dave Matthews Band in 1995.

Johnny B. Goode.
Regarded as the "Father of Rock n' Roll," Chuck Berry's unique rhythm was a revolutionary departure from traditional blues music at the time. Berry had taken blues music and given it an entirely new feel. "Johnny B. Goode" is one example of this concept in action. Check out an amazing video of the song below, in which Chuck Berry plays "Johnny B. Goode" with John Lennon.

Homework Assignment

To help cultivate both your fretboard and rhythm skills, try playing the riffs below.

Riff #1 [sound clip]

E|--0-2-4-0-0-2-4-0---------------------------|
B|------------------4-2-0-2-4-0----4-2-0-2-0--|
G|--------------------------------------------|
D|--------------------------------------------|
A|--------------------------------------------|
E|--------------------------------------------|

Riff #2 [sound clip]

E|--------------------------------------|
B|--------------------------------------|
G|------4--------4-------4--------------|
D|----4---4----4---4---4---4----2----4--|
A|--2--------2-------2------------------|
E|--------------------------------------|

Riff #3 [sound clip]

E|-------------------------------|
B|-------------------------------|
G|--0--0-0-----------------------|
D|---------2--2-2--------0--0-0--|
A|----------------3--3-3---------|
E|-------------------------------|

4. Songs To Try

When I Come Around [video clip]
A classic punk rock song by Green Day, the quintessential punk rock band. In the tablature below, you'll see notes marked as "x". This is simply an indication to play the string muted. Playing the string muted simply involves resting your fingers on the guitar string as opposed to actively pushing it down on the fretboard. When muting the string, the result is a sound that that is percussive and atonal as opposed to a musical note. Below is an audio clip that demonstrates the sound of a muted string.

Below is the tablature for the Green Day song "When I Come Around." If you're finding the tablature too difficult to play initially, try playing just the notes marked on the sixth string. As your fingers strengthen and your technique develops, you'll be able to move on to play the full chords easily. Be sure to check out the video as well -- it offers a thorough explanation of how to play the song.

E|------------------------------------------|
B|------------------------------------------|
G|------------------------------------------|
D|--4-4-4-xx-11-11-11-xx-13-13--9---9-9-xx--|
A|--4-4-4-xx-11-11-11-xx-13-13--9---9-9-xx--|
E|--2-2-2-xx-9--9--9--xx-11-11--7---7-7-xx--|

Seven Nation Army [sound clip, video clip]
First bursting on to the scene in the mid-90s, the White Stripes have established themselves as a modern rock band with a sound highly reminiscent of classic rock groups. The song "Seven Nation Army" is prime example as to why this is. Below is a partial tablature and corresponding audio excerpt from the song. Be sure to have your speakers turn on, and please allow a few seconds for the video to load.

E|------------------------|
B|------------------------|
G|------------------------|
D|------------------------|
A|------------------------|
E|--7----7-10-7-5-3----2--|

Iron Man [sound clip, video clip]
Before launching his solo career, Ozzy Osbourne fronted the British hard rock band Black Sabbath in the early '70s. "Iron Man" is perhaps the band's most prominent song. The slashes ("/") represent slides -- an advanced technique in which the guitarist slides his finger from first fret noted to the second fret noted without strumming the guitar again. Slides are covered in greater detail later in the Actoguitar curriculum. If you're having difficulty playing the riff noted above, try playing just the bass note of the respective chords. For example, the first chord calls for playing the seventh fret/sixth string and the ninth fret/fifth string; try dropping the fifth string and playing just the sixth if you're having difficulty. For the remainder of the song, try playing just the notes marked on the fifth string. With practice, you'll be able to play the piece with full chords in due time.

E|-------------------------------------------|
B|-------------------------------------------|
G|-------------------------------------------|
D|-----7--7/9-9--12-11-12-11-12-11--7-7/9-9--|
A|--9--5--5/7-7--10-9--10-9--10-9---5-5/7-7--|
E|--7----------------------------------------|

Stan [sound clip, video clip]
The Bass Brothers, the duo that did the vast majority of production work on Eminem's legendary sophomore effort The Marshall Mathers LP, penned a very rhythmic beat for what quickly became one of Eminem's signature songs, "Stan." The piece below is actually played on a bass guitar in the song, but can easily be transcribed for guitar. Riff one is played three times, followed by riff two being played once. Then the entire sequence is repeated throughout the song.

