Guitar Zero to Guitar Hero.
Discussion
Well, probably not.
After several months of mucking around on my own and testing the patience of my good lady wife with 3 chords and a million repetitions of 'breaking the law' and some scales I'm having my first guitar lesson tonight.
I'm ridiculously excited about it.
I haven't had a music lesson since school <cough> 30 years ago</cough>.
I said on the phone I just want to get the basics right to start with and take it from there, which seemed to go down well.
Any tips, advice, guidance on what my expectations should be will be gratefully received.
Should I start looking for a manager yet?
After several months of mucking around on my own and testing the patience of my good lady wife with 3 chords and a million repetitions of 'breaking the law' and some scales I'm having my first guitar lesson tonight.
I'm ridiculously excited about it.
I haven't had a music lesson since school <cough> 30 years ago</cough>.
I said on the phone I just want to get the basics right to start with and take it from there, which seemed to go down well.
Any tips, advice, guidance on what my expectations should be will be gratefully received.
Should I start looking for a manager yet?
Practise alot, the only way when youre starting. If you arent the money is wasted!
Learn other songs, you sound like a classic rock fan so youre in luck with the wealth of online tabs and videos. Learning new stuff will help open you up to new patterns on the fret board, plus you get to play stuff you like while practising.
When I teach I tend to use the students interest to base what Im teaching them, so they are improving technically while learning stuff they enjoy.
Scales important, put basically they are your base for playing, so get practising, get them fluid.
Perhaps practise before the lesson to get yourself prepared.
Have fun!
Learn other songs, you sound like a classic rock fan so youre in luck with the wealth of online tabs and videos. Learning new stuff will help open you up to new patterns on the fret board, plus you get to play stuff you like while practising.
When I teach I tend to use the students interest to base what Im teaching them, so they are improving technically while learning stuff they enjoy.
Scales important, put basically they are your base for playing, so get practising, get them fluid.
Perhaps practise before the lesson to get yourself prepared.
Have fun!
Chords chords chords. Practice them long after you get bored of doing so, and transitions from one to another. It's annoying, but once you've cracked them you'll have a better understanding of them, and you'll be much better at getting your fingers where you want them to go (fnarrrr!).
Thanks all, just about to head out the door. I enjoy the scales, but not the chords so much, that's part of my reason for having lessons, I've kind of stalled with them so need a push and some guidance.
Reading between the lines of the replies I Get the impression practice is important, so I'll keep plugging away. No chance to practice before the lesson as it's a case of in, kid's bedtime and out the door again.
Reading between the lines of the replies I Get the impression practice is important, so I'll keep plugging away. No chance to practice before the lesson as it's a case of in, kid's bedtime and out the door again.
Can't say enough about getting chords down when you're in the early stages. I think nothing of machine gun tech death riffs, tapping, legato, even some Paul Gilbert style picking, but chords are by far my weakest area. To have a large arsenal of chords you can switch between at a moment notice is will be of huge benefit. If classic rock is your thing, you'll certainly be better off with a good grasp of chords than you will be from working on technical exercises and what not. However, if your guitar teacher is good he will recognise what will benefit you the most as you start to pick things up, so he will know what you need to learn.
You do need to learn the basics first though, but once you can fret a note or pick an individual string at a moment's notice you will be able to start building your skills. From there, you can go to single note riffs, then start turning single notes into dyads and triads, then into chords and arpeggios. As you start to learn chords and arpeggios, scales will start to make sense, and you'll learn how a scale works with a chord. Then, learning the major pentatonic scales in all positions on the neck, in all the keys, and possibly the location of the notes that turn a pentatonic into the blues scale and you'll have all you need to impress at classic rock, the rest will be in how musical you can be with it.
Learning the notes in a chord is also useful if you want to get beyond the classic rock game and really start improvising. It's something I probably spent too long not doing, but once you get going with it you can really open the door, you can start learning and applying modes etc.
When I look back at what I've written, and think about myself going through the same sort of steps (though my learning route was different to the sort of "classic rock" route above, it really does seem like a long journey. It's a fun one though, some people get to a place where they are happy with their playing and stay there, some people are never really happy and always want to know and do more. Either way, it's immensely satisfying.
