Members MobiusStrip Posted July 24, 2003 Members Posted July 24, 2003 Alright, time to fess up. I've been playing, spanking, my guitar for ten years and I never took lessons or learned to read music. I learned to play, in the eighties, by picking up the guitar and plucking notes I found appealing. Along the way, I'm 32 now, I have learned a few techniques from other guitarists but I haven't progressed much. To be honest, I have taken years off, at a time, from the guitar to concentrate on other areas of my life (about 5 total). In the past 6 months I've been getting back into guitar again. From a beginners perspective, what are some good, intuitive, books or videos I can get to improve my skills? I'd like to get off of the power chord nipple and start playing some solos and other nice chords. Ultimately I'd like to be able to write some stuff down and learn to play other songs I like.
Members sec12196 Posted July 24, 2003 Members Posted July 24, 2003 It would help if you mention what style you lean towards but I found a basic book that impressed me and I wished was around when I started out - Teach Yourself Visually Guitar. It goes over major chord groups, scales, some theory, technique, etc. A bit hard to gauge if this book would be too basic from what you described but I recommend you check it out. A popular technique book is Troy Setina's - Speed Mechanics for Lead Guitar. Takes quite a bit of dedication to stick with this book but you'll definitely improve your left hand for lead work. There's also a ton of info out on the Internet. I can provide you some of the sites I frequent later when I'm back home. There are also online schools that are pretty cheap you can try. The one I tried was www.learnguitar.net and it was decent especially for a beginner. The main thing is just keep at it. Develop a practice routine of warm-ups and exercises but always leave room for just having fun and going crazy. Tablature makes learning songs very accessible so pick up a song book of whoever you like and have at it!
Members MobiusStrip Posted July 24, 2003 Author Members Posted July 24, 2003 Thanks sec12196, I appreciate your response and the PM. Most of what I'd like to learn are blues. Admittedly, I started playing mostly punk and metal rhythms in the 80's but It seems most rock originated from Blues anyway so I plan on concentrating mostly on blues rhythms and leads. I still listen, mostly, to indie, rock and singer songwriter kinds of stuff but I think blues is really the way I want to learn guitar, it has so much soul. I grew up with a lot of 1960's-70's blues, rock and psychadelica, mom was a hippie, so I have a lot of appreciation for it, even though I'm not too familiar with what's out there anymore. I'll check out the books you listed and again I appreciate you extending a helping hand.
Members PeaceDawg Posted July 25, 2003 Members Posted July 25, 2003 I am in a similar situation as u, Mobius strip....I'm 32...been playing since the 80's and for long periods of time I didn't play my guitar. My advice for you is this: learn other styles (if you dig the blues then jump into country for awhile and a whole new world will unfold). I got into country a few years back after primarilly being into rock and metal and country really is quite fun to play. Another thing that I did was force myself to spend alot of time doing chromatic picking exersizes (actually I am still doing them) with a metronome and I am starting to be able to play stuff (and feel comfortable doing it) that I could never do before. Doors are being opened and it is so cool. Hope this helps.
Members bassmantele Posted July 25, 2003 Members Posted July 25, 2003 Do a Google search on Power Tabs. The software and the tabs are free, and lots of good songs are available to pick through for licks and to find out "how they did that". And if anyone mentions the word "modes", run like hell.
Members Stratfan Posted July 25, 2003 Members Posted July 25, 2003 I played nothing but a handful of chords and barre chords for over 20 years! My rhythm playing was okay, but I had no idea how to solo beyond very simple 3 or 4 note licks. About 2 years ago I decided that I should learn what the hell a scale is; and I wish I would've done it sooner! Now I have a basic idea of how to "build" solos, and I think it's time to start working on some new scales and scale patterns. Oh, and some knowledge of theory will also help improve your playing.
Members JoyBasu Posted July 25, 2003 Members Posted July 25, 2003 Best way I found to get better is to play or just jam in bands. If you could find people around your area who are at your level or a little bit better it would be ideal. If that takes too much time or is not possible there is a program called Band in a Box. You can type in a chord progression and jam along. Great way to work on your soloing. Jamming on blues is so fun!! Joy
Members newstrat60 Posted July 28, 2003 Members Posted July 28, 2003 Mobius, i have pretty the same story to tell 'bout the 10 years-thing, the one year ago 'i see the light again'-thing (put all my money in a custom shop strat after having quitted guitar during years) ! for these reason, i cannot give advice, but i feel happy you mede the thread
Members GTRGeek Posted July 29, 2003 Members Posted July 29, 2003 Can't tell you how much this helped! Especially for chords. Really opened my eyes and made sence of things I thought I would never understand. www.vitalguitartheory.com good luck!
