I know we have some shit hot shredders on UK Thrash so I'm looking for some help on improving my lead work.

I'm a solid rhythm player, but when it comes to anything remotely technical I can't do shit. I've been relentlessly practicing legato for two years and I'm not much better than I wa sbefore, so does anyone have any tips or advice?

I can offer a power cell in return....

have no social life, buy metronome, find some excersizes to do and get a routine that u do atleast a couple hours everyday, start each excersize at very slow tempo on metronome, add 3 bpm after u played a couple of times, dont spend to long on one excersize and u should be on yer way to be a happy shredder, well done

Zurabs nailed it really, i was like that for maybe two weeks.

Then i started smoking dope again, drugs robbed me of being a master musician.

Zurab is actually the first person to mention a metronome.

My original idea was to sit down with tablature for a random solo, then learn it piece by piece (starting slowly and trying to hit the notes accurately, obviously). I needed to ask on here because the more opinions and help I get, the better.

ANyone else have owt to recommend?

if you're gonna learn a solo - metronome will greatly help

just do lots of all-round technique practices/excercises, I don't have any kind of regime, I just pick up and play, but I always mix it up, a bit of alt picking, tapping, legato, sweeping, maybe some economy picking or whatever.... it all goes towards a common goal though!!

One song I learnt which GREATLY improved my guitar playing was Jason Becker's 'Air'... well, it took me 2 weeks of sitting by myself in a hotel room in scotland to learn that, but it has pretty much every possible pattern of notes ever in it... very good for accuracy if not anything else!!!

Hope this helps!!!

Before you can rip you need to understand a little theory, or you will end up playing fast but it'll be nonsense. Trivium are a prime example - big sweeps and fast picking but very little feel and really clumsy melodies.

Aside from that I found learning King Diamond albums really helped me pick it up as there are solos of all levels of difficulty and lots of lovely wide vibrato (which is essential) to work on. Don't bother with Tabs, they are generally wrong anyway just use your ear and pick out what you can. Regularly used patterns and licks will appear before your very eyes!

Good luck.

Thanks a bundle

Now about those power cells I offered...

i think you got some good replies here already, i think if you really wanna branch out i think you should learn just one scale in one shape just for the time being (whats the rush?) and with that one scale, yeah practice going up and down it with the metranome, but pay attension to the intervals your playing, try and listen to the relationship the notes have with each other. Your a rhythm player already so your ears and mind should be used to some intervals already with some of the chord changes you do in your riffs. Apply this to a scale and get a good feel. May i suggest starting out with the blues scales as it has some great intervals your ears can get 'attracted to' i'll say.

thats my babble!

If it makes you feel any better, I'm really good and I don't practise ever.

thrasherdave wrote:I know we have some shit hot shredders on UK Thrash so I'm looking for some help on improving my lead work.

I'm a solid rhythm player, but when it comes to anything remotely technical I can't do shit. I've been relentlessly practicing legato for two years and I'm not much better than I wa sbefore, so does anyone have any tips or advice?

Ahhh, someone in the same boat as me!
I've been meaning to practice my lead work for years, but I'm too fucking lazy!


(What is legato?)

legato means smooth in italian

Glen, legato is when you play notes with hammer ons/pull offs and slides, for example playing 6 notes up then down on one string could look like this transcribed:

Code: Select all

--5/7h8/10h12p10\8p7\5--

***  / means slide up, h is hammer, p is pull off, and \ is slide down ****


and you'd only pick the first note in that run to give you a smooth slidey sound instead of the picking sound! that's legato!

Actulally I was more on about stuff like;

12h15p12------12h15p12------
-------------14--------------14--

Nice one!
I can play stuff like that, but I just don't know the fancy names! haha

I was always told to refer to that shit as legato as well as the previous example given.

I just can't fucking do it, and I've been practicing it daily for two fucking years. Those fucking french ruin everything!!