Any advice for learning to play guitar? (1 Viewer)

[Philip Hamm]

One other thing. If you want to be able to play and sing at the same time, be sure to do that from the very start. Lots of guitarists have a problem playing and singing at the same time. If you do it from the very beginning, it's easier.
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Philip Hamm
Pat's the best!™
AIM: PhilBiker
click on the little green house to see the evolution of my home theater!

 

[JonZ]

Im another who learned from tablature.
Like Phillip said practice is the key.
I say learn basic chords,scales,and your favorite songs from tablature-BE PATIENT as youre learning songs note for note.If you cant get something down, skip it and go back to it later.After you improve a bit youll find that what you couldnt do or figure out 6 months ago from Tab has become much easier.
Also check out Metal Method, which is really great, I viewed a copy my friend had and think its very good for beginners-the idea being you should be able to play with a professional band in 6 months. I think he did a great job on those tapes.You can oreder them from his website.
http://www.metalmethod.com
http://www.geocities.com/tarim69/Page3.html
[Edited last by JonZ on September 19, 2001 at 09:22 AM]

 

[Tom Damico]

Doug Dickeson, great music. I listened to a few of your tunes, and found them to be very well written and played.
My two cents. I just turned the big 50 a few weeks ago. Less than two years ago, I decided that it would be nice to make music. I bought a guitar, a chord chart, and put a decent stereo in a music room I made. I pretty much played every CD that I loved (mainly blues from Robert Johnson, to Muddy Waters, to Eric Clapton, to SRV)and attempted to play along with them. Well, after about a year or so of playing about 3 hours a day doing this, I placed an ad in the paper for some "middle age" muscians like myself and started to jam once a week. It worked for me. I'm not any SRV, and I can't read a lick of music or even tab, but I can play with anyone, in any style. Its great fun. Good luck and have a blast.
TomD

 

[Todd H]

I've been playing in bands since the age of 17 (I'm 32 now). Just let me give you some warning...if you think home theater is an expensive hobby, wait til you start buying music equipment. Amps, effects, stacks, P.A.'s, monitors...before you know it your living room looks like the stage at Ozzfest! You know, all this talk has got me wanting to start up another band. Oh no, the addiction is back! Someone please stop me before it's too late!

 

[Tom Damico]

Todd:
Man I know what you mean. I started out with a G&L Legacy special. Then I had to have a Strat. Then I had to replace the pickups (I wanted to, not had to) Then I had to have a Gibson ES-335, then it was an old retro Danelectro, then an acoustic. They all play different, I HAD to have them. Then I had to have a small practice amp. Then I had to have a tube amp. Nothing like a tube amp for sound. Then an amp for my acoustic. Then a drum machine, so I could jam alone, and then a synthisizer, and now a deck so I can mix recordings. And lets not forget those mikes, stands, strings, polish, books, CD's. Now I just got an electric keyboard to see what I can do with that. Oh my God. Who would have known?!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

[Reginald Trent]

This is also a good site for guitar info www.guitar.net

 

[Doug Dickeson]

Tom D, thanks for listening. The music that I've written is for folks our age that enjoy the "classic rock" sound, but are sick to death of the Boston-Heart-Skynard-Boston-Foreigner-Kansas-Boston-Boston-Boston playlists of radio stations nowadays.
Hmmmmm… I seem to have clicked into rant mode without even noticing. Happens a lot to guys my age.
{rant mode off}
I agree that you should have your guitar(s) available at a moment's notice. I have my six instruments out of their cases, on stands, so that I can grab any one of 'em at any time.
Which leads directly into the GAS (Gear Acquisition Syndrome) subject. If you think that HT is bad, wait until you get hooked by the music bug. Luckily, in the past few years I've scaled down my inventory (which is the good thing about musical instruments) to the six pieces that I have now:
1965 Fender Stratocaster
1972 Martin D-35
1994 Peavey Bass
1996 Takamine Acoustic Electric
1992 Goya Mandolin
1997 Fender Stratocaster (Roland Ready)
Of course, this doesn't even start to count the synthesizers, mixers, digital audio workstation, tape decks, guitar amps, power amps, speakers, monitors, lights…
Hello, my name is Doug, and I'm afflicted with GAS.
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Visit The Mooseplex | Band site | Solo artist mp3.com site
[Edited last by Doug Dickeson on September 20, 2001 at 07:11 PM]

 

[Tim Hoover]

Don't feel bad, Doug. I'm a drummer and own two Master's sets (boy did I starve!). Of course, not being satisfied with just percussion, I also own 6 electric guitars, 3 acoustics, 3 electric basses, 2 keyboards, 5 amps for the electric instruments, a closet full of effects pedals, and a rack full of processors with lots of neat lights! Oh, and I forgot my PA and my home studio. If I sold all this stuff, I could probably buy my local multiplex (wouldn't that make a great home theater - which of my twelve rooms would you like to watch T2 in?)
In reference to all the Seagull owners who responded to an earlier acoustic guitar thread, my S12+ recently arrived. What a sweet instrument.
[Edited last by Tim Hoover on September 21, 2001 at 10:12 AM]