You do need to learn the basics first though, but once you can fret a note or pick an individual string at a moment's notice you will be able to start building your skills. From there, you can go to single note riffs, then start turning single notes into dyads and triads, then into chords and arpeggios. As you start to learn chords and arpeggios, scales will start to make sense, and you'll learn how a scale works with a chord. Then, learning the major pentatonic scales in all positions on the neck, in all the keys, and possibly the location of the notes that turn a pentatonic into the blues scale and you'll have all you need to impress at classic rock, the rest will be in how musical you can be with it.
Learning the notes in a chord is also useful if you want to get beyond the classic rock game and really start improvising. It's something I probably spent too long not doing, but once you get going with it you can really open the door, you can start learning and applying modes etc.
When I look back at what I've written, and think about myself going through the same sort of steps (though my learning route was different to the sort of "classic rock" route above, it really does seem like a long journey. It's a fun one though, some people get to a place where they are happy with their playing and stay there, some people are never really happy and always want to know and do more. Either way, it's immensely satisfying.
Mastodon2 said:
Can't say enough about getting chords down when you're in the early stages. I think nothing of machine gun tech death riffs, tapping, legato, even some Paul Gilbert style picking, but chords are by far my weakest area. To have a large arsenal of chords you can switch between at a moment notice is will be of huge benefit. If classic rock is your thing, you'll certainly be better off with a good grasp of chords than you will be from working on technical exercises and what not. However, if your guitar teacher is good he will recognise what will benefit you the most as you start to pick things up, so he will know what you need to learn.
You do need to learn the basics first though, but once you can fret a note or pick an individual string at a moment's notice you will be able to start building your skills. From there, you can go to single note riffs, then start turning single notes into dyads and triads, then into chords and arpeggios. As you start to learn chords and arpeggios, scales will start to make sense, and you'll learn how a scale works with a chord. Then, learning the major pentatonic scales in all positions on the neck, in all the keys, and possibly the location of the notes that turn a pentatonic into the blues scale and you'll have all you need to impress at classic rock, the rest will be in how musical you can be with it.
Learning the notes in a chord is also useful if you want to get beyond the classic rock game and really start improvising. It's something I probably spent too long not doing, but once you get going with it you can really open the door, you can start learning and applying modes etc.
When I look back at what I've written, and think about myself going through the same sort of steps (though my learning route was different to the sort of "classic rock" route above, it really does seem like a long journey. It's a fun one though, some people get to a place where they are happy with their playing and stay there, some people are never really happy and always want to know and do more. Either way, it's immensely satisfying.
Indeed many people stop learning after a while.(I must admit it tends to be young peol 15-17 get to a fast blues style then stop, or the Classic rock dads who learn so floyd then think thats enough).You do need to learn the basics first though, but once you can fret a note or pick an individual string at a moment's notice you will be able to start building your skills. From there, you can go to single note riffs, then start turning single notes into dyads and triads, then into chords and arpeggios. As you start to learn chords and arpeggios, scales will start to make sense, and you'll learn how a scale works with a chord. Then, learning the major pentatonic scales in all positions on the neck, in all the keys, and possibly the location of the notes that turn a pentatonic into the blues scale and you'll have all you need to impress at classic rock, the rest will be in how musical you can be with it.
Learning the notes in a chord is also useful if you want to get beyond the classic rock game and really start improvising. It's something I probably spent too long not doing, but once you get going with it you can really open the door, you can start learning and applying modes etc.
When I look back at what I've written, and think about myself going through the same sort of steps (though my learning route was different to the sort of "classic rock" route above, it really does seem like a long journey. It's a fun one though, some people get to a place where they are happy with their playing and stay there, some people are never really happy and always want to know and do more. Either way, it's immensely satisfying.
Mastodon2,sounds like we are similar, as youve said many guitarist are good, but the great ones are very well rounded.Your Alt picking may be good, hows your 8 fingered tapping and Sweeps...
Haha, technically I'm not that good but I've got a few party tricks. My biggest problem was only focusing on the things I liked doing when I first learning and not rounding my skill set out enough as a young player. Had I spent more time on theory, chords etc in the first few years of my playing I'd probably be much, much better than I am today. I can do some basic sweeps, bits of solos here and there but I doubt I'll ever be nailing perfect 7 string sweeps back and forth across the neck. My tapping is currently limited to using only one finger on my picking hand, Eddie Van Halen style, but I'm trying to incorporate Tony Macalpine's "synth" style tap-slides.
