Starcraft dont really get me hot and bothered the way it used to anymore (fantasy go go go!) but you are a fine bunch and having been away from TL, I just saw that my guitar thread was getting luv but I hadnt been around. So I'm gonna start this up again since you are a fine bunch
DO YOU WANT TO PLAY GUITAR?! DO YOU WANT TO BE A ROCKSTAR!? Well fuck yourself mostly. This shit is pretty hard...to start! Guitar, compared to say, piano, has a steep learning curve. the positions are unnatural, it hurts the fingers, and can make a lot of awful noises when you get stuff wrong.
The good news? Once you get over the initial couple of months, you'll notice a lot of your favourite music uses similar chords and patterns and ideas. So the initial investment has infinite dividends and then some if you can grind it out.
Stress this point ________
If you can commit 15 minutes a day 4 days a week, I can personally promise you will improve your skills from now until your lil fingies turn to dust. It doesnt take much but it is loads of fun.
ok LET THE QUESTIONS BEGIN LETS GET THIS BOSS HYPE SHIT GOIN!!!
I guess I'll start by answering the most obvious...
Will this help me get laid?
If you have even a shred of personality, yes.
*however* over the years I have noticed something, that I can draw up in graph form.
It helps markedly. There comes a level in skill where girls can pick up on the fact that you've dedicated time to this instead of beers. Too much time for their liking. Not only does their perception of your attractiveness diminish, it becomes inverse. I labeled the graph wrong because the pain was all too real.
You can never go back.
(If you could, check some of my responses from the other thread. I cant figure out how to edit an OLD POST so I cant C+P. The responses start around here :
I started playing guitar around when I was 14-15 and now I'm 20. I don't feel like I've improved, probably because I've been playing on and off, stopping for 6 months, then repicking the guitar. Could you maybe make a list of what I should learn and in what order? Maybe a suggestion of easy songs to start with? Consider me as a complete beginner and don't assume I actually know anything about guitars.... Thank you!
I feel like I'm in the same boat as PetitCrabe above. I've been playing guitar for around 10-12 years with significant breaks here and there. I am entirely self-taught with no one to play with. I feel like I've hit a wall that I can't break through. I've been at about the same level of proficiency for .. give or take, 4-5yrs (at least, that's what it feels like.)
Without having lessons and without having a practice partner to bounce ideas off and jam with, is there anything you could recommend that might help me shatter that barrier?
Also should note that I can't read music, I don't know all the notes on every string on every fret and I'm not all that great with tabs. I've always played by ear and that usually works out. If I really put my mind to a song I want to learn I can end up figuring it out but I'm sure there are infinitely better ways!
On April 11 2011 23:08 ella_guru wrote: Guitar, compared to say, piano, has a steep learning curve.
That's quite a bold claim.. I would argue the opposite. Getting both hands to work together is much easier when playing guitar than when playing piano.
On April 11 2011 23:08 ella_guru wrote: Guitar, compared to say, piano, has a steep learning curve.
That's quite a bold claim.. I would argue the opposite. Getting both hands to work together is much easier when playing guitar than when playing piano.
Not true, at least in the case of bass guitar, as the timings in both hands vary its much like piano.
On April 11 2011 23:08 ella_guru wrote: There comes a level in skill where girls can pick up on the fact that you've dedicated time to this instead of beers. Too much time for their liking. Not only does their perception of your attractiveness diminish, it becomes inverse. I labeled the graph wrong because the pain was all too real.
QFT man.
At some point, any skill is perceived as nerdy.
So is this supposed to be about teaching guitar?
If so, could you just write down or give a link to an overview of how chords are structured? No specific chords, but the intervals in relation to their root note?
I can work that out for the generic chords, but not for the more advanced ones.
On April 11 2011 23:08 ella_guru wrote: There comes a level in skill where girls can pick up on the fact that you've dedicated time to this instead of beers. Too much time for their liking. Not only does their perception of your attractiveness diminish, it becomes inverse. I labeled the graph wrong because the pain was all too real.
QFT man.
At some point, any skill is perceived as nerdy.
So is this supposed to be about teaching guitar?
If so, could you just write down or give a link to an overview of how chords are structured? No specific chords, but the intervals in relation to their root note?
I can work that out for the generic chords, but not for the more advanced ones.
I've always found that this type of question is much easier to demonstrate then explain. Why are you concerned with chord structure? If you are just trying to understand the intervals, i suggest using pen and paper to tab various chords you know (lets say, every chord you know with D as its root) then you can look at and begin to gauge the difference in your chord when the 3rd is flat or w/e
Im trying to mess around with tunings now. I use stantard and DADGAD. I like the dark, folksy sound of the latter, can you recommend any other tunings that are in the vein of DADGAD?. I really like the sixth string to be low because, as I play songs on my own (i mean, no other instruments), it gives the music a nice percussive, rythmical, bassy spine on which higher notes can rely.
On April 11 2011 23:08 ella_guru wrote: Guitar, compared to say, piano, has a steep learning curve.
That's quite a bold claim.. I would argue the opposite. Getting both hands to work together is much easier when playing guitar than when playing piano.
You misunderstand me.
With very little effort I can have someone playing a melody on the piano the same day as they started. Maybe a very simple one, but they will get an immediate return on the investment. I'm NOT saying one is harder than the other, no , nothing is harder than another thing. Want to play 3 chords on the piano? Guarantee you can at least play each one individually today. Guitar? You going to need some strength and finesse to pull off a lot of even the most basic chords.