 

[Rich Malloy]

I guess I'm in the minority on this, but I think learning tablature in lieu of real music notation will ultimately be a hindrance and a waste of time.
I think you have to ask yourself whether you want to be a dilettante guitar player or a musician. If the latter, then you're going to have to communicate with other musicians and understand music in the way that they do. Tablature is guitar-specific and serves only to identify string/fret. It does not express the music you're playing as notes and nor does it express those notes according to the rhythm in which they're intended to be played. It is shorthand notation that removes every "musical" aspect of the piece you're learning, leaving you with only the most basic technical information.
(Some tablature does express the rhythmic value of the individual notes. But why stop here? Why not have the notes expressed as every other musician sees them in standard musical notation?)
Also, real music notation for guitar often uses additional notation above the standard musical staff to identify suggested positions and fingerings.

I generally believe the ability to "play by ear" is something that you are either born with or will come after a lot of experience.

This is true. Some people are born with "perfect pitch" and after being exposed to the names of notes, they can identify them immediately upon hearing them. Through practice, most of the rest of us can attain "perfect relative pitch", which means you won't necessarily be able to identify a given note as a "C" or a "B" or a "B-flat", but if someone plays a "C" and then plays another note (for instance "B-flat"), you will immediately be able to recognize it as such (relative to the note heard and identified). And within any given key, you will learn to identify the tonic, the dominant, the subdominant, etc., relative to that key (even if you're unable to identify the key without relation to another).
It's said that some people are born "tone-deaf" and can never be taught relative pitch. I know a lot of people who sound tone-deaf when they sing, but I'm not sure that practice wouldn't help. It's certainly possible, however, that some people lack whatever part of our brain allows us to identify notes in relation to one another.
But training your ear is one of the most fundamental aspects of learning to play any instrument. Remember, you're a musician first and a guitarist second. The guitar is just a tool for your expression. The music is always paramount.
So, you'll need to learn music theory. You'll need to understand the role of a note in a given key in order to help you "hear it". Granted, there are a lucky few who possess perfect pitch and who are familiar enough with the various musical styles to do everything by ear. These folks can often become amazing musicians, generally doing highly improvisation styles like jazz or blues or bluegrass or klezmer or gypsy. They need not know theory even to become even virtuosos. They can hear the notes and, through exposure to the music, they intuitively understand the purpose of those notes in a given context.
But most of us aren't so lucky!
The best way to train your ear is through learning to sight-sing. The best way to train yourself to play-by-ear is to sit down with your favorite recording, and listen and listen and listen, trying to match what you hear with the notes you're playing. Then, write those notes in standard musical notation so that their role - rhythmically, melodically, and harmonically - becomes clear to you. This is easy for some, more difficult for the rest of us. But soon you'll be hearing things you never dreamed you'd hear.
This is where tablature, IMO, has become a hindrance. Ever since the popularity of guitar playing skyrocketed, there's been a whole generation of guitarists who never had to put ear-to-speaker to learn a song... and they never had to learn standard musical notation to transcribe it from ear to page. A whole generation who never adequately trained their ears or their minds because of the short-cut that is tablature.

 

[Philip Hamm]

I agree with Al regarding tablature.
You can get the real music books, they have little easy to read chord charts with the chord names. Using these is just as easy as using Tab, except that you're actually learning the chords, associated with note letters and variations (Dm, G7, etc.) instead of just learning fingerings.
Hey Al I can think of one musician who fits your mold about not learning music but being a virtuoso... Paul McCartney.
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Philip Hamm
Pat's the best!™
AIM: PhilBiker
click on the little green house to see the evolution of my home theater!

 

[Rain]

In reference to all the Seagull owners...

By the way, that's what I bought, though I'm not sure which model.

It has always been my intent to learn to read music and not take any "shortcuts" in learning how to play. Reading music should be easier for me, as I used to be able to do it in Jr. High when I played clarinet. Obviously, with the guitar, it is a bit more complex, but it is a starting point. As my instructor goes over this stuff, I find some of it sounding very familiar and coming flooding back.
I can say with a fair degree of certainty that I do not have perfect pitch. Those who have been unfortunate enough to witness me singing at a Karaoke bar can attest to that!
Something else that concerns me a bit is the fatness and inflexibility of my fingers. I'm hoping that as I learn, and subsequently develop calluses and increase my flexibility, these problems can be overcome. I'm a bit worried about my third finger though...all my other fingers will at least bend back a bit, but that one is straight as a nail and won't give at all. Do you guys think this will change? Any tips for speeding the process along?
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"Imagine all the people, living life in peace..." - Imagine by John Lennon
Anyone in the Vancouver Canada area interested in a meet? Click here
MOVING ON DOES NOT MEAN FORGETTING.