Members MobiusStrip Posted July 31, 2003 Author Members Posted July 31, 2003 Thanks, everyone, for taking the time to respond. You've given me a few things to think about on my road to guitar recovery. This thread seems to be moving slowly but I'm still interested in hearing what others have to say so I'll be checking this thread from time to time to hear from others who may be experiencing something similar. If anyone lives in the Southern NJ area and would like to jam I'm up for hangin' out. Most of my experience is with Metal rhythms, indie, emo, punk, psychadelica, space rock, with a touch of blues, and eastern etc... Eventually I'd like to be in a band that does a bluesy, psyche-rock, tribal kind of thing (Think T-rex, Bowie, Zeppelin, Hendrix, Doors, Spiritualized, Melvins, Helios Creed, Mark Lannegan, etc...with great tribal percussion and any other instrument that fits the bill. I love good beer, good food, philosophy, science, irreverence with respect for what is humanly right & holistic living. Race, sex, etc... means nothing to me so if your up for some jam and toast then PM me. I'm married, no kids, 32, male and I live in the Pennington, NJ/Princeton area.
Members Dann'sTheMan Posted July 31, 2003 Members Posted July 31, 2003 Originally posted by MobiusStrip Alright, time to fess up. I've been playing, spanking, my guitar for ten years and I never took lessons or learned to read music. I learned to play, in the eighties, by picking up the guitar and plucking notes I found appealing. Along the way, I'm 32 now, I have learned a few techniques from other guitarists but I haven't progressed much. To be honest, I have taken years off, at a time, from the guitar to concentrate on other areas of my life (about 5 total). In the past 6 months I've been getting back into guitar again. From a beginners perspective, what are some good, intuitive, books or videos I can get to improve my skills? I'd like to get off of the power chord nipple and start playing some solos and other nice chords. Ultimately I'd like to be able to write some stuff down and learn to play other songs I like. Hi MobiusStrip, Here is some advice, a roadmap if you will, for which bits of theory I encourage and when, when I'm teaching: 1. Learn the A minor pentatonic starting on the 5th fret 6th (low E) string. See the second fretboard diagram entitled "A minor:" at http://www.zentao.com/guitar/theory/pentatonic.html for the frets to play. I think you'll probably recognise this Remember the fingering pattern you're using (1-4,1-3,1-3,1-3,1-4,1) and play the notes in this scale until they're etched in your mind. 2. Start playing along with CDs, radio, anything using this fingering pattern. Because the songs will be all different keys, you will have to slide the fingering pattern around on the fretboard until it sounds right. In other words, you will be playing the same fingering pattern as you did for A minor, starting on the 6th string, but starting on a different fret (e.g. 10th fret for Dm, 0/12th fret for Em). The goal of this exercise is to develop your ear and to etch this fingering pattern into your muscle memory. 3. Learn the A natural minor starting on the 5th fret 6th (low E) string. See the second fretboard diagram entitled "Relative minor scale (key of A minor):" at http://www.zentao.com/guitar/theory/relative-minor.html. You'll see that it has a lot in common with the fingering you learnt above - this is because this scale has two extra notes. Learn this fingering until it is etched in your mind. 4. Repeat the playing along with CDs, radio etc, using this fingering, and slide the shape around 'til it sounds right. Getting this etched into your memory and continuing to develop your ear are the goals. 5. The fingering pattern you learned for Am pentatonic is just one of five. You need to learn the other four. See http://www.cyberfret.com/scales/minor-pentatonic/index.php You'll recognise the first pattern. Learn the other four until they are etched in memory - Using the playing along with CD/radio trick to help. 6. The fingering pattern that you learned for A Natural minor is one of seven (hey you know there are those two extra notes! ). In reality, however, there are really only five positions to etch into your muscle memory (and they are similar to pentatonic ones you just learned). At this point, I'd recommend using the CAGED system (see http://www.cyberfret.com/scales/major-caged/index.php). You will recognise the finger pattern used in the G form of the CAGED system. The CAGED system will open up the entire neck for you, and help you understand how everything fits together so that you can move between the patterns at will. If you have stuck with it up until this point, and this may take many months in order for these patterns to become etched in your muscle memory, you will not only have learnt the fingering patterns for the Minor Pentatonic and the Natural Minor (for any key). BUT, as a pretty big bonus, you will have learnt the fingering patterns for the Major Pentatonic and all of the Modes too (Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian and Locrian). How COOL is that! Uh-oh, I mentioned the word modes - bassmantele will NOT be pleased. If, you haven't run yet, then let me wish you good luck - and please feel free to ask - if you have any questions, Best regards, Andy.
