Creating Scales

While you are learning different riffs and practice pieces it is always important to bring it all together. Keep everything you learn or have done on your mind and make it your own. Change the things you have learned and create new riffs or practices for yourself. If you are practicing a scale, for example, make sure to always make it challenging for yourself. A great way to change a scale is to add chords into it or mirror the scale and play it higher and lower.

One of the best ways to get creative with scales is to first play a chord. It can be any chord type. After you play the chord try and find some notes that make sense and fit with the chord you played. If you have a recording device then you could play the chord and then try and lay down a scale to it.

There are no rules that have to be followed when it comes to playing music so allow yourself to be free and make things happen the way they sound good to you. If you are designing a scale for a chord and a note doesn't sound right to you then just find a better one. After you do this with more and more chords you will start to realize that you are able to lay down a solo to any number of different riffs.

Learning to scale in this way will keep you YOU. It is great practice to learn scales but it is even better practice to learn how to create your own scales. It will have more of your playing essence than going through a predetermined scale sequence.

In my next post I will get into some solo tabs from Randy Rhoads and Dimebag so get your fingers ready.

Silent Lucidity - Queensryche

Today I am going to post a beautiful song. Silent Lucidity by Queensryche. Everyone at one point new about this song but it has fallen away from popularity and I am glad in a way because over hearing something takes away from it eventually.

This is a beautiful acoustic guitar song. You don't have to use an acoustic of course but it always sounds better. This song is a great exercise for using your fingers to pick instead of the pick. You should rotate from your middle finger and your thumb with your right hand. Left if you are a lefty I suppose. You could use whatever fingers feel comfortable but I use my middle finger and thumb. Maybe some would use there pointing finger and thumb it really does not matter. If you want to you can even use your pick which I actually do most of the time. For a beginner it is an easy song to toy with picking with your fingers however.

Anyway, here is the tab for Silent Lucidity. Again, always click on the image to enlarge it.


It is just the first run through of the beginning of the song before it breaks and the drums kick in. Take your time with this and use it to learn how to play soft and accurately. Once you have that accomplished you can even use this song to practice singing while you play if you are at all interested in doing that. I love every part of this song. You have to remember that there are two guitarists in Queensryche, as well as a bass player, but it should sound fine if you play it properly.

Have fun with this one.

I also want to add that if you have any suggestions or requests for some song tabs just let me know in the comments. You have to remember I am a picky musician so if I don't like your request sorry. That is a reminder for all of you wannabe misfits who want to learn "Smoke on the Water". Get real!