Self taught players unite!!

[Jack Tone]

Self taught insomuch that I taught myself how to read music, how to hear harmonies, and where the notes are on the guitar. I'm not as good as I could be at all three of those aspects of guitar playing, though. I absolutely hate being taught by a guitar teacher. IMO, there is no wrong way to play guitar as far as fingerings, chord voicing, vibrato, etc. All that is part of the personality of the individual, and the intent of the music . To have that dictated by someone else takes a lot away from the music itself.

 

 

I have to admit, like many said earlier, self taught=not as good as I could be. But like was said above, I love the reward of learning something on my own, even though it might (will) be slower, and like Gooley said, I like sounding like me, so far at least.

[metalhobo]

I never took lessons because lessons make it not fun.

[-Juggernaut-]

not a lesson here, but i fail at guitar.

+1

[Cookie Monster]

not a lesson here, but i fail at guitar.

Me too lil' brudder, me too...

[Johnny'sGotTheBlues]

I hate to tell all you guys but EVERYONE is self taught. Yes, someone can show you the way but you gotta walk that distance by yourself.

What a good teacher does is show you the shortest route from where you are to where you want to be.

And in case anyone wants to know, I took some lesson, took a few composition courses at University, and watched every guitar player better than me (most of them) to steal anything I could.

I'm self taught, but with lots of help.

[knucklefux]

I've been meaning to ask you: how'd you get into the world of amp building/modding?

i'm a DIY kind of guy....like, i'm not scared to waste a bunch of money and really {censored} {censored} up if i learn something in the process.

i also have a background in electronics, so i could already read schematics and had a fair understanding of how tubes work.

so, one day my bass player unloaded my VHT 100/CL from the van. long story short, i decided i needed a rack rig so that he couldn't {censored} up my night any more.

i sold the VHT and used the money to buy the stuff to build an amp, because i couldn't afford to buy a rack rig that would get the tones i was after and all i really wanted was a rack mounted amp.

here i am

i never planned on trying to make any money at it, it just sort of worked out that way.

[PurityS.L.G.]

Seriously Zack, congrats on a sucessful run. You make some nice stuff for sure. I was REALLY impressed with you Tijuana mod. You could get pretty damn big just from those mods man IMO. I have 2 amp building friends that build their own amps and while they sound good, their original designs and circuit mods are nothing to scream about. Your mod on the other hand....I mean hell, its awesome your mods allow the amp to be reversable.

[TomCTC]

Self taught. Took piano lessons, but did guitar on my own. Happier this way.

[thinkpad20]

Never had a lesson. Mostly learning from internet vids and my own experimentation. I think I would take lessons if I were trying to learn something like jazz or classical though.

[mike moriarty]

I took lessons for a little while in the beginning. Just enough to learn the basics and basic theory. I consider myself self taught though because I was never taught how to play extreme music, which is all I play.

[PinkSabbath]

I hate to tell all you guys but EVERYONE is self taught. Yes, someone can show you the way but you gotta walk that distance by yourself. What a good teacher does is show you the shortest route from where you are to where you want to be. And in case anyone wants to know, I took some lesson, took a few composition courses at University, and watched every guitar player better than me (most of them) to steal anything I could. I'm self taught, but with lots of help.

This.

I played guitar for 7 years before I looked into theory. I was into metal, and the truth is literally anyone can learn to play rhythm like Hanneman or solo like Wylde if they put in a little time. It's not complex stuff. Metal has AWESOME energy, but it's a lot like techno or dance music in that it is VERY percussive.

As a fan of music, I still LOVE listening to metal - I have every Slayer album on my phone, I literally never leave the house without their entire catalogue But as a guitarist / musician, I got bored with detuned, high-gain, chromatic, speed playing. Learning theory from a concert pianist & getting tips from blues guitarists taught me more in 6 months than I'd learned in all the years before. I'm on my way to being able to "speak" with my playing now, not just riff. THAT is what is rewarding.

[thinkpad20]

This. I played guitar for 7 years before I looked into theory. I was into metal, and the truth is literally anyone can learn to play rhythm like Hanneman or solo like Wylde if they put in a little time. It's not complex stuff. Metal has AWESOME energy, but it's a lot like techno or dance music in that it is VERY percussive. As a fan of music, I still LOVE listening to metal - I have every Slayer album on my phone, I literally never leave the house without their entire catalogue But as a guitarist / musician, I got bored with detuned, high-gain, chromatic, speed playing. Learning theory from a concert pianist & getting tips from blues guitarists taught me more in 6 months than I'd learned in all the years before. I'm on my way to being able to "speak" with my playing now, not just riff. THAT is what is rewarding.

