Seven Secrets to Help You Master the Lead Guitar
Checkout these simple secrets that top guitar players use to master their craft.

The best thing about the lead guitar is that the fans love it. With the mazy runs and solos, the lead guitar takes a song from nice to electrifying. It’s not essential to the basic musical structure of the song, but it helps bring the song to life. If you get good at playing the lead guitar and learn how to own a stage, there’s no limit to what you could achieve. The lead guitar is often the difference between a good musician and a star.

While I can’t take you from beginner to pro in a single article, I have studied many great lead guitarists and collated a list of tips and secrets they used. In this article, I’ll share seven of them with you. If you want to become an awesome lead guitarist, you’d best pay attention.

Master the blues scale

At first, you’ll learn how to play the blues scale with the sixth string. Once you master that, you’ll move to the fifth string. Most people stop there, but you can’t be most people. You have to go beyond the sixth and fifth strings. You must be able to play the blues scale all over your guitar so well that you can move between strings at will.

Being able to move around your guitar as you please allows you to play as spontaneously as you want. This unlocks a different level of creativity.

Master the pentatonic scale

The reward for a job well done is more work. That saying holds true even with mastering lead guitar in that mastering one level unlocks the next level. The minor pentatonic scale is mostly made up of the blues scale, and that’s where some people choose to stop. To push even further than that, you must master the major pentatonic scale.

You’ll understand your guitar on a much deeper level and you’ll be able to play even crazier solos. If you’re a beginner, this isn’t for you yet but keep it in mind for later.

Copy, spin, and create

As with all things that require creativity, the best way to get your juices flowing is to consume the kind of art you’d like to create. So consume as much music as you need to and learn how to play the songs note for note. Practice until you can play the songs without error, then engage your creativity by putting your spin on it.

Make creative covers of your favorite songs, and make even better versions than the original. Once you hack that, you can move to make your own music from scratch.

Pick mentors

There’s this Gerard Butler movie I enjoyed so much called Hunter Killer. At some point in the movie, Butler is about to steer his submarine through a stretch of Russian waters that’s heavily mined and impossible to pass through undetected. Butler has a Russian captain on board, however, and enlists his help. What do you think happened? They sailed through almost effortlessly because they knew all the obstacles ahead and exactly how to get past them. That’s what a mentor will do for you.

I always recommend having at least two mentors. One of them should be your favorite guitarist of all time, your hero. Pick the one person whose playing you never get used to, a guitarist whose playing always blows your mind. If you pick right, chances are you won’t have direct access to this person. That’s a problem because one-on-one help is what will help you truly crack it.

To fix this, you need a second mentor, one you have physical access to. It’s this second mentor who will actually teach you, so pick wisely. You can have more than two mentors, but don’t get too carried away and pick every guitarist you’ve ever watched on YouTube.

Master acoustic guitar

The acoustic guitar is the first step to mastering the lead guitar. It’s not as electric, pun intended, but learning how to play acoustic guitar will give you the perfect foundation. You’ll learn about chords, fingerpicking, strumming, and melodies. The lead guitar will mask plenty of errors you’ll make as a beginner and you don’t want that. Build the right habits with the acoustic, then make the switch.

If you’re hellbent on playing rock music, however, you don’t really need to start with an acoustic guitar because the styles are

Play different genres

I know you love rock. I know you’d rather play electronic music. Whatever your drug is, I get that you always want to play it. That said, when learning how to play guitar, it’s best you stay flexible. First of all, learn the differences between each gender on a deeper level than the layman. Once you understand this, play all of them. Learn how to transition from one genre to another. This versatility will help you much later in your journey.

Whether pop, rock, or any other genre, it pays to be good at all genres. This makes you more valuable and gives you a wider range of abilities. Don’t restrict yourself.

Rhythm vs lead

In a band or choir, the lead singer plays a different role from the backup singers. The backup singers stick to a script and sing the fundamental song. The lead singer, however, is a wildcard that brings the performance to life. The solo vocal runs perfectly timed to fit in with the backup singers are what take a song from nice to special. Think of the rhythm guitar as the backup singer, and the lead guitar as the lead singer.

Once you understand what it takes to play rhythm and have built the appropriate discipline, you are ready to play lead. You’ll slot into your role seamlessly because you’ll understand exactly what your bandmates are playing, and how to make the best use of them.

Final Thoughts

If you want to move from a decent musician to a star, playing the lead guitar is one of the best ways to do it. There are many more tips and secrets to share, but I trust these seven will help you start your journey to becoming the Jimi Hendrix of our time.

You can head over to Your Guitar Academy on YouTube for a proper course on playing the lead guitar. Godspeed, my friend.