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General => General Music Discussion => Topic started by: T-ski on January 09, 2020, 09:31:17 AM
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forgive me if this is in the wrong section, but the "Musicians" section didn't look as active, so....
I want to learn to play the guitar.
Sounds simple enough but I could use some good suggestions pertaining to equipment, lessons, etc.
Heres my story. I'm 47 years old, played sax through high school (mostly for fun, not much practicing). I did play the cello way back in 5th grade, but I doubt anything has been retained since then.
I'd just like to learn some basics, piddle around and just see if its something I can do.
Thanks for any leads you can give me.
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That's awesome. I'm sure you already know this, but patience is your friend when it comes to picking up a new instrument (or your first).
Before I give suggestions, what kind of guitar are you looking to pick up? Electric, acoustic or classical? Depending on the type I could make suggestions and extra accessories you will need.
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I'm with T-Ski, just a few years younger. Glad he started this thread.
I'm personally looking for electric. I love acoustic, but I heard electric is better for folks who want to play casually, as it isn't as rough on the fingers. But I am open to whatever. I just want to learn. I played a little bit (just learning tab) back in law school to pass the time. But I never really got anywhere other than playing some intros of my favorite Queensryche songs. I'd actually like to learn chords and how to play.
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That's awesome. I'm sure you already know this, but patience is your friend when it comes to picking up a new instrument (or your first).
Before I give suggestions, what kind of guitar are you looking to pick up? Electric, acoustic or classical? Depending on the type I could make suggestions and extra accessories you will need.
Acoustic.
I forgot to mention in my first post that I'm left handed. I don't know what kind of issues this may cause, but I hope in todays world it won't matter.
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I don't play much anymore, and haven't for years. But I have a cheap Squier strat and practice amp for noodling around when the urge strikes. I can't really offer suggestions for an acoustic. But I will briefly make the case for going electric, and you can do with it what you will: Any song that you want to play on an acoustic, for purposes of just learning or playing along in your home, you can do on an electric just playing clean with no distortion. And the learning curve is a bit easier just because of the string gauge and other physical differences that make an electric far easier to learn for beginners who don't have time to develop the additional finger strength, dexterity, and calluses that you need to play acoustic. Plus, when you find yourself just wanting to play a nasty hard rock or metal riff, you can just switch over to some distortion and have fun with it, which you can't do with an acoustic.
If you buy into any of that, here are my recommendations:
-Amp: You can get a decent practice amp that will be PLENTY loud for the home and have effects and even a tuner built in, and not spend a lot of money. I love Line 6's Classic Spider, which you can get for about a hundred bucks: https://www.guitarcenter.com/Line-6/Spider-15-Classic-15W-1x8-Guitar-Combo-Amp-1500000013914.gc?source=4WWRWXGP&gclid=CjwKCAiAu9vwBRAEEiwAzvjq-0l58xh8xSBn3uJOUNeYCz_0vPYYAtSg8-Sd2nLEhPwK9cfQXSZFvRoCd9cQAvD_BwE It has great cleans, distortion, and other effects, as well as tuner, built in so you don't have to buy extra gear.
-Guitar: You can get a decent practice guitar for $100-$200 if you really want to go cheap. At a beginner's price point, the sound is what it is, and it'll be "decent" for just about anything that is a recognizable name, so I wouldn't worry about that. I would just go into a big music store (Guitar Center, or whatever you have in your area), and try out a few in whatever price range is comfortable. If you are self-conscious about not knowing how to play, don't worry about it. You don't even have to plug it in. You can just quietly strum on it in the corner without hardly anyone noticing. The important thing is how it feels. And if you strum on a few, you will get a sense of what is comfortable for you. I would advise playing a few that are within and slightly outside of your price range, and taking notes on what feels good, and then shopping online to see if you can find a better price.
EDIT: On the guitars, you might even snap a pic of what you like as you are trying some out, and then post some here, and people can give you feedback on pros/cons that you might not have picked up on yourself.
That's my two cents.
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Welcome to the journey. I'm just a few months back into playing after a decade off, so basically starting from scratch (except on the gear front :hat) We're at a point now where budget guitars are of better quality than they've ever been. Still, I'd shell out a couple extra bucks for your entry level Squier or Epiphone over some no-name guitar on Amazon or something like that.
As far as lessons, I can't recommend Justin Guitar highly enough. His website (free) has a whole series of courses from just starting out beginner through intermediate and advanced topics and he'll have you playing songs you know right out of the gate. If you do go this route I'd recommend getting a capo with you guitar as some of his beginner songs do need one.
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Get something basic and cheap to start with is my suggestion. That way if for some reason it doesn't work out, you haven't wasted a lot of money. Any cheap acoustic guitar would do. Perhaps start off with nylon strings as they are easier on the fingertips than steel string. It just makes the transition a little easier as you are learning.
When I started learning 20 years ago private lessons were the big thing but looks like there's enough on youtube to cover that. Not sure who would be the best though for beginners.
The last thing is practice. When I was learning the guitar was in my hands whenever I wasn't at work/school. Hours and hours a day. It's the only way to improve.
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forgive me if this is in the wrong section, but the "Musicians" section didn't look as active, so....
True, I'm surprised at the lack of activity in the musicians section and how many won't give the time of day, or feedback..
The best advice to beginning guitar. Go the extra mile and buy a good quality guitar, one that stays in tune and has good playing action on the fretboard. Don't settle for less, otherwise you'll get frustrated and possibly quit.
There are however decent guitars that won't gouge the pocket book. Acoustic guitars are good for building hand strength and are recommended for learning on. "Jasmine" by Takamine are really good guitars for the $100 range. Also Laurel Canyon guitars are affordable with great tone.
Electric guitars are equally as important. Find a good quality one and it opens up an endless world of creativity and fun! :coolio
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Buy yourself a beat up six string in a secondhand store. You won't know how to play it, but you'll know for sure that one guitar will feel good in your hands. Won't take long to understand.
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Buy yourself a beat up six string in a secondhand store. You won't know how to play it, but you'll know for sure that one guitar will feel good in your hands. Won't take long to understand.
Winner!
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PAWN SHOPS.
I currently have an Ovation shallow body acoustic, and a Fender Strat electric (having previously owned a Les Paul Standard). I was killing time in a pawn shop about six months ago, and there was a red Squier strat with dual humbuckers that played like a DREAM. Shooting the shit with the proprietor, and sure enough, I walked out with the guitar for $50 cash.
Oh, and more than the guitar itself, you might consider taking whatever you buy in to your local guitar shop and have them set it up. Not always, but sometimes you can adjust things like string height to suit you better without having to wait or shop around for a "perfect fit".
I know I can look at a couple of the local places here for you if you'd like.
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Welcome to the journey. I'm just a few months back into playing after a decade off, so basically starting from scratch (except on the gear front :hat) We're at a point now where budget guitars are of better quality than they've ever been. Still, I'd shell out a couple extra bucks for your entry level Squier or Epiphone over some no-name guitar on Amazon or something like that.
As far as lessons, I can't recommend Justin Guitar highly enough. His website (free) has a whole series of courses from just starting out beginner through intermediate and advanced topics and he'll have you playing songs you know right out of the gate. If you do go this route I'd recommend getting a capo with you guitar as some of his beginner songs do need one.
googles "capo"..... thats how novice I am. :lol
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great suggestions so far, keep 'em coming!
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Left handed guitars are still hard to find, but not impossible with today's internet :D
I agree with Bosk, it would be better to buy an electric just for the flexibility of sound and easier on the fingers. But I also know there are certain sounds you just can't get with an electric (even with acoustic simulators). But if you are just starting, I don't think that is something you would care about or even notice. But here is what I would recommend for an acoustic:
Ibanez AW54LOPN; It goes around $200, but it is probably the best quality you would get for an "intro" guitar. If you want something a little better, Ibanez AEG18LII, Yamaha FG820L or Breedlove Discovery all 3 guitars go around $300, have a good neck profile that makes it a little easier to play that the first option.
Also, if you want to take care of your guitar, do not buy it without a gig bag and a humidifier. Acoustic guitars are very sensitive and could dry out easily, causing the wood to crack and the guitar to sound awful.
If you decide to follow Bosk suggestion and buy an electric, you can't go wrong with a squier, epiphone or Ibanez guitar ($200 or under). However, I would recommend to stay away from "starter pack" "Beginner pack" or any type of guitar pack. The value is good but the guitars are awful even for beginners. Those guitar are poorly built and could end up hurting/damaging your fingers after just a few minutes of playing (mainly because the frets need adjustment and shaving).
As technology gets better, so do amplifier and Bosk is also correct about the line 6. Most guitar players prefer tube amp for the more natural and punchy sound, but for someone who is starting, modeling amp is the way to go since you can get a lot of different tones out of it without pedals and effects.
In terms of lessons, I taught myself how to play and read tabs, but there are tons of free lessons on youtube and other websites. I would recommend getting the app "Jamplay". It's a good reference to learn and visualize chords and scales. I'm sure there are other apps but that's the one I use for free backing track.
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Buy yourself a beat up six string in a secondhand store. You won't know how to play it, but you'll know for sure that one guitar will feel good in your hands. Won't take long to understand.
I would only recommend used guitars if they are electric. For acoustic guitars is better to buy new. An electric guitar could feel brand new with a good standard setup, and acoustic guitar would need a lot more work depending on the condition.
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Buy yourself a beat up six string in a secondhand store. You won't know how to play it, but you'll know for sure that one guitar will feel good in your hands. Won't take long to understand.
I would only recommend used guitars if they are electric. For acoustic guitars is better to buy new. An electric guitar could feel brand new with a good standard setup, and acoustic guitar would need a lot more work depending on the condition.
Nah man. He just needs to keep on rockin'. He just can't stop. Gotta keep on rockin', that boy has got to stay on top.
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PAWN SHOPS.
Sure, you can get a good deal. The only thing I don't like about Pawn shops is that they are gaining off of somebody else's loss. I feel it's borderline bad "ju-ju" if I buy a guitar from them. Someone elses passion lost because of tough times.
Btw, Squires are crap. Don't be fooled by their cosmetics and cheap prices..
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PAWN SHOPS.
When I used to work at Guitar Center, one time we got a $6,000 Gibsons custom shop stolen from us. Luckily we were able to track it and found it at a Pawn Shop tagged as an "Epiphone Les Paul" for $400. Sometimes they don't even know what they have.
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PAWN SHOPS.
I would NOT recommend buying at a Pawn shop for a beginner who does not know what he is buying. Quick way to end up with a lemon.
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PAWN SHOPS.
I would NOT recommend buying at a Pawn shop for a beginner who does not know what he is buying. Quick way to end up with a lemon.
If they can't tell the difference between a guitar and a piece of fruit they've got bigger problems than learning a new instrument :neverusethis:
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PAWN SHOPS.
I would NOT recommend buying at a Pawn shop for a beginner who does not know what he is buying. Quick way to end up with a lemon.
Not as argument, but for discussion purposes, I think that's true of anything above an entry level guitar. We have three (used to have four) pawn shops around me, and one more around where my daughter used to go to high school, and I would often stop in to kill time (you can often get video games and CDs for a couple bucks, tops. Especially CDs.) You rarely see any Gibson guitars, and only occasionally will you see a Fender, and that's 99% of the time a Mexican strat. I'd stay away from those if you don't know what you're looking at. They are there for one of two reasons: the coke dealer wouldn't take it in trade, or they couldn't move it at a guitar shop/to a collector.
But I'll bet if I walked into those four shops today, two of them would have a Squier strat that is in very good working condition, and was a starter instrument for someone that either moved on to something better or decided that motorcycles were more fun. Epiphone too, though less so (since the Epiphone guitars are more expensive to start with).
Either way, he said he's looking for an acoustic, so you're probably more right than I am, in that you probably do need to be able to see if the neck is straight, or the body is warped. But you can still probably find an Ovation Celebrity (if you don't mind the curved back) or a Yamaha for cheap.
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Buy a nice cheap electric and amp combo package. Turn the amp up to 11, strum the strings and... :metal
Sure, you could spend more, per some other recommendations, but most 'entry level' guitars really aren't bad these days. Quick example: https://www.andertons.co.uk/guitar-dept/electric-guitar-bundles/epiphone-les-paul-sl-in-heritage-cherry-bundle-w-marshall-mg10cf-accessories
I wouldn't sweat the details too much right now. The path to madness that way lies.
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while I initially thought acoustic was the way to go, you've all made me reconsider. If electric is really a bit easier on the fingers I may go in that direction.
I also had a couple of friends recommend the ukulele to start with which I thought was interesting.
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Actual guitar teacher chiming in..
I would suggest for anyone picking up the guitar for the very first time (especially children) to go with a classical acoustic guitar, because it's easier on the fingers. You have a fretboard that's slightly broader than that of an electric, which gives your fingers more room to get used to what they're supposed to do and the strings are way easier to press down on a classical acoustic than they are on a steel-stringed acoustic or an electric. Also, whenever you play chords, they instantly sound good on an acoustic, whereas electric guitars tend to sound terrible when used by anyone who has no idea about volume & tone knobs, how hard to hit the strings and how to properly dial in your amplifier to get the sound you want.
I recommend an acoustic, because you can start out by going through all the basics, be it simple fingerpicking, open chords, more advanced chords, playing with a pick or learning how to read musical notation. No, you can't really play metal riffs on an acoustic, but frankly, you're not going to be there for a while anyway. On top of that, cheap acoustic guitars tend to be better (from my experience) than cheap electrics. Definitely don't go with the cheapest you can get, but let yourself be informed by someone knowledgeable in a dedicated store.
Have fun! And set some goals for yourself to progress :)
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Know it all. :)
(I'm totally kidding; I appreciate the point of view, because most of my playing has been very much trial and error.)
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I farted around on guitar throughout my 20s. I eventually bought that Learn & Master Guitar series. I think it's very good. So that's what I'd recommend if you don't get a teacher.
I rarely play guitar anymore though. I'm a bass player at heart I guess.
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took my first trip to the local music stores to check things out this past weekend with mixed results.
Luckily enough, one shop had a used left handed Squier in stock for about $200 and he said he could get me an amp for a pretty good deal as well. felt okay in my hands although I really don't have anything to compare it to. I'm still on the fence about acoustic/electric and my wife is pushing me towards the acoustic as she said its "sexier".
The other shop didn't really help me as much and just handed me a card with the guitar guys name on it. They didn't have any left handed electrics in stock and the only acoustic he had was over $500.
the journey continues...
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took my first trip to the local music stores to check things out this past weekend with mixed results.
Luckily enough, one shop had a used left handed Squier in stock for about $200 and he said he could get me an amp for a pretty good deal as well. felt okay in my hands although I really don't have anything to compare it to. I'm still on the fence about acoustic/electric and my wife is pushing me towards the acoustic as she said its "sexier".
The other shop didn't really help me as much and just handed me a card with the guitar guys name on it. They didn't have any left handed electrics in stock and the only acoustic he had was over $500.
the journey continues...
Bro, you could have saved us several pages here if you led with that. :) :) :) (I kid!)
Keep shopping; in my view, you'll know it when you see/play it (though $200 for a Squier is a little high, IMO. I got my Mexican sunburst Fender for $225.).
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stopped in at one more shop and this was available. seemed nice but not sure I want to spend $275 for it....https://www.oscarschmidt.com/product/og10ceftblh/
any opinions?
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I am not familiar with this brand, but it's an Electro-Acoustic guitar, which usually cost more than a regular acoustic.
The pre-amp it's not bad though. it's the same pre-amp used in some Sashburn guitars (which don't sound so bad when plugged in).
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I am not familiar with this brand, but it's an Electro-Acoustic guitar, which usually cost more than a regular acoustic.
The pre-amp it's not bad though. it's the same pre-amp used in some Sashburn guitars (which don't sound so bad when plugged in).
was told the brand Oscar Schmidt is the budget line for Washburn.
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My advice on playing guitar:
A is good. E is good. D is a bit tricky, but it is your friend. G is hard at first, but stick with it and you'll get there. Am and Em are nice, and you might even pick up a D7 or something at the same time. So far, so good, this guitar thing is pretty easy, isn't it?
C is hard.
F is impossible, give up now. Seriously, give up. Do not go any further. This chord will drive you insane. Go stick your left hand in an industrial mangle or something, you'll be better off.
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Learn silly, generally useless chords first, then expand on that :tup
(not a response to the previous post, but just nonsensical advice)
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My advice on playing guitar:
A is good. E is good. D is a bit tricky, but it is your friend. G is hard at first, but stick with it and you'll get there. Am and Em are nice, and you might even pick up a D7 or something at the same time. So far, so good, this guitar thing is pretty easy, isn't it?
C is hard.
F is impossible, give up now. Seriously, give up. Do not go any further. This chord will drive you insane. Go stick your left hand in an industrial mangle or something, you'll be better off.
This very much sums up my experience trying to learn the guitar as a child.
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My advice on playing guitar:
A is good. E is good. D is a bit tricky, but it is your friend. G is hard at first, but stick with it and you'll get there. Am and Em are nice, and you might even pick up a D7 or something at the same time. So far, so good, this guitar thing is pretty easy, isn't it?
C is hard.
F is impossible, give up now. Seriously, give up. Do not go any further. This chord will drive you insane. Go stick your left hand in an industrial mangle or something, you'll be better off.
:rollin
This is so true. 32 years in and I still play F on just a selection of strings rather than all 6.
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Interesting, I'd rather play a full F barre chord at the first fret than the open F chord on the top four strings. The dream though is just being able to play an Fmaj7 instead :lol
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Interesting, I'd rather play a full F barre chord at the first fret than the open F chord on the top four strings.
I completely agree, plus it sounds better that way! :tup
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I'd rather too but my hands are too small/weak/whatever for it to be comfortable for more than a few seconds. 😁
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I'd rather too but my hands are too small/weak/whatever for it to be comfortable for more than a few seconds. 😁
It's actually quite a bit easier to play the full barred version.
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In regards to the acoustic vs electric-
What type of music do YOU want to play?
If you’re a strumming folk music, Bob Dylan, Johnny Cash, Beatles, swooning girls with romantic songs kinda guy then get an acoustic.
If you want to jam out to Metallica, learn the Stairway solo, impress your bros then get an electric.
If you think you want to do both then get an electric because you can at least get away with playing acoustic songs on electric and still sound okay. The opposite isn’t always true with an acoustic.
Guitar playing is fun and if you play music/songs you like the more you’ll play, the better you’ll get, and the more likely you are to stick with it.
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I'd rather too but my hands are too small/weak/whatever for it to be comfortable for more than a few seconds. 😁
It's actually quite a bit easier to play the full barred version.
Depends on your hands, I guess. My 30 years of playing Fs has lead me to 3 alternatives to the full barre. Usually I play the 4 lowest strings, often i don't play the root but play the middle 4, and less usually i play the top four. Just depends on the context and what is the least significant loss for me.
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I've decided to go electric. it seems more affordable and a slightly easier way to learn.
Surprisingly, the first place I looked locally that had a used Squier for $200 has now dropped the price to $159... http://jerrysmusic.com/squier-affinity-stratocaster-left-handed-brown-sunburst.html#!prettyPhoto
My Dad suggested getting a "starter" package on Amazon like this.... https://www.amazon.com/Handed-Davison-Electric-Guitar-Package/dp/B082S3LHRC/ref=sr_1_11?keywords=davison+electric+guitar&qid=1579551584&sr=8-11 and after researching it, it may not be as bad a deal as it looks, as some reviews of this guitar say for the price its actually pretty decent.
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Nah. Go with the Squier and a little amp. Squier have a good name and reputation.
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Nah. Go with the Squier and a little amp. Squier have a good name and reputation.
This. The amp alone makes it worthwhile. The package may feel "fine" for the first six months or so. And then one day, you'll realize just how limiting they are. I also just wouldn't buy a guitar without being able to physically hold it in your hands and feel it before handing over your money. Granted, you may not know what to look for and may just feel awkward publicly plinking on a guitar you have no idea how to play. But you will probably notice after trying a few that there are some that just don't feel right for you, for whatever reason. You can't do that by ordering online.
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And if you find it's not for you or you want to upgrade in the future, someone will buy the Squier from you. You'll get pretty much zilch for the unknown brand package guitar.
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had a purchase ready to go and it fell through which wasn't the Squier.
thankfully the Squier is still available and it appears its really my last option at this point. Left handed electric guitars are hard to find under $200.
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And after spending money, gather reasons to play regularly and improve, because it's easy to get lazy or stuck !
I'm not in the same boat since I began guitar at 4-5 years old and am now 38 :D
But I know it's hard to stay motivated without a teacher/band/whatever.
Last time I felt unmotivated, I created the guitar discord server chatroom and now we are the biggest one and it's just a maelström of informations and motivation :D
Cheers !
I hope more and more people will play music, with no age or any limit !
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it has begun....
picked up a Fender Frontman 10G amp, 10ft. Fender cable, Snark tuner, and a guitar stand....
(https://i.imgur.com/A0gpjjH.jpg)
as far as the guitar, it'll be here by the weekend. with a highly limited supply of lefty electrics in my area I went to the internet to see what I could find. I went budget, but feel confident after researching that this will be a very adequate beginner guitar for the price. Its an Indio Cali Classic from Monoprice....
(https://i.imgur.com/GTkevh0.jpg)
can't wait to start to fiddle around and see what I can do!
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Remember to be patient! :metal
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/AknWUTNCIAAikBN?format=jpg&name=medium)
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I've been playing on and off since 1973 (7 years old). Learning chords is rather simple. Achieving coordination between chord changes and conditioning the finger tips is the hard part. I just started picking up my acoustic after a long hiatus and man does it fucking hurt! Bar chords are the worst when your fingers hurt. Can't get a clean sound without super low action. Electric guitar is a little easier but your fingers still have to be in shape. That takes a lot of patience.
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one week in and yes, my fingers hurt. :lol
I'm understanding concepts fairly well, but getting the fingers to do the work is most definitely challenging. I'm trying to play something at least 15 minutes a day. I've at least mastered the one string/one finger Smoke on the Water riff, so I have that going for me.
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two weeks in, if you're on twitter you can check out my progress...
https://twitter.com/MarkIsOld/status/1237833218637905921
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I've done about two weeks of just single finger fretting and feel okay with most of it, but I've now decided to learn some chords.
currently working on E, Em, and Am. Having a really difficult time with dead strings as I strum and my fingers are really getting sore much quicker. any tips?
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I've done about two weeks of just single finger fretting and feel okay with most of it, but I've now decided to learn some chords.
currently working on E, Em, and Am. Having a really difficult time with dead strings as I strum and my fingers are really getting sore much quicker. any tips?
Play through it. Do the routine stuff . Vinnie Moore had an instructional video in the late 80's that had some really good general purpose dexterity and hand strength routines , as well as the entire video being a fantastic musical resource. But at least play through the pain for a session ( you determine what that is ) every day.
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That's pretty cool T-Ski, keep up the good work. Honestly, I don't remember being where you are 2 weeks into playing.
Assuming you mean your picking hand is getting sore? If so it could be the way you are holding the pick. It's hard to tell from your video, but remember you are not using your fingertip to hold the pick (at least for a comfortable position). Also keep your hands relaxed, if you start tensing up, just take a step back, slow it down and relax your hands.
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That's pretty cool T-Ski, keep up the good work. Honestly, I don't remember being where you are 2 weeks into playing.
Assuming you mean your picking hand is getting sore? If so it could be the way you are holding the pick. It's hard to tell from your video, but remember you are not using your fingertip to hold the pick (at least for a comfortable position). Also keep your hands relaxed, if you start tensing up, just take a step back, slow it down and relax your hands.
Thanks! I haven’t really made much progress since then, but it’s good to hear feedback! I’m starting to get impatient and took a couple days off to regroup this week. I’ve been jumping around to different teaching videos and I think it’s messing me up. I started with Marty Music on YouTube, jumped over to the Yousician app and now am on Justin Guitars website.
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Don't worry too much about hand pain with chords. It takes a while for your body to get used to what is quite an odd practice. Concentrate on the one or two you're most comfy with, get those better and come back to the awkward fellas.
Re dead strings, you mean you're choking off notes that should be ringing out clear with your other fretting fingers, right? You just have to pay attention to how your finger tips are coming in over the top of the strings. There's no easy way around it but you'll get there! :)
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This corona virus thing is the best thing to happen to my playing in over a decade.
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So I’ve been playing acoustic guitar for several years now, had some beginner lessons which got me on my way and I have gotten to the point where I can play fairly confidently with basic open chords (which allows you to play a surprising number of songs), but I just can’t play a decent bar or power chord to save my life, and I really need to find a way to get out of first position. I like playing and enjoy just messing around, but it’s really frustrating feeling like there is nowhere else to go from here. Any thoughts?
Also, pet peeve with YouTube tutorials. It would help me (I think) if these were shot from the player’s perspective (looking down at the neck from the same angle I have as I’m playing). My brain just can’t translate seeing things from the opposite direction.
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Also, pet peeve with YouTube tutorials. It would help me (I think) if these were shot from the player’s perspective (looking down at the neck from the same angle I have as I’m playing). My brain just can’t translate seeing things from the opposite direction.
Kind of the same if you are having a one on one lessons with a teacher in person though. I understand what you mean, but never had a issue with it. Back when I was learning youtube lessons weren't a thing. Paying 20 bucks a lesson was brutal on my parents. What there is today for free on youtube is absolutely unbelievable.
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So I’ve been playing acoustic guitar for several years now, had some beginner lessons which got me on my way and I have gotten to the point where I can play fairly confidently with basic open chords (which allows you to play a surprising number of songs), but I just can’t play a decent bar or power chord to save my life, and I really need to find a way to get out of first position. I like playing and enjoy just messing around, but it’s really frustrating feeling like there is nowhere else to go from here. Any thoughts?
Also, pet peeve with YouTube tutorials. It would help me (I think) if these were shot from the player’s perspective (looking down at the neck from the same angle I have as I’m playing). My brain just can’t translate seeing things from the opposite direction.
I'm not a teacher, and I don't pretend to have any supreme knowledge here, just what seemed to break ice for me, but...
While I still practice the full monty, to get it right, if I'm playing a song, I will break down the bar chords to manageable chunks. If you're playing an "F" chord, for example, don't go for baroque (Steve Morse joke) and go for all six strings, but play the bottom three; or the top three; or, what I do sometimes, the middle three or four. All of those - but especially with that last one (the middle three or four) - you can then slide that shape up the neck and smooth some of your transitions. The choice you make will depend on the music you're playing - if you're playing Sabbath, go for the bottom three first; if you're playing Hank Williams, Jr., try the top three. Oasis, the middle.
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This corona virus thing is the best thing to happen to my playing in over a decade.
Can definitely relate. Even though I kind of play a lot already, I have even more time to do so right now. It's fantastic.
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This corona virus thing is the best thing to happen to my playing in over a decade.
Haha. Totally
@HOF Learn a basic scale that you can move around the neck so you can noodle over things. If you're playing things in major keys, learn a major one, if minor, do minor, but just learn one simple one. Anything with the word "pentatonic" is your friend. It's a cool word but just means five notes)
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This corona virus thing is the best thing to happen to my playing in over a decade.
Haha. Totally
@HOF Learn a basic scale that you can move around the neck so you can noodle over things. If you're playing things in major keys, learn a major one, if minor, do minor, but just learn one simple one. Anything with the word "pentatonic" is your friend. It's a cool word but just means five notes)
Agree on the Scale part. In terms on barred chords and power chords, I remember it was hard to generate a good sounding chord at first. I would recommend holding down the chord but playing arpeggios (one note at the time), to make sure each note sounds clean and clear. Once you do that then move on to playing full chords.
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I appreciate the tips. I tried to spend some time working on some pentatonic scales tonight. Have practiced some of these before but they don’t feel very “musical” for lack of a better word, which makes it hard to really work at them.
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I appreciate the tips. I tried to spend some time working on some pentatonic scales tonight. Have practiced some of these before but they don’t feel very “musical” for lack of a better word, which makes it hard to really work at them.
Or just learn the minor blues scale. You can just noodle about in it over any blues backing track and it very quickly starts sounding like music! https://www.leadguitarlessons.com/guitar-lessons/scales/the-blues-scale.htm
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This corona virus thing is the best thing to happen to my playing in over a decade.
Can definitely relate. Even though I kind of play a lot already, I have even more time to do so right now. It's fantastic.
Do you mind? Some of us still have to work :-[
;) ;D
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I decided to start uploading some practice stuff onto Youtube. Here I am after six weeks, learning this one for the wife....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51XgHtRsSxc
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I decided to start uploading some practice stuff onto Youtube. Here I am after six weeks, learning this one for the wife....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51XgHtRsSxc
The reaction at 0:04 lol the accidental note, we all been there.
one suggestion: try not to have your pinky resting on the guitar. It's best to eliminate bad habits early.
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I decided to start uploading some practice stuff onto Youtube. Here I am after six weeks, learning this one for the wife....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51XgHtRsSxc
The reaction at 0:04 lol the accidental note, we all been there.
one suggestion: try not to have your pinky resting on the guitar. It's best to eliminate bad habits early.
I didn't realize the pinky thing is actually a bad habit. I know I've seen some pros talk about "anchoring" their hand on the guitar when they're not strumming, always figured it was more of a personal preference kind of thing.
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I decided to start uploading some practice stuff onto Youtube. Here I am after six weeks, learning this one for the wife....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51XgHtRsSxc
The reaction at 0:04 lol the accidental note, we all been there.
one suggestion: try not to have your pinky resting on the guitar. It's best to eliminate bad habits early.
I didn't realize the pinky thing is actually a bad habit. I know I've seen some pros talk about "anchoring" their hand on the guitar when they're not strumming, always figured it was more of a personal preference kind of thing.
Yep - I view anchoring as a positive thing in most lead playing situations. I also briefly touch down (without thinking about it) in between chord changes as it allows me to find the right string without looking down.
Anchoring is generally not required (or advised) for strumming
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I guess it's more of a personal preference then. I feel that using my fingers, my hand tenses up a lot.
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Starting learning my first real song, this is after about two hours or so of practice. I know it’s awful but it made me feel good about myself.
https://youtu.be/VFvgYw6UiVg
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Starting learning my first real song, this is after about two hours or so of practice. I know it’s awful but it made me feel good about myself.
https://youtu.be/VFvgYw6UiVg
If one can tell that’s Silent Lucidity, it’s not that awful, especially if you’re first learning the song. And especially if you’re beginning to learn guitar. Sounding good! Once you start developing the muscle memory for your fretting hand to where your fingers are supposed to fall, you’ll notice you can piece the two phrases together more fluidly.
Something else that has helped me with those kind of string skipping arpeggios is placing the pinky side of my picking hand’s palm against the guitar below the bridge and just moving my wrist and fingers to pick the strings. For the longest time I had my arm floating in space, and I found it difficult to be accurate in which strings I picked. Then I saw a video suggesting planting your palm like that, and it’s made it easier for me, possibly since my picking hand would now have a frame of reference. Not sure if that a normal technique or a bad habit, but it’s helped me. Might just be a preference thing, who knows?
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I decided to start uploading some practice stuff onto Youtube. Here I am after six weeks, learning this one for the wife....
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=51XgHtRsSxc
The reaction at 0:04 lol the accidental note, we all been there.
one suggestion: try not to have your pinky resting on the guitar. It's best to eliminate bad habits early.
I didn't realize the pinky thing is actually a bad habit. I know I've seen some pros talk about "anchoring" their hand on the guitar when they're not strumming, always figured it was more of a personal preference kind of thing.
Yep - I view anchoring as a positive thing in most lead playing situations. I also briefly touch down (without thinking about it) in between chord changes as it allows me to find the right string without looking down.
Anchoring is generally not required (or advised) for strumming
All of this.
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Hey, I also started guitar recently and have been practicing for a little over a month now, it’s surprisingly relaxing and almost meditative to just go at it for a couple hours. Snow Dog is totally right about the muscle memory thing. My only advice as a fellow newbie from what I feel works for me well is to start playing things super slow, don’t go faster until you can play it without any mistakes slowly and then speed it up a tad and go from there
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Hey, I also started guitar recently and have been practicing for a little over a month now, it’s surprisingly relaxing and almost meditative to just go at it for a couple hours. Snow Dog is totally right about the muscle memory thing. My only advice as a fellow newbie from what I feel works for me well is to start playing things super slow, don’t go faster until you can play it without any mistakes slowly and then speed it up a tad and go from there
I'd say I'm pretty decent on the guitar, but this is a crucial piece of advice. Back when I was learning, I was making good progress but would usually rush through things too quick to move onto the next song/exercise, whatever. When learning the faster stuff, I actually had to go back years later and really fine tune some certain aspects of things like sweeps and runs a bit more. They were okay, but realises years later I was sloppy in some areas. If I were to go back and tell myself one thing it would be, tighten things up and don't move on until a technique is learned properly and can be played consistently with everything audible and clean. I'm pretty sweet now and really didn't take too long to fine tune some things, but still have to tell myself when I do get time to play to slow down and not to rush.
Impatienece is hard to reel in. You need that self discipline to take the time and trust the process and your practicing.
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Learning the guitar is not something you can do overnight. It takes hours and hours of hard work, practice and dedication.
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I've been at it for 35 years, and am sloppy and lazy.
Makes me so happy to hear people are playing and getting something out of it. I always said to my sons that noodling about on an instrument is terrific because it gives you somewhere to go, mentally. A fascinating place away from whatever else is going on. It's meditative.
I think of all creative pursuits (music, painting, writing, needlework, etc) like running. The important thing (to me - everyone's different) isn't how far, or how fast I went - all running is good running. :smiley:
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It's definitely meditative, but it's also very addictive, at least to me. I'm playing for hours on end on certain days, practising random stuff, learning songs and messing around. This lockdown stuff has strangely given me a lot of new energy to play - a lot. The feeling of progressing and getting better is terrific, and that's my main drive. There's so much stuff out there that inspires me (and I know I'm not alone in this). Recently I also realised that some years ago I wasn't practising nearly as much as I am now, because I think I kind of lost the fun in it? I had no idea what to do, and thinking back on that 'lost time' makes me want to practise even more. There's guys out there who are a lot younger than me, but they're doing stuff that makes me jealous. I know music is not a competition, nor should it be, but seeing others do stuff I can't (yet) do is an insanely good motivation for me to keep going and keep challenging myself. Then when you can see yourself getting better, that's an awesome result.
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Yeah, definitely. I've been playing on and off for about 6 years now (wow if I actually practiced all that time...). After I moved last year I bough guitar again and it's been really meditative for me, as well. I'm not really good but lately it's been one of only few things where I can forget about everything and it helps and I've been progressing with learning some new stuff and getting better at actually keeping time and play along to the backing tracks :lol
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Learning the guitar is not something you can do overnight. It takes hours and hours of hard work, practice and dedication.
Hours turn into days which turns into weeks which turn into months which turn into years.
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Learning the guitar is not something you can do overnight. It takes hours and hours of hard work, practice and dedication.
Hours turn into days which turns into weeks which turn into months which turn into years.
Absolutely.
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I was always told 10,000 hours to reach entry level session player ;D
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Learning the guitar is not something you can do overnight. It takes hours and hours of hard work, practice and dedication.
Hours turn into days which turns into weeks which turn into months which turn into years.
"Days turn to minutes and minutes to memories. Life sweeps away the dreams that we have planned." - John Mellencamp "Minutes to Memories"
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I was always told 10,000 hours to reach entry level session player ;D
I thought 10,000 hours was to be a commercial pilot :laugh:
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All good advice guys!
There are days I’ll try to play something and within 10 minutes I’ll get so frustrated I just give up. But then there are times like the other night when I started noodling Silent Lucidity, and the next thing I knew an hour had gone by and all I wanted to do was master those 8 bars.
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I was always told 10,000 hours to reach entry level session player ;D
I've put more than that in and I'm still shit!
I have no natural talent and no muscle memory for music at all. Once I learn a song if I don't practice it every day I'll soon lose the memory of what I learnt. Unfortunately my cousin got all the musical talent in our family. He went to the Royal Academy of Music in London and played in the RAF band.
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That's something I've never gotten my arms around; the ability of guys like Portnoy and Morse to remember what they're playing and what they're supposed to play, and in real time. Even a split millisecond of indecision can derail a 20-minute opus, yet... I'm sure there are mistakes and lapses, but even those, they've gotten to the point that they can make "good" mistakes.
I remember doing Mummer shows, and having to learn the five minute final routine, and while I always eventually got it, it was always a challenge, and I would sometimes have to write cues on my hands/shirt sleeves (it was more than just music though; it was a choreographed routine). That was ONE SONG! :)
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Bump!
I’m ashamed to say after a few months of everyday practicing I fell into a big lull and didn’t touch my guitar most of the fall. But something stirred in me the last couple of weeks and I started noodling again and put together a little something for the holidays..... https://youtu.be/q9I7-lIzU10
Hopefully I’ll be able to keep the spark burning this time and keep plugging along.
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I'm with T-Ski, just a few years younger. Glad he started this thread.
I'm personally looking for electric. I love acoustic, but I heard electric is better for folks who want to play casually, as it isn't as rough on the fingers. But I am open to whatever. I just want to learn. I played a little bit (just learning tab) back in law school to pass the time. But I never really got anywhere other than playing some intros of my favorite Queensryche songs. I'd actually like to learn chords and how to play.
I started giving private guitar lessons just before the pandemic hit and I always recommend that beginners start with an electric guitar because it's much, much easier on the hands. Acoustic guitars are nice, but fretting chords on an acoustic requires quite a bit more finger / wrist strength than most beginners can muster. This leads to frustration which leads, eventually, to quitting.
If you're just starting out, I'd check out a few pawn shops if there are any in your area. I have found some absolutely ridiculously good deals on used instruments in pawn shops, my last one was a 5-year-old American "Fat Strat" that I snagged for $375.
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I’ve played a lot of guitar this year, and learned a few things, but can’t say I’ve been terribly effective in terms of my practice (I did watch many YouTube videos, some helpful many not). I find myself mostly playing around and messing with the same chords that I’ve known forever. That said, I feel like I have accomplished the following this year:
- learned a pentatonic scale fairly well up the whole neck
- have finally managed to play a few bar chords decently
- learned what harmonics are and how to play the basic ones
Baby steps!
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I'm with T-Ski, just a few years younger. Glad he started this thread.
I'm personally looking for electric. I love acoustic, but I heard electric is better for folks who want to play casually, as it isn't as rough on the fingers. But I am open to whatever. I just want to learn. I played a little bit (just learning tab) back in law school to pass the time. But I never really got anywhere other than playing some intros of my favorite Queensryche songs. I'd actually like to learn chords and how to play.
I started giving private guitar lessons just before the pandemic hit and I always recommend that beginners start with an electric guitar because it's much, much easier on the hands. Acoustic guitars are nice, but fretting chords on an acoustic requires quite a bit more finger / wrist strength than most beginners can muster. This leads to frustration which leads, eventually, to quitting.
If you're just starting out, I'd check out a few pawn shops if there are any in your area. I have found some absolutely ridiculously good deals on used instruments in pawn shops, my last one was a 5-year-old American "Fat Strat" that I snagged for $375.
This times three. I'm a big fan of pawn shops; you do have to be careful - in my experience that doesn't mean they are sheisters as much as they just don't know what they're talking about - but you can get good deals. Also, and it's not comfortable for many people, in most pawn shops, listed prices are a suggestion. ALWAYS haggle, if you're comfortable doing so. I got a Squire Strat with dual humbuckers - it's a crap guitar, but the neck was beautiful and it plays so nice - that listed for $100 for $50 along with some CDs. It's not my main guitar or anything, but it's a good guitar to noodle on, it would be a FANTASTIC guitar for a beginner, and in fact, I sometimes play it with my grandson.
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One thing I always tell my students is that they should practice stuff they want to learn, rather than what they think they should know or learn. There's far more enjoyment in doing stuff you want to do, than in practicing things without knowing how or where to apply them. That said, you should always practice new stuff in the context of actually making music, whether that's existing music, or something you made yourself. Starting out, always copy existing music. What good is knowing hundreds of different chords if you can't even play a song with those chords? Why spend hours learning a difficult technique, if you
re never going to apply that in any given musical situation? If you enjoy learning a difficult technique, by all means do so, but see if you can apply it somewhere as well, for example in a guitar solo you enjoy, or in a piece of music you write yourself.
Making music and learning how to play an instrument is a cumulative process. Everything you learn will add up and - this is the most important part - everything you learn will give you your own voice on that instrument. That's why it's so important do play stuff you enjoy playing; if it's meaningful to you, then it'll probably reflect in your playing far more than something you've learned because you thought you had to.
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Honest question, and not an argument. I feel like I have to know at least rudimentary scales, and I don't. I get the general idea, of course, but I don't know the details enough to really make it work. I feel like I'm at a point that I have to know that to get to the next level. I can play chords, rhythms, riffs, I've played in bands so while my time sucks standing alone (I can't count) I can play along with others reasonably well. I'm at a wall though in terms of my playing satisfying myself.
What would you suggest?
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I think understanding music theory and knowing how the guitar works has definitely helped me improve a lot. From a music education standpoint I feel like you need to know what you're doing in order to do it, but there's a lot of musicians (guitarists, mostly) who will prove me wrong by outperforming me while not having an idea what they're doing (hyperbole, the last part :) ). Likewise, if your only goal is to simply play a few chords and songs and throw in a riff here or there, because you just want to have fun, there's no need to engage in a lot of music theory.
\If you want to write your own stuff, improvise a solo or have a general understand of why what you're doing sounds good or cool, then basic music theory knowledge can definitely help you. SO you'll have to ask yourself; why do I need to know how to play scales? What scales do you mean? You can get very far with knowing 'just' the pentatonic scales and how they are shaped on the fretboard, without even needing to know what the actual notes are you're playing. Guitar is easier in that regard than for example a piano, since the same scale in a different key can be played with the exact same fingering somewhere else on the fretboard. Then again, if you only learn a certain scale in one specific position, instead of everywhere on the neck, you're limiting yourself a little, but you gotta start somewhere!
I give you this though; rhythm is extremely important. I think having a sense of timing is key to play anything. Always practice with a metronome or by playing along to music to improve that, but eventually you'll need to feel that internally.
Setting goals for yourself helps, even if it's something small. Learn a new chord, learn an entire song, transcribe a solo by ear, write an hour of original music, you name it.
And practice daily; even if it's just for 5 minutes :)
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Honest question, and not an argument. I feel like I have to know at least rudimentary scales, and I don't. I get the general idea, of course, but I don't know the details enough to really make it work. I feel like I'm at a point that I have to know that to get to the next level. I can play chords, rhythms, riffs, I've played in bands so while my time sucks standing alone (I can't count) I can play along with others reasonably well. I'm at a wall though in terms of my playing satisfying myself.
What would you suggest?
Knowing and being able to figure put all the notes on the fretboard is a good start. Then, I'd suggest learning the basic minor pentatonic. Learn how to use it and move it around in different keys. It's practical and you'll get a feel of key positions and start learning the notes. Use it in different patterns and you can start playing around with the 5 positions of the same scale. You'll see the various shapes that can be used with simply 5 notes. That will start to help unlock the fretboard a little more.
From there you can start delving into minor and major scales. These shapes extend the pentatonic ideas and expands the notes, obviously with two more notes per scale your diving into the more three note per string ideas. Learning these basics scales will help improvising and be able to understand some technical solos.
You can delve into modes after that, but it's not essential. Having a good understanding Bill I think of these scales, or at least to start with being able to start by learning these in their main box shape on the fret board depending on the key you're in (where the root note starts on the E and not necessarily the whole fretboard) then that's a big step forward to getting to that next level.
It's easier to study the shapes too as opposed to the notes. But learning how to figure out any not is helpful. Learn the notes on the A and E string from fret 1 to 12 and you can use octaves to work out notes higher up. Learning the notes on the string automatically gets you familiar with two strings right away too.
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REPITITION IS KEY
When you start learning scale patterns on the fretboard you need to play them over and over and over. The more you play them, but better your muscle memory will become. I liken it to typing because it's very similar. When you first start out with typing it's all hunt and peck, one letter at a time. Then you learn the home row and how to position your hands and once you train your hands to be in the proper position and after you've spent some time doing repetitive typing exercises, it happens slowly at first but pretty soon you start noticing that when you type out certain words you don't even have to think about it. Your fingers just start doing the work. Muscle memory.
If you want to become a lead guitarist that's where it's at. Repetition is your friend.
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Honest question, and not an argument. I feel like I have to know at least rudimentary scales, and I don't. I get the general idea, of course, but I don't know the details enough to really make it work. I feel like I'm at a point that I have to know that to get to the next level. I can play chords, rhythms, riffs, I've played in bands so while my time sucks standing alone (I can't count) I can play along with others reasonably well. I'm at a wall though in terms of my playing satisfying myself.
What would you suggest?
Grab a backing track designed for the minor or minor pentatonic or blues scale and a fretboard diagram showing where the notes are and start playing notes over the becoming track.
You'll soon work out which notes you enjoy playing.
In time you can learn what notes they are and other theory things as you fancy it but those shapes and structures will remain as the bedrock where everything else is rooted.
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Honest question, and not an argument. I feel like I have to know at least rudimentary scales, and I don't. I get the general idea, of course, but I don't know the details enough to really make it work. I feel like I'm at a point that I have to know that to get to the next level. I can play chords, rhythms, riffs, I've played in bands so while my time sucks standing alone (I can't count) I can play along with others reasonably well. I'm at a wall though in terms of my playing satisfying myself.
What would you suggest?
Grab a backing track designed for the minor or minor pentatonic or blues scale and a fretboard diagram showing where the notes are and start playing notes over the becoming track.
You'll soon work out which notes you enjoy playing.
In time you can learn what notes they are and other theory things as you fancy it but those shapes and structures will remain as the bedrock where everything else is rooted.
I’ve started doing this a little. YouTube has a bunch of backing tracks in whatever key you might want that you can pull up.
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Barry, Kade, Doc, those are all excellent suggestions, so thanks. I think I'm going to try that idea on the backing tracks and see if I can get to the point like Barry said where it's muscle memory. I do too much thinking at this point, I think.
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Well as usual, I am late to the party but depending on the age of the person (especially if they're younger) I always recommend learning on a classical guitar. The neck is wider and you learn to finger pick the strings. Learn on classical for at least a year and you will easily transition to a steel string guitar. You do the opposite and you will struggle when picking up a classical guitar.
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Well as usual, I am late to the party but depending on the age of the person (especially if they're younger) I always recommend learning on a classical guitar. The neck is wider and you learn to finger pick the strings. Learn on classical for at least a year and you will easily transition to a steel string guitar. You do the opposite and you will struggle when picking up a classical guitar.
But what if you never want to play classical guitar? There’s no real benefit to starting on a classical guitar other than to actually play on a classical guitar. If your goal is to play electric, play electric.
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Barry, Kade, Doc, those are all excellent suggestions, so thanks. I think I'm going to try that idea on the backing tracks and see if I can get to the point like Barry said where it's muscle memory. I do too much thinking at this point, I think.
Sounds great. Like any subject, there's a nearly infinite amount of data available that you could absorb, but I think the key is just to do what interests YOU and what YOU enjoy and nothing else. Rock on. :)
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Well as usual, I am late to the party but depending on the age of the person (especially if they're younger) I always recommend learning on a classical guitar. The neck is wider and you learn to finger pick the strings. Learn on classical for at least a year and you will easily transition to a steel string guitar. You do the opposite and you will struggle when picking up a classical guitar.
But what if you never want to play classical guitar? There’s no real benefit to starting on a classical guitar other than to actually play on a classical guitar. If your goal is to play electric, play electric.
I can understand your sentiment if we're talking about an adult person but if you're a young kid then you are absolutely incorrect about there being no real benefit to learning on a classical. You learn finger-picking, you learn hand techniques, you learn where to place the guitar when sitting. You can learn to play Stairway to Heaven on a classical - it's not hard but what makes it hard is if you have been playing steel string and then pick up a classical. I can't tell you how many times I have cringed when someone has picked up my classical and asked for a pick. :omg:
Also, I think JR positively benefitted from his classical background.
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Absolutely agree with all of that! All of my younger students start on classical guitars, no exception. I was indeed talking about adult who pick up the guitar and have a better idea of what they want to play than a child who’s just starting out.
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Barry, Kade, Doc, those are all excellent suggestions, so thanks. I think I'm going to try that idea on the backing tracks and see if I can get to the point like Barry said where it's muscle memory. I do too much thinking at this point, I think.
Sounds great. Like any subject, there's a nearly infinite amount of data available that you could absorb, but I think the key is just to do what interests YOU and what YOU enjoy and nothing else. Rock on. :)
This cannot be emphasized enough. The minute playing becomes a chore you've lost it. It should always be fun to play and practice.
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I remember starting out. Clearly remember barre chords being the big hurdle. I almost gave up cause it was so hard to play an E then move it up the neck without losing formation.
But once you can play an E barre chord and an Aminor shape anywhere on the neck - you can almost play any song so I can see why some people get barre chords down then just stop
learning anything else. But get all the campfire chords and barre chords down then you can almost play any song with the help of a capo ;) !
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I did a music degree and studied theory for 3 years - but I still couldn't tell you WHEN to use an augmented chord. I just know what it sounds like and why it resolves and yadda yadda...
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Barry, Kade, Doc, those are all excellent suggestions, so thanks. I think I'm going to try that idea on the backing tracks and see if I can get to the point like Barry said where it's muscle memory. I do too much thinking at this point, I think.
Sounds great. Like any subject, there's a nearly infinite amount of data available that you could absorb, but I think the key is just to do what interests YOU and what YOU enjoy and nothing else. Rock on. :)
This cannot be emphasized enough. The minute playing becomes a chore you've lost it. It should always be fun to play and practice.
That’s exactly the whole point I made on the previous page, so I obviously agree. That said, sometimes you’ll have to practice through difficulties in order to get better, but you should make it fun. Practice in the context of actual music and learn stuff you want to learn and stuff you’ll be able to apply.
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Not all students are the same (obviously). An adult learning to play the guitar will struggle more because the joints and tendons in the hands are less flexible whereas a younger persons hands will adjust to chord voicings more easily.
Now I completely agree about "rock on" and play what you want but I am not saying become a classical guitarist, I'm saying start out learning on a classical guitar for about 6 months to a year especially for a young kid.
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My dad bought home a red strat copy when I was about 12.
Dad played for church so he already knew how to play (chords at least) - when I was tiny he taught me Em and "easy G" where its just fret 3 on the high e string and D major.
So I learned on that red electric and never owned a nylon string.
I used to make up my own chords by moving existing shapes around and my own theory to go with it. I used to write songs and draw the chord boxes of the shapes I invented so I wouldn't forget.
I also had a piano at the same age so I could relate what I'd learned on either instrument back and forth.
:)
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Thought I'd come here with a related question. Apologies if it's too off topic.
I fiddle around with guitar from time to time, but have only ever played through my amp. I'd like to get some kind of effects pedal next year, but don't know where to start. I'm just looking for something affordable, but still decent quality, that offers a bit of crunch and overdrive. Does anyone know of anything that would make sense for a low-level intermediate player such as myself?
I hope that question made some semblance of sense, because I really don't know what I'm talking about.
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Thought I'd come here with a related question. Apologies if it's too off topic.
I fiddle around with guitar from time to time, but have only ever played through my amp. I'd like to get some kind of effects pedal next year, but don't know where to start. I'm just looking for something affordable, but still decent quality, that offers a bit of crunch and overdrive. Does anyone know of anything that would make sense for a low-level intermediate player such as myself?
I hope that question made some semblance of sense, because I really don't know what I'm talking about.
Your wanting a distortion box? I would go to a guitar shop and try several and then buy one on the cheap at a pawn shop. Boss pedals are pretty popular and cheap.
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I remember starting out. Clearly remember barre chords being the big hurdle. I almost gave up cause it was so hard to play an E then move it up the neck without losing formation.
But once you can play an E barre chord and an Aminor shape anywhere on the neck - you can almost play any song so I can see why some people get barre chords down then just stop
learning anything else. But get all the campfire chords and barre chords down then you can almost play any song with the help of a capo ;) !
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I did a music degree and studied theory for 3 years - but I still couldn't tell you WHEN to use an augmented chord. I just know what it sounds like and why it resolves and yadda yadda...
Of all the articles and things I read about Music Theory, each one has helped me in a very different aspect, the one important thing is this...Music Theory is the language created to understand Music. There are no rules to music. Only what sounds fitting, it's why the Locrian scale isn't used because it's really disharmonic, and to our human ears, it doesn't sound "good". But it could still be used.
So, using an Augmented Chord is all up to you and if you feel the song needs that augmented chord, either for transitional smoothness, or for effect of the song needing the augmented chord to portray a certain mood of the song, then by all means go for it.
One thing I did learn that really helped me in creating my own songs, and actually playing random stuff and sounding decent enough, is Chord Progressions. Understanding this concept really has helped my playing.
Not all students are the same (obviously). An adult learning to play the guitar will struggle more because the joints and tendons in the hands are less flexible whereas a younger persons hands will adjust to chord voicings more easily.
Now I completely agree about "rock on" and play what you want but I am not saying become a classical guitarist, I'm saying start out learning on a classical guitar for about 6 months to a year especially for a young kid.
Nylons are great for younger kids. The strings aren't as tough on the fingers, and they can play a bit better.
I will say this though, having an understanding of Basic Music Theory can help you immensely. Not only in playing guitar, but in playing other instruments. Once you understand Theory, it's a lot easier to grasp the concept of each musical instrument and their roles in the overall Staff of Music. Learning this on a Piano, also helped me understand the roles of Guitar and Bass. How the Guitar can use notes, that the bass can not (or else it sounds muddy). Which leads me to another important Theory Lesson, Voicings. Once I got that concept down, it helped me understand the roles of the Bass and the roles of the Treble. How the Bass is different from the Treble.
So I would say, Understanding Theory, Voicings, and Chord Progressions, are the trinity to helping one compose songs of their own.
I've played and practiced Chord Positions all over the guitar, and found out the chords for some songs. The way that happened was, I would play that chord in a certain position, and while playing it I'll notice and say "Hey, that's the chord for this song".
Knowing these 3 things has also helped me in doing what I enjoy doing for fun, and that is creating mashups.
One fantastic example of this is when I first heard One Day by Matisyahu (https://youtu.be/WRmBChQjZPs), I instantly noticed it sounds a lot like Waving Flag by K'Naan (https://youtu.be/VXSJoVL2Vp0) (The original album version, not the remixes). So in my undertaking of making the mash up and wanting to actually play the mashup myself, and make it my own blend of the two songs, I discovered they use the same exact key and chords, only in a different progression. Matisyahus' progression is a simple progression, while K'Naans' is a bit more complex. Here is the mashup I edited together from the two songs. It's the best way to get the idea of what I want My Mashup to sound close to. K'Naan/Matisyahu One Day Waving Flag (Mashup) (https://youtu.be/Y7qiJ-CfSHc)
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One thing I did learn that really helped me in creating my own songs, and actually playing random stuff and sounding decent enough, is Chord Progressions. Understanding this concept really has helped my playing.
I found the CAGED system really helpful myself.
EDIT :
One of my tutors gave me the BEST advice in a 30 min one-on-one lesson. He said - play all the notes of a scale and learn how they FEEL compared to how they sound.
