How To Play Electric Guitar pt. 3

Another advanced technique, one with perhaps more application, and certainly more common, is sweep picking. Sweep picking is used as a more efficient way of moving the pick from one string to another, particularly when you are only playing one note on each string, such as when playing arpeggios. The technique itself is quite simple, but it takes a lot of practice to master it. It involves playing successive strings using all downstrokes, or all upstrokes, depending on which direction you are going, in a ‘sweeping’ motion, similar to strumming. The key is in maintaining control of the timing of each note played with the picking hand, whilst making sure only one note at a time is being heard by careful muting with the fretting hand. Once mastered, this technique will allow you to play amazingly fast arpeggios with ease, but when done badly it can sound terrible, so you really have to practice this technique before attempting to use it in your playing. It can also be used when playing scales or runs when changing between strings – in this case it is often called ‘economy picking’. When learning how to play electric guitar as a lead instrument many people leave sweep picking till late on, as it is very hard to master, but I would advise anyone who is serious about their playing to try and tackle it early on, for precisely the same reason. It’s definitely a technique worth having. If you're lokking for a great way of learning the guitar, we recommend Jamorama.

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All this technique however, as important as it is to develop, is useless if you don’t know what to do with it – in other words, what notes to play, and when. The only way you can learn this is by becoming proficient at playing, and understanding, scales. A scale is a group of notes that work well together over a given chord or backing. Examples of common scales include the minor and major pentatonic scales, the major scale, and its modes. When learning how to play electric guitar it is vital, especially if you want to be able to improvise or compose your own solos, to be able to play as many scales as possible, and in any position on the neck.

Scales must be practiced until they are ingrained in your head, so you can play them without thinking, but playing scales up and down is only one way to practice them. You should play them in thirds, melodically and harmonically, fourths, fifths, and all other intervals. Practice different sequences of the scale notes too. For example go up three notes, then down one, up three, down one, etc. Or up six, down three, or up three, down one. There is virtually unlimited number of ways to practice scales; play them all on one string, on two, or three. Play them up and down skipping one string all the way. By practicing scales like this you will become fluent at playing the right notes, without just going up and down the scale, enabling you to improvise and compose guitar solos that are much more musical. Anyone learning how to play electric guitar should make learning scales a priority.

In this article I’ve given a brief overview of the most common techniques used to play electric guitar, but there is another important aspect to the instrument that I’d like to quickly look at before I’m done, and that is getting a good sound. This will require an amplifier of some kind and, perhaps, some effects. It’s very important, when learning how to play electric guitar, to understand the importance of producing a good, professional sound out of your instrument and equipment. Whole books have been written on this subject, so I won’t go into too much detail here, but I’ll just mention some of the most important things to think about. Of course, the sound initially comes from the instrument itself, so make sure it is well looked after, properly set up, with good strings, and in tune. Take full advantage of the controls on the guitar, as well as the different pick-ups. The real secret to getting a good sound is in the way you play. Experiment with different pick angles, and velocities, and pay attention to the sound of the notes you play. Always try to avoid unwanted string noise.

As for amplifiers, there are so many to choose from, it really comes down to the type of sound you’re looking for, how much power you need and, of course, how much you’re willing to spend. Whichever amp you use though, you should spend time familiarising yourself with the controls, and experiment until you find some sounds you like. It is worth noting, however, that often a sound which sounds great on its own will be lost in the context of a full band as it fights for space with the bass and drums. If this happens, you usually need to turn up the mids. Also, you usually don’t need anywhere near as much distortion as you think you do, as this can also muddy the sound, especially in a live context. Finally, a brief word on effects units; use them wisely. When done correctly, effects can add a whole new dimension to your guitar sound, but when over used, or miss-used, they can ruin it. Often, over-use of effects is a means of hiding bad technique, so don’t fall into that trap. If you can play well, you shouldn’t need to smother your guitar with effects in order to sound good.

That brings me to the end of this article which I hope you’ve found informative and interesting, even though it is only the briefest of introductions to some of the technique involved in learning how to play electric guitar. If you want to learn how to play electric guitar, then I thoroughly recommend that you take a look at Jamorama, a fantastic course you can download and work through at your own pace. It will take you from the very beginning, and teach you everything you need to learn in order to become a great guitar player. Good luck!

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