Calling all guitar players

Posted: Tue Aug 26, 2008 10:21 pm Post subject: Calling all guitar players

As you all know I got my first guitar around three months ago now. I practice at least one to two hours every day. I've learned about six songs all the way through, and I can play them pretty decently. This doesn't include songs that are just three chords strummed all the way through or something basic of that nature. I've learned the pentatonic scale and a couple of the blues scales.

I feel like I'm making progress, but I really don't know where to go from here. I feel that I should be learning something different other than just looking at tabs and trying to play them. I can't improvise other than putting chord progressions together. I have no knowledge on music theory, and my tremelo picking is not that great.

Now I realize I just named off of some things that would be easy to work on, but does anyone have any suggested reading material to help me on these? Do you have any suggestions on other things are should start easing into? It's fun to strum along to any song, but I want to go deeper with it.

Also when Christmas rolls around, I'll be getting this most likely:

I know a lot of you don't like the Les Pauls, but I played my brother's all weekend and absolutely love it. I haven't decided on the gold or silver yet though.
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Posted: Tue Aug 26, 2008 10:55 pm Post subject:

Grab some tabs and go to town, try to develop the sounds and styles of each musician.

I started off playing Van Halen songs for the most part.. like "Aint talkin' 'bout love" etc. Panama's a fun one too... and Unchained etc. Check out some different tuning options like downtuning some strings etc.

Also some newer melodies are fun too like "Hey there Dahlila" etc (sp?)

Blue Oyster Cult, Zepplin, Pink Floyd, NOFX... many fun ones to pick up for starters.

I mostly made up my own songs purely using huge chord posters/books etc. Pick up some good sounding chords, make up some melodies with them, and turn them into a song.

As for strings, I like to use GHS Boomers, 9's. Picks I use Jim Dunlop .46mm Nylons.

Grab a Guitar Player magazine or two too.

Can learn a lot from you tube too.

Mainly it's spending a lot of time. Play what you like. Learn band dynamics later.
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http://docer.blogspot.com/

Posted: Tue Aug 26, 2008 11:13 pm Post subject:

So basically you're saying just keep playing songs and the progress will come with that? Should I even worry about the other scales and understanding music theory?

Here's a brief run through of the songs I can play all/most of:

Dust in the Wind, Kansas
Wish You Were Here, Pink Floyd
The Rain Song, Led Zeppelin
Stairway to Heaven intro, Led Zeppelin
She Talks to Angels, The Black Crowes
You've Got Her in Your Pocket, The White Stripes
Sweet Child O Mine intro, Guns n Roses
ATWA, System of A Down
Mama I'm Comin Home (most of it), Ozzy
Hotcha Girls, Ugly Casanova
China Grove, The Doobie Brothers
The Best of My Love, The Eagles
Simple Man, Lynyrd Skynyrd
Float On and countless other Modest Mouse songs
Live Forever, Oasis
Wonderwall, Oasis
Baby I love your way, Peter Frampton

That was actually a lot more than I originally thought, but once again I can't play every bit of those.

I actually set two goals for my guitar playing. I like to have goals because it helps me get motivated to practice.

Short term: Hotel California intro

Long long LONG term goal: Little Wing (Stevie Ray Vaughan version)

I know the last one seems out of reach, but it's my favorite song besides the Rain Song. SRV has always been the guy I've looked up to as far as guitar players.
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Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2008 10:10 am Post subject:

I'll write something up for ya here in a bit buddy.
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Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2008 10:19 am Post subject:

it helps to video your playing, not to post on you tube or anything but just to see/hear what your fingers are doing from a different perspective.

Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2008 10:39 am Post subject:

Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2008 12:35 pm Post subject:

Actually, I'm lazy and probably not the best person to take advice from (Never took an ounce of real lessons, nor did I learn to read music all that well. just learned by trying to imitate my guitar heroes) so I'lll just steal a post from someone who's opinion I respect on this subject:

First of all, I'll advertise a few things from school, buy books by Dan Gilbert, Tommy Tedesco and David Oakes! These guys are amazing musicians and have been teaching me a whole lot since I've been here. MI books are relatively cheap (I think somewhere around the $30-$40 price range, not sure, we have different course material at school) but look them up, they have some of the best info to offer. I'm not getting paid to say this, I'm just speaking from experience.

