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Jam and Play Along For Lead Guitar

Play Along - Ballad In C

In the Jam Tracks section of the Guitar Alliance Member's Site you'll find MP3 tracks that you can download and practice with. You'll also looping tracks that play right from the web page. An example of these looping tracks can be found in the sample lesson below:

This ballad in the key of C has as C, Am, FM7, GM6, C chord progression. For the FM7 (F major 7th) and GM6 (G major 6th) I use my thumb to play the root notes on the low E string which enables me to play the high E string open.

Otherwise these would be just ordinary F and G chords played using an E style barre chord pattern. With the inclusion of the open E string the chord voicing are morphed to FM7 and GM6.

Here's the progression:

I've created 2 lead guitar parts that go over this progression . You should spend some time to come up with your own lead parts for the progression. I used the C pentatonic major scale to create both of my lead parts.

Both lead parts repeat the same phrases over and over. They still sound fresh each time they are played because of the changing chord voicing behind them.

Lead #1

This lead is compromised of one basic phrase:

It is repeated throughout the progression with slight variations:

Take a listen to the audio sample below and see if you can find where each lead phrase is played:

Lead #2

This lead part only has 2 deferent phrases. Since all the note movements are done with slides, you can play both phrases by using only your 1st finger to do all of the fretting. You can do this by creating a barre on the high E and B strings using your 1st finger on the 8th fret. All you have to do to get the other notes is slide your finger up and down the fretboard.

The first phrase is repeated several times:

The second phrase comes near the end:

Blues Shuffle In E

Let's play along with a blues shuffle in the key of E. Let's use the E pentatonic minor scale to play along with. Below is the scales most popular fretboard pattern tabbed out in the key of E:

Here are a couple examples of licks you could use with the E pentatonic minor:

Cue The Music

Below is a looping track of a blues shuffle in the key of E. The chord voicings used are E, A, and B(B7).

It loops until you press the "stop" button. Don't just listen! Play along using the scale pattern above.

The Rhythm Part

Here is the rhythm part if you want to play along with it. It employs the "quick change" 12 bar blues progression (more on this in the private site).

Take Your Playing To The Next Level!

If you enjoyed this lesson, then you'll love the GuitarAlliance.com Private Site. This lesson is a perfect example of they types of things you'll come across. Lesson like this one are added to the Private Site all the time!

I also wanted to let you know about a special new tutorial we've put together here at Guitar Alliance. It's called:

"How To Play Lead Guitar In 30 Minutes (Or Less!)"

The sensational headline is meant to get your attention. I hope it did, because in just 30 minutes or less you can learn how to play lead guitar over any song.

In this tutorial you'll discover:

- The 3 things you MUST KNOW to play lead guitar
- A "cheat sheet" that has everything you need to get started
- How to find the key signature of a song
- How to play lead guitar with virtually ANY song

This tutorial will have you playing lead guitar today, but you must be a Guitar Alliance member to view it. If you're not already a member, please click below to learn how to join and gain access to "How To Play Lead Guitar In 30 Minutes (Or Less!)".

Click Here For The Guitar Alliance Membership Program