An Ignoble Experiment: 8 Ways to Make Your Playing "Smokin"

2016/04/30

8 Ways to Make Your Playing "Smokin"

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8 Ways to Make Your Playing "Smokin"

hey whats up...I'm pumped today caused we're having a backyard BBQ! Might have to bust out the ol' geetar and strum some tunes for the company we're having over.

Before I get to the topic du jour, let me invite you to check out my ultimate guitar song collection, because guess what -- that's what I'm going to be referring to myself to prepare a few tunes :)

ULTIMATE GUITAR SONG COLLECTION

Ok, now instead of a video lesson today, I thought I would just give you a few tips on lead guitar.

Something I was just thinking about yesterday is a list of techniques to make your leads (especially your blues leads) more smokin.

Here goes:

1. 3-note-per-string pentatonics.

Sounds fancy but its pretty straight forward once you delve into it. This is really the easiest way to "shred" on pentatonics since going 2 notes a string and playing really fast requires too much jumping from string to string.

I go over advanced stuff like this in

SUPERCHARGED SOLOING MADE SIMPLE

2. Using open strings

One of the easiest things to do. For example in the key of E, use the 3rd fret and 5th fret along with the open E string (top or bottom) and create some nice licks with speed.

3. Fast picking licks

One fundamental skill that is brain-dead easy is just fast picking on a single note. Sounds lame in isolation, but if you pick a single note fast for a measure and and then move to another note or two, it creates a real fierce lick.Van Halen uses this one all the time.

4. Pulloffs and Hammerons.

There's all kinds of ways to use these basic techniques. The point is, you don't have to work on picking speed. Just take advantage of the easier way to play fast. For example, take the basic pentatonic box and play some basic licks on the G and B strings. Now speed it up and try moving it around or combining it with other notes.

5. Diatonics

This is just a fancy word to mean the major scale, minor scale, or the modes. It's actually easier to shred on these vs pentatonics since the notes are closer together. You can take a very simple pattern like frets 7, 8, and 10 on a single string and go back and forth and you're getting into that sound.

6. Drilling pentatonic scales.

This is the probably least efficient way to build speed fast, but its still a fundamental that you can (and should) work on. Focus on playing comfortably and cleanly.

7. Chicken pickin (hybrid picking)

Don't be afraid to use your pick and fingers. For instance, pick notes on the G string , holding the pick between the thumb and first finger, and pluck notes on the B string with your middle finger.

For more on this , check out:

AMERICANA GUITAR

8. Arpeggios

I'm not talking about those multi-octave sweep arpeggios that the shredder kiddies are doing. Insted, try just a one octave arpeggio and combine it with pentatonics.

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If you don't have a clue with what I'm talking about it with some of this stuff, or you want to go deeper, check out Killer Guitar Control Secrets.

I cover all of this (and much more) in detail:

KILLER GUITAR CONTROL SECRETS

Claude

P.S. I'll have a VIDEO lesson for you TOMORROW with another great technique I didn't even mention.

Take care!

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