Riff 1
E|------------------:----------------|
B|------------------:----------------| 
G|------------------:----------------|
D|------------------:-4--------------|
A|----------7-----7-:----------------|
E|--4-----4---------:---------7---6--|

Riff 2
E|-----------------:-----------------|
B|-----------------:-----------------|
G|-----------------:-----------------|
D|-----------------:-----------------|
A|---------7-----7-:-8-------7-------|
E|-4-----4---------:-------------7-6-|

Warm Up Exercises For Beginners

When you're just starting out, stregthening your fingers is something you may need to focus on. Here is a great exercise for getting warmed up, and for your strengthening your fingers as well. Try to play along with the video below.

ActoGuitar's purpose is to help people learn to play guitar, and to help experienced guitarists with professional ambitions reach their aspirations. Be sure to check out ActoGuitar website at this location.

POSTED: 11/03/2006 - 08:50 am

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Comments

[shhaannt]

nice but some of the videos aren't up

[sumfears]

Yea not bad. Would help if the other half of the vids. worked, but still good lesson!

[Knives490]

great lesson, put together good (except some of the videos arent up), and I loved the John Lennon/ Chuck Berry duet.

[ChuckDee]

Very nice tutorial

[B33D13Z]

nice 1! plz work on the vidz

[Jsten419]

pretty nice

[Barbapapa]

thank you i learn a lot i'm from philippines

[godofthesunn]

Not bad it gave a good introduction to lead, however i was looking for more difficult examples that i could practice.

[FearxIsxFatal]

yeah, this is not really a good introduction to LEAD. maybe GUITAR in general, but not lead. 7/10.

[Brandon_leigh]

yep 8/10

[cusic]

pretty good lesson, i'd agree that its more of a guitar introduction than a lead introduction, 8/10

[fingersofflame]

I don't particularly care too much for this lesson, I don't feel like all that much is really being taught, it's good for a beginner and it will definitely get you on the road to being a lead guitarist, but I don't see anything that could help a current lead guitarist expand his knowledge and techinque...I still gave it a ten though;

[fingersofflame]

edit that first part to "I don't particularly care too much for this series of lessons(on lead guitar)"

[guitardude1039]

wat a bummer i wanted to see purple haze and stairway to heaven .. good lesson though.

[skywater]

wow that really helped me now i can get done with my school work.

[simmons100]

i like it

[\,.robbie.,/]

none of the vids or souds work why!?

[asdf123]

I have a question. Why does my electric sound like an acoustic XP.

Checked.

[ragflesh]

all are old skul style!great awsome!

[lausadsilicis]

liked the When I Come Around clip

[halfsmile]

nice lessons... but some vids aren't up. nice job though.

[aguynamedlarry]

damn chuck berrys one weird guy

[TheGuitaristMan]

half the videos don't work but nice lesson man.

[MINI_METAL_MAN]

good lesson

[dumbwolf]

Nice man

[Billie236]

I Simply Love it.

[vainhero]

If you wanna listen to solo guitar don't listen to anything modern. Nowadays guitar just backs vocal.

Stevie Ray Vaughan is definitely the king of lead blues rock.

[Billie236]

Sweet Except The Videos I was looking forward to those :'(

[bullykai]

Going to learn how to play "when I come around"
thanx

[bullykai]

Seven Nation Army - I thought : 5 5 8 5 3 1 0
lightly mutted strings

[TomRennardson]

It was useful, just some of the videos don't work ):

[bovver_boy]

fingers of flame

[StratoSlayer]

asdf123 wrote:

I have a question. Why does my electric sound like an acoustic XP.

Dude get a new amp or change the setting on it, oh yeah and make sure it's plugged in.

[Pingis_Or_Death]

Very useful indeed

[SOullf0ofilmnt]

salamat!!! yesh i am also filipino, but with weak fingers. hahaha!!!

[y2jfreak]

i must try this when i get home, i think this can really help beginners.

[dgme92]

whoa, i cant believe i never heard that black sabbath song before!
haha! well, great lesson, i know it helped me anyway...!!!

[Broken-pick]

Are you gonna have a Part 3?

[zamacona]

is there a continuation to this ?
greeat lesson it helpeed me alot
workk on thee videozz :P

[astonmartini]

Very nicely done. However, Green Day is hardly "the quintessential punk rock band." That honour belongs to the Sex Pistols.

[bighugejake]

Good lesson for beginers but doesnt teach enough about how to acctually form a solo. ex: no blues scale (E G A #A B D e "E Blues") or Pentatonic (same with no A#. Begining guitarist who want to learn how to solo need to know these easy scales as a priority in order to play lead guitar nicely and properly.

