OASIS: How To Play Lead Guitar Like Noel Gallagher In The 1990's

Join James Hargreaves to learn the basics of soloing with the minor pentatonic box, and how to use 5 different lead guitar licks within that scale to emulate the style and sound of Noel Gallagher with Oasis in the 1990s.
Apologies, the tab for this solo is no longer available to download.
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Many thanks, JH.

[@jamboz]

One of the best guitar tutors online.

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

Thanks so much, very kind of you 👍👍👍🎸🎸🎸

[@danrl9710]

One of the best...online. PERIOD. Especially if you’re an Oasis nut like me!

[@danrl9710]

@@JamesHargreavesGuitar Hey James, any chance you’d look at some of Weller’s work?

[@theclinkmusic]

Yep. Superb channel this

[@michaelholmes9874]

@@danrl9710 or Steve Craddock with Weller, that would be amazing...

[@JKGuitar]

I think where Noel Gallagher shines (and imo means he's very underrated from a lead guitar POV) is how melodic his lead lines and solos are. For me, being this melodic while really only using a handful of scales and techniques shows a real skill and knowledge of how to play lead guitar with the other instruments on the track rather then on top of the instruments like many other guitarists do.

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

I very much agree. There's a beauty in simplicity. Have you ever heard a crowd sing along to a Van Halen guitar line? No, me neither. Oasis? Many times

[@add-123]

I'm not sure just looks like dross on tab super sonic solo on two frets hasnt any substance at all ping ping ping you have to pick any tune in it so bad I'm shocked love oasis but my good lord its unplayable imo I can pick up a matt Bellamy riff play it ya and it sounds like tune even if picking isnt in time you hear it nows is ping ping ping ping and unless you pick tune there is 0 to the riff there's absolutely nothing it's as impressive as me playing a piano solo on one key on a piano by just tapping out melody it reads as garbage 16b 16b 14 16 16 14 16 14 16 17 14 16 14 16 hows that any tune ever sorry love oasis looked to start playing it and it's not looking good please tell me how and why I'm wrong cos every noel solo ever is looking the same and unplayable just reading off tab absolute loose stool water what I'm playing an I know I'm playing what's there sounds like piiing ping pong ping pong ping pong ping pong ping pong and if it's my musical ability how come I never have same issue with artic monkeys muse rolling stones or anything not by oasis some of Noel's hfb stuff is sort of playable but super sonic is arse or noel lied on tab which not cool imo

[@TheVeteranFiles]

Yeah his phrasing really is next level. The technical side isn't all that special aside from a stellar technique. But it's really a master class in stellar phrasing.

[@add-123]

@@TheVeteranFiles ye think as I learn more of him and realise hes actually left handed but plays right handed cos its cooler is next level and think the simplicity could be why it caught off like nirvana you see some guys on the word rocking and think man I could do that (famous last words) but helped spawn a million bedroom bands which if not the most gifted musician hes certainly one of most influential for sure and maybe my last comment based on one song where as he has showed great talent and fact hes actually a lefty playing right handed makes it quite impressive if not technically amazing definitely impressive

[@simontunnicliffe2107]

Yeah, I think Noel (and in a large amount of guitar music these days I hear a very distinct lack of) puts every effort into everything sounding as catchy and melodic as possible, his vocal melodies as well as you say, his lead riffs. I try to do the same with my songs and I have some great melodies vocally but still learning lead but I think Noel has a gift in both these areas.

[@ArenClegg]

i love noel's double stops, especially at the and of the bring it down solo.

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

Yeah they're mega effective

[@andyhigginsguitar9670]

Noely G is such an underrated guitarist! Sometimes simplicity trumps complexity and complements the song so much better! Another reason Noel is a genius songwriter!

[@stevelogan1699]

Often you see good guitarists soloing and you wonder how they got there. You fish around on youtube and come up with very mixed results: too advanced, too complex, not well-explained, or somehow not keyed in to your own way of thinking. Some players don't want to tell their secrets. Some can't. What's outstanding about this video, I think, is that James starts where most of us do: learning one shape and wanting to sound something like a favourite player. And best of all, the explanations are beautifully clear, don't wrap the subject in mystique and give hope. Thank you James. The comments show that you've pinched a harmonic in the minds of many.

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

Cheers Steve! Very kind of you 👍👍

[@joehardy8673]

What a channel this is turning into ...can’t express how thankful I am for this video !

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

Cheers Joe! Thanks for your kind words man

[@themasterssin3805]

This is the best tutorial that I've ever seen. Thank you man!

[@matcoffidis1135]

I do love unison bends. Fantastic lesson. Thank you!

[@joerainbow9831]

The detail is staggering! So helpful

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

Cheers Joe, glad to help!

[@brettrussell3721]

Your in depth knowledge of oasis is very impressive. Also your guitar/music info is fantastic. Great video!

[@adeworman]

Great video 👌🏻

[@spetnoss]

Excellent mate 🙌🏻

[@jacobhemsley8121]

Literally thinking about this just then, thanks James this channel is gonna grow and gonna help loads of people

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

Cheers Jacob - I hope so! Thanks bud

[@kirbyjakescarborough4515]

YES!! Thanks James! I was looking for an Oasis Noel lead vid and there you were again. Awesome Mate!! Cheers!

[@abiwankinobi]

This was really helpful. Thank you so much

[@keithh2100]

Genius! I’ve been playing for ages and didn’t know this. Ta so much.

[@PB-guitar]

Fantastic video thanks, really helping me to understand solos as a whole let alone Noels

[@jaidenbowkett]

Perfect timing, I’ve been trying to improve my lead playing and this will help a ton. Cheers James 🎸

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

Excellent, hope this helps!

[@davidfisher5507]

Really good video, nice clear instruction. Thanks for posting.

[@tornaclconor5149]

On top of being entertaining and providing amazing music/oasis content, you're also a brilliant teacher!

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

Thanks so much Conor! Happy jamming 🎸🎸🎸👍👍👍

[@alexismalicsi3814]

The best of noel playing style is. His timing very on point. And so melodic.

[@jamesmcparland9954]

Thanks, James.:.this was very helpful, and your ability to teach in a calm, interested and interesting manner is outstanding...cheers!

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

My pleasure, thanks for your kind comments! 🎸🎸👍👍

[@richfromtheligerz4922]

Great video ❤️ love Noel gallagher style

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

Cheers Rich - yeah me too. You don't have to play a million notes per second to be a brilliant guitarist! I love Noel's stuff. Melodic.

[@eyalga100]

Very helpful and well explained. Your content is pure gold.

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

Glad you think so!

[@johnbarry731]

Great video as always James 👍

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

Cheers John! happy jamming :)

[@gertrudgreger]

Thanks bro. Could listen to you all day. Cheers!

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

Thanks for that!

[@fionnmcnessa]

Man i have been going around in circles for at least that kast year trying to find videos on theory to helo me learn how to solo as ive been just been playing open chords and var chords for years and felt stuck in a rut . Man this video is a god send you have explained so much so clear and in layman terms been thinking of getting an elextric guitar latley think i am gonna get one big oais fan aswell. Heading of to work now a happy man looking forward to getting started on these scales and licks so thank you so much for taking the tine and helping us beginers solo students out . Best wished from Dublin Ireland 🇮🇪

[@Srobinson102]

This was great. Thank you.

[@masonangel_1]

My Favourite guitarist! he was an incredible guitarist because he simply knew how to "serve the song"

[@OkinInc]

Top lesson James! I learnt most of these in the 90’s all from listening to Oasis and having a dear friend with an ear and skill to show me how it was done. Mate, this is perfect for aspiring lead guitarists. Noel makes simple sound excellent over the band. Miss those times and thanks for all your videos, from New Zealand.

[@MrZanna87it]

Very very good. Thank you!

[@gavinevans4711]

Good work, Jim!

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

Thanks Gavin! happy jamming

[@MrPiccoloFan]

Excellent tutorial 👍🏻🎸

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

Thanks 👍👍🎸🎸

[@crazygang225]

Thanks James. Another great lesson and good luck with the top 40!

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

Cheers Richard! Thanks mate, onwards and upwards!

[@SimonRobinson137]

Really excellent video - cheers

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

Thanks Simon, more than welcome

[@caltravali36]

Brill tutorial. Thanks 👍

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

Cheers caltravali36! happy jamming 👍👍🎸🎸

[@albamaraespinosa6636]

Thank you :)

[@haqimdanial]

Thank you so much! I’m having trouble creating solos for my songs! This helps!

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

Great, glad to help! I know it's annoying to hear but there's nothing like practice hahaha just keep soloing to backing tracks and to your own songs day in, day out, and it'll come! Happy jamming

[@cyjp0]

Wow this is legit the most informative soloing tutorial on youtube, thank you so much and also thanks to youtube recomendations for letting me find you. On that note i'd love to know if you're planning a part 2 for this

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

Thanks so much! There will definitely be more videos on soloing coming up, although I'm going to do a few bits and pieces on more intermediate and advanced techniques - alot of the recent stuff has focused on entry-level beginner stuff, so I'm planning on a few more difficult tutorials. Watch this space!

