Rock Lead Techniques
Rock Lead Techniques - Nick Nolan and Danny Gill
If you are really into learning guitar, especially the electric guitar then most likely one thing that you will want to do is play some guitar licks fast! Who doesn’t!? Unfortunately this can be a long hard process and most people new to the guitar will go the wrong way about it, without the proper guidance.
The important thing in achieving fast playing is your technique, along with a lot of hard work and dedication. Having said this, having good technique is vital for all types of playing whether it be fast, slow, acoustic or electric.
Let me introduce to you Rock Lead Techniques by Nick Nolan and Danny Gill:
This one book in a series of three that I have found extremely helpful. Not only this I am also a great fan of Danny gill - one of the writers, who, I think is a superb player.
The book covers all the important aspects of using the correct techniques when playing the guitar. It starts off with how to hold the pick and the correct picking technique. Moving on, you get helpful exercises to synchronize your left and right hand. This is essential for playing quickly and often is a frustrating hurdle to overcome for the wannabe lead guitarist starting out.
Scales, Picking licks and sweep picking is all covered with several exercises illustrated on each. Of course you have the helpful addition of the CD to hear how they should be played and, more importantly, a short backing track is provided for you to try it out for yourself!
The final chapter talks about constructing a solo. This is a topic I will be talking about in the future. It is very easy when trying to be a lead guitarist to fall into the trap of playing scales and patterns up and down. This leads to a very monotonous boring solo. Of course, what we guitarists want to do is create blazing solos that still sound musical. This chapter if the book talks about how to achieve this.