 

You do realize metal gets a lot more complex than Hanneman and Wylde, don't you? Just sayin... there's a lot of different metal out there, and some of it is as difficult as anything else out there. Not that that makes it better or worse, but yeah.

[Exocaster]

I have no training on guitar or bass whatsoever. As a classical musician, yes. As a rock player? Not at all.

[PinkSabbath]

You do realize metal gets a lot more complex than Hanneman and Wylde, don't you? Just sayin... there's a lot of different metal out there, and some of it is as difficult as anything else out there. Not that that makes it better or worse, but yeah.

I guess I did sound a bit douche-y there The metal *I* listen to 99% of the time is the really percussive stuff. I know bands like Opeth and Mastodon definitely experiment a lot, but that stuff never inspired me to really expand on the theory I knew at the time - I was always just waiting for the big chug-fest break down part to kick in.

From a technique stand point, learning those riffs definitely improved my playing heaps. My string skipping and alternate picking in particular improved loads by working out thrash songs. I could MAYBE say I picked up on recognizing intervals & harmonies because of playing metal, but the biggest thing will always be picking up on the whole tempo-shifting patterns. I didn't understand anything about relative minors, sub-dominants, or building chords until I branched out and sought help. Learning all that stuff doesn't make me any more technically proficient, but I DEFINITELY feel like a better musician overall because I've studied it. That's not to say someone else couldn't learn all that stuff from listening to metal, I just got lazy and used chromatic speed stuff as an excuse to not improve.

To each his own! I'm gonna crank some God Forbid now

[Hung Over]

I took lessons for about 3 weeks after I received my POS Hondo strat copy. I didn't like them, didn't feel like I learned anything. So....I started taking my extra $20 for lessons and began buying weed.

I was ever more inspired since then.

[peavey_impact]

In

[Deaj]

I'm self taught and play by ear. 31 years on guitar, 15 on bass, 7 on clarinet, 5 on saxophone. I'm solid on guitar and bass. The reed instruments are coming along nicely though I'm a ways off from being proficient with either.

I've never taken a lesson for any of these instruments save 6 months of band in the 4th grade - saxophone. I didn't show any interest in practicing and dropped out of it. At 12 I began teaching myself guitar using my sisters 6 string acoustic and the radio. I found it was easy for me to figure out any of the guitar parts and learn to play them reasonably well even in my first year. I was also able to listen to a melody and play it back on the guitar almost immediately as single notes in series (was able to do this for any accompanying harmony as well).

I don't play professionally. I have played in amateur and semi-pro blues and rock bands over the years starting when I was 16 years old. I'm no longer playing out due in part to health issues. I hope to get back to it at some point in the future. I mostly play for my own enjoyment these days, occasionally get together with friends for a jam, and write & record projects with friends remotely.

After my wife and son music is the passion in my life.

[saijo]

Im a self touch myself

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

oh wait.

[Neilrocks25]

I am self taught but still suck

[ENdtime]

My first few years I had no lessons.. I was real young though and I learned some pretty bad habits on my own in that time.. IN high school I took lessons from a great player only a few years older and he really helped correct some bad technique I devoloped, which Im very thankful for.. Most of the theory and {censored} like that I learned from him, I pretty much learned and forgot.. After a little while learnign from him I took what he taught me and just devoloped my own style from that point.. I honestly didnt ever really learn other bands songs, besides a few Metallica and Megadeth tab books when I was younger..

[Sweep?]

Im self taught.

[JerEvil]

Right here brother. When I was 10 I figured out the riff to "I love Rock n Roll" and just figured I was better off training myself that way. Then a friend showed me Rock You Like a Hurricane and In My Dreams. I played the {censored} out of my guitar and now I am a {censored}ing BADASS!!! Not really, but I hold my own even if I don't know jack {censored} about modes and minors and that stuff.

That said, I am thinking of talking lessons from a bad ass Jazz guy here in Vegas to finally learn what the hell I am doing.

[RiffDaemon]

Self-taught

 

On guitar, that is. On trumpet, I played 13 years and had a few lessons from the college guys that would come to the high school. Then, I studied with a professor in my one-semester-long stint in a Music undergrad degree. Blech. Sadly, I only had one semester's worth of Theory. What little I learned went a loooooooooong way in helping me with guitar.

[Efekkt]

For the most part I don't see the praise in being self-taught.

I used to take lessons and took one guitar class in school.

Now I just learn on my own.

[thefyn]

Post this in the fx forum and it will probably blow up the internet with the sheer level of response.