There are lots of general guitar courses available that will teach you basics of many kinds of guitar music. Lead Guitar Secrets is one of the best I have found that focuses specifically on soloing and lead guitar skills. If you are a beginner, or a rhythm guitar guy at heart, this would not be the program for you. But if you really want to be the guy in the band that can create those wailing guitar solos, this is a great way for you to learn. Dan Denley is the guitarist that created the set. He earned a bachelor’s degree in music history and has had a lot of experience himself. That gives him some “street cred” as a guitar teacher.

Unlike some other programs, Lead Guitar Secrets is not available by download. You will need to order the lessons and have them shipped to you. The set contains 4 DVD’s, which provide more than seven hours of instruction. There is also an audio CD with almost 100 jam tracks that you can play along with. You get an interactive CD-Rom, too, with an hour’s worth of additional tips. All this comes with a Lead Guitar Secrets book that has written versions of the jams and songs on the DVD’s, and has a useful index so you can find any topic you want quickly.

Just so you can get an idea of what these lessons are like, there are five free ones available from Leadguitarsecrets.com. There are some free sample audio files and jam tracks here too so you can check it all out before you decide to buy.

Topics Covered:

 

I think one of the most important things you need to be a good lead player is finger strength and dexterity. This set has plenty of drills to help you develop those skills. If you practice these lessons you will be able to reach across many frets for chording and not experience so many problems with sore fingers. Your finger agility is sure to increase, too. The jam tracks make sure that you don’t get bogged down with drills only, though, because you can learn and play along with some actual solos as you go.

The set does a good job at teaching soloing methods for several music genres including blues, rock and jazz. All these styles are noted for their hot solos, so if any one of these is your favorite, you’ll be all set.

Lead Guitar Secrets presents the lessons in tablature and traditional notation. I think that’s great, because the two systems provide different information about music you are trying to learn. If you are not limited to Tab alone, you will be a much more versatile player.

There are 50 guitar licks taught in the set. Learning them allows you to adapt them to lots of different applications. But most lead guitar wanna-be’s that I have talked to, want to be able to make up their own solos. That will be possible, too, after you go through these lessons, because you’ll develop an understanding of what makes a solo great. You are taught scales in all the major keys, and pentatonic scales as well. These are the building blocks for every solo, and knowing scales is the first step to creating a hot lick or riff of your own.

There is information here about advanced chording, too. Things like diminished and augmented chords are explained; as well as how the chords in your piece are related to the scale you choose to base your solo on. The techniques you need for soloing, like hammer ons, bends and slides are illustrated. You also gain an understanding of syncopation and modal theory.

Bonus Material:
Lead Guitar Secrets comes with a few nice bonuses. The first is a Quick Start Guide. Since this is such a large set, it is nice to use this guide when you first get the product home, as a way to know what you should do first.

The next extra is called the “Progress Tracker”, which is a handy little chart for you to write down all the skills you have learned. It is a good way to stay motivated because you can look back over all the topics you have covered and feel good about your progress.

You also get a bonus video tutorial titled “Direct Chord Substitution.” When you order your lessons, you’ll get the link to this ten-minute tutorial emailed to you. It explains how chords are grouped together in families and how you can substitute one chord for another within the same harmonized scale.
 

Conclusion:
On the whole, I think Lead Guitar Secrets does a good job at preparing its students to lead the band. I like the fact that the main parts of the lessons come from the DVD’s and you can use the book as a supplement. That makes it easy to find what you are looking for and learn the skills you want. If you would like more information on Lead Guitar Secrets, click HERE. For a more complete set of lessons that cover all the aspects of guitar playing, though, I would recommend the series called Learn & Master Guitar.

 

To your success,

Crazy Dave

 

...I'm off to the Guitar Licks!