Tips for the aspiring lead player

[dave_mc]

^
Totally, totally agree, Dave.  PDT_015

Although my own bends and vibrato are, undoubtedly, as sucky as they come.

:drink:

[maxingwell]

start slow.


only bit of advice i can give, cos pretty much all was said hehe.

Totally agree. I remember years ago reading someone (I think it was Marty Friedman) saying that you shouldn't aim to become Steve vai within a year. Best to give yourself small achievable targets.
And if you get stuck in a rutt, its OK to not pick up a guitar for a week or so. You will come back to it refreshed and want to practice again.
Good luck!

[_tom_]

make sure your bends are in-tune, and make sure you have a kickass vibrato.

That's about it. Nomatter what you play, if your bends are in tune and your vibrato rules, it sounds like you're amazing, in total control of your instrument, and are holding back and playing tastefully.

Too many players now try to play fast, and have totally sucky intonation and vibrato. If your vibrato sounds like you had a stroke 3 days previously and your fretting arm still doesn't respond properly to what you tell it to do, that's bad.

I'm not saying chops don't matter, they do- but you'll sound much more individual and a much better musician if you have a good vibrato- smooth, controlled, and soulful.

Agreed. For examples of players with awesome vibrato, Paul Kossoff, Marty Friedman and Michael Schenker are my favourites I think. Well they're the only ones I can think of at the minute that stand out.

A good intonation exercise I found is to fret a note then go 2 frets down and bend up to the same note. I do this down the neck quite often and it does help.

[gingataff]

A good intonation exercise I found is to fret a note then go 2 frets down and bend up to the same note. I do this down the neck quite often and it does help.

If you check out Larry Carlton's first instruction video(now on DVD! :D ) he shows an exercise playing a scale using bends to practise bending in tune, very similar to what you describe above.

As for vibrato, I think I have something in common with Yngwie (apart from we both like eating cake), I really don't like Kirk Hammett's vibrato. It's too fast and nervous sounding, a little bit like Tony Iommi's infact, but somehow it suits Iommi's style and just sounds a bit poor with Hammett. I try to make a conscious effort do it slow and smooth, as it were :oops:

[TwilightOdyssey]

^ Well, your vibrato should not be the same all the time, either. It has to fit the tempo and feel of the song!

[Kepu]

Hvae you guys tried to bend slowly a note full step from like... 9th fret of the G string and then use whammy bar to make a fast vibrato, it sounds very goofy :P

It is possible to do without the whammy by doing vibrato at the same time but it is pretty much more difficult

[gingataff]

^ Well, your vibrato should not be the same all the time, either. It has to fit the tempo and feel of the song!

Very true, I think thats the ultimate point, being able to control vibrato/bending/etc to suit the mood. I don't claim to have good vibrato but I try to work on it. I sometimes like that superwide neo-classical shred style vibrato but it has to be in the right situation to be tasteful
 :)
I remember years ago watching Midge Ure on BBC's Rockschool programme and he said that if you play a note and immediately add vibrato its a bit cheesy but if you play the note, hold it, and then add vibrato it's much more atmospheric (of course this depends on the context of the song). It's a good tip, he's not noted as a guitarist these days but he knows his stuff.

[dave_mc]

^ Well, your vibrato should not be the same all the time, either. It has to fit the tempo and feel of the song!

yep. :drink:

A good intonation exercise I found is to fret a note then go 2 frets down and bend up to the same note. I do this down the neck quite often and it does help.

If you check out Larry Carlton's first instruction video(now on DVD! :D ) he shows an exercise playing a scale using bends to practise bending in tune, very similar to what you describe above.

As for vibrato, I think I have something in common with Yngwie (apart from we both like eating cake), I really don't like Kirk Hammett's vibrato. It's too fast and nervous sounding, a little bit like Tony Iommi's infact, but somehow it suits Iommi's style and just sounds a bit poor with Hammett. I try to make a conscious effort do it slow and smooth, as it were :oops:

yep, hammett was pretty much who I was referring to when i made my rather tasteless stroke reference, only I was too classy to name names.


woops!  :oops:  :lol: