I started about six weeks ago just learning some of the major chords (C, D, G, Em, A, Am, C7, E, and etc.), and I've moved into learning a bunch of tabs from some of my favorite bands (Green Day, White Stripes, Foo Fighters, and Everclear). I was wondering for those of you that have been playing for a long time, what should I do next to improve myself. I could keep learning more and more songs, but I don't think I'm getting any better. Is there a website that is good for tips/lessons, or do any of yall have any good advice. To be honest I want to be good enough someday to be able to play in a band (prolly need to be able to play something other than tabs for this). Also, need some advice for picking and strumming. I can't seem to strum just a few strings at a time, usualy I hit an extra string when I don't want to.
This could be a huge topic... but see if you can figure out songs by ear and try to play along with the songs on CD/radio ect... Or take the songs that you know by tab and see if what the tab says sounds like what the guitar player is actually doing. Once again, play along with the radio. Tape yourself playing something and then listen to how it sounds. It's a real eye-opener... Did I mention, play along with the radio?
Sounds to me like your next step should be taking lessons from someone, rather than DIY from a book or on the internet. It might help you tie everything together. I am not familiar with most of the places that give lessons, but I heard that a good place to go would be Rockin Robin, on Shepherd below Richmond. Apparently they offer a wide array of music lessons including a few different styles of guitar. They also have a bulletin board there where you might find a teacher outside of Rockin Robin. Once you take a few lessons and learn a few tips, practicing to your favorite CDs should come easier to you. The picking and strumming part just comes with practice. I ran into the same thing when I started playing. After you practice enough, it will be second nature for you to hit the right strings/combination of strings.
Guitar is a rather difficult instrument to learn in my opinion. I've been playing as a hobby since I was 12 years old('82) or so. I mostly just try to play the songs of my favorite bands and have become really good at it. I know some scales and a lot of chords. I learn a lot of music by ear as well. I do not read music. I use tabs as primarily a last resort if I cannot figure it out by ear. My advice to you is, if you really want to learn, then you need to spend a lot of time practicing by either taking lessons or learning from instructional books/videos. Save all that learning of the songs you want to learn for after practice. You also need to get your strumming technique and timing down. This just all takes a significant amount of practice. There are a lot of strumming and picking techniques out there which are not easy to master. I will say that people with bigger hands and longer fingers have a distinct advantage over those who do not and usually progress much quicker but they still have to learn how to play. I feel I'm good enough to play in a band to play covers and could surely come up with some original music. However, work takes a lot of my time already so I could never have enough free time to get serious. Your only going to get out of it what you put into it. Guitar can be very time consuming and the learning just never ends. There are some good internet sites that offer video downloads and instructions on the web for a price usually. I'm sure others here have much better advice. I remember back in the day just struggling to play "Smoke on the Water" by Deep Purple on the low E string only. I couldn't even play power chords worth a damn. I'm a lot better now but I never really got serious enough to dedicate hours a day to practicing and learning. I always wanted to learn songs from my favorite bands instead. Good luck, Surf
That's funny! Yeah...he's got a long way to go. He seems to be having some trouble there with his chord fingering. That's okay. We all go through that in the beginning. LOL.
He's only been playing about 10 months. The main thing is he loves it, practices everyday, and wants to continue to get better.
That is actually very important. Many young musicians end up getting frustrated when they aren't able to pick up things on the first or second try. They end up quitting. It's a real shame. If he already has good practice habits, the sky is the limit. HotRocket, email me through the board if you're interested in starting some lessons. I know a couple of good teachers.
Speaking of guitars, what would be a good guitar to get if I just wanted to play when I'm bored? I don't want to join a band or anything, I just want to learn how to play.
HotRocket, If you're looking to play in a band (and a good one, I assume), this is what you need to learn: (1)Good Time/Rhythm - There are thousands of mediocre and wanky lead guitar players out there, but precious few who can play great rhythm and with good time. Now that you've learned all those chords, practice playing them in time. Get a metronome or drum machine, program a simple 1-2-3-4 click, and do following (BTW, if you are broke and can't afford a metronome, there are some websites online that allow you to start a click - I'll post one later): A) Strum/pick the chord once per click (in other words, you should hit the chord right with the click. B) Strum/pick chord twice per click (once right on the click and once right in the middle of the clicks) C) Strum/pick chord 4X per click You get the idea. Start out simple, and as you get better, try taking some of your favorite guitar riffs by other artists and playing them with the click. Listen to and learn funk guitar where tight rhythm is the rule. And ALWAYS listen to the drummer and bass player - they control the beat (at least they should) and you'll need play with them, not against them This may sound boring (it is) and time consuming (not really - 15-30 minutes every time you practice), but having played in bands for years now, the first thing I look for in any musician is whether he can play in time. Guitarists are notoriously bad about this, so if you can avoid bad time, you will be one step ahead of the crowd. 2) Turn off the distortion and effects when you practice (at least some of the time) I love the sound of distortion, modulator, delay, reverb and all of that stuff but it covers up sloppy playing and can become a crutch. Spend at least some time practicing with no effects on your guitar. You will sound even better when you turn the effects back on. 3) Learn music theory You know some chords but can you make your own? If you know how scales are used to make chords, you'll be able to play any song in no time. 4) Play music - learning fundamentals is good, but you have to play music to really understand why those fundamentals work. So make sure you always leave time to play songs (along with the radio or CD is always good, but you can just play songs by yourself with no accompaniment). Have fun.
I've been wanting to learn for awhile myself, but just never got around to it... can anyone reccomend a good electric guitar, maybe a package of things for a beginner, at a reasonable price like sub $300?
It's also of note that the radio or CD can give a false sense of how well your actually playing along just as guitar effects can make you sound better than you actually are. For an experiment, try playing along with a CD song while recording only your guitar. Then, play back just your guitar part without the radio/CD and this will give you a sense of how good or bad your timing really is. Playing along with the CD/radio is no substitute for playing along with a drummer and, if available, a bassist...obviously. That is what always sucked growing up was the drums were always too loud in the neighborhood and always drew complaints resulting in reduced play time. I personally think any guitarist should have to learn the entire Rush - Moving Pictures album on guitar. I can play that one all the way through. Surf
Just some terrific advice here. I can't play a lick, but my 13 year can read music (varsity choir), and I've told him that being able to play an instrument at a party is a surefire way to score with the chicks. I'm going to have him learn piano, which segues into electronic keyboards, and all that you can do with them now. After reading this, maybe he should try both. Keep the stuff coming. I'm going to bookmark this.
Is that kind of like when I'm in my car with a CD blaring I seem to think I sound good singing along, when I know it'd sound terrible without the accompanying music/singer?
from an interview with the phish guitarist (whether you like phish or not, i have found this to be excellent advice, although i translated it to keyboard): http://www.guitarworld.com/artistindex/9612.phish.html GW: Is there any specific advice you would give to a young guitarist? ANASTASIO: Having taught guitar and spoken with so many players for years, I've narrowed it down to one piece of advice: Forget about learning scales and theory, but try to play the melody to everything you hear: every song on the radio, every commercial, every nursery rhyme, the theme song to your favorite TV show. And don't just play guitar lines: try to play horn lines, vocal melodies, piano parts. Develop your ear. Guitar players are the most notoriously scale-oriented instrumentalists. I'm amazed how many guitar players I've met who can't play a C major scale up the neck-from C to C, not as part of a pattern. That's the first thing that you learn on any other instrument, but guitar players learn the blues scale as a pattern, so they end up playing stuff with their fingers instead of their ears.
Some people might disagree with me here, but I think that one other good tip for people who expect to perform (guitar and bass in particular) on stage... if you know you'll be standing up when you play on stage, stand up when you practice. Body mechanics, posture, and training your muscles can be really important. If you learn how to play all the intervals, chords, finger positions, etc. in a seated position, but then play them totally differently when standing... that's a lot of extra effort. Seems like lots of people who practice do so sitting down, and totally hunched over the instrument. Unless you expect to keep all of those odd angles when you're actually performing, it will be a big adjustment for your body when you're standing up and trying to play the same chords. and GriffinFan - are you interested in acoustic or electric?
I can't speak to acoustic... I'll leave that to someone else. For electric, easily the most popular suggestion is going to be a Fender Strat (American, Japanese, Mexican... depending on your budget). 3 pickups, a 5-way switch with lots of tonal versatility. You can really get a lot of different sounds out of it. I've grown to really appreciate Fender Tele's... hard to explain, just a different feel and sound... more simplicity I guess. Maybe also because lots of the Motown, soul, and blues players I've gotten into play them too. My own favorite, and I'm sure I'm in the minority here, is the Rickenbacker (see the one in my signature). American made, semi-hollow with a very distinctive sound, much more versatile than many people might think, fun to play, and it's just so damned cool-looking. I'd suggest going to a store to try a few out... certain guitars just feel right when you pick them up.
Well, as a drummer and a pianist (both of which I've played for over 15 years), I wanted to learn guitar to complete the trifecta. I've heard that learning on an acoustic guitar is better for you because it's harder in general (therefore making the transition to electric all that easier), so I bought myself a crappy $100 acoustic guitar. It's been sitting in my closet for close to 10 months now. One of these days, I'm going to pull it out and get to work. Therefore, I'd also like a little advice on how to start... correctly. When I learned piano, I never learned how to finger the keys the right way, so my technique is a bit off now. Doesn't bother me much, but I don't want to make the same mistake twice. I want to start off on the right foot with guitar. Any advice for a n00b? How best to begin?
Can't offer advice on that one... I came at it really ass-backwards... I started electric (fretted) bass 18 years ago... started on fretless bass 12 years ago... upright bass 10 years ago... and just started electric guitar a year and a half ago... if you think the acoustic guitar to electric guitar transition is interestring, try the upright bass to electric guitar one...
