LEAD GUITAR: No Theory - No Thinking - Just Playing
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- Опубліковано 29 січ 2016
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Andrew Wasson of Creative Guitar Studio answers questions from off of his Guitar Blog website...
Q). I want to get right into playing great lead guitar, but I don't know any theory. Is it possible to know how to solo without knowing anything about keys or a songs theory? I saw on Dave Mustaine's Twitter that he's self-taught and can't read notes. I think I'm going to do guitar like that and be like him too. I just can't understand how he plays so fast without knowing theory? Can you help me?
Mike - Bloomington, Indiana USA
A). Jamming on riffs in the early years of learning how to solo is some of the most fun that a guitarist can have on this instrument. And, the best part, is that there is no need to initially invest countless hours of study on learning; multiple position scale layouts, interval theory, harmonic analysis, or how the Mixolydian mode might offer a 'new direction' against a Dorian concept. In fact, all it takes to play a solo is a few notes and some time spent jamming with a loop-pedal, or with another guitar player. In the early days, above all other skills, the guitarist is building the use of their ear to be able to listen closely to how phrases sound. This is an important skill of every lead player and it leads to the development of a musicians intuition. When a guitarist both feels ready, and has practiced over the years, the music theory will eventually come along as well. Enjoy the lesson.
Using the Major Scale Modes - eBook
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My theory is that those players who have no musical education have internalised the concept of music theory on a purely intuitive basis. They do know a lot, they're just not aware of it.
G`day all.
Me thinks they know any sound or pitch, but don't know the classic labels. Often one does not realize how much we've picked up over time.
Cheers.
I agree with you - I myself am a sort of hybrid I learnt lots of stuff over the years - licks etc that is practically subliminal and then started to put names to them which is the process this clever man suggested. I always knew the names of chords but I have met guys who only know say majors minors and maybe minor 7ths but after that they do know more advanced chords but they don't know what they're called eg a D sus 4 to them is just a D with an added note on it. :) - some people even call shapes - the Buddy Holly chord or the Jimi Hendrix chord.
John Wayne exactly right.
John Wayne listen this song, john frusciante - wayne
I think you're right.
Amazing how many theoretically based musicians cant convey emotion or improvise. It's a feel thing. David Gilmour from Pink Floyd is a classic example of a self taught guitarist who picked things up and played by ear etc. He has admitted that the first time he learnt music theory was when he took saxophone lessons very late in his career (in his late 50s from memory). He noticed that the names of the scales and modes etc he learnt in his saxophone lessons were things he was playing on guitar in his early years - but didnt know the name or why the notes were arranged in the pattern they were.
Ultimately music is about conveying emotion and feel through a creative medium - moving the audience (and the musician).
Musicians playing in orchestras, live, while sight reading the sheet music often dont know the music and rarely convey anything special to the audience (as brilliant as they are on the instrument they are playing).
See Jeff Beck play live (or a John Coltrane if he was still alive)
Petra Kann rubbish David knows he’s in B minor he even says about pentatonic scales in an interview I once saw
those solos are so great that I rolled the vid back and watched both 3 times.
👍
this dude is a fantastic musician. I watch his videos often and learn something from every one of them . he plays with knowledge and feel...a combination u dont find often from online instructors..keep up the great work man.
You are an amazing teacher. Thank you so much for making this material available .Keep on the good work, for the sake of music!
These note groupings seem like a great way to break away from the old pentatonic shape approach, thank you.
Really nice improvisation at the end there.
Agreed, that last chord phrase and solo really was nice. Great job!
I remember when I first started playing and taking lessons my guitar teacher told me to make a pattern of whatever and play it backwards, forwards, skipping notes, skipping strings, up & down 2-3 strings, across the neck, etc....., and he told me as long as you land on your feet (note) you should be good to go. I latter learned theory but I still go back to the made up patterns/scales and it actually has helped me stand out and not just play within the box but use the entire neck.
Bo88y Beretta are your patterns existing scales or are they geometric repeating patterns a'la van hallen, dime bag etc or non of the above, personally I play blues so use super blues scale ie dorian, mixolydian and blues scale or just major and minor pentatonic I guess sharp 5 is the hardest to work in to the mix also i don't use major 7th a lot although players like Clapton do
That's exactly how I practice my scales(modes), backwards and forwards, up and down the neck, sticking to the scale tones out of immediate sequence. Basically jamming out while developing muscle memory and ear. Practicing scales "straight up", except for doing "circle of fifth" runs, seems like a quick way to get boxed into a rut.
Bo88y Beretta ii
I learned a little theory and I play by feel alot of people ask me how I do it i use my feelings and ear alot I've found thats best for me I have played with some real technical players and I think they worry to much bout being perfect I play from the soul just my advice to any future lead guitarist
Epiphany lesson .... your playing and your explanations are just enough and never too much ! I subscribed.
My man, that video was so well put across and ur solo was superb and the strat sounded beautiful !!
Great informative videos! Thanks for taking time out of your busy life to do these.
A college level Classical Guitar professor told me that if you can "Sing It", you can play it. Doing that has helped me go beyond the scale knowledge I have to a new place-maybe helpful to others too.
it's better to play solo than group because we can adjust ourselves by playing any kind of music
Great Voice !👽 love this lesson. So good , because sometimes its not about theory its about beyond. Just finding a grove and building on it. using your ear and feeling the vibe. Thanks again always a pleasure. 🤗
man you are the best on here by far, that was awesome ,thank you
Complete details covering this guitar lesson can be found on my Blogger page... creativeguitarstudio.blogspot.ca/2016/01/lead-guitar-no-theory-no-thinking-just.html
Both amazing solos! Really appreciated this tutorial! It was beautifull!
Thanks for another great lesson, Andrew!
Thank you so much. Pretty solo there at the end. Really nice.
But it is possible, all it takes is good musical hearing and letting go of thought, it’s called channeling your music, I do it all the time on the piano, I was never good a learning theory, I just wanted to play what i felt through my emotions.
such a good teacher...
Can know chords basic ones and self taught. Ppl that don't understand this never were born to play by ear. So yes you do learn what you are saying by accident from strictly hearing it. It's not easy. I'm no master of guitar,but it's very hard for someone to try and teach me scales and theory. I blank out and go home and let it flow is maybe something to do with PTSD.imnot cutting your style down your way ahead of me. I'd rather find the chords then read music and I used to with a saxophone, and I know I'm a chord off by a minor major or sharp..but I will watch this again..but I'm hear to tell you I can learn faster my way and I don't even practice everyday. Thank you for real for the help. I'm sure I'll try. But I'm a "if I can't learn it in 5minutrs I'll wait an hour and come back and get it. It's weird I'm not exceptional. I'm also an acoustic player so so I'm just doing my best to ty again
Real musicians FEEL the music. and thats how they know how to make music. they are born to make music.. yes, they have to practice their asses off too, to reach their full potential, but its inside them.. where the trained musicians are intellectualizing the music. let me aks everyone? when your doing anything, and a song comes on the radio and hits you? and you have to stop what your doing and say, wow, whats this? i like it! did you think about it? or did the sound, just hit you? music is SOUND... and that sound made you FEEL something didnt it? thats because music is coming from and appealing to FEELINGS!!!! yes, you can learn all these defined musical techniques and approaches, but at the end of the day, it wont sound right without FEELING. and thats something you just cannot teach anyone.. to further prove these are not just my " opinions", i want everyone to check out, ( for guitar purposes ) chuck berry, bb king, buddy guy, freddie king, albert king, jimi hendrix, eric clapton, carlos santana, neil schon, eddie van halen, billy gibbons, stevie ray vaughn, neil young, andy timmons, eric johnson, ... even joe satriani who had said many times, he has learned every scale, mode, chord, note, forwards and backwards, and studied theory! " that after learning all of these things and practiicng them for many hours and years!!! HE HAD TO FORCE HIMSELF TO FORGET IT ALL, BECAUSE IT STOPPED HIM FROM CREATING/EXPRESSING HIMSELF FROM FEELING WHAT HE WAS TRYING TO DO " .............. music had become, like most everything else in this world, A BUISSNESS!! and all these " teachers" who go to git, mit, and berkley, etc, theyre not doing anything NEW with guitar or music.. how many trained players " make an impact "??? and im not bashing anyone!! what i am bashing, is the argument that " anyone can be a real musican " ... NOOOOOOOO anyone cannot!! anyone CAN learn to play any song or instrument!! yes! BUT not anyone can MAKE MUSIC! NOT ANYONE HAS THAT " FEEL " ... and that should be ok!!! because we all are not here to make music! i can make music, but i cant install a window!! lol.. have you seen great carpenters? have you seen anyone that does whatever they do GREAT? they cant make music either!! but they can do whatever they do!!! BECAUSE THATS WHAT THEY WERE BORN TO DO!!! and so it is with all of us! we just have to all find what it is we are here to do! and thats not always very easy.. BUT, if we all look inside ourselves, instead of outside ourselves, and seeing something and saying, oh that looks cool, i want to do that! or i want to be like him or her!! all the guitarists i listed above, knew they wanted to play the guitar, and they had a connection to it.. the players that came before each of them, inspired them , but it was something they FELT CONNECTED TO.. NOT JUST SOMETHING THEY DECIDED THEY WANTED TO DO.. it was like a " CALLING " ........... and so it is with other things too.. but you have to be honest with yourself, and go by your inner feelings, your heart, your instincts.. not just your eyes!!! I like this guy who did this video, and i he is being helpful to many people.. BUT, when i heard what he was saying in this video, i had to comment, and say this.. because THIS IS THE TRUTH... and thats what matters most.. or should anyway... he makes his living "teaching music" so obviously he and many others have to try to convince people, learned music is the right way.... its just not true... if you got it? you got it.. if you dont? you just dont.. and thats ok......... ~ be YOU!
Rocky Balboa good rant fella.
Very true what you said. Not everyone is made for everything. We must understand that. We must look inside what our hearts say and long for and follow his/her ways.
Thanks for sharing your views.
Rocky Balboa Everything you said was very well thought out. And for the most part very true. I have been playing for at least 30 years. But I stopped for about 15 and recently started playing again. I know most open chords and bar chords. I play boxed pentatonic minor and major scales but have no idea what I am playing. I just feel i am in what I call my safe zone.I really want to improve on what I now play just not sure what is best to practice next.also it can be tuff to find the time when you work and pay a mortgage and all that other good stuff to keep life moving. There are times I got depressed when I play and will walk away from it for a few days. So when I go back to it sometimes new things seem to happen but I will never give up trying.Thank you for your insight and keep on playing and bending those strings my friend.
Daniel Hartman - start listenin to jazz music, then find some courses. it s an endless playfield that awaits for you... one lifetime will not be enough. you ll never have to put your instrument aside again, you will begin to cherrish the time you have left.
Rocky Balboa - I doubt about you being able to FEEL music/or anything, while you spend so much words on theory of "feeling"... you remind me of some nu-age "spiritual" teachers that babble so much about The Spirit that they are late to notice that The Spirit is al long gone , ran away from the NOISE they are making...
Always great lessons here!
Thank you for this insight on Theory. I started playing saxophone in the 5th. grade thru the 12th. Learned all the chords, scales, etc...But on guitar, I picked up on a few chords and scales, and I mainly play by ear or learn from someone teaching. I would like to do some Santana covers on my stratocaster, but it will be a challenge. My first one will probably be Samba Pa Ti! That will take a lot of practice to learn before I record it.
But anything worth while takes time, practice, and patience! Just subscribed to your channel. Great advice!
Great video, there’s a lot of good tips here 👍🏻
Great job man,great lesson. Thanks a looot !
Make a truck load of mistakes and learn from them.
I have never taken a single theory lesson in my life, but I write and play my own songs. However, he's right in saying that it's impossible Mustaine doesn't know anything because I've been playing for about 20 years on and off and I've picked up fundamentals here and there, so I have a very basic knowledge of theory, but not enough to be able to improvise and ad-lib jam with a band.
Be careful... When I listen to someone say ”l learned on my own” , all I hear is that they took the long, hard,
road to progress. What will take someone learning from a decent teacher, literally minutes, will take others considerably much, much longer to figure out (if they ever do) if you're not a natural talent, born having a Nack for this stuff.
thank you , sometimes or even most times the simplest is what our brain like the most....even Mantovani could drag you back in with a simple riff , you can be an excellent driver in the driveway on sundays , but sometimes we all want more....i guess boredom is the driving force to learn more
Great lesson
Great skill brotha!!!!
that very nice that you help thank you
I've also heard Dave Mustaine say that he doesn't know anything about music. Plus, I've heard Eddie Van Halen say the same thing. I don't know why those guys do that. They're great guitarists, why bother saying things like that? Maybe they want people to think that they're "born" with "special" gifts. Soooo stupid. We all know that those guys studied and practiced their asses off. Anyway, great video as usual Andrew. Always love it when you improvise!
+boblawblaws604 There's a difference between practicing and knowing theory. Most guys like Mustaine and EVH have great ears and can wing it. You don't have to know theory to be a great guitar player. You don't. LIke him or hate him, Richie Sambora doesn't know what a scale is he just uses shapes. I do they know what keys are but they couldn't tell you what a mode or scale is to save their lives.
I also don't get that either. Also Dave have said that he doesn't practice. Wtf. Idk how that's even possible. If I don't practice everyday for a certain amount of time I feel like I get worse and worse lol
Ledzep9620 practicing correctly is a big thing man. I could write a book lol think I am adhd so practicing right matters to me, learn everything even stuff you don't like or is outside you style or goals make small steady progress no cheating lol I learnt a martyr friedman solo one note at a time but I don't like shred generally, classical is great, even single notes, thrash metal is good but handling noise is big issue so you dampen a lot, blues uses dynamics of volume and picking intensity, learn to count and feel rhythms, look at other guitarists recognise their musicality or lack off, you learn a lot from bad players, be a musician not a guitarist (ego, volume, over playing, bad tone etc etc) this way you get the gig, oh and always play for the song, if it don't make it better don't play it, don't fill every space or solo over vocalist lol, luck!
@Eddieisfiction
"D.) when playing, don't focus on the scale, but the notes in the scale
that make up the chord you are currently on. The other notes of the
scale are passing tones in the mean time."
I know this comment is old but can u explain that point a little bit more? I can tell you know what u are talking about... When you say don't focus on the scale, do you mean don't think about the shape but just the notes? I'm trying to do that but.... can you see all the notes at once bc that is really hard for me... or do you keep a numerical count relative to whatever formula is the basis of the scale you are in.... or both? I was thinking about trying to visualize naturals and sharps/flats and using that as with counting the correct steps for whatever scale I'm in, when doing lead guitar but idk if that's right lol... and what do you mean by passing tones?
@DaveB
OOOOOOOOOOOHHHHH.... That makes sense... I know I'm just scratching the surface, but this stuff is cool to me. Is it worth it to also try to learn to read music at the same time? Right now I'm slowly working thru the Sagreras classical books, and using the net for help.
Do you offer online lessons bc.... yeahhhhhh I do understand this it's just... I guess the gap between concept vs function that is hard for me to bridge, plus I need a push towards progressing in a good timely manner.... I just dont wanna be one of those old guys who has been playing for 20+ years and still does leads in CAGED 1fpf ONLY, and everything they play sounds THE SAME.... also dont want to be stuck in systems/methods etc I just want freedom, and if u can fkin count AND u know all the notes... at the same time... instantaneously.... yeah id pay u...
Do you play shred metal, rock, classical etc or mostly jazz? Or can u just do whatevr the fk u want with wat u know? And do u play other instruments bc theory is useful for all instruments, right? Just the mechanics change... I'm guessing thatd make multi instrumentality a lot easier (which is also something i want to be able to do)
You are the true guitar lord!