If you think of every interval as a FEELING then it will really help you know which notes to go to when soloing. And you will rely less on boxes and licks and your bag of tricks.
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I have to add - I often think about how influential YouTube would have been if I had it back in my day..........
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I have to add - I often think about how influential YouTube would have been if I had it back in my day..........
I'm probably more a product of this time than you (I guess?), and while I have looked at Youtube for help occasionally and I have learned some from it, the best guitar lessons I have ever had were from people physically in the same room with me. There's something invaluable about getting direct feedback and playing together with a tutor at the same time. Also, good instructional videos can not replicate practicing a ton.
One of my tutors gave me the BEST advice in a 30 min one-on-one lesson. He said - play all the notes of a scale and learn how they FEEL compared to how they sound.
If you think of every interval as a FEELING then it will really help you know which notes to go to when soloing. And you will rely less on boxes and licks and your bag of tricks.
Eye-hand coordination as well as something that in my language make a lot of sense, but translating it gives this wonky 'sound-grip connection'* are huge parts of getting good at your instrument.
* (which basically means you know what kind of sound your instrument is going to produces based on what you're doing with your hands before even touching it - I don't really know if there's an English term for the same thing?)
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What was the first thing you learned to play on the guitar? I mean, when you WANTED to learn it because you (my reason) loved Iron Maiden, Bon Jovi, etc (not because you were made to learn London's Burning at school or by a parent).
Mine was the intro riff to War Machine by Kiss. A buddy at school was a fantastic self-taught player and he taught me it. Then the intro to Master Of Puppets too, sort of.
Bit of a pivotal moment, really. I'm not in touch with him anymore but would love to chat with him and talk guitars now, 34 (?) years on.
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What was the first thing you learned to play on the guitar? I mean, when you WANTED to learn it because you (my reason) loved Iron Maiden, Bon Jovi, etc (not because you were made to learn London's Burning at school or by a parent).
Mine was the intro riff to War Machine by Kiss. A buddy at school was a fantastic self-taught player and he taught me it. Then the intro to Master Of Puppets too, sort of.
Bit of a pivotal moment, really. I'm not in touch with him anymore but would love to chat with him and talk guitars now, 34 (?) years on.
similar experience for me - a guitar playing mate showed me Breaking The Law and Living After Midnight riffs and I was off from there. The first riff I figured out for myself was Ace Frehley's Rip It Out.
My mate was into 60s stuff but mainly Status Quo. I would be a far happier guitarist if that was all I aimed for.
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I can't quite remember. I'm pretty sure though it was something from Nirvana or Green Day. Maybe even The Offspring.
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Probably something like Detroit Rock City. Hard to remember - early days I used to order those Learn To Burn cassette tapes from the US from Curt Mitchell (later in Razormaid and Bangalore Choir) where he would read out the freaking tabs note by note and you would have to write them down on paper yourself :lol So by the time they came in the mail from the US and you got up the motivation to go through that ordeal .............well you must have been motivated. I remember doing that for Killer Of Giants by Ozzy :metal
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Back in the day I used to buy loads of tab books (Yngwie, Vai, Satch, Vinnie Moore etc) and sit and follow the tabs whilst listening to the albums. Did bugger all for my guitar playing :lol
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What was the first thing you learned to play on the guitar? I mean, when you WANTED to learn it because you (my reason) loved Iron Maiden, Bon Jovi, etc (not because you were made to learn London's Burning at school or by a parent).
I can vividly remember playing Jingle Bells. That was the first 'song' I learned to play on a guitar. All in single notes, top 2 strings.
When I started out on an acoustic guitar, I was messing around playing random stuff that I thought of. I have booklet written full of nonsensical riffs and chord progressions I made myself. I think one of the first things I practiced because I wanted to must have been something by Metallica. Maybe the intro to One, or the main riff in Master of Puppets. I can remember going to a friend's place with my first electric guitar and playing the Master of Puppets riff there. I can't remember whether I did it well, but I probably did not :lol
Most of my time was spent playing random stuff. I have terrible recordings of a lot of different riffs and try-outs that I made when I was younger. It's quite funny to listen to those and to hear how sloppy and just bad they are :)
I was around 16 when I discovered how awesome the guitar parts in Dream Theater are and made it a goal to learn ALL of Scenes From a Memory. Of course, I couldn't do that when I was just starting out, but by the time I left high school around two years later I could play all the songs in full, apart from some solos (Fatal Tragedy, Beyond the Life, Home, the fast part in The Spirit Carries On) and The Dance of Eternity (I didn't have a seven-string).
If I could go back in time, I'd tell myself to practice other stuff as well!
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Twinkle Twinkle Little Star.
I found an aging guitar with 3 strings on it and pretty soon my big brother went and bought me a full set of strings. At around this time, my grade school (8th grade) started offering elective classes and one of these classes were guitar lessons twice a week. The next song was Leaving on a Jet Plane and very soon my guitar teacher wrote my mom a letter saying that I'm really picking up the guitar very fast but needed a better guitar. The next songs were Cat Scratch Fever and Stairway to Heaven.
Yes - I'm showing my age..... :(
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The first thing I learned was the riff to this spanish rock song by the band Mana. A friend of mine showed me how to play it and I was hooked after that. Next thing I remember learning was the arpeggios to Nothing Else Matters. I was very proud of playing it and thought it was the coolest thing I've done in my life.
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The Prisoner, by Iron Maiden, or Proud Mary by Creedence.
First song all the way through: Paranoid, by Black Sabbath, then Living After Midnight.
First real accomplishment: Stairway to Heaven, then The Rain Song.
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What was the first thing you learned to play on the guitar?
Stairway to Heaven - I learned it on an old steel-string auditorium acoustic that my grandfather gave me. Within about a year from picking up that acoustic, (that was probably 1975(ish) I had moved on to an electric (a tele that my old man got me at a pawn shop) and I became infatuated with playing lead guitar. It had to be lead, that's all I ever wanted to play. About a year and a half after I started playing that electric the Eagles released "Hotel California" and within a week of it being released I was playing the guitar solo note for note. I was 13 at the time. I'd give my balls to be 13 again :rollin
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;D
Great replies, all. Regardless of how messily I play, I LOVE that I have this weird place in my head I can go and tinker with notes and tones and create things, no matter how derivative or fleeting they are. It's a fantastic hobby.
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Well - if we're bragging about our accomplishments:
The Rain Song - in standard tuning
The Song Remains the Same
2112
Xanadu
La Via Strangiato
A Mid-Summers Daydream - on a classical guitar of course. ;D
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I'm really not bragging but I've learned how to play so many songs over the years that it would take me hours to come up with a complete list. Pretty much anything you ever heard on the radio from 1975 until now I've taken a swing at on guitar, piano, sax and/or bass guitar. Call it the musical baggage of being just this side of 60
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I'm pretty sure I've forgotten more songs than I know how to currently play. Although I can pick up most things and play along in some capacity without learning it in the first instance.
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I'm pretty sure I've forgotten more songs than I know how to currently play. Although I can pick up most things and play along in some capacity without learning it in the first instance.
Same. At one point, when I first started playing guitar I tried to keep a running list of the songs I was learning but after doing that for about 5 years I realized how impractical it was. I mean how big of a catalog can one guitarist maintain at one time while still being able to play every song fluently? 20 or 30 would probably be my limit on guitar. A lot less on piano. Maybe 10 or 15 at the most.
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I'm pretty sure I've forgotten more songs than I know how to currently play. Although I can pick up most things and play along in some capacity without learning it in the first instance.
Ditto. I used to play in a covers band and the most amount ot material I ever learned was about 2 and a half hours of covers played over three sets for a NYE gig. My poor memory got a bastard workout! It's amazing how much effort it takes just to get to mediocre in a covers band.
In general terms, and including the covers band, I made a decision quite some time ago to stop learning much detail of other band's songs. I mean, obviously, you need to play other people's stuff to learn anything at all, really, but I prioritised my noodling and my personal style and enjoyment over rigidly learning note-for-note copies. This was a fundamentally great thing for me, and really opened the door to greater satisfaction.
I guess what I mean is: in the covers band, I almost never learned a perfect solo, just the key features of it and improvised around the rest; at home I concentrate 90% of my time on riff improv, writing and lead technique and about 10% on learning specific parts of others' songs.
What's a typical guitar day for everyone else?
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So, this has become the DTF Guitar Player's thread now then? :lol let's do away with the whole Musicians subforum! (no seriously, I love discussing actually playing music and this is a fun thread, so I hope this can continue).
It depends on the day really for me. I practice every day, without question. Minimum of half an hour, but usually more. If I have a full day available (aside from doing the household chores etc.) I will do 'everything'; play a bit of classical or fingerstyle, warm-up exercises, work on reading music, practice some techniques and learn a song/theme/melody/whatever. I have a bunch of exercises I do to keep my left hand in shape, this playlist of songs I play a lot in order to keep (mostly) my right hand in shape and have a playlist of jazz tunes to work on improvisation.
Now this looks pretty focused, but that's not necessarily the case. In the past I've set some silly goals with an actual practice regimen I would follow for a week/month/whatever. The silliest thing I did was a 'guitar marathon'; that is 42 hours of practice in 7 days, divided in specific segments, but I've made a point of playing for 2,5 hours a day for an entire month as well, working on different aspects of playing.
Usually though, I'll warm up with some exercises or playing a song and then work on some technique, a song I'm working on or improvisation. It kind of depends on the day. I make notes of what I was doing or transcribe/write down whatever it was I was working on, so that I continue the next day.
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Hey fellow guitar players!
I've gotten to practice a ton this year because I was fortunate to work from home. I usually practice on meetings with my guitar unplugged and my phone on mute so with that plus the practice I do after work I'm getting something like 4 hours in most weekdays.
As for practice schedule what I do is I have a spreadsheet for the month with exercises and goals I want to hit. I do about 6 exercises a day for about 5-10 minutes each, after that I hardly see any improvement. Then I'll put time aside for transcribing, improv and recording. After that with the time I have left I'll either work on writing or learning songs.
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I'm really not bragging but I've learned how to play so many songs over the years that it would take me hours to come up with a complete list. Pretty much anything you ever heard on the radio from 1975 until now I've taken a swing at on guitar, piano, sax and/or bass guitar. Call it the musical baggage of being just this side of 60
What's your breakdown in terms of "time playing"? Meaning, in any given day or week, how much is guitar, how much is piano, how much is bass.... not talking recording, just playing. (Does this make sense? I'm basically going for, if you're going to pick up an instrument what is it most likely to be)?
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In general terms, and including the covers band, I made a decision quite some time ago to stop learning much detail of other band's songs. I mean, obviously, you need to play other people's stuff to learn anything at all, really, but I prioritised my noodling and my personal style and enjoyment over rigidly learning note-for-note copies. This was a fundamentally great thing for me, and really opened the door to greater satisfaction.
I guess what I mean is: in the covers band, I almost never learned a perfect solo, just the key features of it and improvised around the rest; at home I concentrate 90% of my time on riff improv, writing and lead technique and about 10% on learning specific parts of others' songs.
What's a typical guitar day for everyone else?
I wish I could do that. It's a mental block with me, a sort of hurdle. In my head (I know, I know) I get discouraged if I CAN'T play it like they did. But that's unreasonable, for a 100 different reasons, especially with studio tracks. There are a couple tunes I just do however I can, sort of re-arrangements of what was originally played, but it's stressful to me. :). (I laugh, but I'm not really kidding.)
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In general terms, and including the covers band, I made a decision quite some time ago to stop learning much detail of other band's songs. I mean, obviously, you need to play other people's stuff to learn anything at all, really, but I prioritised my noodling and my personal style and enjoyment over rigidly learning note-for-note copies. This was a fundamentally great thing for me, and really opened the door to greater satisfaction.
I guess what I mean is: in the covers band, I almost never learned a perfect solo, just the key features of it and improvised around the rest; at home I concentrate 90% of my time on riff improv, writing and lead technique and about 10% on learning specific parts of others' songs.
What's a typical guitar day for everyone else?
I wish I could do that. It's a mental block with me, a sort of hurdle. In my head (I know, I know) I get discouraged if I CAN'T play it like they did. But that's unreasonable, for a 100 different reasons, especially with studio tracks. There are a couple tunes I just do however I can, sort of re-arrangements of what was originally played, but it's stressful to me. :). (I laugh, but I'm not really kidding.)
Yeah, this is something I struggle with too. Most studio tracks have layers of guitars and punched in parts that you can’t just play with one guitar by yourself. I play acoustic, so in terms of playing a whole song, I can play all the underlying chords for a bunch of more basic rock songs, but that’s often not very satisfying because it doesn’t feel like I’m playing the whole song. Then when you get into trying to pick or strum a guitar part exactly the way it is on the album, that’s another story altogether.
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I was just hoping to get some tips and motivation when I started this thread. :lol
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First song I learned? Not sure, but probably just a few simple riffs. Smoke on the Water, Seven Nation Army, Aerials, that kind of thing.
First song I could competently (read barely passably) get through? Probably Heart’s Barracuda.
Currently trying to nail down Divinyls by Night Flight Orchestra. Fun as hell, but a couple parts keep tripping me up with the lead playing. The rhythm and chords I’ve got down pretty well.
Speaking of lead playing, it’s easily my weakest part of playing. Quick single note runs just thrash the shit out of me, even with simple pentatonic scales. And I’ve never really been able to nail down a lead tone I’m satisfied with. Not sure what pedals and settings would work well for a classic rock/metal lead tone, and any time I try to play a run, it just sounds horrible even if I play it correctly.
Still a very fun hobby to get into, and there’s always something to work and improve on. A typical session usually just has me playing a few songs for 20-30 minutes as that’s what I currently have time for. Hoping to be back to things more regularly as time goes on.
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I used to teach people Zombie by The Cranberries as the whole song is just
Em - Cmaj7 - G - G/F#
and you can play all 4 chords with just 1 or 2 fingers.
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I'm really not bragging but I've learned how to play so many songs over the years that it would take me hours to come up with a complete list. Pretty much anything you ever heard on the radio from 1975 until now I've taken a swing at on guitar, piano, sax and/or bass guitar. Call it the musical baggage of being just this side of 60
What's your breakdown in terms of "time playing"? Meaning, in any given day or week, how much is guitar, how much is piano, how much is bass.... not talking recording, just playing. (Does this make sense? I'm basically going for, if you're going to pick up an instrument what is it most likely to be)?
I consider guitar to be my main instrument, but I was determined to learn piano correctly so about 5 years ago I took about 1 year of professional lessons, brushed up on my very long-dormant music reading chops and actually learned how to play the piano correctly. Today I can pick up a song like "Piano Man" by Billy Joel or "Come Sail Away" by Styx in a few hours and be able to play them through without any major mistakes with maybe a week of practice. Learning the piano was the best thing I ever did for myself in terms of really digging into music theory and learning more about how to actually leverage some of what I learned and put it to practical use on my group's next album.
That said, as of this writing I can competently play clarinet, saxophone (any size, but I prefer tenor), trumpet, piano, guitar, mandolin and bass guitar and I've been dabbling in a bit of harmonica lately on a blues album I'm working on. I don't have any plans to learn any more instruments, but I am playing every one of these on the album as well as a traditional Navaho Pan flute I bought on a reservation in Arizona back in the 00's.
But even though I started with the clarinet in 1973 and stayed with wind instruments all the way through primary education, I was always infatuated with the guitar because of my father playing it in his band, which I got to watch rehearsing every night in our basement when I was a kid, you know, back before we had electricity and indoor plumbing. :lol
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These days I just mainly put songs on to play along to. The other day for instance was just jamming to some Priest and was working through some Tipton solos. Ram it Down, Heavy Metal, I'm a Rocker, Hard as Iron. Really fun songs to nail down and jam along to. On Shot at Glory is a fun one. KK surprised me with his work on that one.
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These days I just mainly put songs on to play along to. The other day for instance was just jamming to some Priest and was working through some Tipton solos. Ram it Down, Heavy Metal, I'm a Rocker, Hard as Iron. Really fun songs to nail down and jam along to. On Shot at Glory is a fun one. KK surprised me with his work on that one.
I used to love jamming along with Judas Priest songs. Never cared for much of their output after "Screaming for Vengeance" although I LOVE "Firepower"
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These days I just mainly put songs on to play along to. The other day for instance was just jamming to some Priest and was working through some Tipton solos. Ram it Down, Heavy Metal, I'm a Rocker, Hard as Iron. Really fun songs to nail down and jam along to. On Shot at Glory is a fun one. KK surprised me with his work on that one.
I used to love jamming along with Judas Priest songs. Never cared for much of their output after "Screaming for Vengeance" although I LOVE "Firepower"
Defenders for me probably is the most fun album of Priests to jam along to. Firepower though had some songs I learned too. Traitors Gate is fun and Richie has a nice technical solo but Rising From Ruins is SO much fun to play.
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I was just hoping to get some tips and motivation when I started this thread. :lol
Guitar has always been a weird love/hate thing with me. There have been so many times I've said "fuck this and fuck this guitar" only to pick it up a few days later and nail that part I've been practicing for weeks, when that happens it is one of the best feelings.
As for first song, I think it was collective souls "December", I do remember the day I got my guitar i kept playing the Enter Sandman intro over and over. How my mom had the patience to listen to that, ill never understand.
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So, this has become the DTF Guitar Player's thread now then? :lol let's do away with the whole Musicians subforum! (no seriously, I love discussing actually playing music and this is a fun thread, so I hope this can continue).
Oops! You know, I don't think I've ever looked at that subforum? :lol
In general terms, and including the covers band, I made a decision quite some time ago to stop learning much detail of other band's songs. I mean, obviously, you need to play other people's stuff to learn anything at all, really, but I prioritised my noodling and my personal style and enjoyment over rigidly learning note-for-note copies. This was a fundamentally great thing for me, and really opened the door to greater satisfaction.
I wish I could do that. It's a mental block with me, a sort of hurdle. In my head (I know, I know) I get discouraged if I CAN'T play it like they did. But that's unreasonable, for a 100 different reasons, especially with studio tracks. There are a couple tunes I just do however I can, sort of re-arrangements of what was originally played, but it's stressful to me. :). (I laugh, but I'm not really kidding.)
Yeah, this is something I struggle with too. Most studio tracks have layers of guitars and punched in parts that you can’t just play with one guitar by yourself. I play acoustic, so in terms of playing a whole song, I can play all the underlying chords for a bunch of more basic rock songs, but that’s often not very satisfying because it doesn’t feel like I’m playing the whole song. Then when you get into trying to pick or strum a guitar part exactly the way it is on the album, that’s another story altogether.
A few things spring to mind:
1. I'm a really rough guitar player, but I don't care. Be your own cheerleader. What YOU want to achieve is king. I'm never putting out a hit record so the only one I need to please is ME.
2. It doesn't have to be complex. Look at Ace Frehley on the KISS debut, for example. Or Billy Duffy from The Cult. I'm not aiming to be John Petrucci or Yngwie Malmsteen. I'm aiming for basic but enthusiastic bits of Dave Murray / Alex Lifeson / Jimmy Page or something?
3. It ends up 90% relying on a "bag of tricks" - a collection of the same (or similar) little things that I've been playing around with forever and am confident with.
4. See point 1. :)
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I was 13 at the time. I'd give my balls to be 13 again :rollin
Your 13 year old self would not be pleased. :lol
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So, this has become the DTF Guitar Player's thread now then? :lol let's do away with the whole Musicians subforum! (no seriously, I love discussing actually playing music and this is a fun thread, so I hope this can continue).
Oops! You know, I don't think I've ever looked at that subforum? :lol
In general terms, and including the covers band, I made a decision quite some time ago to stop learning much detail of other band's songs. I mean, obviously, you need to play other people's stuff to learn anything at all, really, but I prioritised my noodling and my personal style and enjoyment over rigidly learning note-for-note copies. This was a fundamentally great thing for me, and really opened the door to greater satisfaction.
I wish I could do that. It's a mental block with me, a sort of hurdle. In my head (I know, I know) I get discouraged if I CAN'T play it like they did. But that's unreasonable, for a 100 different reasons, especially with studio tracks. There are a couple tunes I just do however I can, sort of re-arrangements of what was originally played, but it's stressful to me. :). (I laugh, but I'm not really kidding.)
Yeah, this is something I struggle with too. Most studio tracks have layers of guitars and punched in parts that you can’t just play with one guitar by yourself. I play acoustic, so in terms of playing a whole song, I can play all the underlying chords for a bunch of more basic rock songs, but that’s often not very satisfying because it doesn’t feel like I’m playing the whole song. Then when you get into trying to pick or strum a guitar part exactly the way it is on the album, that’s another story altogether.
A few things spring to mind:
1. I'm a really rough guitar player, but I don't care. Be your own cheerleader. What YOU want to achieve is king. I'm never putting out a hit record so the only one I need to please is ME.
2. It doesn't have to be complex. Look at Ace Frehley on the KISS debut, for example. Or Billy Duffy from The Cult. I'm not aiming to be John Petrucci or Yngwie Malmsteen. I'm aiming for basic but enthusiastic bits of Dave Murray / Alex Lifeson / Jimmy Page or something?
3. It ends up 90% relying on a "bag of tricks" - a collection of the same (or similar) little things that I've been playing around with forever and am confident with.
4. See point 1. :)
I'm with you 100% on this concept/idea. I'm capable enough to play with others or to play in front of people, but I'm not pushing the envelope on the instrument, nor do I have the time and incentive to do so. It does get a shade frustrating when I can play, say, a portion of a song but not another (Hallowed Be Thy Name comes to mind; for whatever reason I have trouble with that intro the way Dave plays it so cleanly), or when a particular skillset eludes me (I'd love to be able to play that sweep-picking arpeggio thingy that Yngwie does; watching him do it live from the front row a year or so ago was a revelatory experience), but I get most of what I want out of the instrument at this stage of the game.
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This thread inspired me to make this:
https://www.dreamtheaterforums.org/boards/index.php?topic=56174.0
Take heed, guitar guys!
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PAWN SHOPS.
I would NOT recommend buying at a Pawn shop for a beginner who does not know what he is buying. Quick way to end up with a lemon.
Not as argument, but for discussion purposes, I think that's true of anything above an entry level guitar. We have three (used to have four) pawn shops around me, and one more around where my daughter used to go to high school, and I would often stop in to kill time (you can often get video games and CDs for a couple bucks, tops. Especially CDs.) You rarely see any Gibson guitars, and only occasionally will you see a Fender, and that's 99% of the time a Mexican strat. I'd stay away from those if you don't know what you're looking at. They are there for one of two reasons: the coke dealer wouldn't take it in trade, or they couldn't move it at a guitar shop/to a collector.
But I'll bet if I walked into those four shops today, two of them would have a Squier strat that is in very good working condition, and was a starter instrument for someone that either moved on to something better or decided that motorcycles were more fun. Epiphone too, though less so (since the Epiphone guitars are more expensive to start with).
Either way, he said he's looking for an acoustic, so you're probably more right than I am, in that you probably do need to be able to see if the neck is straight, or the body is warped. But you can still probably find an Ovation Celebrity (if you don't mind the curved back) or a Yamaha for cheap.
Are mexican strats bad? I ask because just today I bought one that was first purchased on 1996. I don´t know to play guitar, but it was a good deal, and it might lead me to learn to play it.
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These days I just mainly put songs on to play along to. The other day for instance was just jamming to some Priest and was working through some Tipton solos. Ram it Down, Heavy Metal, I'm a Rocker, Hard as Iron. Really fun songs to nail down and jam along to. On Shot at Glory is a fun one. KK surprised me with his work on that one.
I used to love jamming along with Judas Priest songs. Never cared for much of their output after "Screaming for Vengeance" although I LOVE "Firepower"
Defenders for me probably is the most fun album of Priests to jam along to. Firepower though had some songs I learned too. Traitors Gate is fun and Richie has a nice technical solo but Rising From Ruins is SO much fun to play.
We used to play Electric Eye in our cover band a few years ago. It was a lot of fun. We would close our set with four heavier songs and they were Electric Eye, Two Minutes to Midnight, Holy Diver, and Working Man.
I kind of miss those days..
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Seeing this thread bumped reminds I’ve all but given up on this quest.
Maybe it’ll help to rejuvenate me.
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Are mexican strats bad? I ask because just today I bought one that was first purchased on 1996. I don´t know to play guitar, but it was a good deal, and it might lead me to learn to play it.
Depends on the guitar. The usual issue I've encountered with Mexican strats is the neck is rough and dries quickly. Other than that, they aren't bad guitars.
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Seeing this thread bumped reminds I’ve all but given up on this quest.
Maybe it’ll help to rejuvenate me.
What made you stop?
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Are mexican strats bad? I ask because just today I bought one that was first purchased on 1996. I don´t know to play guitar, but it was a good deal, and it might lead me to learn to play it.
Depends on the guitar. The usual issue I've encountered with Mexican strats is the neck is rough and dries quickly. Other than that, they aren't bad guitars.
This one seems to be in very good shape. Now I am on the market for an amp. What would be your advise?
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So how often do people change their guitar strings? I’ve had my acoustic guitar for almost six years and have never changed them. Never broke a string so never felt the need to. The strings do feel kind of cruddy though. I’d have to take it somewhere since I have no idea how to do it myself and it looks complicated. Am I going to damage my guitar if I don’t? I imagine it might sound better if so do, but I don’t have anything to compare it to, so it sounds fine to me.
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So how often do people change their guitar strings? I’ve had my acoustic guitar for almost six years and have never changed them. Never broke a string so never felt the need to. The strings do feel kind of cruddy though. I’d have to take it somewhere since I have no idea how to do it myself and it looks complicated. Am I going to damage my guitar if I don’t? I imagine it might sound better if so do, but I don’t have anything to compare it to, so it sounds fine to me.
Changing strings isn't complicated at all, but I've done it dozens of times. You're definitely going to hear (and feel) a difference, especially on an acoustic guitar. In general it will sound brighter and fuller and the playability will go up a ton as well; you might have gotten used to your strings feeling stiff and murky, but that's not how strings are 'supposed' to be.
How often you change strings depends a lot on how often much you play your guitar, but also other factors like your house's humidity levels, or whether or not you keep the guitar in a bag or case. I would recommend keeping steel-stringed acoustics in a bag or case at least. Back when I had just one guitar I would use for everything, I'd be changing strings every month or two. Now it's down to about every 6 months, but also dependent on whether or not I need the guitar in question for a recording or a gig. Changing strings is always a nice moment, because the guitar will sound better because of it. If I'm playing a guitar daily, I'll still change the strings every two months or so. There's contrary examples as well; my jazz guitar has flatwound strings and they can last a lot longer.
In short though, change your strings (at least a little often) and the guitar will sound better. Especially after 6 years. It'll feel nicer to play as well. Take it somewhere if you must and if you do, ask to give the fretboard a good cleaning too.
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And I think it's actually not that difficult to change strings on acoustic guitars (compared to classical at least). It's a little scary first time especially if your guitar is expensive but the process is very intuitive.
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https://www.iwanttoplayguitar.com/#shopify-section-1587766972104
Thinking about enrolling to this one!
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If you have the option to go to a private tutor (in real life, preferably), I'd always recommend that over video lessons.
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If you have the option to go to a private tutor (in real life, preferably), I'd always recommend that over video lessons.
I will try to find one, thanks for the advise.
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Now I am on the market for an amp. What would be your advise?
Since you are just starting out, you don't need anything expensive or big. I would recommend a small modeling amp where you can get a variety of tones from it without the need for pedals.
Line 6, as bad as their reputation was, have improve their amps a lot in the last 5 years or so. The Line 6 Spider series that wont cost much are descent beginners amps. Fender and Marshall also have a few inexpensive options for amps, so worth looking into those. Just my opinion.