[Rooster666]

Dave matthews? Are you kidding? What about James Hetfield. He is THE best rhythm guitarist. Or Tony iommi? He can do both.

[rusrec00]

godofthesunn wrote:

Not bad it gave a good introduction to lead, however i was looking for more difficult examples that i could practice.

ROFL! Thus the name Introduction to lead. :P

[wildestdreams]

i wanna learn to play lead and you tell me to play green day. this should be introduction to rythm cuz punk is 110% rythm guitar -_-

[AngryGoldfish]

LOL who needs to pay 15 pound an hour when you have the internet to teach you!!...i tend not to tell all my students how much you can learn on the internet...ill go out of business!!!keep up the good work cause everything you show me in these lessons i can then show my students and buy new guitars...and of course live!!!

[BBCShelton]

The lesson was put together very well. Great choices on the music selections for practice. I think that it did sway away from "Intro to lead" closer to "Intro to Guitar" though.

[Maverickbt2]

wow, that was really well done.

[Hunter_SD]

I rated this lesson a 1 based merely on you calling Green Day "the quintessential punk rock band."

What a joke.

[leonbull]

great starter.....that guitar strengthening technique is a great help to anyone who wants to improve finger dexterity.

[Lost_Rose]

most the videos are no longer available

[holelotsand46]

cool but sux most vids don't work
i really like the last vid- warm up exercise
it really helps. thanx man post a #3

[kenshinsrain]

YEH UNFORTNATLY SOME OF THE VIS DONT WORK PLEASE FIX PLEASE AND THANKYOU

[ACB]

WOW THOSE WERE AWESOME VID'S I LEARNED ALOT

[Daniel Pearce]

Very professional - good if you's put some Jimi Hendrix

[Daniel Pearce]

Ooo - u sure did.

[Daniel Pearce]

My mistake

[Daniel Pearce]

Try this: It's out of school of rock:

E|--1--4--4-6-6--9-8-9-8-
9--4-4--6-6--3--1|

[Chumblie]

The lesson was a bit beginner for me, but still ill applaud you for showing me that clapton/bb king Thrill is gone duet, immense.

[bassplayer808]

Rs1918x2004rS: my ears just jizzed all over the place

[fenderbullet33]

nice lesson.lots of the vids didnt work, and this was a little to beginner for me.

[handlerb]

how is this helpful?...you posted videos and commented on them. I can teach intro to lead guitar in 2 words. Pentatonics and phrasing: done.

[Josher.K]

Very nice, would help newbies alot, I learned some songs XD Ironman. I'll check around the site for the solo and stuff though.
_____

asdf123 wrote:

I have a question. Why does my electric sound like an acoustic XP.

Look for something that says Drive or OverDrive or Distortion on your amp. Also, the little leverish thing on your guitar that makes flicky noises, push it downwards.

[ash lw]

Seven Nation Army - I thought : 5 5 8 5 3 1 1

[ash lw]

wait its : 5 5 8 5 3 1 0

[deprivedwriter]

You're just playing it one full step down from what he has tabbed here...that's all

[gitarmorten]

the man hwo plays "when i come araound" is tuned a half tone down.
why?

[Bendrix]

he uses a slide for the solo if u were going to go and learn that bit

[uchiha itachi]

very informative..keep up d good work

[mygibsonrocks]

the tabs and sound clip on riff #2 are different. it starts on the d string not the a string as the tab shows.

[hunter harpole]

Not good. Videos do not work at all except for the google video.

[hunter harpole]

[guitarherolol]

dont like it the video 4 when i come around says g5 d5 em c5 and they start wid b5 .wat the hell?

[guitarherolol]

=]

[Antonio182]

AWESOME!

[Ibanezax372]

Your kidding me, this is total junk. It doesn't teach anything at all. And you even go off topic into rhythm guitar for a while!!!!! A solid beginner lead guitar lesson should start out with the Pentatonic Box. Sorry, good try but this just was not good at all.

[warlockking]

Ok for someone who just picked up a guitar and spent the last 5 hours tuning it, but it doesn't really show how to actually write and perform solos. Good for beginners with high speed internet.

Ibanezax372 wrote:

Your kidding me, this is total junk. It doesn't teach anything at all. And you even go off topic into rhythm guitar for a while!!!!! A solid beginner lead guitar lesson should start out with the Pentatonic Box. Sorry, good try but this just was not good at all.