Very nice tutorial
Thanks for Posting :-)
Thanks the A minor stuff reminds me of David Gilmore, my Kingdom for the key's
Love the clean tone on your guitar. What settings are you using on your amp?
This is Great, I know nothing about theory. This helps
nice lessons
What is the guitar in the background, I've never seen anything like it before!! Great video too
That guitar sounds amazing. I wonder how to get a similar sound.
〪 〪⃝ eigengrau just get Seymour Duncan ssl-1 pickups and you'll get that tone maybe even better
Music theory is a very misunderstood subject when it comes to guitar. All you need to know is how music theory applies to the fret board such as how to find the 5th of a note. It is not hard to learn or understand if you find the right course. I learned from guitar jamz. Guitar theory will really unlock your fret board and help your playing.
Tom nardini fifth of a chord you mean
So guitar jams worked for you . ?
Can I ask for a link
what pick-ups you're using on that strat?
He's right, anybody that knows the fretboard knows that you can't get around something like that without knowing "keys, scales" etc. Its like going to a city with no street signs. At some point you have to integrate a little bit of music theory. Saying they don't know any of that stuff conveys more of a "feel the sound" from them. If you play in a band how the heck are you supposed to tell your band mates you want a song to sound like *like* this. Especially if you're not going to be able to say in the key of X
Do you still do lessons? I keep coming back to this video. It has taught me a lot and it makes me think you must just be "my teacher"
Twice a week, but on the main channel... ua-cam.com/users/creativeguitarstudio
im playing in one band but can u please help me how to lead
Sir i didnt attnd any music clss but youtube hlps me to know sth abt pantatonic scales but is it enough to be a lead guitar?
Here is a fact all the greats know the five pentatonic shapes even Hendrix knew them even though he probably wasn’t aware of them maybe I don’t know , what I do know is if you don’t get these five shapes nailed and suss out you can move them up and down three frets for major minor variation you will struggle to crack lead playing.
Do it it will take 3 months of work but it will repay you for life
Can you tell me where to start
For as long as you know what key you're in to solo around, you'd be fine.... my own definition of *theory* is how a lead and rhythm part interacts. The key here is just to listen to a lot of guitar players to pattern your playing with, having enough knowledge in theory without too much listening experience from your guitar heroes won't get you nowhere, they must go hand in hand
I dont know how I got good other then I put the time in played scales shapes and practice practice practice ...
Maybe for Dave Mustane's standard he is "not good enough" but please remember that these rockstars have a different standard, when they say that "they are not good enough", that means they know alot they're not just satisfied with it... Mr. Andrew is right
In gipsy jazz many players don't know any theory, yet they play quite complex stuff, make albums, and are well respected in the musicians world. They just have different way of learning, from other people and just listening tunes. I'm not saying theory is unnecessary, there are just exeptiions.
Thankyou sir. Your E. van halens thought they were just superior, or something( brown sounds and such) I bought into this crap. F them... too bad we will never be face to face.
take that wrench out to ur truck put it on that bolt turn left, till loose, " music theory" take the open end 9/16 wrench, put it on the head of the 9/16 bolt and turn counterclockwise to loosen.
nice pickin
Nice site. But it probably should read...."No theory, no thinking, just playing....for now. But you will want theory later."
Why do you have to drone on and on? Can't you just get right into the lesson?
Thats how i play all the time sometime i felt myself rediculs😂
This helped but....it got confusing when you showed specific tabs, then deviated from it when demonstrating a solo, i managed to memorize the pattern but when you played you added notes. It would be helpful if you showed by only using the notes on the tab. Just my opinion
Mustaine is a Theory Genius.
What about Buddy Guy? From what I understand he doesn't have any theory and can't read music.
Know the basics, keep working until you discover the advance
Even if he didn't or doesn't know theory, he would have still spent lots of time listening and practicing, he might have watched some live bands and figured out where to get certain sounds. The biggest part is being efficient and creative and having great memory. That said, I think the statement is somewhat fabricated down the line.
