Being a better guitar player
Discussion
I've been playing guitar for a few years on and off (more off) and everything I've learned has been self taught i.e look up tab, if it's reasonably easy then practice it endlessly until it sounds right. Whilst I've got a cheap electric my main guitar is a Yamaha electro acoustic. In terms of the music I play, it's goes from stuff like Metallica (granted, the acoustic sounding stuff like Fade To Black) to Tracey Chapman and everything in between.
Recently I've got back into it in a big way though and I'm looking to improve but I don't really know where to start. Is it worth learning some theory, or learning songs to improve certain techniques - or what? I'm not planning on just improving - I still want to learn new songs for the pleasure of playing them, but having something else to work on that'll help me pick up techniques or just make it easier to learn songs in general would be good.
Does anyone have any suggestions on where I should begin?
Recently I've got back into it in a big way though and I'm looking to improve but I don't really know where to start. Is it worth learning some theory, or learning songs to improve certain techniques - or what? I'm not planning on just improving - I still want to learn new songs for the pleasure of playing them, but having something else to work on that'll help me pick up techniques or just make it easier to learn songs in general would be good.
Does anyone have any suggestions on where I should begin?
Learn the basics and get them down right.
Exercises for building strength, over and over again to a metronome.
Make an effort and learn the chords, how to finger them (ooo-errr) without looking and change between them quickly and cleanly.
Scales, again practice with a metronome.
This is what I have been concentrating on lately and its really starting to pay off.
My problem is getting strumming patterns down but all there is to that is to practice.
Exercises for building strength, over and over again to a metronome.
Make an effort and learn the chords, how to finger them (ooo-errr) without looking and change between them quickly and cleanly.
Scales, again practice with a metronome.
This is what I have been concentrating on lately and its really starting to pay off.
My problem is getting strumming patterns down but all there is to that is to practice.
Any particular chords? I can play most major and minor chords without looking (although I still struggle with a clean F at times), plus a few others that I've picked up along the way. Is there some sort of guide as to the most common ones? As it stands I tend to learn a chord for a song, and just practice repeating it in order of how it's played with a single strum until I can change smoothly.
Are there exercises that can be done with a metronome? I understand the importance of timing (in vague terms) but not how I can improve my timing generally.
Are there exercises that can be done with a metronome? I understand the importance of timing (in vague terms) but not how I can improve my timing generally.
www.justinguitar.com .
Pick a set of lessons that looks interesting, work through them until mastered. Go back to website, pick another set. Or a song lesson, whatever looks interesting. Repeat until you reach guitar god status.
Best tutor I've ever had, and I've never met him, and because he's so easy to follow and you can learn what looks interesting at the time, it's fun to learn from his lessons and it's always obvious what progress I'm making and what the lesson's trying to achieve.
Can also be found on youtube, search for justinguitar or justin sandercoe.
Pick a set of lessons that looks interesting, work through them until mastered. Go back to website, pick another set. Or a song lesson, whatever looks interesting. Repeat until you reach guitar god status.
Best tutor I've ever had, and I've never met him, and because he's so easy to follow and you can learn what looks interesting at the time, it's fun to learn from his lessons and it's always obvious what progress I'm making and what the lesson's trying to achieve.
Can also be found on youtube, search for justinguitar or justin sandercoe.
Alfanatic said:
That looks ideal - exactly what I was looking for, something that I can drop and and out of.OK, I'm a bit of a 'stuck record' on this, but my #1 advice on improving is to play along with other people. You will develop feel/groove/vibe that you'll never find in the tab charts, online lessons or playing along by ear.
IMHO it also makes playing anything at least 10x more fun than learning to play perfectly on your own.
Maybe you're already doing this? If so, I'll STFU.
IMHO it also makes playing anything at least 10x more fun than learning to play perfectly on your own.
Maybe you're already doing this? If so, I'll STFU.
Some guitarists I know like Gordon Giltrap ( he was a neighbour) have huge innate ability combined with outstanding determination and focus.
That works.
When Gordon said to me once 'why don't you play like this' and showed me I replied'short of two fingers Gordon I need 12 to do that'.
He understood.
PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE seems to be the way.
I am still playing still learning and still enjoying myself.
I am easily amused.
Be as good as you can be is my advice. How can you do more?
That works.
When Gordon said to me once 'why don't you play like this' and showed me I replied'short of two fingers Gordon I need 12 to do that'.
He understood.
PRACTICE PRACTICE PRACTICE seems to be the way.
I am still playing still learning and still enjoying myself.
I am easily amused.
Be as good as you can be is my advice. How can you do more?
Practising a given song is all well and good (and not something I'm planning on abandoning) but learning different techniques, increasing my strength and dexterity and understanding why certain songs are played a certain way can only help. I've spent the last 6 or so years making it up as I go along, and I'm nowhere near as good as I would like to be. If learning some of the proper technique means that I'll be able to pick up songs quicker and play more complicated stuff then it's completely worth it.
And it's not all work - I've started on some scales and I'm actually enjoying it in an odd way.
And it's not all work - I've started on some scales and I'm actually enjoying it in an odd way.
Alfanatic said:
www.justinguitar.com .
Pick a set of lessons that looks interesting, work through them until mastered. Go back to website, pick another set. Or a song lesson, whatever looks interesting. Repeat until you reach guitar god status.
Best tutor I've ever had, and I've never met him, and because he's so easy to follow and you can learn what looks interesting at the time, it's fun to learn from his lessons and it's always obvious what progress I'm making and what the lesson's trying to achieve.
Can also be found on youtube, search for justinguitar or justin sandercoe.
Thanks for that link, looks really good. I've been playing for 13 years, it'd do me good to get through the basics again!Pick a set of lessons that looks interesting, work through them until mastered. Go back to website, pick another set. Or a song lesson, whatever looks interesting. Repeat until you reach guitar god status.
Best tutor I've ever had, and I've never met him, and because he's so easy to follow and you can learn what looks interesting at the time, it's fun to learn from his lessons and it's always obvious what progress I'm making and what the lesson's trying to achieve.
Can also be found on youtube, search for justinguitar or justin sandercoe.
One thing I do find confusing with the way he lays things out - he talks about the strings up side down to the way (from hundreds of internet tabs) that I've come to think of it i.e eBGDAE instead of EADGBe. Which seems completely counter intuitive to me. So when he talks about putting your finger on the third string he's talking about D, whilst I'm reaching for G.
Unless I've been thinking upside down for the last 6 years (a real possibility.)
Unless I've been thinking upside down for the last 6 years (a real possibility.)
5705 said:
OK, I'm a bit of a 'stuck record' on this, but my #1 advice on improving is to play along with other people. You will develop feel/groove/vibe that you'll never find in the tab charts, online lessons or playing along by ear.
IMHO it also makes playing anything at least 10x more fun than learning to play perfectly on your own.
Maybe you're already doing this? If so, I'll STFU.
That plus about eleventy billion. Turn off the TV, get some beers in, get a mate (or mates) round and just play. I was round a friend's house last night who I don't often jam with, and I was surprised that I had actually come along a bit with my playing without realising. IMHO it also makes playing anything at least 10x more fun than learning to play perfectly on your own.
Maybe you're already doing this? If so, I'll STFU.
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