How do you write lead guitar parts?
I am pretty far off in the music world and I understand mostly everything in basic music theory. But my question was how to write lead guitar parts. I like post-hardcore bands like Memphis May Fire and Hands Like Houses just to give an idea of my music style. I've heard of the 12 bar blues and know that you solo in the A minor pentatonic scale with it. when in comes down to in how do they get A minor pentatonic? Why not E minor pentatonic or D minor pentatonic (the other chords the 12 bar blues consists of). If I play a G-C-D-Em what scale would I solo over or is a certain key. If it is a key then what is the fastest way to find the key your in when writing music for a band?
Answers & Comments
Verified answer
Like the others have said, the key of the song determines the lead you play. So in your example you used the chord progression G-C-D-Em. The first chord of the progression in a songs verse is usually the key. So in that progression the key would be G. If you want the lead in that song to sound bluesy, you would play lead in G minor. If you wanted it to be more upbeat sounding you would play your lead in G.
So now how do you know where to start on the fretboard and what notes to play? Simple...by knowing your scales. If I were you I would learn the first position of the pentatonic scale for starters. The fingering pattern for this is below starting on the 6th string. These are fingers, not frets.
1----4
1---3
1---3
1---3
1----4
1----4
So if you started this pattern on the 5th fret of the 6th string here is what frets you would be playing...again starting with the 6th string. This would be the A minor scale and you know this because your first finger is starting on the A note. If your pinky was on the A then it would be an A major scale...see next example.
5----8 6th string
5---7
5---7
5---7
5----8
5----8 1st string
To know what key to play in you just find that note on the 6th string. So lets use the example of a song in the key of A. The A note for the sixth string is on the 5th fret. If you want to play a lead in the key of A then put your pinky on the 5th fret (A). Now follow that 1st pattern from the pentatonic scale. You can play any note that falls in that pattern. So the frets you could use are below.
2----5 6th string
2---4
2---4
2---4
2----5
2----5 1st string
Of course this is just the first position of the pentatonic scale, there are 4 more. By knowing all of the positions you will know what notes to play all over the fretboard. For now just practice playing some lead using that first scale position.
find the root note then play modes of the relative minor & major scales.
pentatonic gets really boring after a while
You solo in the key of the progession. In this case, just start on a G note and move around. See what sounds good. You'll get the hang of it soon. If you're not that instinctive of a player, look up major and minor scales and memorize them.
Like people before said, Mostly practice your scales. scales will come in handy. I enjoy pentatonic scales. good for blues/rock
Same as any instrument. You play the song over and over again until it's memorized! And yes, it can sometimes become boring, but it's worth it in the end! Edit: I guess you could repeat the same thing over and over, but it would get REALLY boring for you and the audience. You should just experiment with the parts until you feel really excited about what you've created.