 

[Charles Guajardo]

Rain, you sound like me about 4 months ago. After years of talking about it, I finally took the plunge and bought a guitar. Luckily a good friend of mine is a guitar virtuoso, and agreed to give me lessons.
I have short stubby fingers and never thought I would be able to do some of the things I do now. During my first lesson, my instructor spent 10 minutes showing me how to hold the pick and guitar. That is is how remedial a lesson I needed!
I agree with Al about learning to read music. Practice, practice, practice! But don't drive yourself crazy. The first few weeks were painful and frustrating, but it is worth it. Don't forget the reasons you wanted to learn guitar when you get lazy, frustrated, or too busy.
You need to post again in a few weeks with the "shred" report! Good luck!
-chuck
[Edited last by Charles Guajardo on September 21, 2001 at 04:47 PM]

 

[Rain]

Luckily a good friend of mine is a guitar virtuoso, and agreed to give me lessons.

Actually, I'm also getting my lessons from a skilled guitarist friend. So far I haven't even had to pay.
Thanks for the encouragement. One thing is for certain. No matter how difficult or frustrating it is, I will absolutely never ever give up. Trust me on that one.
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"Imagine all the people, living life in peace..." - Imagine by John Lennon
Anyone in the Vancouver Canada area interested in a meet? Click here
MOVING ON DOES NOT MEAN FORGETTING.

 

[Philip Hamm]

Something else that concerns me a bit is the fatness and inflexibility of my fingers. I'm hoping that as I learn, and subsequently develop calluses and increase my flexibility, these problems can be overcome. I'm a bit worried about my third finger though...all my other fingers will at least bend back a bit, but that one is straight as a nail and won't give at all. Do you guys think this will change? Any tips for speeding the process along?

As with any skilled task, you will get more flexible as you go. The third (ring) finger shares a lot of tendons and such with the pinky. This makes it less of an independant unit than the others. Don't worry about it.
I have a Seagull also and I love it!
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Philip Hamm
Pat's the best!™
AIM: PhilBiker
click on the little green house to see the evolution of my home theater!

 

[Greg_Y]

So can anyone recommend easy songs to learn and play? I'm sick of playing Yankee Doodle Dandy and the first few notes to Nothing Else Matters over and over again. Someone mentioned Gloria. Any others?

 

[Brad_W]

No advice on how to play guitar, but I can give all the advice you need on how to play the drums.
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"I was born to murder the world." -Nix (Lord of Illusions)
My Home Page http://www.geocities.com/masternix/DVD.html

 

[Brent Cantrell]

Wildwood flower and House of the Rising Sun are great chord progressions, any jazz music will help your phrasing...
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http://www.dvdprofiler.com/mycollect...lias=BCantrell

 

[TheoGB]

It's cool to see how differently people have come at the guitar. Personally I learned from a book - the open chords first. Here are my personal points - if you want to hear some stuff (a lot of it pretty old) you can hear the band's work at http://www.mp3.com/mokita - I am on all tracks in some capacity.
1. There is no shame in learning on an electric guitar. In fact it can be nice to play one without any amplification as this allows you to play quietly. Different guitars breed different styles.
2. I have never been able to develop the hard pads. For this reason I string my acoustic with Daddario 11's (wound G string type) for ELECTRIC guitars. The tone is not massively different and they sound good for longer.
3. Rhythm first - when you are practicing chords you will naturally be slow to get to the right chord in a change. DO NOT STOP YOUR STRUMMING HAND. Keep the rhythm going and ignore an totally duff strike - if you keep stopping you'll lose the flow.
4. THERE IS NO PRACTICE! If it's a chore to play your instrument then GIVE IT UP or swap to another. Also, you are probably never going to be really good until you jam with people. At first this will seem harder than on your own but it will make you a fluid and better player. So don't beat yourself up over practicing.
5. I think TAB books are the best as long as you take note of the way the chords and styles are worked. I began learning guitar with Radiohead's 'Just' and the rest of the 'The Bends'. The more I worked at it the more I learned how many ways you could get a good sounding C chord or whatever. You will then apply these to your own stuff. Soon you will tire of them as they hinder your playing.
Oh just thought: if you're playing a nylon strung acoustic (Spanish style) then ignore point 2 as the metal strings will stress the neck and damage the bridge.
As for electric guitars pay attention to what your 'heroes' play. I personally hate strats and most Fenders because they use single-coil pickups. These are both quiet and very hard to get a nice feedback with, even using distortion pedals. Your purist might disagree but feedback is a fundamentally cool thing when controlled.
When you go electric you want a good distortion pedal and I recommend the ProCo Turbo RAT. Fantastic!!!
Good luck
Theo http://www.mokita.net

 

[Rain]

Well, I thought I would resurrect this thread from the dead.
In case any of you are wondering, I'm still at it. My friend/teacher is about as excited as I am at my progress. I still can't believe what my fingers are doing already. Amazing.
Yeah, it'll be a while before I'm ready for my first concert , but it's definitely coming along.

 

[RicP]

So glad to hear it Rain. Keep at it, it's so worth it.