Members sheepeH Posted April 16, 2007 Members Share Posted April 16, 2007 Hi everyone. I'm kind of new on playing guitar (playing around a year or so), So ive opened this thread to ask you guys which most of you are probably allot more experienced in playing guitar then me to write a few tips for everyone that might find interest in them. hell, maybe even you better players may learn something from one another. there's always more place for knowledge and experience. In tips I mean for example: tips for improving tone, playing techniques, different ways to improve or learn new techniques such as sweeping, tapping and so so. I'll be happy to hear from you guys Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Pythagoras Posted April 16, 2007 Members Share Posted April 16, 2007 Its the oldest one in the book but... practice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Flying_Milkman Posted April 16, 2007 Members Share Posted April 16, 2007 I have found in my years of playing that rhythm guitar is just as much of an artform as lead playing. And putting equal emphasis on both will make you a better player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members funkymonk77 Posted April 16, 2007 Members Share Posted April 16, 2007 never stop playing...theres going to come a time when playing guitar can seem like a chore, and if you end up going to a music college, somedays youll wish you had just sticked to video games or gone to college for something more normal, but in the end it pays off, specially all the times you might find yourself sitting in front of a a sheet of music with a metronome set at 60 BPM, and a final in 2 hours. Oh yea, i cant stress education enough...music theory only sucks when you dont know what it is, just like jazz Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members funkymonk77 Posted April 16, 2007 Members Share Posted April 16, 2007 forgot the biggest one!!! dont take what you dont know for granted, and never feel bad about not being able to play like that guy, or this guy. Enjoy the fact that youll always have something new to learn, or a that youll find a day you say,damn, i didnt used to sound this good! listen to everything you can with ears open to the music, not the media, or how trendy it might be, or not be. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members FFStratophile Posted April 16, 2007 Members Share Posted April 16, 2007 Practicing technique all day will only get you bashed on Youtube. Playing what you like, may actually take you somewhere. This is against common knowledge, but don't ever sit down and run scales or excercises for hour. Just play what you like, and don't play anything you don't like or anything that doesn't sound good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Big Muff Posted April 16, 2007 Members Share Posted April 16, 2007 Well I'll go ahead and state the painfully obvious. USE A METRONOME! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members darkone15 Posted April 16, 2007 Members Share Posted April 16, 2007 this is something simple that i have a problem with still after 4 years. I push down too hard on the strings. this makes your hand will cramp easyer, get fatigued quicker, and be slower. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 3nz Posted April 16, 2007 Members Share Posted April 16, 2007 dont go after someone else's sound, tune by ear a lot, whenever you can try to work your tone a little (EQing, different hand technique, strings, picks, etc), jam a lot with anyone you can find, try to discover new kinds of music, learn to setup your instrument and learn how it works...hmm...what else?? just fricking enjoy music haha and even though you don't think so, you can learn a lot from people that don't know anything as well as virtuosi that can kick your ass, and you can also learn a lot from people that play other instruments...tone wise, keep your gain down and bang that sucker...the louder you play youll notice sometimes youll have to lower your highs...and in a band situation, mid/high-mids are what cuts through best...ill post some more later... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members XeroStar33 Posted April 16, 2007 Members Share Posted April 16, 2007 If you can find a good teacher in your area, get some lessons. I took lessons during my summer breaks in high school, and it's amazing how much impact two months worth of weekly lessons can have. I'll never forget those simple lessons (well, they're simple now ) on pentatonics that my first guitar teacher taught me: I started to view the fretboard in a whole other way. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Oaksong Posted April 16, 2007 Members Share Posted April 16, 2007 forgot the biggest one!!!dont take what you dont know for granted, and never feel bad about not being able to play like that guy, or this guy.Enjoy the fact that youll always have something new to learn, or a that youll find a day you say,damn, i didnt used to sound this good!listen to everything you can with ears open to the music, not the media, or how trendy it might be, or not be. I think a lot of stuff is muscle memory. If you run scales, your playing will sound like a guy running scales cause that is where your fingers will naturally go. If you want to improve technique, go find music that challenges you in some way, either with a complicated rythm, string switching, slides and bends, or fast (but musical) sequences. That is what I learned to do and the last 3 months have really helped me take off (been playing about 10 months). I have been working on Glasgow Kiss by Petrucci and people are amazed when I can bust out the first couple minutes of that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 61gibson335 Posted April 16, 2007 Members Share Posted April 16, 2007 Listen to music that is challenging. Don't just play, Practice!!! Theres a difference. Learn tunes in phrases;a few measures at a time, then link them together. You'll remember it alot better that way. Practice the pieces slow at first and don't be sloppy. You can work on speed later. Don't be satisfied with playing it half way decent. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members HockeyRocker Posted April 16, 2007 Members Share Posted April 16, 2007 Ask everyone you see if they play guitar. It's amazing how cool most people are about topics they love, and if you find a few folks that you know who are into guitar they will most likely enjoy helping you out. I've learned something from every person who's ever been good enough to pick up a guitar with me. Especially the one's that I had to pay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Percivale1969 Posted April 16, 2007 Members Share Posted April 16, 2007 - Play with a metronome. There are free ones for your computer that are great. Check out Hammerhead for example.- Play along with/learn what YOU like; if it feels like work, something ain't right- I collect backing tracks. I'm the Sanford and Son of backing tracks. Why? I like to play along with stuff and improvise over it. That's how I learn scales....I don't do it in a linear way. - Learn the basics of how to do maintenance on your gear. The HC forums are good, and there are some good books you can get used from Amazon dirt cheap.- Your amp is just as important as your guitar...save and get a good one. Wattage is not everything...tone is. Ask the guys on the guitar and amp forums when you know your budget range.- I would echo what the other guys said about investigating other type of music you may not know. Amazon has a great feature for listening to short samples of CDs. Gypsy Jazz, old blues, Ska, thrash....every style can be found there.- youtube is a great resource for lesson videos and videos of other players...good and bad and some very very funny. I am always surprised at what I can find on youtube. For example: (by Zakk Wylde himself)SRV Playing Goin' DownHow to Read Chord Diagrams (not really, but it has Knopfler, Gilmour, Moore, Lemmy and others..LOL)How to Play Home Sweet Alabama ....and so on. You get the idea. Good luck and have fun!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members aenemated Posted April 16, 2007 Members Share Posted April 16, 2007 i'll second the metronome statement. i've been on both sides in bands for a long time (drummer and guitarist) and i can say there's nothing more frustrating for ANYONE than a guitarist (or drummer or bassist, for that matter) that has no concept of keeping with time. at worst, play along to recordings of your favorite tunes and/or the ones you're learning as more likely than not, they were recorded to a click and will be just as good as a metronome (and certainly way more fun and interesting). don't stay attached to ONE type of music. there's a lot to be learned from everyone; from the old skool robert johnson recordings all the way up to ... uh, um ... i dunno, whoever's new and cool. probably the biggest thing i'd say tho ... is don't get frustrated because you can't play like SRV in a year or two years or five years or ten years! i kind of get annoyed when people write off guys like that or whoever you love to listen to the most by just saying "they have talent." while that's true to an extent and it's certainly pretty hard to rise to the top without some amount of talent - i'm sure if you told them "man, the only reason you're any good is cuz you just have talent," they'd probably punch you in the face and be like "if talent means practicing 12 hours a day everyday for 20 years, then damn right i have talent." all the guys we listen to everyday put in their work to develop their skills. i remember reading an interview with slash where he talked about all he wanted to do when he first started was play "smoke on the water" and that he practiced forever to get it down. and i'd think "well {censored}, i can play that without even thinking about it." so it's kind of inspiring to think of the dudes i respect most sitting around in their bedroom with a tape deck re-winding the same song 1000 times trying to figure it out. they were there, too. oh yeah ... HAVE FUN. that's what it's all about anyway. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dabbler Posted April 16, 2007 Members Share Posted April 16, 2007 I think a lot of stuff is muscle memory. If you run scales, your playing will sound like a guy running scales cause that is where your fingers will naturally go. That CAN happen, but I still think you should practice scales along with a bunch of other stuff. Like practice hearing intervals, so much to the point that not only can you tell someone what they are, but you can play "simon plays" accurately because you know the intervals and your fingers know where the intervals are. Muscle memory IS important, but it must be at the beckon call of what your head is telling you to play based on what you are hearing (notice how many senses are involved in that). It's no different thatn athletes running drills. You run them until they are second nature so that when you find yourself in a position that you need to execute whatever the drill was teaching you, you don't even think about it... you just play it. New tip: Learn how to fit in. Playing lead and playing accompaniment are 2 different things. Shoot for a balanced sound where the amount of movement and the tones, harmonies and rhythms of all the instruments complement each other. Play with choirs, play with a trio, play in as many different kinds of groupings as you can. New Tip: I'm not a rocker, so this one may or may not be important for the kind of music you play... learn the impact of dynamics. Loud, soft and silence are tools in music too. Both on a macro scale (like movements in classical pieces) and a micro (like phrases with crescendos). Last tip from me: Someone has already said, listen to as much different types of music as you can. I agree wholeheartedly, and I'll add learn to appreciate the skills used even in styles of music you don't like. And for extra credit, try to understand why you don't like certain types of music. When you can listen without prejudice, you will enjoy more of it, IMO. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dparr Posted April 16, 2007 Members Share Posted April 16, 2007 Play with your fingers close to the frets.It takes less effort to make the notes and your playing will be more in tune. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members RUExp? Posted April 16, 2007 Members Share Posted April 16, 2007 A good picking hand is what makes a good player. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members dughaze Posted April 16, 2007 Members Share Posted April 16, 2007 Ask everyone you see if they play guitar. It's amazing how cool most people are about topics they love, and if you find a few folks that you know who are into guitar they will most likely enjoy helping you out. I've learned something from every person who's ever been good enough to pick up a guitar with me. Especially the one's that I had to pay. I saw the cartoon yesterday that your avatar came from... I'm A Singa! ...about the moona and the Juna and the springa Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members angus_old Posted April 16, 2007 Members Share Posted April 16, 2007 dont buy any gear Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators BATCAT Posted April 16, 2007 Moderators Share Posted April 16, 2007 Don't buy into a distinction between "lead guitar" and "rhythm guitar." Play with a metronome. Don't tense up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Big Muff Posted April 16, 2007 Members Share Posted April 16, 2007 Practicing technique all day will only get you bashed on Youtube. Playing what you like, may actually take you somewhere. This is against common knowledge, but don't ever sit down and run scales or excercises for hour. Just play what you like, and don't play anything you don't like or anything that doesn't sound good. Your theory has one flaw to it. What if someone likes shredding or flamenco or something like that? Those kind of things take practice, and practice is not always fun. But in the end, it's all worth it, and you end up having more fun than you would if you never practiced. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 61gibson335 Posted April 16, 2007 Members Share Posted April 16, 2007 If u can't play 6 million notes a second u should probably just sell ur guitar on ebay. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jamesclark Posted April 16, 2007 Members Share Posted April 16, 2007 I have found in my years of playing that rhythm guitar is just as much of an artform as lead playing. And putting equal emphasis on both will make you a better player. Steve Cropper-"Everytime I play lead, I remember how much I miss playing rhythm" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members HockeyRocker Posted April 16, 2007 Members Share Posted April 16, 2007 If u can't play 6 million notes a second u should probably just sell ur guitar on ebay. Those Psycho Petrucci videos on YouTube crack me up. "This knob controls the heat of the sun..." Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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