Members MobiusStrip Posted July 31, 2003 Author Members Posted July 31, 2003 Thanks Dan, you are the man! I'm still listening though. I want anechdotal stories and advice, good stuff. And I will repeat:If anyone lives in the Southern NJ area and would like to jam I'm up for hangin' out. Most of my experience is with Metal rhythms, indie, emo, punk, psychadelica, space rock, with a touch of blues, and eastern etc... Eventually I'd like to be in a band that does a bluesy, psyche-rock, tribal kind of thing (Think T-rex, Bowie, Zeppelin, Hendrix, Doors, Spiritualized, Melvins, Helios Creed, Mark Lannegan, etc...with great tribal percussion and any other instrument that fits the bill. I love good beer, good food, philosophy, science, irreverence with respect for what is humanly right & holistic living. Race, sex, etc... means nothing to me so if your up for some jam and toast then PM me. I'm married, no kids, 32, male and I live in the Pennington, NJ/Princeton area.
Members Tonal Retentive Posted July 31, 2003 Members Posted July 31, 2003 Hey Mobius, I am glad you made this thread. I also have a very similar story, over a few more years than you. My main problem is that I somehow lack the patience to keep on a strict practice routine, and I invariably end up screwing around after a short period of time. For me, two things have helped me immensely over the last couple of years. First, I picked up the Troy Stetina book, Speed Mechanics for Lead Guitar. Strangely that book helped me to maintain focus on exercises for a while (although not nearly long enough yet). Second, I learned to relax and enjoy playing the things that I can, rather than constantly getting frustrated by not being able to play like the guys I listen to (Vai, Satch, EVH, EJ, etc...). Ideally, I still hope to play some of that in the future, but just simply relaxing a bit, learning some very good practice exercises, and learning to enjoy playing for playing's sake has allowed me to make dramatic improvements over the last year or two.
Members djmojo Posted August 1, 2003 Members Posted August 1, 2003 Speed Mechanics is great, no doubt about it... buy that no matter what you are into, because once you are done mastering all those excercises, I garauntee you will be able to play anything you want with a little practice, it helps you learn how to practice and helps your fingers respond better... I really like it. and power tabs was mentioned, its awesome...
Members MorePaul Posted August 1, 2003 Members Posted August 1, 2003 My advice is to go joins an ensemble class at your local university. It's basically a practical ensemble section, but it lets you screw up a lot without getting booted I think the absolute BEST way to get better is to play with other musicans The structure of the ensemble class will also help direct the effort These classes are often open to non-students at very reasonable cost
Members MobiusStrip Posted August 6, 2003 Author Members Posted August 6, 2003 My advice is to go join an ensemble class at your local university. It's basically a practical ensemble section, but it lets you screw up a lot without getting booted Although that's a good idea, in general, it would be difficult in my case, due to the fact that I have very little spare time in the evenings. I have to pick up my wife every day, plus I work 9-5 so my schedule is very rigid and set, for a while. Unless there are weekend classes I'm afraid I'm going to be spending my evenings with a few good books. I'll look into it though. I'm basicly trying to find the quickest, cheapest, shortest route from point A to point B. I have little time and very little money (bad combination I know) but that's what I've got so I'm trying to make the best of it. Thanks for the advice, hopefully someone else will be able to use it. Any more ideas/experiences before I let this thread die? One more go round... And I will repeat:If anyone lives in the Southern NJ area and would like to jam I'm up for hangin' out. Most of my experience is with Metal rhythms, indie, emo, punk, psychadelica, space rock, with a touch of blues, and eastern etc... Eventually I'd like to be in a band that does a bluesy, psyche-rock, tribal kind of thing (Think T-rex, Bowie, Zeppelin, Hendrix, Doors, Spiritualized, Melvins, Helios Creed, Mark Lannegan, etc...with great tribal percussion and any other instrument that fits the bill. I love good beer, good food, philosophy, science, irreverence with respect for what is humanly right & holistic living. Race, sex, etc... means nothing to me so if your up for some jam and toast then PM me. I'm married, no kids, 32, male and I live in the Pennington, NJ/Princeton area.
