You are a unique kind of guitarist; the rarest type of all. You are deeply affected by music and appreciate it in a very particular way.
You want to know how guitar music works and WHY. You aren’t intimidated by detail and you are happy to take on dense and difficult topics.
This is a big asset for you (one that you probably take for granted).
- Your Strengths: Your learning style allows you to access higher and higher levels of guitar technique and insight. This can lead to a deep understanding of the fretboard, scales and chord construction.
- Your Weaknesses: People like you can often suffer from ‘Analysis Paralysis’ and don’t do enough practical ‘hands-on-the-guitar’ actual playing!
Learning a musical concept is only useful if we apply it, so it’s important you balance theory with lots of practice.
Recommendation 1
Cover the fundamentals. Read our guides on Guitar Theory and Understanding Guitar Keys.
Recommendation 2
- Good music theory knowledge is incredibly empowering for lead guitarists.
- Your guitar type goes hand in hand with lead guitar! If this isn’t something you’ve explore yet, get stuck in.
Read our famous free guide ‘How To Play Lead Guitar‘ to get up to speed fast.
You probably already know these, but if not, learn the full 2-octave Major Scale and Minor Scale in their moveable patterns. (Just learn them in their standard starting positions.) Important note!
These scales are vital to know from a music theory point of view, but in practice, the vast majority of guitarists use the Minor Pentatonic scale most when playing/jamming/improvising. Therefore….
Recommendation 3
- The Minor Pentatonic scale is where all lead guitarists start and you should begin by learning ‘box 1’, the classic 2-octave Minor Pentatonic pattern.
- Then you should learn the other 4 boxes/patterns of the Minor Pentatonic scale and then progress to the Blues Scale. (It’s ok to spend YEARS on this.)
Recommendation 4
- Balance your theorist side with practical work. Spend time learning new rhythmic styles. (For example, fingerpicking, string-slapping and percussive strumming techniques.)
- Read our popular guide ‘How To Strum A Guitar‘ to ensure you have strong fundamental technique.
Recommendation 5
Round things off by exploring basic major and minor chord construction. Once you have that down move on to Major and Minor sevenths.
Remember to ALWAYS ALWAYS ALWAYS balance your theory work with practical hands-on-the-guitar time.
Lastly…
Remember, learning guitar isn’t a race and ‘talent’ doesn’t matter. Everyone can learn guitar so enjoy each moment of the journey and believe in yourself.
Music is unifying force and a wonderful gift that we can all enjoy! 🙂
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