Members mic4h Posted August 23, 2009 Members Share Posted August 23, 2009 so i'm going to ramble... don't read if you don't want. a while ago i got way into dave matthews. for anyone who hasn't checked him out, do it. sweet chord shapes. i really like that stretched out stacked fifths shape. theres this other one where he'll grab a root note on E or A string, and then hit the octave thirds above it. very cool. and sometimes he'll play like a basic 3 note triad, and reach out and grab the octave third with his pinky (kind of like a beefed up version of the previous shape i described). you can do that with majors and minors, on both the E and A strings. very pretty chords. he is also a total muting master. check out songs like warehouse and the stone and lie in our graves to see that. he does this thing where he flat picks all 6 strings in 8th notes but you can only hear one note at a time, because he's muting 5 strings with his left hand. freaking sweet. so then i got a little into john mayer after i learned that he's not just a pansy, but rather he's a guitar deity who can shred like i WISH i could shred... the first thing that caught my attention was why georgia, which was miles ahead of anything i had ever played before. that slappy flicky stuff is just so cool. then, in songs like heart of life and stop this train, he does this thing where he smacks the wood just north of the sound hole while SIMULTANEOUSLY flicking his fingers down to catch notes, which enables him to keep the percussion going without interrupting the melody. freaking genius. and of course there's neon, where he does that thumb/pointer finger thing. check it out on youtube, it's dope. then i was listening to some jason mraz and it inspired me to check out jazz and jazz chords, so i learned all those shapes on the 6,4,3,2 strings, where you grab the bass note with your thumb and leave out the fifth on the A string. let's you do some pretty sick bossa nova kind of stuff. i think that's what bossa nova is, right? sort of staccato finger picked 7th chords? anyway, now when i noodle around and write things, it's this weird combination of all these things, like using the picking pattern from neon on these sick 7th chords, and doing flicky slappy techniques on dave-chords, etc. oh and using my thumb to fret anything i ever play on the E string. even standard barre chords. i learned that from john frusciante, actually. he says it gives his fingers more freedom to do that crazy stuff he does. watch him play under the bridge sometime, for example. and the funky wah-effect part in the verse of dani california. so the question for you guitar professionals out there--- what kind of stuff do you think i would find fun and/or challenging? i'm super eager for new material, it's how i learn. i just play whatever i'm listening to, and add it to my set of tools. i tried sweep picking for a while, and i got somewhat proficient at like these little weenie 3 string shapes, but it's just too much of a pain in the ass... i'm looking for a different wall to bang my head against. i hope you haven't all died from starvation while you read this. thank you so much in advance for any suggestions/commentary. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Sangemon Posted August 23, 2009 Members Share Posted August 23, 2009 Try a ukulele? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members PaintByNumbers Posted August 23, 2009 Members Share Posted August 23, 2009 Stefano Barone - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members AndrewGG Posted August 23, 2009 Members Share Posted August 23, 2009 ...or, seriously, a mandolin. I was surprised at how much a few months getting into the little guy inspired me to try different stuff on guitar. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Chordchunker Posted August 23, 2009 Members Share Posted August 23, 2009 Gypsy jazz has ALOT going on. Ever listen to Bereli Lagrene or the Rosenberg Trio? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Opa John Posted August 24, 2009 Members Share Posted August 24, 2009 Buy a fiddle and try to teach yourself how to play one of those boogers. I guarantee, that'll keep you busy for awhile! They say it takes five years before you're up to "terrible". I got there a lot quicker than that!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members kwakatak Posted August 24, 2009 Members Share Posted August 24, 2009 It's all about experimentation and playing every waking moment that you can. Some folks make the time (or have too much on their hands) and will do those little tricks over and over until they're fluid. Don't take my word for it, I've been an amateur for about 30 years now. I can hear every flaw in my own playing and have just lately come to terms with the fact that I'll never be perfect so why not just get lost in the moment and enjoy it for what it is: playing, not working. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.