writing lead guitar

[sonofhendrix13]

ive been making some attempts at writing my own music for guitar. overall, ive been farily successful at writing chord sequences and rhythm guitar pieces. however, im having some trouble writing lead guitar bits. i can write some stuff for lead guitar but it usually sounds like shit and rarely fits in with the chords im using. i know my scales but i have trouble finding the right notes to use. is there any trick you have for writing lead guitar?

 

[Krigloch the Furious]

listen to soundtracks like Lotr and Conan. make shit up with humming, or in your head. Just try to remember that stuff.
I write tons of stuff when im at work.

 

[Katalepsy]

ive been making some attempts at writing my own music for guitar. overall, ive been farily successful at writing chord sequences and rhythm guitar pieces. however, im having some trouble writing lead guitar bits. i can write some stuff for lead guitar but it usually sounds like shit and rarely fits in with the chords im using. i know my scales but i have trouble finding the right notes to use. is there any trick you have for writing lead guitar?

What I usually do is start the leads off with the top note of the chord in the rhythm parts. Just start off every measure with the highest note of the chord beind played...If you go to my website http://katalepsy.741.com and listen to "Untitled 1" that may give you a general idea. I don't actually write leads with an instrument, I find it's easier that way. Just know what key you're playing in, and as long as you're playing in the same key on rhythm and leads, virtually every note in that specific key should work. Try that out, and tell me how it works for ya.

 

[Moloch]

I usally just fool around.. usally sounds good cept for a few notes, I record this, then make changes to it, and then I start cursing because I don't have software where I can add drums and bass etc.

 

[Kenneth R.]

ok you can write rhythm right? you dont even need to know scales (unless you're going for the shred solo).

just go through your biggest chord progression that in your opinion, represents the song.
take notes from it, either the root, or whatever you want. play those notes in a series, and take your song's progression and make it into a melody.
now take your melody and give it a new direction that drifts away over your chords.
optionally, end this melody on the strongest chord tone that appears at the end of your 'solo'
record it.

 

[Indiooo]

There's more to leads than knowing theory, altough that is almost indispensable if you want to do it fluidly. The above suggestion about taking notes from chords is fine, but it will get old pretty fast. You're probably limiting yourself to roots, thirds and fifths, and that just sounds boring after a while. Know your theory... Start with scale harmonizing (formation of chords). That will give you a good foundation, since you will actually know which notes to play and which to avoid (staying within the more common definition of harmony, but hey, break the rules if it sounds good to you). After knowing what to play, comes the hardest part (believe it, it's really the hardest part) which is making it sound expressive. I won't give you the "feeling" bullshit, since that kind of talk doesn't do anything for me, but if you wan't to sound good you have to pay attention to all the little details and nuances, the vibrato, the bends, etc. It comes down to making everything sound in place, within a context.

Anyway, a good way to develop your own style is understanding other people's style. Learn the solos you like, but not only "the notes in it", but also the exact way they're played and what's going on in the background. Analyse the harmony, that's really important.

Just my two cents.

 

[Kenneth R.]

i didn't say copy the chord progression, i said use it as a starting point for writing a melody--- pointless, meandering solos dont sound good. you want something that fits the song tonally and expressively. like indiooo said, expression is the harder part. figure out (by looking at your chords) which tones you can use, and then express yourself with them.

 

[Indiooo]

The thing is that if you're playing only chord tones, it's like playing arpeggios all the time, it just gets "boring" (take that with a touch of salt) because you're using only roots, thirds and fifths (maybe a sus2 or sus4 from time to time). If you meant figuring out all the chord tones in a given progression and them using them all the over it, then it's just easier and better to learn how to harmonize a scale and be done with it (because that's exactly what you're doing, except you doing it the hard way and maybe missing out a couple of notes).