Hello everyone!
In this lesson I'm going to show you a chorus from one of my songs. We'll be exploring the lead as well as the rhythm. This lesson is not just to show you this chorus and that's it, I want you to apply what you learn and write your own chorus and/or song.
You'll notice the lead is all about note choice, nothing fancy, it's all about the melody. The rhythm is a little more technical, but overall it follows a chord progression that compliments the lead...the lead and rhythm work together!
I want you to first write your own rhythm progression. No rules, just write whatever comes to you. Then once you settle on it, write a very simple lead on top of it. Imagine your lead part is a human voice. Write a melody that speaks to the listener.
Now, as far as how to play this chorus...
1) Lead - Examine each measure...do you notice how every measure is the same rhythmically? We first have a dotted half note, then a quarter note. I want you to give very tasty vibrato to every dotted half note. You want these notes to sing. Remember, try to play your guitar as if the melody is a human voice singing.
2) Rhythm - For the rhythm we're going to be playing straight sixteenth notes. Be sure to palm mute all the notes on the 6th string while letting all the notes on the 4th string ring out. Use alternate picking. Go slow as the string skipping can be a little tough at faster speeds, work your way up to it.
Once you have the parts down, head on over to the next pages for the backing tracks! (both rhythm and lead)
I hope you enjoy learning this chorus. Now go write your own! :)