[@cyjp0]

@@JamesHargreavesGuitar cool i wont miss it, also do you give private classes? With the pandemic my music school closed doors and i've been looking for a new teacher. With this tutorial i got really amazed by your teaching skills so if you do have some kind of online tutoring i'd be really interested

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

@@cyjp0 yes, I do teach one-to-one classes via zoom or Skype (you can find out more about these via my website www.jamesHargreavesguitar.com) but I will also be making a beginners guitar course in the next year or so which will consist of just videos that people can go through systematically to learn what they want to learn

[@titep1329]

Very good, thank you 👍🏻

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

more than welcome

[@FlatDerrick]

I've been playing nigh on 35 years and learned these tricks many years ago, but by god is this a good explanation.

[@dman3316]

This is also a great introduction to the fundamentals of soloing in general. Learn a scale, find your key then play around with it. Simple stuff that can be expanded upon as far as you choose to take it

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

Thanks Dan, happy jamming 👍👍🎸🎸

[@shakerbaker455]

Good stuff 🎸 thanks 😊

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

Cheers! Happy jamming

[@claytonbjork5687]

Well explained

[@streetdaniel2010]

Excellent work that buddy 👍🏻

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

Cheers streetdaniel2010 - happy jamming :)

[@EJleon96]

Before I learned how to play I would hear some of his solos and think that they were going to be very hard to learn. Once I started learning more scales especially the minor pentatonic I realized that they were actually quite simple. Noel Gallagher’s lead guitar isn’t the most technical but he had a great ear for knowing which notes to play at the right time. Not sure if I like the “Slide Away” or “Live Forever” solos best. The man was a good improviser as well on some live shows. Still one of my favorite guitarists.

[@tinsrelos]

Great video I hope you do more licks

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

More to come!

[@Wearethewingmakers]

Cheers James just the video I needed to see today for where I’m at cheers bud.

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

Excellent! Glad to hear it, happy jamming 👍👍🎸🎸

[@Wearethewingmakers]

@@JamesHargreavesGuitar been learning times like these by the goo fighters at first it looked really hard but it’s similar to what you’re doing in this video I’m not familiar with all the names of the pentatonics etc

[@weekendsonmercury648]

Great vid, really enjoying the content you make buddy. I think Noel's playing shows that lead guitar does not need to be complicated to sound great, just whip out the old pentatonic and remember to finish on a bend

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

Couldn’t agree more, lead guitar should put melody before pyrotechnics

[@WayneCatlin]

You're too good Jimbo!!

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

Thanks Wayne! Have fun jamming!

[@jakehope6811]

Great stuff James mate I've always wanted to try and learn guitar because of the stone roses and mainly oasis I'm now in my mid 20s thinking of picking one up😊🎸, maybe do a short video on things you would recommend a beginner try out with the guitar and equipment you would recommend, thanks alot mate keep up the great content

[@jimhogg6460]

Really enjoyed that n learned, thank you keep up the good work, cool as stink channel as well 😊👍

[@Tcoldsteel]

Great tutorial. Might I recommend a loop pedal too for practicing 👍🏻

[@salehurst]

Thanks

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

Welcome 👍👍

[@DaP84]

Nice! I'm very influenced by Noel's melodic lead stuff. Also my first inspiration, Ace Frehley, both melodic players. Third huge influence is John Frusciante, he's an amazing melodic player

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

Yeah I very much agree. John F is awesome. And I'm a guitarist who can play all that widdly van halen stuff... but with the possible exception of John Squire, Eric Clapton and one or two others, I just prefer the more melodic side. It just SOUNDS better

[@hitesh_blues2353]

Thank you so much!! Please do more Oasis centric guitar tutorials :)

[@jasonq111]

Yep, NG made a career out of pentatonic scales, unison bends and double stops but, hey, he wrote some great tunes! I love early Oasis when Liam could actually sing. Great lesson, James. Thx!

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

Thanks Jason, happy jamming!

[@Nicccolas]

Great vid as always James! would love to see a vid on John Squire's lead technique as I think its a sort of predecessor of Noel's style in a way (especially in the early Oasis years). Keep up the great content!

