Members Minitruth Posted March 8, 2017 Members Share Posted March 8, 2017 A teacher, a certain practice routine, or a book? Think back to when you needed the help. Where did you find it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Minitruth Posted March 8, 2017 Author Members Share Posted March 8, 2017 I'm 54 years old, the time is now or never. I live in Bergen county, NJ. Perhaps one of you live down the street, who knows? HCEG has always been about helping. I don't need guitars, amps, effects or any material thing. I just need help with my playing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jtr654 Posted March 8, 2017 Members Share Posted March 8, 2017 Practice clean &articulate, having good pitch. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members hellion_213 Posted March 9, 2017 Members Share Posted March 9, 2017 Hmm....im not sure I can narrow it to one thing. But since you're asking me to, I will try. I have always taught myself. I did take three lessons, and the dude sucked, mostly taught little kids I think, so I quit. Occasionally, while self teaching, I find myself lacking motivation or not knowing what to practice next. I was in a Major lull in motivation when I bought my little Marshall MG, Kerry King edition. It came with a DVD of Kerry. He spoke to Me in that DVD, and pushed me through that lull. I don't know if I still have it anymore. That and the Tommy Bolan Metal Primer DVD. Oh Dear God! That is an INSANE DVD! Well worth what little I paid. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Bucksstudent Posted March 9, 2017 Members Share Posted March 9, 2017 Following other players' techniques down the rabbit hole. In high school, I became obsessed with Richard Thompson. I learned how to hybrid pick, studied country and bluegrass licks, took up classical guitar, and spent hours on my acoustic as well as my electric playing each day. I never copped his style, though. I did invigorate my playing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members humbuckerstrat Posted March 9, 2017 Members Share Posted March 9, 2017 Method books is what helped me the most, from Improvising Rock Guitar by Green Note Music Publications (which is still available on Amazon from various sellers. I got my original copy in 1973, but that went MIA in the '80s. I just got another [used] copy from Amazon, and I had forgotten how really good and instructional it is). Also, the Rockschool 1and 2 Method Books (which I also "re-bought" from Amazon after my original copy of Rockschool 1 fell apart). I decided to buy Rockschool 2, and it has some very informative updated guitar lessons in it dealing with playing harmonics and fretboard tapping.Heavy Metal Rhythm Guitar 1 and 2 and Heavy Metal Lead Guitar 1 and 2 by Troy Stetina are very informative, as is Metal Guitar Tricks by Tony Burton and Troy Stetina. Those books will really unravel the mysteries of the sounds that you hear on heavy rock and metal records. I recently read an interview with Buddy Guy in a Guitar Player or Guitar World ( also great sources of guitar info), and he said he never learned anything from any books about guitar playing. I'm certainly not the performer that Buddy Guy is, but everything I've ever learned about guitar has been from books and magazines, lol. [EDIT] Oh yeah, and the Internet. The Internet is also a great source of Guitar info and has been for the past 16+ years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted March 9, 2017 Moderators Share Posted March 9, 2017 determination...without which you don't practice, don't listen critically, don't seek out new things and don't improve.I never took a lesson. I borrowed a Mel Bay chord book, and a Bob Dylan songbook, and I was off and running.I was playing professionally before I could really read music.I watched other people play, occasionally [rarely] someone would show me a cool riff, but it was really just me, getting it done. One guy showed me a C major chord on the piano...and I figured out the rest on my own. That same determination drove me to study piano, harmony and musicianship in college [they let me skip the introductory courses when I 'challenged' the course work and passed...because I had already figured out all that stuff]. Still the guitar was my instrument...that and my voice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AJ6stringsting Posted March 9, 2017 Members Share Posted March 9, 2017 Mr. Thompson made want to play with a Strats clean more often, he's up their with Mark Knopfler in my book. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AJ6stringsting Posted March 9, 2017 Members Share Posted March 9, 2017 I had one great guitar teacher, Dan Mablot, he knew how to get fingers moving scales wise and chord wise. If I played back the lesson perfectly, he would show me a song that I liked. So , I started mastering his lessons before the lesson was over and he would donate more time teaching me my favorite song before he packed up the lesson. He helped me develope a good ear, gave me a great sense of theory and taught me how to improvise.I was so into Tower, Hendrix, Schenker, Page and EVH.Then I became a Shred guitarist in the 80's, studied some Classical, listen to everyone and everything.39 years of guitar playing and the learning never ends .... As it should be 👍 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DeepEnd Posted March 9, 2017 Members Share Posted March 9, 2017 Getting to know, and playing with, a much better guitarist, in my case, my college roommate Tom. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gardo Posted March 9, 2017 Members Share Posted March 9, 2017 A Telecaster. It wasn't my first electric or even my first decent guitar.but it's the right guitar. Some people call it a lie detector ,either you can play it or you can't.No hiding. It forced me to play better . It's simplicity is a good thing too.but mostly I found my sound. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Emory Posted March 9, 2017 Members Share Posted March 9, 2017 In my case, quitting for twenty years. Sometimes wonder how good I could be now if had quit for 40 years and just started up again next year... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members t_e_l_e Posted March 9, 2017 Members Share Posted March 9, 2017 having a goal, where you put all your efforts and dedication in it. and once reached find another one. i started out wanting to learn patience from g'n'r, once i reached this, together with a bunch of other songs, i heard john lee hooker and hendrix for the first time, so i wanted to learn to improvise. then i went to university and my guitar playing goals got lost and my playing stuck. ten years later i was playing for the first time in a band, new goals arose, new things to learn, new goals reached unfortunately currently i'm in a goalless phase myself, don't know where the band is going, we want to do a lot of things, but time is limited and sometimes dedication is missing (yeah we don't have a common goal with a common timeframe set ), but i'm dedicated into practicing and improving my playing. in two weeks we have a again one of our sparse gigs, lets see what is happening oh and i have a second thing: play music (from the record, or by yourself) what you like. expand your musical horizont and add more and more to your listening and playing vocabulary. but never let you force to play something you don't like and can't stand. if you don't enjoy what you are doing, the audience will always notice and they will not enjoy it either... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted March 9, 2017 Members Share Posted March 9, 2017 Relax the fretting hand and press lightly but consistently right up behind the fret. When you're learning a piece, NEVER play it faster than you can play it easily without mistakes. Speed it up gradually. If you're learning a piece take the time to listen with headphones and write down the lyrics. You'll absorb the nuances of the song and remember the sequence of things even if you aren't singing. Learn whole songs! Resist the temptation to crank the low end when you're in a band/recording situation so you sit nicely in the mix. Never play 7th chords in country music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members WRGKMC Posted March 9, 2017 Members Share Posted March 9, 2017 A healthy competition playing with other musicians is what gives you a passion to play well. You still have to find music to learn and put in the hours, but you're scramble to learn your parts much more effectively when you know you have a gig coming up. Females in the audience have been known to motivate many male guitarist to play well too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members MDMachiavelli Posted March 9, 2017 Members Share Posted March 9, 2017 One answer, DRIVE. In the early and mid eighties when I learned to play I didn't have the internet with endless chords and tab. I didn't have youtube with a lesson on any well known and even obscure song you can think of. I didn't have access to all kinds of "apps" and programs that breakdown the music, slow it down, pull parts out of it, and dissect it in a way that makes it somewhat easier to learn. I lived in a rural area so lessons weren't an option. All I usually had was a guitar, amp, the song on a stereo, and if I was very lucky the tab in the latest month issue of Guitar For The Practicing Musician. Sometimes I can remember waiting all month for the next issue of GFTPM to arrive, only to find out I didn't like any of the songs that had been tabbed. I still learned to play the hell out of them because that was all I had. I know all generation say this about the next one (in all aspects of life) but if I would have had the drive that I did as a kid and access to the resources available today people just might know my name. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 1001gear Posted March 9, 2017 Members Share Posted March 9, 2017 Having the instruments 24/7. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members onelife Posted March 9, 2017 Members Share Posted March 9, 2017 A good instrument makes a big difference. A guy I grew up with is the son of a working musician (my father also played guitar but was not a professional). My friend's father gave him a '56 Goldtop when he was nine years old. By the time we were in junior high school, I was trying to pick out Hendrix riffs on my fathers old archtop and my friend was gigging with his own band playing Hendrix and Zeppelin etc. as the songs were being released. It's not all about the quality of the instrument - my friend is a naturally gifted musician - but the fact that his guitar never limited his potential and progress is quite significant. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members onelife Posted March 9, 2017 Members Share Posted March 9, 2017 A teacher' date=' a certain practice routine, or a book? Think back to when you needed the help. Where did you find it?[/quote'] Like everything else, a good teacher and daily practice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members GAS Man Posted March 9, 2017 Members Share Posted March 9, 2017 The one bit of advice I give to folks wanting to learn guitar (which may not apply to all the forumites here with long-term obsessive guitar fetishes) is to keep the guitar handy. Where you sit the most in your house, have a guitar within reach so you'll grab it when the urge hits. It's like the joke that Mitch Hedberg used to tell: "I sit at my hotel at night, I think of something that's funny, then I go get a pen and I write it down. Or if the pen's too far away, I have to convince myself that what I thought of ain't funny." I learned what I learned by learning chords and used strum along books. Eventually took some lessons which helped me develop some lead work. Later took some classical guitar lessons which helped me develop 4-finger picking skills. Plus lots of tab books, etc. The last thing I did was to finally break down and pay the $35 or so for the membership to Tab Pro. I don't think their stuff is as good as the older Power Tab Editor used to be (i.e tabs are not as consistent) but a lot of their stuff is close enough, And I do like being able to hear a run through the tab notation rather than just trying to figure out the cadence on my own. I'm 6 years ahead of you and I know I'll be a student till I croak. When I retire I plan to up my OCD a bit more too. Last two songs I started working on (which are pretty fun and the main parts are fairly easy) are "Slave" and "Heaven" off of the R.S.'s Tattoo You album. As long as I can give myself some good endorphins playing a song, it inspires me to keep going. I do remember being frustrated with my first guitar teacher because I thought (and I think I'm still correct) that he should have been teaching me more "building blocks" instead of riffs. But 20 years or so later I've realized that the more you learn, the easier it gets to learn new stuff. OTOH, my classical guitar teacher was all about proper building blocks to learn the instrument. I hung in there for a while, but frankly it was a bit much for me to keep up with during a trying time in my life back in the late 90s. But, at least I learned to finger pick! If only they'd had electronic tuners and tablature back when I first picked up a guitar, I'd be sooooo much further along than I am now. The tools were virtually nonexistent in the late '60s/early '70s. New players have it cush in comparison. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators daddymack Posted March 9, 2017 Moderators Share Posted March 9, 2017 I have to agree to a point that things like tutorials on youtube and all teh tab/chord sites have completely changed the process for learning guitar now compared to the 50-60-70-80 eras. How many albums did I scratch into unplayability, how many cassettes did I ruin? Countless. I also agree it is a great idea to keep a guitar close by [where practical...I don't have one in the kitchen] I have one here in my home office, the 'mancave', the living room... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members stormin1155 Posted March 10, 2017 Members Share Posted March 10, 2017 Without a doubt, playing with other people. Playing with more skilled guitar players is ideal, but you can learn from anyone, no matter what instrument or skill level. Timing and rhythm were the biggest things I had to learn playing with others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Grant Harding Posted March 10, 2017 Members Share Posted March 10, 2017 I regularly hear people say "I picked up guitar, but didn't have the time". My reply is usually "I've never had a choice". Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Emory Posted March 10, 2017 Members Share Posted March 10, 2017 There are some tunes that take say G to G7 then head to 4th C.... but do like your post Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members onelife Posted March 10, 2017 Members Share Posted March 10, 2017 I learn from my students. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.