So how often do people change their guitar strings? I’ve had my acoustic guitar for almost six years and have never changed them. Never broke a string so never felt the need to. The strings do feel kind of cruddy though. I’d have to take it somewhere since I have no idea how to do it myself and it looks complicated. Am I going to damage my guitar if I don’t? I imagine it might sound better if so do, but I don’t have anything to compare it to, so it sounds fine to me.
Yeah as others have mentioned, it depends how often you play them, but the most I wait to change them is 6 months. I usually have a few packs around just in case.
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Seeing this thread bumped reminds I’ve all but given up on this quest.
Maybe it’ll help to rejuvenate me.
What made you stop?
This is going to sound so ass backwards…..
We did some rearranging of rooms when my wife started working from home a year and a half ago. The room I used to piddle around with the guitar became my sons bedroom, his old bedroom became his game room, his old game room became my wife’s office and I was given the basement to create a man cave. I’m actually pretty pleased with how my man cave came out, but again it’s in the basement, so the guitar is out of sight, which turns into out of mind after time.
So what I thought would give me the freedom to continue learning actually did the opposite.
I still continue to watch video tips and really pay attention to guitarists when they play to try and pick up on things, but the physical part of playing just isn’t happening.
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Watching videos without actually playing has never made anyone better at playing guitar :biggrin:
5 minutes a day is better than half an hour a week, but of course the enjoyment has to be there as well. I play at least an hour, often more, every day and I don't even have to think of it. It's just what I do.
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forgive me if this is in the wrong section, but the "Musicians" section didn't look as active, so....
I want to learn to play the guitar.
Sounds simple enough but I could use some good suggestions pertaining to equipment, lessons, etc.
Heres my story. I'm 47 years old, played sax through high school (mostly for fun, not much practicing). I did play the cello way back in 5th grade, but I doubt anything has been retained since then.
I'd just like to learn some basics, piddle around and just see if its something I can do.
Thanks for any leads you can give me.
Realize I am over a year late to this (LOL) but would be curious to know how you are doing with guitar. Like you, I played sax (started at 10y); I never really connected with it. A few years later I found guitar, which spoke to me instantly.
I think starting out with open chords (C,D,G,A,E) and learning a 3 chord song is the best way to get the wheels turning. It's challenging but also achievable and gratifying and in a week or two you'll find that you can play very basic songs already.
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So how often do people change their guitar strings? I’ve had my acoustic guitar for almost six years and have never changed them. Never broke a string so never felt the need to. The strings do feel kind of cruddy though. I’d have to take it somewhere since I have no idea how to do it myself and it looks complicated. Am I going to damage my guitar if I don’t? I imagine it might sound better if so do, but I don’t have anything to compare it to, so it sounds fine to me.
Changing strings isn't complicated at all, but I've done it dozens of times. You're definitely going to hear (and feel) a difference, especially on an acoustic guitar. In general it will sound brighter and fuller and the playability will go up a ton as well; you might have gotten used to your strings feeling stiff and murky, but that's not how strings are 'supposed' to be.
How often you change strings depends a lot on how often much you play your guitar, but also other factors like your house's humidity levels, or whether or not you keep the guitar in a bag or case.
Also on how much you sweat and how acidic it is. It additionally makes a bigger difference in tone on acoustics than on electrics. Tuning and intonation can also be affected when the strings get old. That said, I don't change my strings nearly as often as I should. I have a number with Floyd Rose or other floating bridges, and that's a bit more involved.
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If in doubt, change strings. I used to do it monthly when I was playing one guitar all the time but now do it a few times a year as I float between a few.
Makes a huge difference, though. Wakes the whole instrument up.
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Thanks guys, sounds like I need to get mine changed for sure. Maybe I can get someone to show me and then I can keep up with it myself.
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Thanks guys, sounds like I need to get mine changed for sure. Maybe I can get someone to show me and then I can keep up with it myself.
Find a YouTube video. No drama.. Easy peasy. :tup
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Are mexican strats bad? I ask because just today I bought one that was first purchased on 1996. I don´t know to play guitar, but it was a good deal, and it might lead me to learn to play it.
Depends on the guitar. The usual issue I've encountered with Mexican strats is the neck is rough and dries quickly. Other than that, they aren't bad guitars.
This one seems to be in very good shape. Now I am on the market for an amp. What would be your advise?
I have a Mexican Strat, and I like it. It's a little unforgiving in how the neck plays, but I like it.
There are a lot of good, inexpensive amps out there; it depends how serious you are and what you're hoping to achieve. Fender makes a quality solid-state amp that you can probably get used for $100 or less. You jump price points if you want to get right in at the tube-level.
Others here will know a LOT more than I do about this, though.
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So how often do people change their guitar strings? I’ve had my acoustic guitar for almost six years and have never changed them. Never broke a string so never felt the need to. The strings do feel kind of cruddy though. I’d have to take it somewhere since I have no idea how to do it myself and it looks complicated. Am I going to damage my guitar if I don’t? I imagine it might sound better if so do, but I don’t have anything to compare it to, so it sounds fine to me.
Changing strings isn't complicated at all, but I've done it dozens of times. You're definitely going to hear (and feel) a difference, especially on an acoustic guitar. In general it will sound brighter and fuller and the playability will go up a ton as well; you might have gotten used to your strings feeling stiff and murky, but that's not how strings are 'supposed' to be.
How often you change strings depends a lot on how often much you play your guitar, but also other factors like your house's humidity levels, or whether or not you keep the guitar in a bag or case.
Also on how much you sweat and how acidic it is. It additionally makes a bigger difference in tone on acoustics than on electrics. Tuning and intonation can also be affected when the strings get old. That said, I don't change my strings nearly as often as I should. I have a number with Floyd Rose or other floating bridges, and that's a bit more involved.
Not quoting anyone specific, just using the "strings" discussion, but... do you wipe your strings down with anything? Any fluids? Can you "clean" strings, or is the only good way of doing that to just replace them?
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I used something like this before.
(https://media.musiciansfriend.com/is/image/MMGS7/The-String-Cleaner-Cleaning-Tool/580303000000000-00-500x500.jpg)
You pretty much slide that thing up and down the neck (of the guitar). It helps if your strings are old, but I usually just change the strings before it gets to the point that this would make a difference. I know there are products are well to condition the strings (Dunlop makes a few different ones), but those I never used before.
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Are mexican strats bad? I ask because just today I bought one that was first purchased on 1996. I don´t know to play guitar, but it was a good deal, and it might lead me to learn to play it.
Depends on the guitar. The usual issue I've encountered with Mexican strats is the neck is rough and dries quickly. Other than that, they aren't bad guitars.
This one seems to be in very good shape. Now I am on the market for an amp. What would be your advise?
I have a Mexican Strat, and I like it. It's a little unforgiving in how the neck plays, but I like it.
There are a lot of good, inexpensive amps out there; it depends how serious you are and what you're hoping to achieve. Fender makes a quality solid-state amp that you can probably get used for $100 or less. You jump price points if you want to get right in at the tube-level.
Others here will know a LOT more than I do about this, though.
What don't you like about the neck? Jagged fret edges? There's no harm in taking a bit of sandpaper to those I don't think.
Another great affordable amp is the boss katana. They've got really great "clean", "classic rock", and "all out metal" gain stages.
I'd avoid tubes unless you're playing with others or have the space and ability to blow the windows out. I have a 20-watt Marshall tube head and a 15-watt Fender Blues Jr, and both are way too loud to crank at home. You're not getting any of the benefits of playing with tubes if it's just at bedroom levels, unless you're looking at the boutique market of very low wattage tube amps.
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Not quoting anyone specific, just using the "strings" discussion, but... do you wipe your strings down with anything? Any fluids? Can you "clean" strings, or is the only good way of doing that to just replace them?
Washing your hands before playing solves a lot already, so I always do that. Just making sure they're not greasy or dirty before playing. I also often wipe strings with a cloth after playing as well. I don't even know if this helps preserve them a little longer, but there's no harm.
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I'd avoid tubes unless you're playing with others or have the space and ability to blow the windows out. I have a 20-watt Marshall tube head and a 15-watt Fender Blues Jr, and both are way too loud to crank at home. You're not getting any of the benefits of playing with tubes if it's just at bedroom levels, unless you're looking at the boutique market of very low wattage tube amps.
It depends on a lot of different factors, but some tube amps still sound really good at lower volume levels, sometimes due to generating the gain at the preamp stage. My Mesa Mark V and EVH 5150 III are this way, for example. But if you have something like an old Marshall that generates it at the the power amp stage, or even a Rectifier, yeah, those don't sound so great unless you can crank them to pretty obscene levels.
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I'd avoid tubes unless you're playing with others or have the space and ability to blow the windows out. I have a 20-watt Marshall tube head and a 15-watt Fender Blues Jr, and both are way too loud to crank at home. You're not getting any of the benefits of playing with tubes if it's just at bedroom levels, unless you're looking at the boutique market of very low wattage tube amps.
It depends on a lot of different factors, but some tube amps still sound really good at lower volume levels, sometimes due to generating the gain at the preamp stage. My Mesa Mark V and EVH 5150 III are this way, for example. But if you have something like an old Marshall that generates it at the the power amp stage, or even a Rectifier, yeah, those don't sound so great unless you can crank them to pretty obscene levels.
That's true, yeah. There's also attenuators. While I use my Katana for most "metal" practice, there are times when I still want to use the Marshall 20 watt tube head / cab combo I've got to play at home. Since the 10 watt setting is still too loud, I run a cheap attenuator made my Keeley through the FX loop, which allows me to crank the amp but then turn down the overall volume with those preamp tubes completely saturated.
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Yeah, there are tricks like that as well. People online underestimate the volume scaling of wattage and how loud amps are. Even my "toy" Marshall MS-4, only 1 watt, is still too loud for someone to use in an apartment with thin walls.
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Use something you can plug headphones into then, or play without an amp.
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Guys can you help with some links to some used amps?
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I often play my electrics unplugged when watching tv but bought one of these little fellas just for when I'm sat on the sofa and want a bit more fullness. Cheap and great for what it is.
https://www.roland.com/uk/products/micro_cube_gx/
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Guys can you help with some links to some used amps?
You know reverb.com?
What are you looking for generally?
https://reverb.com/marketplace?product_type=amps&query=Boss%20Katana-50%20MkII%2050-Watt%201x12%22%20Digital%20Modeling%20Guitar%20Combo&condition=used
How about this?
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Yeah, Reverb.com is a good website to look for gear. You can also check Guitar Center, every so often you can find a good deal there.
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I often play my electrics unplugged when watching tv but bought one of these little fellas just for when I'm sat on the sofa and want a bit more fullness. Cheap and great for what it is.
https://www.roland.com/uk/products/micro_cube_gx/
That's what I do; while I'm watching TV I play along unplugged. Now that I'm moved into my new home, I have a room with my gear and it's nice.
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Guys can you help with some links to some used amps?
You know reverb.com?
What are you looking for generally?
https://reverb.com/marketplace?product_type=amps&query=Boss%20Katana-50%20MkII%2050-Watt%201x12%22%20Digital%20Modeling%20Guitar%20Combo&condition=used
How about this?
Thank you. I´ll check it
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I checked the reverb site and took that model and searched on Amazon, and it led me to this one:
https://www.amazon.com/-/es/katana-mini-Bater%C3%ADa-Powered-Amplificador-Guitarra/dp/B072XKP8TH/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&keywords=Boss%20Katana-50%20MkII&language=en_US&qid=1636555061&sr=8-9
Apparently it works with 4 AA batteries, but then I saw this one:
https://www.amazon.com/Fender-Mustang-LT-25-Digital-Amplifier/dp/B07N29M92M/ref=psdc_11968291_t3_B072XKP8TH?th=1
What you guys think?
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I checked the reverb site and took that model and searched on Amazon, and it led me to this one:
https://www.amazon.com/-/es/katana-mini-Bater%C3%ADa-Powered-Amplificador-Guitarra/dp/B072XKP8TH/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&keywords=Boss%20Katana-50%20MkII&language=en_US&qid=1636555061&sr=8-9
Apparently it works with 4 AA batteries, but then I saw this one:
https://www.amazon.com/Fender-Mustang-LT-25-Digital-Amplifier/dp/B07N29M92M/ref=psdc_11968291_t3_B072XKP8TH?th=1
What you guys think?
I own the Katana, and in the past I've owned the Mustang. Katana is more my thing. It has its own sound with different levels of distortion, plus a primitive EQ and reverb. You tweak the distortion, EQ, reverb, etc with the knobs on the speaker. You just plug in and play.
Mustang - It does not have its own sound but has "Models" of lots of famous amps (Fender, Marshall, Mesa, etc.) that sound more or less like approximations of sounds you would recall from famous records. Lots of different options and effects, but fairly limited in how you can apply them or tweak them. Since I don't care for most of the amp models, a lot of what this amp had to offer felt like clutter.
For my main setup, I have a 20 watt tube Marshall head and 2x12 speaker with a pedal board with tons of pedals. I have no need for a practice amp that emulates those bells and whistles.
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I checked the reverb site and took that model and searched on Amazon, and it led me to this one:
https://www.amazon.com/-/es/katana-mini-Bater%C3%ADa-Powered-Amplificador-Guitarra/dp/B072XKP8TH/ref=sr_1_9?ie=UTF8&keywords=Boss%20Katana-50%20MkII&language=en_US&qid=1636555061&sr=8-9
Apparently it works with 4 AA batteries, but then I saw this one:
https://www.amazon.com/Fender-Mustang-LT-25-Digital-Amplifier/dp/B07N29M92M/ref=psdc_11968291_t3_B072XKP8TH?th=1
What you guys think?
I own the Katana, and in the past I've owned the Mustang. Katana is more my thing. It has its own sound with different levels of distortion, plus a primitive EQ and reverb. You tweak the distortion, EQ, reverb, etc with the knobs on the speaker. You just plug in and play.
Mustang - It does not have its own sound but has "Models" of lots of famous amps (Fender, Marshall, Mesa, etc.) that sound more or less like approximations of sounds you would recall from famous records. Lots of different options and effects, but fairly limited in how you can apply them or tweak them. Since I don't care for most of the amp models, a lot of what this amp had to offer felt like clutter.