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

Thanks for that - a John Squire solo technique video is coming up! Watch this space

[@Nicccolas]

@@JamesHargreavesGuitar Awesome! looking forward

[@KaylaTheSprout]

Thank yoh soj much for this, I took music for gcse and need to write a song, I want to do it inspired by oasis/noel/blur this will help so much, thank you 👍

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

Excellent! Glad to help. I remember doing my music gcse hahahahaha.... fun times

[@KaylaTheSprout]

You know what I just got into ska Punk, bruh I can't choose

[@musicperson5090]

This is absolutely biblical 👍

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

Thanks! Enjoy...

[@Mr_Black_R]

Hi James loving all of the videos they have taught me so much and helped bring me on a lot. The oasis ones are all amazing mate iv watched them all, some more than once This video is just what i need for where I’m at now, I’m just wondering does the theory of the neck position and key of the song work transpire for other guitarists like John squire when he solos or is he much more advanced or complicated ? TIA 👍

[@nevermindthebollocks1171]

Great

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

🤘🤘🎸🎸

[@markpage6111]

Loved this James! I've been learning WTSMG lately and delved into solo's for the first time. It must be sinking in because I knew which songs had those techniques in. Currently onto She's Electric, but double stops on Some Might Say took me a couple of weeks to get comfortable 😂

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

Yeah WTSMG can be a beast to learn to solo over because of all the damn varispeed on almost every track (meaning if you're a bit mental about tuning like me, you have to retune the guitar literally every song! bloody Owen Morris hahaha) Don't know if you've seen it, but I've done this one giving the correct details for jamming over every track on Morning Glory - kzbin.info/www/bejne/Z4C7dHppiJKmbac

[@jameshanafee2090]

I’ll happily watch through the mid-roll ads for you

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

haha that’s praise indeed! lol

[@sandrabecht4489]

Vielen Dank👍🇩🇪

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

very welcome

[@neilmclaughlin2347]

I see you have done a video on the style of John Squire. How about video’s on the other two best guitarists of the Britpop era: Bernard Butler & James Dean Bradfield. Both of these guys, along with along with John Squire were clearly the most talented lead players of that time in the U.K. scene. Cheers for the videos though. Very fun and informative.

[@joshuaday2182]

Nice one! Don’t suppose you could do a Jon Fratelli tutorial at all?

[@williampayne7678]

Noel Gallagher is a great Guitarist.

[@neiljones2264]

Excellent video, thank you. Everyone needs a lick library 😂...

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

Lol always helpful in those live situations

[@Name-iq8te]

7th fret

[@S3aChange]

The lick at 10.40ish is also how the Champagne Supernova solo begins...

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

Yeah he uses it all over the place

[@S3aChange]

@@JamesHargreavesGuitar It's the switching between minor and major that I get stuck on mostly (even after playing for years). Like in this video at 5.23... he's gone from playing in the minor position on the 5th and 12th frets... to now playing from fret 14 --- my guitar teacher used to tell me to treat the major and minor as totally separate things, i.e Am actually has more in common with C than it has with A. (video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/iWWscmdshJeigac&ab_channel=%EB%8C%80%EC%B6%A9%EA%B8%B0%ED%83%80)

[@cph2004]

The most important think is... What strings are you using?

[@alexandrenguyen3593]

Hi guys! Going from a minor key to a major : the tips of going down 3 frets works for every notes/keys ? Whats the explanation ? Thanks !!

[@NoNameNo.5]

Nice Axe

[@masonangel_1]

Noel Gallagher Is My Favourite 😁 One of my favourites is Noel also does a lick where he will play a part like the first example but he will pick the high e string you can hear this on champagne supernova or the master plan 😁does that make sense? If this comment section had an audio option it would be easier to explain haha

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

Yeah definitely, Noel mixes these up all the time and does all kinds of different versions of all of them. Mixing and matching different licks and ideas is one of the best ways to make some of these licks your own 👍👍👍🎸🎸🎸

[@DDD-vt5vb]

Would you be able to do something on songs in different tuning such asDADGAD

[@b500l8]

nice tele

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

Yeah it's a beaut

[@tabeecorr6611]

James I think I read or heard Noel once say that it took him 18 months to do the guitar solo for Live Forever. I wonder how long he had that song kicking around for? Shortly after they got signed by Creation Noel sent Alan a demo tape version of Live Forever. After Alan asked him you got any new songs for me yet?

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

Huh that's very interesting. Yeah in the Definitely Maybe era he really put some heart & soul into crafting his solos, and I didn't know about the 18 months thing, but it really shows. It's his best solo by a mile!