Some people have a natural affinity for guitar where they can learn and assimilate techniques very quickly - I'm not one of them. My natural ability lies in my rhythm, pitch and timing; I've always thought my ears were better than my fingers, so it's always been a struggle to get my fingers to give me what my musical inclination wanted me to play. I'm back at with guitar with a renewed vigor after recently buying a Peavey 6505+ 112 combo. Getting a tube amp and getting away from my harsh, awful sounding Line 6 PodXT setup has given me the confidence to really attack notes across the fretboard where previously I would just avoid travelling often as the tone grated on my ears so much.
I probably spent a lot of the last 5 years barely playing enough to keep my finger tips callused, even though I had some awesome guitars in the time, including the first Ibanez RG2228 in the UK which I bought the day it went on sale, a Fender Crafted in Japan Yngwie sig strat and an Ibanez Xiphos that I picked up for £400 and was a nicer guitar to play than either of those. How I wish I still had those guitars! I'm developing my calluses again, and my wrist and finger strength has come on in leaps and bounds in the last 6 weeks. I've got the Jazz improv books out and I'm getting copies of Guthrie Govan's Creative Guitar 1 and 2 soon. I want to shake off the rust of the last 5 years of not pushing myself, and smash through the previous summits of my abilities, in all fields.
At the moment, I'm working on musicality, as opposed to purely technique, while my muscles redevelop their old strength and stamina, and I think it's done wonders for me. My vibrato is now unquestionably better than it was when I was younger, and as I mentioned in my above post, I'm linking chord notes to scale fragments, and just really building a confidence to attack an "outside" sounding phrase - which leads me onto another huge field of my musical thinking in "confidence" in phrasing and the way you physically handle the instrument in an improvisational setting.
Literally I could go on all night, so I should probably stop. While a lot of the above may seem intimidatingly in depth to the OP, or any beginner, I'd hope that the enthusiasm does not wear off. As you say, some people just stop learning and I want to ensure that this curse never befalls me. There is always something you can learn, or something you can do better. Metal is my mainstay, but I dabble in the black arts of jazz fusion but I'll learn anything if it will make me a better musician.
Some people have a natural affinity for guitar where they can learn and assimilate techniques very quickly - I'm not one of them. My natural ability lies in my rhythm, pitch and timing; I've always thought my ears were better than my fingers, so it's always been a struggle to get my fingers to give me what my musical inclination wanted me to play. I'm back at with guitar with a renewed vigor after recently buying a Peavey 6505+ 112 combo. Getting a tube amp and getting away from my harsh, awful sounding Line 6 PodXT setup has given me the confidence to really attack notes across the fretboard where previously I would just avoid travelling often as the tone grated on my ears so much.
I probably spent a lot of the last 5 years barely playing enough to keep my finger tips callused, even though I had some awesome guitars in the time, including the first Ibanez RG2228 in the UK which I bought the day it went on sale, a Fender Crafted in Japan Yngwie sig strat and an Ibanez Xiphos that I picked up for £400 and was a nicer guitar to play than either of those. How I wish I still had those guitars! I'm developing my calluses again, and my wrist and finger strength has come on in leaps and bounds in the last 6 weeks. I've got the Jazz improv books out and I'm getting copies of Guthrie Govan's Creative Guitar 1 and 2 soon. I want to shake off the rust of the last 5 years of not pushing myself, and smash through the previous summits of my abilities, in all fields.
At the moment, I'm working on musicality, as opposed to purely technique, while my muscles redevelop their old strength and stamina, and I think it's done wonders for me. My vibrato is now unquestionably better than it was when I was younger, and as I mentioned in my above post, I'm linking chord notes to scale fragments, and just really building a confidence to attack an "outside" sounding phrase - which leads me onto another huge field of my musical thinking in "confidence" in phrasing and the way you physically handle the instrument in an improvisational setting.
Literally I could go on all night, so I should probably stop. While a lot of the above may seem intimidatingly in depth to the OP, or any beginner, I'd hope that the enthusiasm does not wear off. As you say, some people just stop learning and I want to ensure that this curse never befalls me. There is always something you can learn, or something you can do better. Metal is my mainstay, but I dabble in the black arts of jazz fusion but I'll learn anything if it will make me a better musician.
ehonda said:
Thanks all, just about to head out the door. I enjoy the scales, but not the chords so much, that's part of my reason for having lessons, I've kind of stalled with them so need a push and some guidance.