For my main setup, I have a 20 watt tube Marshall head and 2x12 speaker with a pedal board with tons of pedals. I have no need for a practice amp that emulates those bells and whistles.
Thanks for the feedbacl, I think I´ll research more on the Katana plus it´s more on my price range. I will learn to play guitar for now, I dont think I need something too fancy to get started.
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Has any of you used this one?
https://www.amazon.com/-/es/2311300000-Fender-Mustang-Micro/dp/B08TRQS1TX/
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This thread bump has given me some juice to start learning again. Working on a Christmas tune!
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I have the Katana 100W. It works great for an apt and you can plug it directly into your PC for shaping the tone and recording too, if I am not mistaken. I've always dreamed of owning a tube amp but I just can't do that in an apt-- plus the technology on the digital side has made tremendous strides and can get pretty close. I also have a Fender Champion which is decent, but given the similarity in price, I buy the Katana all day.
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This thread bump has given me some juice to start learning again. Working on a Christmas tune!
After four weeks I’ve managed to learn the song, though it’s pretty rough. I’ll still post a vid of me massacring it next week. :lol
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This thread bump has given me some juice to start learning again. Working on a Christmas tune!
After four weeks I’ve managed to learn the song, though it’s pretty rough. I’ll still post a vid of me massacring it next week. :lol
Hey! Progress is progress, and is those little accomplishments that motivate you to keep on going.
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Well, after about 15 takes I was able to get through it with minimal mistakes. Here is me trying to play “Carol of the Bells”….
https://youtu.be/Xo2JI0hHS18
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Sounds good to me, keep it up
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Hey, good job man! That doesn't look like an 'easy' piece to play, considering the time you've been playing guitar, especially with the faster passages and the position shifts.
Excuse me if this is not what you're looking for; I just want to help you out, so if you allow me to give some pointers;
- your right hand is doing well! Make sure you're not pressing too hard on the strings, but it doesn't seem like you're doing that, and always play with the tip of your fingers. In general, I'd suggest you keep your fingers closer to the strings at all times, especially your ring finger and pinky. They sometimes have to come from quite far away. Having them closer to the fretboard increases accuracy and efficiency. For this, you might need to turn your whole hand slightly.
- your left hand looks as if it's very tight. The picking hand is difficult, because you want it to make minimal movements, but the movements should ideally come from the wrist only and should be as relaxed as possible. In the video you posted, it looks as if your forearm is doing part of the job as well. It should be sort-of like flicking your wrist, but then with a guitar pick. I'd also recommend you to learn how to alternate pick, moving the hand up and down, rather than just down. This makes for some more natural movement in the wrist. A good way to practice this is by strumming chords and playing stuff over multiple string sets, rather than single-note lines.
- in general I hear some unwanted string noise here and there; strings ringing out longer, or open strings sounding where you don't want them. Muting strings is an important part of playing guitar, but very difficult to get used to (in my experience). You use both hands for this; your fretting hand can mute all the higher strings by slightly touching them so they don't ring, your picking hand can also mute strings by resting on them close to the bridge. This is more difficult to explain in written text, so I recommend you look up a video that explains this as well.
Keep it up! :)
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Hey, good job man! That doesn't look like an 'easy' piece to play, considering the time you've been playing guitar, especially with the faster passages and the position shifts.
Excuse me if this is not what you're looking for; I just want to help you out, so if you allow me to give some pointers;
- your right hand is doing well! Make sure you're not pressing too hard on the strings, but it doesn't seem like you're doing that, and always play with the tip of your fingers. In general, I'd suggest you keep your fingers closer to the strings at all times, especially your ring finger and pinky. They sometimes have to come from quite far away. Having them closer to the fretboard increases accuracy and efficiency. For this, you might need to turn your whole hand slightly.
- your left hand looks as if it's very tight. The picking hand is difficult, because you want it to make minimal movements, but the movements should ideally come from the wrist only and should be as relaxed as possible. In the video you posted, it looks as if your forearm is doing part of the job as well. It should be sort-of like flicking your wrist, but then with a guitar pick. I'd also recommend you to learn how to alternate pick, moving the hand up and down, rather than just down. This makes for some more natural movement in the wrist. A good way to practice this is by strumming chords and playing stuff over multiple string sets, rather than single-note lines.
- in general I hear some unwanted string noise here and there; strings ringing out longer, or open strings sounding where you don't want them. Muting strings is an important part of playing guitar, but very difficult to get used to (in my experience). You use both hands for this; your fretting hand can mute all the higher strings by slightly touching them so they don't ring, your picking hand can also mute strings by resting on them close to the bridge. This is more difficult to explain in written text, so I recommend you look up a video that explains this as well.
Keep it up! :)
Thanks for the tips!
I picked this song because it was supposed to be a good song to learn to alternate pick, but I was struggling with it and wanted to get through the song by Christmas. I’m going to keep working on it to see if I can start to get comfortable with the alternate picking.
I know my picking hand is wrong. It feels tight when I’m doing it. I’m trying to remember to relax more while playing.
I’ll take any forms of critique, good or bad, so don’t be afraid to speak up!
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Piddling around with an underrated 80’s solo. I’m learning my cheap amp has major limitations.
And I’m having a real hard time with string buzz.
ETA: I just remembered I’ve never had the guitar properly set up, what is a standard price I should expect to have this done? Mind you it’s a $100 guitar.
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Don’ bother with a 100 dollar guitar, I’d say.. You could try it out yourself, though it’s tricky, but usually the price to get it done in a shop (over here) would be the equivalent of something like 30-50 dollars. I do it with my guitars every few years, especially before recording stuff.
Why do you think it needs to be set up?
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Don’ bother with a 100 dollar guitar, I’d say.. You could try it out yourself, though it’s tricky, but usually the price to get it done in a shop (over here) would be the equivalent of something like 30-50 dollars. I do it with my guitars every few years, especially before recording stuff.
Why do you think it needs to be set up?
Everything sounds better near the headstock and worse towards the bridge. I’m also not sure the strings are all at the right height.
But again, it’s a $100 guitar, so…..
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The price for a standard setup around here is anywhere from $25 to $40, and if you want them to clean the neck/frets, and do any adjustment to the trust rod, you could be paying $80+. Look at your guitar straight down the neck from the headstock, and see if the neck is warped. Something like this:
(https://th.bing.com/th/id/R.db6e24990fd4dd4a0ba7039d9e9236a2?rik=9pi94VmgCK2HdQ&riu=http%3a%2f%2fwww.learningtoplaytheguitar.net%2fwp-content%2fuploads%2f2013%2f07%2fwarped_neck.jpg&ehk=mwFJAyrv%2bzY2nmBkJkomoATwH%2fLgC6yWAlf%2fCwBuPKk%3d&risl=&pid=ImgRaw&r=0)
If it does, the strings are putting to much pressure on the neck and the truss rod needs to be adjusted.
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The price for a standard setup around here is anywhere from $25 to $40, and if you want them to clean the neck/frets, and do any adjustment to the trust rod, you could be paying $80+. Look at your guitar straight down the neck from the headstock, and see if the neck is warped. Something like this:
(https://th.bing.com/th/id/R.db6e24990fd4dd4a0ba7039d9e9236a2?rik=9pi94VmgCK2HdQ&riu=http%3a%2f%2fwww.learningtoplaytheguitar.net%2fwp-content%2fuploads%2f2013%2f07%2fwarped_neck.jpg&ehk=mwFJAyrv%2bzY2nmBkJkomoATwH%2fLgC6yWAlf%2fCwBuPKk%3d&risl=&pid=ImgRaw&r=0)
If it does, the strings are putting to much pressure on the neck and the truss rod needs to be adjusted.
It looks pretty straight to me, not bowing one way or the other.
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How is the intonation on the guitar? Meaning if it’s in tune with an open string, is it still in tune at the 12th fret (same pitch but an octave higher) for each string, or is it sharp or flat there? It’s a pretty easy adjustment to make.
And I just realized you mentioned string buzz as the problem. Sounds like the string action is possibly too low which would contribute to that noise. The bridge probably needs a check or adjustment which I haven’t had to do myself, but there are probably videos online that would guide you through it.
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How is the intonation on the guitar? Meaning if it’s in tune with an open string, is it still in tune at the 12th fret (same pitch but an octave higher) for each string, or is it sharp or flat there? It’s a pretty easy adjustment to make.
Ya, nothing is in tune if I’m on the 12th fret.
And I just realized you mentioned string buzz as the problem. Sounds like the string action is possibly too low which would contribute to that noise. The bridge probably needs a check or adjustment which I haven’t had to do myself, but there are probably videos online that would guide you through it.
I’ll look into this.
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I won $175 in my fantasy football league and I’m debating on upgrading from my $100 guitar.
I keep reading great things about Harley Benton’s as great, affordable guitars. I’ve been looking at this one….
https://www.thomannmusic.com/harley_benton_cst_24t_lh_ocean_flame.htm
Any opinions?
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Looks real pretty for not too many beer tokens!
I think they have a very solid reputation now, and I would expect Thomann's customer service to be excellent.
I've bought ten guitars online since covid began (and kept 5), and I would say this. Regardless of brand, price and reviews, go into it half expecting to send it back for small quality reasons. And expect to do some minor set-up tasks. This is intimidating but I've not caused any problems yet. Go slow and steady.
We have at least a couple of weeks to send things back here in the UK/Europe regardless of cause, so just treat it really carefully so you can repack it and return it.
And:
(Guitars with fixed bridges are much easier to set-up than ones with whammy bars)
(In this period I've had quality problems from problematic frets, to where the tuners have been screwed on, to vibrating truss rods, to problems with the nut, to issues with the finish/glue/edges. I'll always expect some tiny issue but it's just a case of what you're happy with, does it do what you want it to and ultimately make you happy)
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I have no experience with that brand, but I know it's Thomann's own make. They're a very reliable shop over here in Europe, so I'd expect them to be similar in the US. I have only ever bought one guitar without playing it before, and that was a $2500 one, so I was quite sure it be good, but mass-made guitars occasionally will have slip-ups (frets, angled neck, 'ugly' parts), so I would always recommend to try it out before playing. Like DoctorAction says above, expect to send it back.
One thing though; do not get the whammy bar! (Unless you *really* want it, I suppose). In my experience, whammy bars on 'cheap' guitars aren't all too good and cause the guitar to go out of tune easily and often. I also rarely - if ever - use it, but that's personal preference.
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I'd go for a Squire, I have always found them to be pretty good value for money.
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I'm no professional musician, but I can't imagine paying any real money for a guitar without playing it first. I have had three Squires (by the way, for the money, a solid guitar; I have a Squire now and it might actually be my favorite playing guitar) and all played different. I've played a number of Strats and they all played different. The only one that is relatively constant is the higher end Les Paul's (with the necks with the "border"; I don't know what that's called). Those are fairly uniform. Even the Epiphone I have plays a lot like the Les Paul I had. The quality isn't QUITE the same, but for the money, I'm not sure that's a legit quibble. I paid barely a quarter of the price for even a moderately priced Les Paul for my Epiphone. It was still $350 from a pawn shop, though, so likely out of your price range.
I don't know what it's like where you are, but I know for me, pawn shops can be MONEY when it comes to guitars. I'm not sure you're going to find a holy grail guitar, but you can find a good quality instrument for a fair price. I bought that Squire I still have from a pawn shop for $50 cash. I'm going to swap out the pickups (the ones in there are junk) but still. They work, and I paid $50. :)
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At the risk of coming off like a fanboy (but hey, if not here, then where?), I've had the privlege of owning/playing just about every A-brand guitar over the years, and for my money, there is NOTHING that can compare to Music Man JP6. I purchased my first JP6 back on 2000, and my 'number one' has more miles on it than just about anything else I own (save for my knees).
Now, I know, I know, you're not looking to spend a couple grand on a guitar, but I will personally attest to the quality of the Sterling imprint. Sterling manufactures an overseas version of the Music Man line, and their JP6 https://sterlingbymusicman.com/products/jp60 (https://sterlingbymusicman.com/products/jp60) is a tremendous value. Highly recommended!
In my humble opinion, $600 is well worth the price of admission. I mean, if you compare to the cost of a phone/xbox/tv, I think it's hardly an expensive instrument. I realize I'm a guitarist, so everything I'm saying is pretty biased, but I would never let a few hundred dollars come between me and 'better' instrument.
In a world full of built-in obsolesence, guitars are one of the very few things that can actually outlive their owners.
(https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/0018/8265/2787/products/JP60_SBK_Front_web_2000x.png?v=1617044895)
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I'm no professional musician, but I can't imagine paying any real money for a guitar without playing it first. I have had three Squires (by the way, for the money, a solid guitar; I have a Squire now and it might actually be my favorite playing guitar) and all played different. I've played a number of Strats and they all played different. The only one that is relatively constant is the higher end Les Paul's (with the necks with the "border"; I don't know what that's called). Those are fairly uniform. Even the Epiphone I have plays a lot like the Les Paul I had. The quality isn't QUITE the same, but for the money, I'm not sure that's a legit quibble. I paid barely a quarter of the price for even a moderately priced Les Paul for my Epiphone. It was still $350 from a pawn shop, though, so likely out of your price range.
I don't know what it's like where you are, but I know for me, pawn shops can be MONEY when it comes to guitars. I'm not sure you're going to find a holy grail guitar, but you can find a good quality instrument for a fair price. I bought that Squire I still have from a pawn shop for $50 cash. I'm going to swap out the pickups (the ones in there are junk) but still. They work, and I paid $50. :)
I was in this camp where I didn't want to buy something without playing it first but the PRS I bought a couple years ago I got from sweetwater and I loved it. It came perfectly setup and packaged and I couldn't be happier.
I love the JP guitars but could never get into them personally. I couldn't get used to the way the knobs and switch is setup, I realize it's for ergonomic purposed but with my playing style I was always hitting the one of the controls.
That said I haven't played any of the newer JP guitars, I do want to give them another go sometime.