Members Virgman Posted February 6, 2009 Members Share Posted February 6, 2009 Sorry to bring you newbies to the real world. It takes a lot of time to learn the guitar. Many hours of practice. Years. Learn your chords, scales, licks, arpeggios. Practice what you need to play the songs you really like. Enjoy the process. Don't turn it into work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jeremy_green Posted February 6, 2009 Members Share Posted February 6, 2009 Amen! How many times have we heard "show me the secret to..." or "yeah I already know that". Quick fixes don't exist. Here's the secret - ready! Practice Lots Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members R. Chapman Posted February 6, 2009 Members Share Posted February 6, 2009 Wow... I'm glad this has been stated.....I play practically everyday....at least 2 hours. Sometimes on the weekend around 4 or 5 ( broken up..) And to me I should be better than I am..This gives me hope that if I continue practicing I WILL get better!!! thanks,Randy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Stackabones Posted February 6, 2009 Members Share Posted February 6, 2009 One hour of performance is like a thousand hours of practice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mosiddiqi Posted February 6, 2009 Members Share Posted February 6, 2009 Well said. The single most useful thing I did that actually improved my playing was joining a band. First, just covers which worked my ear and got me used to different styles and how to make my sound fit in with a real band. Then, writing original songs, which often led to writing things I couldn't actually play, therefore I had to work on technique. It takes a lot of time. But, I LOVE it. Can't imagine not playing guitar or working on songs. That would be my own personal hell. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Jed Posted February 6, 2009 Moderators Share Posted February 6, 2009 Now this stuff is music to my ears ! too bad these pearls of wisdom will be lost on many newbies Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Wein Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 I thought they were coming out with guitar skills in a pill form... You mean I can't just "get good" without actually practicing and playing music over an extended period of time? I'm gonna go learn to play Golf, then. My favorite question is when people call the studio for lessons and ask "how many lessons will it take before I'm good?" Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 1001gear Posted February 6, 2009 Members Share Posted February 6, 2009 There's no explaining to beginners that you must learn to crawl before you can walk. I don't think even veteran students are clear on the fact that if you don't take all the steps and in sequence, you won't make it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Jeff1979 Posted February 6, 2009 Members Share Posted February 6, 2009 Ive been playing 17/18 years and only now do i feel like im getting a grip on it all, and there's still so much to learn Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Wein Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 I feel like I'm still struggling with stuff and not only have I played guitar for 24 years I teach it for a living. The learning never ends.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Moderators Jed Posted February 6, 2009 Moderators Share Posted February 6, 2009 I feel like I'm still struggling with stuff and not only have I played guitar for 24 years I teach it for a living. The learning never ends.... I've owned guitars for 40+ years, took 20+ years off at one point and only started to feel like I understand my guitars within the past couple of years. I doubt I'll master either the guitar or music in my lifetime - but I cannot imagine a better way to spend my time than trying like hell. cheers, Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members runnrdad Posted February 6, 2009 Members Share Posted February 6, 2009 Speaking for myself (since I asked the questions about chord changes), I have no illusions about how long it takes and I do view it as a lifetime process and a fun experience. In fact, I bought Mark's book and have enjoyed his videos he has been kind enough to post here. I think, for myself, the most "shocking" thing, to put it in a newbie's term, is when I go to my lesson and I see a young person (12-15) playing like a maniac, and I ask him how long he's been taking lessons, and he will say "six months," and another will say "a year." And they are not BSing. That is what makes me (and probably others like me) wonder "what the heck am I doing wrong?" For me, it is not frustrating, because I am not in a hurry. But it is a wake up call about the benefits of talent and aptitude, and the disadvantage of starting later in life. Like a new golfer though, hitting a good shot during a horrible round is what keeps you coming back--getting one bar right in a miserably played exercise will do the same for me. So, I think that puts things in perspective. BTW, don't diss the newbies--we're some of the ones buying lesson books and guitars and amps and other stuff from you veterans here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jeremy_green Posted February 6, 2009 Members Share Posted February 6, 2009 To me one should never judge anothers skill level in terms of day and months. The more accurate term should be hours. Maybe he has been spending 4 hours a day seven days a week. But this is impossible to track. Natural talent is part - and sometimes a large part. In my experience - More often it is work ethic and organizational abilities. Some people are just good at teaching themselves stuff Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members gennation Posted February 6, 2009 Members Share Posted February 6, 2009 A quick path to playing music is very similar to the quick path to wealth that Madoff had to offer Ok, Madoff's was in the range of $50B, so ALMOST similar Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members 1001gear Posted February 6, 2009 Members Share Posted February 6, 2009 Speaking for myself (since I asked the questions about chord changes), I have no illusions about how long it takes and I do view it as a lifetime process and a fun experience. In fact, I bought Mark's book and have enjoyed his videos he has been kind enough to post here. I think, for myself, the most "shocking" thing, to put it in a newbie's term, is when I go to my lesson and I see a young person (12-15) playing like a maniac, and I ask him how long he's been taking lessons, and he will say "six months," and another will say "a year." And they are not BSing. That is what makes me (and probably others like me) wonder "what the heck am I doing wrong?" For me, it is not frustrating, because I am not in a hurry. But it is a wake up call about the benefits of talent and aptitude, and the disadvantage of starting later in life. Like a new golfer though, hitting a good shot during a horrible round is what keeps you coming back--getting one bar right in a miserably played exercise will do the same for me.So, I think that puts things in perspective. BTW, don't diss the newbies--we're some of the ones buying lesson books and guitars and amps and other stuff from you veterans here. The ideal is pretty simple: flawless virtuosity, thorough and fluent understanding of music and musical performance. Talent will show as a hue in your craft.Those kids may someday achieve mastery (doubtful) but right there it's just a snapshot. They probably know little besides the noodling - however adept. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Wein Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 Speaking for myself (since I asked the questions about chord changes), I have no illusions about how long it takes and I do view it as a lifetime process and a fun experience. In fact, I bought Mark's book and have enjoyed his videos he has been kind enough to post here. I think, for myself, the most "shocking" thing, to put it in a newbie's term, is when I go to my lesson and I see a young person (12-15) playing like a maniac, and I ask him how long he's been taking lessons, and he will say "six months," and another will say "a year." And they are not BSing. That is what makes me (and probably others like me) wonder "what the heck am I doing wrong?" For me, it is not frustrating, because I am not in a hurry. But it is a wake up call about the benefits of talent and aptitude, and the disadvantage of starting later in life. Like a new golfer though, hitting a good shot during a horrible round is what keeps you coming back--getting one bar right in a miserably played exercise will do the same for me. So, I think that puts things in perspective. BTW, don't diss the newbies--we're some of the ones buying lesson books and guitars and amps and other stuff from you veterans here. I teach a TON of adults. They end up being most of my student load. One of the hardest things to do with most adults is to get them to realize that they need to enjoy the "journey". You'll never really get to your "destination" A big part of this is that the more you play and the more you learn the more you realize how much there is to learn. I spend quite a bit of time with what I consider "frustration management". Most adults are used to being shown how to do a task (such as being trained for a job related skill at work) and then withing a short amount of time they can do it. They lose sight of the fact that guitar is as much a sport as it an intellectual task. New motor skills need thousands of repetitions to become habits. You have to learn to think not about just what your hands are doing in the present but you should be able to think ahead to what you need to do further on in the song. There are memorization skills to master. Your right and left hands have two totally different jobs and skill sets you need to learn. Its never ending and adults tend to get impatient with their progress, especially when they hear the 16 year old kid in the lesson before them playing with what seems like very little effort. They forget that the 16 year old doesn't have a job, family, house and a ton of other claims on their time. So you learn to enjoy the journey or find another hobby... My apparent newbie diss of "how many lessons will it take before I'm good?" is really about parents who have no musical background who expect to pay for one months worth of lessons and then have their kid join Van Halen. Then they imply that I'm obviously not a very good teacher if it takes me "months and months" to get a student "all learned up" on the guitar so that they can entertain the family at the holidays. OK. Maybe I'm venting about one specific phone call I got last week Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members mosiddiqi Posted February 6, 2009 Members Share Posted February 6, 2009 My apparent newbie diss of "how many lessons will it take before I'm good?" is really about parents who have no musical background who expect to pay for one months worth of lessons and then have their kid join Van Halen. Then they imply that I'm obviously not a very good teacher if it takes me "months and months" to get a student "all learned up" on the guitar so that they can entertain the family at the holidays. OK. Maybe I'm venting about one specific phone call I got last week You couldn't teach a newbie enough to join Van Halen in one month??!!!..with Eddie in the state he's in you should have got that kid up to scratch in 3 weeks!.... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Wein Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 You couldn't teach a newbie enough to join Van Halen in one month??!!!..with Eddie in the state he's in you should have got that kid up to scratch in 3 weeks!.. .. I guess I really should just pack it in at this point Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members HALSAM00 Posted February 6, 2009 Members Share Posted February 6, 2009 I am beginning to like this forum over the others. I got my first guitar for my 16th birthday a Aria pro II stray cat and a peavey special 130 amp. I took lessons for a couple months my teacher would have me bring in a cass. tape of a song I wanted to learn he would listen and tab it out for me. I practiced on and off for the next couple of years, I even bought a Jackson Model 6 (which I later traded for a 16ft alum. boat with trailer:facepalm:) Man I would love to have that back!. Then I took off about 15 yrs.... I am now 38 I still have my Aria Pro II and have been practicing 4 or 5 times a week I even bought a XV-500(love it) anyway I have learnt more in the past year because of this site then I ever did in my teens. I set up a schedule to practice by and stick to it. If I have a question it can be answered here. It seems every week or so I discover something new or something clicks and it make me wanna learn some more. I am by no means a good guitarist BUT I am understanding more and things are coming easier. Thanks to all that have helped me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members DanSlime Posted February 6, 2009 Members Share Posted February 6, 2009 its wierd...when you finally get something and then it seems so obvious...you can't figure out why it took so long to get to that point. Or sometimes its like you forget all the time you put into it and then someone gives you a compliment. No...I'm not that good I just busted my ass. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members HALSAM00 Posted February 6, 2009 Members Share Posted February 6, 2009 I have been practicing the blues scale lately, But last night it sounded bluesy for the first time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members Virgman Posted February 6, 2009 Author Members Share Posted February 6, 2009 I have been practicing the blues scale lately, But last night it sounded bluesy for the first time.Great to hear. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members jonPhillips Posted February 6, 2009 Members Share Posted February 6, 2009 You're all missing the point. It's all about buying gear. That's the easy path to becoming a truly proficient axeman Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark Wein Posted February 6, 2009 Share Posted February 6, 2009 You're all missing the point. It's all about buying gear. That's the easy path to becoming a truly proficient axeman THATS WHAT I"VE BEEN MISSING THIS WHOLE TIME!!!!!1111!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Members tudor_d_toidle Posted February 7, 2009 Members Share Posted February 7, 2009 Does this mean the course I just ordered: "How To Be A Rock Star In 30 Days" ($99.95 + S&H) -- Won't Do The Trick? Damn! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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