Opening Up The Fretboard

A structured approach for IMPROVER guitar players.

With a focus on Lead guitar playing.

Included with membership

What you'll be learning

Welcome to this Level 2 Lead Guitar pathway! 🎉😃

In this pathway we will be taking that wonderful pentatonic scale and starting to expand it. This means learning all 5 shapes of the pentatonic, as well as developing it with the natural major and minor scales on top.

We also take your technique up a notch by working directly on speed playing, vibrato, more bends and legato playing. This is a jump up in technique, as we need this to tackle harder and harder studies!

Along the way we have some amazing songs to learn, an Eric Clapton player study and a world of great exercises to help apply all of your new knowledge. So, make sure you are comfortable with the basics, and then pick up your guitars, plug in, and let's get started!
Dan Holton
Chief Coach
Before you begin
You need to know the first pentatonic shape, some simple solos, a few spider exercises and be able to play in time with a beat or metronome. Some open chords, powerchords and strumming patterns will also be a big help.

Check out Lead Pathway 1 if you're not sure.
Lead Pathway I
Lead Guitar School Starts Here
Premium Content
Lead Guitar
Level 2: Solos, scales & improvising
Welcome to the pathway! We'll get started with our Lead Guitar Level 2 course, which will take your core pentatonic shape, and start to build it out into further shapes and diatonic sounds. We have a B.B.King and Clapton style track in the course, to help you build your lick library and technique further. I think you'll love this one guys, so enjoy!
25 lesson course
Unlockable with purchase or subscription.
Free Content
Songs
Apply your new skills
After such an epic course, let's take some time to further apply these concepts - application is such an important part of learning! You are welcome to choose as many or few of these tracks as you like, but note that with every song you work on, those scales and techniques will be sinking in further and further. Enjoy the nice eclectic range of song choices!
Premium Content
Speed Building
Level 1: Break through your barriers and start playing fast
What a wonderful time to start talking about the elephant in the room… Speed! Getting those licks, riffs and exercises up to speed is one of the biggest challenges all lead players have, and this course will help you massively with this. It's time to make some gains!
5 lesson course
Unlockable with purchase or subscription.
Premium content
Guitar Gym
Improve your technique
Use this exercise daily as a warm up or a full practice session. After our speed course, your aim is to be regularly pushing the speed of this guitar gym exercise! Keep a note of your progress in the practice log as well!
Free Content
Songs
Apply your new skills
Before we dive into our next course, let's learn a few more songs! We have Hendrix and Queen classics for you here, and of course the main focus is the lead guitar part. If you want to try the rhythm and chords parts, please do, but we're mainly using these songs for the solos. They are fast, so be sure to start slow and gradually work up that speed, just as we teach in the Speed course. Have fun!
Premium Content
Lead Guitar
Level 3: Fly up and down the fretboard
Now we're ready to dive into one of the most important lead guitar courses you will ever take! We finally learn all 5 pentatonic shapes and work to be able to fly up and down the fretboard in any key. We have a range of awesome tracks to help you apply these skills, as well as our famous "airports" learning system (well, I think it's famous! 😂). Enjoy this one guys, it's going to be quite the journey.
21 lesson course
Unlockable with purchase or subscription.
Premium content
Guitar Gym
Improve your technique
There was so much content in our last course, that it's really worth getting our pentatonic scales, in major and minor, into some epic guitar gym exercises. Have a bit of fun working with these exercises, and do your best to get them in your daily practice.
Free Content
Songs
Apply your new skills
Before our next course, let's take this chance to learn two absolute classic rock tracks, to give you an excuse to put your lead guitar skills into action. I would suggest learning both songs, as they both offer something very different. Welcome To The Jungle is probably the more difficult of the two, as it's so epic, but Layla gives you an opportunity to practice your improvisation. Enjoy them both!
Premium Content
Vibrato
Building Vibrato Chops!
Now it's time to dive even deeper into vibrato. We've already looked at this subject, but you can never have enough practice with it as it's such a crucial part of developing your own unique sound as a player. Thomas will guide you through a rage of licks and vibrato ideas to keep pushing you forward, including the extremely difficult vibrato-on-bend technique! Good luck!
5 lesson course
Unlockable with purchase or subscription.
Premium Content
Eric Clapton
Intermediate Blues Rock from 'God' Himself
This is a course that has a huge significance to me personally. I am a lifelong fan of Clapton, as he is the payer that has shaped my playing more than anyone else. This study is challenging, but you are ready for it! The only thing to consider is that there may be the odd licks here and there that you may feel are just too fast. Don't worry about that. Do your best, and get the rest of the solo around them sounding good. This will always happen in your lead career, so when you come across those blistering licks, learn them and add them to a guitar gym style daily workout. Good luck guys, and enjoy!
26 lesson course
Unlockable with purchase or subscription.
Free Content
Songs
Apply your new skills
Before we finish this wonderful pathway, let's learn a few Clapton tracks! These are absolute classics, and every Clapton fan should learn them! I recommend working through them both before finishing the pathway… Enjoy them too! If you've studied Wonderful Tonight before, now is your opportunity to see how far you've come with your lead. Also use it as a way to try some improvisation over the top!
Complete pathway
to unlock
Congrats for getting all the way through this epic pathway! You've done absolutely brilliantly, and I would take the time to enjoy it! At this point you have two options for your next steps…

If you feel like you're on a lead guitar roll, and want to keep going with it, please do! Head over to the Complete Fretboard Fluidity 🤩 [Lead Pathway 3] pathway and get cracking!

If you want to make sure your chords and rhythm are at the same level as your lead, becoming a complete all round player, try the The Great Barre Chord Quest 🤘 [Electric Pathway 2] or if you've already done that and feel comfortable with barre chords, take the Unravel The Mystery of CAGED 🙌 [Electric Pathway 3].

What is important is that you take a range of your favourite songs from the pathway, and practice them regularly, to ensure that those rhythm and chord skills are continuously improving along the way. When they become too easy, let them go! There will be plenty more taking there place along the way. See you in the next pathway!
Dan Holton
Chief Coach

Complete pathway
to unlock

Congrats for getting all the way through this epic pathway! You've done absolutely brilliantly, and I would take the time to enjoy it! At this point you have two options for your next steps…

If you feel like you're on a lead guitar roll, and want to keep going with it, please do! Head over to the Complete Fretboard Fluidity 🤩 [Lead Pathway 3] pathway and get cracking!

If you want to make sure your chords and rhythm are at the same level as your lead, becoming a complete all round player, try the The Great Barre Chord Quest 🤘 [Electric Pathway 2] or if you've already done that and feel comfortable with barre chords, take the Unravel The Mystery of CAGED 🙌 [Electric Pathway 3].

What is important is that you take a range of your favourite songs from the pathway, and practice them regularly, to ensure that those rhythm and chord skills are continuously improving along the way. When they become too easy, let them go! There will be plenty more taking there place along the way. See you in the next pathway!

Dan Holton

Chief Coach

Opening Up The Fretboard

Before you begin

Lead Guitar

Songs

Speed Building

Guitar Gym

Songs

Lead Guitar

Guitar Gym

Songs

Vibrato

Eric Clapton

Songs

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