Chords rock! Everyone loves the limelight hogging axe meister shredding the impossible five octave solo with dizzying speed but he's nothing without the rhythm man chugging away underneath it all. If you took someone like say Nile Rodgers, you'll never hear him knocking out a blistering solo but what he does with chords - playing a choppy sixteenth rhythm, adding notes & taking them away gives the humble chord a soul that few players can touch. Once you start getting the fluency in changing from one to another, a whole world of music opens up to you. You just have to put the yards in & you CAN do it.
Thanks for all the interesting and encouraging replies.
My 30 minute lesson ended up lasting 65 minutes, I was completely buzzing when I left, teacher is a great guy and has definitely got some talent.
It was actually quite nerve-wracking playing in front of someone for the first time, but once I got past that it felt great and he was very complimentary about where I am currently, seems to think that there's something to work with at least.
We talked about the kind of music we both like and he demonstrated some classical, blues and rock. Talked about goals, played some scales and chords and he changed my fingering of A, which will take some getting used to but does seem easier.
I have some homework (blues scale in A, 12 bar blues and Back in Black Riff) and can't wait to go back next week
He also had a play of my epi Les Paul and it was great to hear some tunes being bashed out on that, and I got to have a go on his gibson dot neck - lovely guitar.
My 30 minute lesson ended up lasting 65 minutes, I was completely buzzing when I left, teacher is a great guy and has definitely got some talent.
It was actually quite nerve-wracking playing in front of someone for the first time, but once I got past that it felt great and he was very complimentary about where I am currently, seems to think that there's something to work with at least.
We talked about the kind of music we both like and he demonstrated some classical, blues and rock. Talked about goals, played some scales and chords and he changed my fingering of A, which will take some getting used to but does seem easier.
I have some homework (blues scale in A, 12 bar blues and Back in Black Riff) and can't wait to go back next week
He also had a play of my epi Les Paul and it was great to hear some tunes being bashed out on that, and I got to have a go on his gibson dot neck - lovely guitar.
ehonda said:
Thanks for all the interesting and encouraging replies.
My 30 minute lesson ended up lasting 65 minutes, I was completely buzzing when I left, teacher is a great guy and has definitely got some talent.
It was actually quite nerve-wracking playing in front of someone for the first time, but once I got past that it felt great and he was very complimentary about where I am currently, seems to think that there's something to work with at least.
We talked about the kind of music we both like and he demonstrated some classical, blues and rock. Talked about goals, played some scales and chords and he changed my fingering of A, which will take some getting used to but does seem easier.
I have some homework (blues scale in A, 12 bar blues and Back in Black Riff) and can't wait to go back next week
He also had a play of my epi Les Paul and it was great to hear some tunes being bashed out on that, and I got to have a go on his gibson dot neck - lovely guitar.
Glad to hear it, I used to run home for my lessons, buzzing to get in the car and get playing!My 30 minute lesson ended up lasting 65 minutes, I was completely buzzing when I left, teacher is a great guy and has definitely got some talent.
It was actually quite nerve-wracking playing in front of someone for the first time, but once I got past that it felt great and he was very complimentary about where I am currently, seems to think that there's something to work with at least.
We talked about the kind of music we both like and he demonstrated some classical, blues and rock. Talked about goals, played some scales and chords and he changed my fingering of A, which will take some getting used to but does seem easier.
I have some homework (blues scale in A, 12 bar blues and Back in Black Riff) and can't wait to go back next week
He also had a play of my epi Les Paul and it was great to hear some tunes being bashed out on that, and I got to have a go on his gibson dot neck - lovely guitar.
I was then taught by a ex hawkwind member, really helped my playing in a group, awsome fun jamming along with some spacey tracks!
audidoody said:
It took me years to learn that less is usually more and that what you do with one note is as important as what you do with several. Don't rely too much on electronic processing. Make the guitar work with your fingers (pinched harmonics, damping etc)
Interesting you mention that, my teacher played some B.B.King to demonstrate the less is more idea last night. Don't know about mucking around with electronics - that's a long way off. Good 4 hours of practice today, got to love working from home Now I'm fannying around with the bass and rocksmith to chill out a bit.For me, it takes time. Lots of time .
Time that is always needed for a million other things in today's busy lifestyle.
I've been playing about 15 months now, and am just starting to feel like I may be making slow progress.
I try and find an hour a night minimum, but its not easy .
As others have said, if you want it,you will have to put the hours in.
Time that is always needed for a million other things in today's busy lifestyle.
I've been playing about 15 months now, and am just starting to feel like I may be making slow progress.
I try and find an hour a night minimum, but its not easy .
As others have said, if you want it,you will have to put the hours in.
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