This page will start you on the path of playing lead guitar, with guitar tab for riffs by Rage Against The Machine, The Red Hot Chilli Peppers, Audioslave and Darkness.
One of the basic techniques in playing lead guitar is alternate picking. This simply means alternating between down strokes and up strokes with your plectrum. It's exactly the same premise as with strumming and you'll need to master this if you're to play at any great speed.
This first tab was, I think, composed by Bach - but don't let that put you off! It's been 'borrowed' by various rock bands since and I teach it frequently as a good exercise to practice alternate picking.
Use a down stroke with the first note, then alternate up, down, up, down etc with each note therafter.
If you do it correctly, you'll end up on an up - ready to repeat the exercise.
Always practice this with a metronome. Start at a speed where you can play it correctly. Get it right three times, increase the speed by 10bpm and then repeat.
I find I tend to start students off at about 80bpm and they get to about 120 - 150bpm in about 45mins.
It seems like hard work at the time - but 10mins every day and you'll be pleasently shocked at how fast you improve.
In between practicing the above, try out the next two tabs.
Here is guitar tablature for a popular Audioslave track:
If you do it correctly, you'll end up on an up - ready to repeat the exercise.
Always practice this with a metronome. Start at a speed where you can play it correctly. Get it right three times, increase the speed by 10bpm and then repeat.
I find I tend to start students off at about 80bpm and they get to about 120 - 150bpm in about 45mins.
It seems like hard work at the time - but 10mins every day and you'll be pleasently shocked at how fast you improve.
In between practicing the above, try out the next two tabs.
Here is guitar tablature for a popular Audioslave track:
Click here to listen
One line is the verse, the other the chorus. There are also G and A chords played in between. The bridge is B, E and D.
It's a great riff for practicing your slides, and creating a groove that flows.
Here is guitar tablature for the main riff of the popular Chilli Peppers track, 'Can't Stop':
It's a great riff for practicing your slides, and creating a groove that flows.
Here is guitar tablature for the main riff of the popular Chilli Peppers track, 'Can't Stop':
Click here to listen
Can't Stop is a great riff to practice in order to master hitting the strings you want to hear hard, whilst dappening the strings you don't want to hear with the left hand.
Here is guitar tablature for the chorus of the Darkness single, 'I Believe In A Thing Called Love'.
The verse uses G, B flat, C and F power-chords:
Here is guitar tablature for the chorus of the Darkness single, 'I Believe In A Thing Called Love'.
The verse uses G, B flat, C and F power-chords:
Click here to listen
In my humble opinion, this next one is one of the best riffs in modern rock history - here is guitar tab for Rage Against The Machine's, "Killing In The Name":
The top line is the main riff, whilst the bottom line is an adaption that is played once in the second verse.
The original uses a drop-D tuning, with just the thickest string dropped from E to D. I've written the above for normal tuning. to play in the original key you need to drop your 6th string down from E to D, and then play the above - but two frets down.
The original uses a drop-D tuning, with just the thickest string dropped from E to D. I've written the above for normal tuning. to play in the original key you need to drop your 6th string down from E to D, and then play the above - but two frets down.