I tend to agree. I found very little in this article that could actually qualify as "instruction."

Checked.

[Michael056]

i read both the part 1 and part 2 and i have a understanding of the rhytm guitar playing style but i dont understand about the lead guitar playing style like i know what it is that they do but it doesnt say how to play that style like you did with the rhythm guitar playing style could you clarify this for me? PM me or just post a lesson that people can learn how to play lead from

[fatstrat08]

as i am just starting out the tutorials really help...i enjoy practicing and your lessons really help out!!! keep it up

[stevodadidleo]

i liked watching the videos (well the ones that worked) but the lesson in general wasnt really helpful, but well done, im not dissing the lesson keep it up but this particular lesson was a bit dissapointing. cheers.

[Polishboy656]

easier to play irom man like this

e|
B|-
G|-
D|-5--7xx7/9--9-9--12\11-12\11-12\11
--7--7/9--9-9---|
A|-2--5xx5/7--7-7--10\9--10\9--10\9-
--5--5/7--7-7---|
E|-

[Polishboy656]

lol

[Polishboy656]

D|-5--7xx7/9--9-9--12\11-12\11-12\11

A|-2--5xx5/7--7-7--10\9--10\9--10\9-

--7--7/9--9-9---|
--5--5/7--7-7---|

more ;ike this :p

[WhiteStripesIII]

Good lesson, but

First bursting on to the scene in the mid-90s, the White Stripes

They formed in 1997, released their first album in 1999 and broke threw in 2001.

Plus the Seven Nation Army riff is right, but played on the A-string

[mcnutty93]

ello sheliah. Nice

[e-tab]

nice

[zhawk96]

nice.

[Blak_Strat101]

all the videos are 'no longer available'

[RandyRIP]

This hardly qualifies as an introduction to 'lead' guitar. I am rather disappointed, Beginners may find use out of this, but I have played rythem for 2 years and this is all 'review' if even that at all. Sorry this lesson gets a 5 for hardly touching lead guitar, but deserves a 5.

[BlitzAcez]

So when you use the fourth fretboard do you use your little finger?

so E ---2----4-----2----4--- would be middle finger than little finger? seems the most hard choice or is this good to practice.

[Angel Of Sin]

yep, because a guitarist should make efficient use of all their fingers

[==idOiTaLl==]

this is a shitty excuse for a intro to lead guitar but watever you say...to all the beginners:there are much better lessons on here just look a little harder!!!keep it up!!!!!

[kyle8407]

oh god this HURTS MY BRAIN AAAAAGGGGHHHH can anyone simply simplify

[texzephyr]

GOOD LESSON, HELPED ME WIT WEN I COME AROUND, HARDLY A LEAD LESSON THOUGH, ITS MORE JUS RIFFS, ANOTHER ONE SOON?

[teenagegitarist]

um...
i still dont know who to do tabs...

[Shredderofdeath]

dude thanks a ton! this kicks ass! post more lessons like this and name them intro to rythm guitar if u have to, but this is a kick ass lesson!! morE MORE

[Shredderofdeath]

btws i got another ques, soryr, but my guitar does not sound lie when i come around instead it sounds crap even with the overdrive button pressed, it's a WA15G amp, how can i get a good metal /rock sound out of it

[rockinrolo]

I liked the bio on the guitarists and the little excerpts from songs.
It wasnt really a lesson, it just gave you some info really.

[marcoRAKIZTA]

suck, the videos are not working hehehe...very nc lessons its like my dick..huh!

[slice101]

thanks for the help(not sarcasm)

[Soah]

Nice! thats a way better way to play iron man.. i'm usually playin it like...

--0-33--44---78787878--33--44--
-----
-----
-- ---
-----
-----

but i came up with that myself :P

[Klown100400]

the tab for iron man is wrong and so is soahs

[Sy_B]

Yes I think the Iron man tab sounds better like Soah's but with 0 33 44 777 0 3 44

Thanks for the basis on that Soah, the article version didn't sound like that at all. Then again I'm a beginner and the distortion wasn't on.

And Daniel Pierce.....that did not remind me of school of rock, what song is it?

[deepti_d_star]

im unable to get the riff can some one explain

[JimMRocks]

B.B. King's the shizzit. The Thrill is Gone Rocks

[spender1951]

pity none ofthe vids work.....

[AddiDude]

Thanks bro.. that was awesome....

[08L1V10N]

the When I Come Around tab is totally wrong