You always know theory , you just tant aware...
AND JOE BONAMASSA!!!!!! : 0 check him out!! ( self taught........ )
Definately no thinking
oh and hey, i almost forgot! how could i forget as a guitarist myself, the great Gary Moore!
and all those other guys i mentioned. SELF TAUGHT... or........ Born to make music......
arios my friends who giving lessons for free.
Paul McCartney admits he never could read or write music on paper, yet has written hundreds of songs.
Find your root note, and play with no rules. I remember something Steve Vai once said... He said 'I like to reward myself by picking up the guitar and playing with absolutely no rules' Theory is just 'theory' its useful, but its just theory...
This is a nice guy, he is taking time out to help fellow guitarist, encourage him please.
Tone, tone, semitone, tone,tone,tone,semitone. = major scale
Just learn 1 scale and have fun with it
Musicians who think too much when there playing have to think then make the sound. Turn that off and make the sound faster. Like a runninback running a football he cuts on a dime off instinct he doesn’t have time to think should I spin? He just does. A guitar player who can move how he wants is called FREEFORM. Jimi Hendrix talks about FREEFORM. He has his technique down and gets the sound he wants. Practice hearing more than reading. Theory is good though it’s not gonna make a song for you. Just Do It.
Mustaine is not self taught and he knows theory. Watch one of lessons, he is always talking about adding a fifth or seventh and so on.
Nice but your vibrato is sharp..
Exactly right... They know what works. So they dont know the "theory" but they know the fact.
Save yourself a ton of time and guesswork by learning the Pentatonic scale. It's not that hard with all the lessons on UA-cam. Just five patterns. I know you can do it.
Eddie Van Halen made those Claims also...BUT, Iam here to TELL YOU OTHERWISE..
WHO WAS ALEX AND EDDIE FATHER?. ..yep. What about mom.?. Free lessons
I think once you have learned theory and stuff it's impossible to put yourself in the position of a natural play by ear and feel type of guitarist. Yes you will be able to describe what they do and recreate it but you are at a creative disadvantage as you are coming at it from a different angle? not to say that there aren't negatives associated with being a 'natural' guitarist. slower progress, harder to play with others at first etc.
dave mustaine a little bit full of it.
@@kevywunda Dave mustaine ain't great? Rust in peace was technically amazing clown
"can;t compose several best selling songs without knowing theory? that's complete bull. Many guitarists don't know an inch of theory. Mark Knofler, Les paul come to mind. Just because you can't put a label on what you're playing doesn't mean you know the theory on an intuitive level.
Other than that, great lesson.
I myself have never learnt any musical theory and am capable of extremely complex songs and composition. Of course if you analysed it, there would be a lot of theory behind it. But I couldn't tell you what it was.
Love you but very much disagree. Creativity comes from within. I really feel that learning this stuff stifles your creativity. Literally just regurgitating the same scales and chords over and over is just bland and ridiculous. Imo
No great guitar player doesn't know some theory. It's not possible to be good at playing guitar and not atleast know 2 scales. Most used maj and min pentatonic.
Lies, as a session guitarist. I have developed my ear without knowning any theory at all not even basic. Some people are just born with a God given gift and some just have to learn it. I have worked with alot of artist and won awards. It was til recently when i wanted to learn theory for my own knowledge.
SANTANA, HENDRIX,VICTOR WOOTEN, MUSTAINE, ALOT OF 60S 70S MUSICANS AND THE LIST GOES ON. Even to this day... some have been born with it.. like my friends niece (7yr old) never took lessons yet... can Sing on key and play drums...and no one taught her. Can you explain??
To say it is impossible to be a hit musician without learn theory i would have to disagree. Even James Brown drummer never had lessons. Just played to what felt and sounded good. And now many drummers go to his clinics or even take lessons to learn to play like him.
Sorry but i dont agree w you.
You are probably a very smart but way to much talking explaining...!