Members psmurf Posted August 6, 2003 Members Posted August 6, 2003 Originally posted by bassmantele And if anyone mentions the word "modes", run like hell. huh? I'm not following. btw - "MODES"
Members MorePaul Posted August 7, 2003 Members Posted August 7, 2003 years of playing and still a beginner? Join the friggin club really - if you ever think you are in "total command" you are doomed. Getting comfortable? sure - just don't expect not to get your ass kicked up and down the staff (not by me , but by someone) regardless of style - I do recommend going through the Carcassi method at some point (maybe after rudimentary reading, but just rudimentary). It can open up a lot of stuff which is usually "mysterious" to players not familiar with classical style. It was originally intended to help people who could "kinda play" formalize their chops. It is really pretty painless (the parts are within the grasp of a "few chords" beginner), the stuff sounds OK and you can apply the style to give other playing a little flair (just not 17 pieces of it)
Members madmos Posted August 8, 2003 Members Posted August 8, 2003 Originally posted by MobiusStrip And I will repeat:If anyone lives in the Southern NJ area and would like to jam I'm up for hangin' out. Most of my experience is with Metal rhythms, indie, emo, punk, psychadelica, space rock, with a touch of blues, and eastern etc... Eventually I'd like to be in a band that does a bluesy, psyche-rock, tribal kind of thing (Think T-rex, Bowie, Zeppelin, Hendrix, Doors, Spiritualized, Melvins, Helios Creed, Mark Lannegan, etc...with great tribal percussion and any other instrument that fits the bill. I love good beer, good food, philosophy, science, irreverence with respect for what is humanly right & holistic living. Race, sex, etc... means nothing to me so if your up for some jam and toast then PM me. I'm married, no kids, 32, male and I live in the Pennington, NJ/Princeton area. MobiusStrip, I do not live in NJ but my brother does. It sounds like you 2 might be a good match to hang out and jam. You have similar interests and similar musical tastes. Also he is looking to break out from the shell and develop his guitar techniques. He lives in Brick, NJ, I am not sure how close that puts you 2 and he is only home on weekends (travels for work) but if you like I can see if he is interested, which I am almost positive he would be. Let me know and good luck.
Members MobiusStrip Posted August 9, 2003 Author Members Posted August 9, 2003 Originally posted by MadmosMobiusStrip, I do not live in NJ but my brother does. It sounds like you 2 might be a good match to hang out and jam. You have similar interests and similar musical tastes. Also he is looking to break out from the shell and develop his guitar techniques. He lives in Brick, NJ, I am not sure how close that puts you 2 and he is only home on weekends (travels for work) but if you like I can see if he is interested, which I am almost positive he would be. Let me know and good luck. I have no idea where Brick is so I'll do my home work, I'm new to NJ. The other issue is where to jam. I won't be the one with the place because I'm living with my in-laws right now, I'm trying to save money for the next halocaust, or to buy a house which-ever comes first. I'll respond again in a while, I have to run and do some chores. Thanks for the reply
Members daddyO Posted August 9, 2003 Members Posted August 9, 2003 I have a good book, "Blues You Can Use" published by Hal Leonard. It has a CD and it about the best book I have found for learning the blues. It covers blues chord progressions, chords including 9th and 6th cjords and other jazzy stuff. The songs all build on lessons and they actually sound really good. The more advanced songs could stand alone in a pretty good blues jam.
Members MobiusStrip Posted August 11, 2003 Author Members Posted August 11, 2003 Madmos:I looked into Brick, NJ and it looks like it's a good 1 1/2 to 2 hours away from where I live. If I didn't already have a pain in the ass commute to work I would consider it but, as it stands, I already drive too much and that's a bit too far for me to drive for regular jamming anyway. Thank's, a lot, for offering a possible option, I do appreciate your response.
Members ryant Posted August 12, 2003 Members Posted August 12, 2003 Originally posted by bassmantele And if anyone mentions the word "modes", run like hell. lol, dont start working on modes untill after learning to read music, and the major scale positions
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