Ezine Articles

Taking Guitar Lessons From the Saxophone

ezineLead guitar is very "lick" and "riff" oriented. A lick or riff is simply a series of notes that we play within the confines of the musical scale of the key of the song we are in.

By using various techniques such as string bends, pull-offs, hammer-ons, trills, slides and more - we can come up with an endless combination lead possibilities.

As a result, we as guitar players, have a tendency to become fixated on the "execution" of cool little licks and riffs - which can sometimes lead us away from focusing on playing "melodically".

One good way for us guitar players to bring the melody back into our leads is to take lessons from saxophone players.

Great sax players approach their leads from a highly melodic point of view. Yes, they do play licks and riffs, just like guitarists, but many of those licks and riffs hover close to the melody line of the song. That's one reason why sax leads are so memorable - because the listener can closely relate to what they are hearing.

We are all familiar with the concept of sitting down and copying the licks of our favorite guitar heroes - Jimi Hendrix, Stevie Ray Vaughn, Clapton, Santana, VanHalen, Jeff Beck, and the like.

But have you ever thought about using the same approach to learn the licks of Grover Washington, Tom Scott, Kenny G, Charlie Parker, Stan Getz or John Coltrane?

Chances are, if you're like most of us, the thought of learning sax licks on guitar hasn't even crossed your mind.

Guitarists can learn a lot from emulating sax leads. Just adopting the "thought process" of a sax player will open up a whole new world of possibilities for you as a guitar player.

So if you really want to jazz up your leads, make them more melodic, and set yourself apart from the pack - resolve to pick up your guitar, and learn some sax!

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