Help me

[rudarb]

Hi

Im stuck, I dont know how to learn guitar. Ive been playing electric for only about six months and I started by learning some basic theory and scales, which led me to some decent blues playing...until now. Now I just find myself playing things over and over again, and im not learning much. Via a suggestion from my friend im going to start watching some of my concert DVDs and listening to some of my favorite songs to figure them out, and train my ears. So, besides what I plan to do, anyone have any suggestions of how to progress?

 

[dennistruckdriver]

Hold your guitar every minute that you are in front of the TV. Pick out the melody of commercial jingles, TV show theme songs, background music....just have it in your hands as often as possible.

 

[rudarb]

Thanks dennis, thats a good suggestion

 

[HecklerDanny]

Hold your guitar every minute that you are in front of the TV. Pick out the melody of commercial jingles, TV show theme songs, background music....just have it in your hands as often as possible.

I agree with this 100%. I would also suggest picking up some magazines like Guitar World that always have several guitar tabs per issue, and just start going through them, even if they're way above your skill level. Just keep your fingers on the guitar.

...You could also look at guitar tab online but most of it is so incorrect it's very rarely worth it.

 

[damndirtyape71]

I would set some goals...

1) Creativity - For the first ten minutes you play, conciously play something you've never played, even if it sounds awful, you are training your brain not to fall into a rut. Keep a journal of what you come up with...

2) Warm-up practice - Chromatic scales are best. Alternate pick quarter notes and then eightth notes and finally sixteenth notes. When you get really good try triplets and so on and so on. Sing the rhythym, quarters 1 2 3 4, eighths 1 and 2 and 3 and 4, sixteenth notes 1 e and a 2 e and a etc..

3) A focused practice regiment - My practices at my stage are to disect a chord.. I take a chord, write the notes of the chord, and figure out two other inversions, finally I then record a rhytyhm using only that chord, and I play single notes from the chord over it, I do not play other notes, I limit myself to the notes of the chord, I am purposely learning the notes, and not playing to solo, I just want to feel those chord tones. Make sure you are writing everything down and learning the chord theory..

4) Closing - take two chords from your studies, tape them and start to improvise using your notes of the chords. Try to color the chords with outside notes, and resolve them back to chord tones, you can achieve this by using chromatics, bending of halfsteps, etc. listen to Joe Bonamassa or Marty Friendman for real good usuage of this...

Hope this helps.. this is what I usually teach my students on this basis..

 

[gman8thst]

My son learns a lot off of YouTube. There's a lot of free sites out there. You can also try to get some other musicians to jam with. That's a great way to learn new things. Six months isn't a long time...relax, enjoy and have fun.

 

[Chicago John]

Do you have a teacher? It doesn't have to be an official music teacher, it could be a friend of yours who knows a lot more about guitar playing than you do. I think that's the best way to get started, with the best teacher you can find. That way you can watch closely what he's doing and he can explain it to you. If it's hard or impossible to find a teacher, Youtube, like someone mentioned, has a lot of music lesson videos. Also, get a guitar book and work through it. I'm not sure of a title to recommend to you, but you could just hunt through Amazon and find one or two well regarded books for your level, and just work the exercises. The last thing I'd recommend to you is to buy a metronome of some type. This will be your most valuable piece of equipment when you practice. Good luck!

 

[Jody]

My son learns a lot off of YouTube. There's a lot of free sites out there. You can also try to get some other musicians to jam with. That's a great way to learn new things. Six months isn't a long time...relax, enjoy and have fun.

Learn how to read Tabliture also.......Nothing wrong with Tabs....

 

[fast1]

Do you have a teacher? It doesn't have to be an official music teacher, it could be a friend of yours who knows a lot more about guitar playing than you do. I think that's the best way to get started, with the best teacher you can find. That way you can watch closely what he's doing and he can explain it to you. If it's hard or impossible to find a teacher, Youtube, like someone mentioned, has a lot of music lesson videos. Also, get a guitar book and work through it. I'm not sure of a title to recommend to you, but you could just hunt through Amazon and find one or two well regarded books for your level, and just work the exercises. The last thing I'd recommend to you is to buy a metronome of some type. This will be your most valuable piece of equipment when you practice. Good luck!

what books would you recommend from amazon?

 

[gadafi]

Here's a good exercise unplugged when you're watching tv etc. A guitar teacher taught it to me years ago and it really get's the left and right hands going. I used to use it religiously right before a gig to warm up - depending on the speed you use it takes about 5 -10 minutes.

What you're gonna do is start on the low E string (the fat one) on the first fret with your index finger, then the second fret with your second finger, third fret with third finger and fourth fret with pinky. Then move across to the A string and do the same and then the D string and work all the way across the fret board 4 frets at a time up to the high E string and then you come all the way back again. Then you move up a fret and do it all again, and then up a fret again and so forth until you get to the 12th fret and then you come back down the neck 1 fret at a time until you get back to the first fret low E where you started. Use alternate picking the whole way through - 1 down 1 up 1 down 1 up etc.

If your fingers start cramping up try to push through it, just keep working at it.

Speed is not the key here - quality is. You want to hear every one of those notes perfectly all the way up and all the way back down and you want to maintain the same speed the whole way through. Use a metro is you have one.

Yeah it's pretty boring but it really does build and maintain left and right hand strength and technique pretty quickly and is also a great warmer upperer before playing.

 

[Chicago John]

I remember one author I really liked in particular, Troy Stetina. He explains things in a very thorough way. Anything put out by "Musician's Institute" also tends to be very good.

what books would you recommend from amazon?