[@tabeecorr6611]

Yeah he sure did like. I remember it now. It came up during the making of Oasis debut album. When Live Forever was getting produced they took the guitar solo off. Then Noel said like heck, you know that took me 18 months to write that guitar solo. Back in the 90s I used to read a lot on bands especially Oasis and The Beatles. In London in Denmark Street one of the streets filled with just music or guitar shops. Right up in the top right corner they had a bookshop called The Helter Skelter. They used to sell new and old books about music bands and their albums. So I used to learn a lot how music was back then as in writing, recording and their tour stories too. Them books were pretty cheap too. So it was well worth the read back then.

[@thomas79marshall]

I physically can't bend the g string up high enough to do the unison bend. Using set of tens on a tele and don't want to go lighter but maybe I'll have to. Any suggestions?

[@cooko22]

Might be a stupid question but how do you establish the key of a song. Great video btw

[@Donjeur]

Great vid! Would you please consider doing a video analysis of something that’s been bugging me for years... Noel G has claimed that he has never had a lesson in his life yet he knows enough to write some of the best songs of all time and play some of the most iconic and memorable lead guitar. a) is this possible? b) is there evidence in the music? c) is there evidence of him improving over time or did he emerge fully formed. It’s not that I don’t believe him...

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

Hi Donjeur - its total bollocks, there's video elsewhere of him in the 90s talking about not getting along with his guitar teacher at school and slagging him off now that he's a famous rockstar! Noel is an amazing musician, but one of the most unreliable interviewees ever! He just lies constantly. He also claims he wrote 'Wonderwall' in 5 minutes in one place, and then talks about various changes and refinements he made over weeks in other places. He did not emerge fully formed, he learned the same as anyone!

[@Donjeur]

I agree. that’s why it always bugged me. Was hoping the proof would be in analysing his lead over time. I seem to remember around the Be Here Now tour thinking his playing had jumped up a notch, and also a vague memory of him saying Weller had taught him some stuff around morning glory era. Do you listen to Matt Morgan’s podcast? He’s on quite a lot, very funny.

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

I've not listened to that one, no, but I may check it out 👍👍

[@DanJCole91]

At 3:41 James unlocked his inner Banjo Kazooie

[@harrybarnes9581]

Describe it so well

[@oohaahhantona5595]

Really bugging my ocd that the both the doors aren’t the same colour. Lol. Thanks for the info.

[@traveller-fueds]

Noel is a simple genius learn ya scales have a good ear bam

[@b500l8]

I call it the gin n tonic scale

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

hahahahaha

[@luislucia3790]

Everything that Noel plays while soloing is quite simple, let's be honest.

[@Jimmybarth]

Hey man are you trying to teach us the pentatonic scale again? Hahaha

[@PunkMarioBros]

I misread the title as “How To Play Liam Gallagher Like Noel Gallagher” 😂

[@missunique65]

ra!

[@davidluqueskywalker527]

Great liks !!!! PD: 7:57 . . . could not miss !!! Hahaha

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

Glad you enjoyed!

[@paninovevo1162]

It's way harder to learn not abusing his style

[@cph2004]

3:41 how I hear my wife when she is moaning at me 😄

[@rossmckenzie2433]

It's hardly soloing in the traditional rock context though ......... guys like Angus Young for example would wipe the floor up with Gallagher😂

[@JamesHargreavesGuitar]

Yeah, true - but I do believe there is a place for both. I love Guthrie Govan, for example, who I will never be able to touch ability-wise in a million years. But I also love Noel's lead lines, for their simplicity and melody. You can't hum along to van halen (at least not without having drunk 27 cups of coffee) but everyone can hum along to Noel. Sure, they're both two different ends of the spectrum, but hey I think they're both great

[@SpindlyScoudrel]

The fact its not soloing in trad rock way is what makes Noel so good!

[@barberoriley5059]

Why does it have to be traditional in order to be good, or fit the music?

[@Johnny_Doe]

Easy Pentatonic scales. Noel usually plays within the box…

[@senorphilipe4242]

It’s easy - play like anyone who’s been playing for about a year

[@plum3238]

How to play like daddy G

[@matthewdrake9699]

People slag Noel off for his playing but i guarantee 99% of these people couldn’t stand up infront of 100000 people and not fuck it up

[@seniornibbs1969]

i love noel but you should play it in your own style

[@linsayspence7070]

I'd rather be able to play guitar like Pete Townshend .