Next, a lot of what you need to get better depends on what direction you want to go with your music and what direction as a guitar player you want to go. If you want to be a great hired gun, focus on getting your rhythm guitar down to a T. Once you can do 16th. note syncopated rhythms and be able to look at a chart and go "yep, let's do it!" then you're in the clear! If you want to be an original (like me), focus hard on both lead and rhythm guitar, it's gonna suck, it's gonna hurt, you're gonna whine, you're gonna bitch, but after a few years, you'll finally smile and go "yea, that was totally worth it!" If you want to be a great studio musician and make a living in music, this is very fucking important:

LEARN HOW TO READ MUSIC!!!!!

This is essential, even if you're just going to be a hired gun or an original. Trust me, it's gotten me paid just recently, and I'm still not very good at it, but I was able to blindly thrust myself through a melody and got to keep the gig and got a call back, it's all about practice and repitition. Also, get your ear training down to a T, I suggest this website: http://www.good-ear.com/

When you can identify intervals really fast, identify melodies and rhythmic subdivisions, you'll be all set as well. Also, start studying theory, understanding your key signatures and how chord progressions work is essential to song writing and not looking like an idiot on a stand in gig when you hear someone go "key of B flat, 1, 4, 2, 6, 5, 1 with a 2, 6, 3, 4, 1 bridge, go!" and go "bwah?", here's a great website for music theory stuffs: http://library.thinkquest.org/15413/theory/theory.htm have fun with the Circle of 5ths.

Anyways, onto the technical stuff, the first and foremost way that you develop your lead style is by studying scales, lots and lots of scales, learning both the major and relative minor of each scale. There's minor pentatonic patterns 1-5, along with their natural minor scale brothers, patterns 1-5, which can also turn into both major pentatonic patterns 1-5 along with their natural major scale patterns 1-5, these are good things to study and look up.

Next is phrasing, thinking of all of the great solo's in the world, it doesn't take much to woo a crowd, a man who can skillfully play 6 notes and wow an audience, is a much better musician than Yngay Malmshpleen getting up on stage and blasting off 4,000 notes and only hitting one or two good ones that make you go "yea, that was nice" and instead it's a bunch of boring sweeps. (Sorry I have a big problem with him, he makes me sick, besides the fact that he's a total snob in person.) So study the Blues to start, everyone starts with the Blues, it's how you understand playing a solo and it makes you a better improviser so later when you're sitting there on a gig having to play Sin City by AC/DC you can totally shred it up because you understand the concept of melodic phrasing, bending properly, vibrato's, chord tones, ect. Look here for virtually every scale and chord in existance: http://www.blackbeltguitar.com/ChordScaleGenerator.php

I couldn't find a place with good chord inversions or triads, but that might have some hidden in there if you look. Now, every lead guitar player has to play to something, or else he looks like he's just wanking off randomly. So, I present you with BACKING TRACKS!:

www.guitarbt.com
www.guitarbackingtrack.com

These are the two best by far that I've used for a very long time, also, if you're trying to learn a song, using www.playlist.com to find the songs or youtube.com is also very helpful. I have found googling for tabs rather than sticking to one site has helped me out a lot when there are no charts and I have a last minute gig coming up in an hour, and Fretplay has been the best one so far that I've found for tabs when I search in Google, if Fretplay appears, I normally go to them for tabs.

Other then that, here are a few more resources for you to use, then I'm outy for school:

Metrenome: http://www.metronomeonline.com/
Online Tuner: http://www.gieson.com/Library/projects/utilities/tuner/

Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2008 12:39 pm Post subject:

LOL I was gonna post the same exact thing Freak.
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Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2008 12:51 pm Post subject:

downloaded this is to my desktop, I'm lazy that way

http://www.gieson.com/Library/projects/utilities/tuner/

Posted: Wed Aug 27, 2008 4:59 pm Post subject:

Awesome. This is definately a lot of good reading material. I'm mainly going to stay around the blues rock area, so it's good to know that thats what I need to start off with. I'll be putting this to good use.

Thanks all. Smile

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Posted: Thu Aug 28, 2008 8:36 am Post subject:

I agree with scary 100% - learn to read music. I did it when I was 8 years old so you can too. Once you can do that - well - anything is possible.
Good luck
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Posted: Thu Aug 28, 2008 10:29 am Post subject:

Posted: Thu Aug 28, 2008 1:33 pm Post subject:

LOL Morgoth - I started piano lessons at age 8 and continued them until 16. After that, other instruments were easier because I knew how to read the music and I could concentrate on what I was doing.
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Build a man a fire, and he'll be warm for a day. Set a man on fire, and he'll be warm for the rest of his life.