Thanks for the questions guys I love to see people wanting to up their game! I know not everyone has access to teachers or resources so I want to further you along. I'm just working on some music right now but I'll be back later today and answer all your questions so dont be shy! It can be hard to get the message through text but dont be shy and we can hit home runs and shit together haha.
I start with a note, make some chords, then pick some scale that fits. Then when i want to connect this awsome riff/melody with another awsome riff i have no idea what goes with what and end up droning the same root over and over and over. As soon as i pick a scale it seems to box me into a corner where I can only seem to fit 5-6 notes. What scales go with what scales and how am I supposed to figure this out?
Also I find when i write im constantly trapped or drawn back to the 1-4-5 progression. Any tips?
Yo dude, long time no see. I was wondering if you have any methods or memes to remember various chords and chord progressions that sound nice in various keys. For instance, I know Cmaj, Dmin, Emin, Fmaj, etc are all chords in the key of C but I like crazy shit like diminshed chords and min7, min9.. I never know when I will be able to drop a sick chord like that in an otherwise 'standard' progression to kick it up a notch. Basically, can you explain how melodies work in boss nova?
Not really using MSN TOO MUCH but if you msg I'll get it in a few days as I check periodically.
Oh, and for ANYONE who has some questions I'm going to set up a new MSN so you guys can reach me with your questions.
On April 12 2011 00:07 PetitCrabe wrote: I started playing guitar around when I was 14-15 and now I'm 20. I don't feel like I've improved, probably because I've been playing on and off, stopping for 6 months, then repicking the guitar. Could you maybe make a list of what I should learn and in what order? Maybe a suggestion of easy songs to start with? Consider me as a complete beginner and don't assume I actually know anything about guitars.... Thank you!
I'd start with 3 chords. Lets go with E minor, A minor, and a G Major.
**Watch your left hand as you make these chords, your left hand strength comes in a "can crushing" sort of posture. You want to press the strings with the tips of your fingers and not the pads, come DOWN on the string as straight as you can, not sloppy at an angle.
Get comfortable with these few chords, just practice re applying the chords.
**When you do, pluck out each string SLOWLY AND ASSESS THE SOUND YOU ARE MAKING. Can you hear each string clearly? Success! If not , one of two things are happening - You arent fretting correctly, or your finger is muting the string beside it due to sloppy positioning. Aim to press right behind the metal bit (fret) and with a decent amount of force. More on this later
WHEN you can make those chords CLEANLY (not at any speed, just comfortable) you should go ahead with more
At the same time we will develop scale playing
learn the pentatonic scale in one octave, open position
Applying the same left hand principles, you will slowly apply alternate picking. More on this later.
Let me know how this goes we can talk more
On April 12 2011 00:17 sMi.EternaL wrote:
Without having lessons and without having a practice partner to bounce ideas off and jam with, is there anything you could recommend that might help me shatter that barrier?
Id love to help! I need a BIT of an idea of where you are at, and what you are seeking to acheive! If you have at least a vague idea of where you wanna go I can help you shape that shit out and get there. More clarity and we can get this shit goin!!
On April 12 2011 01:09 caruso wrote:
So is this supposed to be about teaching guitar?
If so, could you just write down or give a link to an overview of how chords are structured? No specific chords, but the intervals in relation to their root note?
I can work that out for the generic chords, but not for the more advanced ones.
?? Let me know if thats what yo uare looking for and we can talk about it. You should know the above before proceeding though
On April 12 2011 01:14 d3_crescentia wrote: How's living in a guitar house working for you? How much would you say you've personally improved since the last time we saw you?
That doesnt start until Jan , I have to finish school, then moving to Toronto to start that adventure. There will be some way that I'll set up so you can follow us along in our struggles. In terms of personal growth, I'm on my grind on the guitar as an instrument, but have had some very potent creative outputs. Im working on getting a website where you can listen to ALL my music I've ever done. expect it in 2 months. Expect the practice house in Jan.
Thanks for paying attention, I hope we can both learn something.
On April 12 2011 01:35 night terrors wrote: Woah. Havent seen you around TL in forever.
Im trying to mess around with tunings now. I use stantard and DADGAD. I like the dark, folksy sound of the latter, can you recommend any other tunings that are in the vein of DADGAD?. I really like the sixth string to be low because, as I play songs on my own (i mean, no other instruments), it gives the music a nice percussive, rythmical, bassy spine on which higher notes can rely.
Tunings are where you should learn about yourself. Think of a chord you like, then put your guitar in that open tuning. Then maybe the same notes but in a different voicing. Try a few open tunings like that. Then go for something more unorthodox. What's a Koto, how is it tuned? Tune your guitar for a whole tone scale. Alt tunings can make you return to the beginners mind attitude since you have all the creative force youve gained, but your muscle memory is no longer useful, it makes you listen.
so
-Try your own open chords. -Tune unorthodox , like a Koto would, like a whole tone scale, maybe with lots of repeats for a droning effect -You DONT have to tune lowest to high. Then your arpeggios can become very fresh if your strings arranged in a new pitch series.
This is your world to discover, you can learn so much here.
Hey, I've been trying to play for about 3-4 years now, but I think I lack a proper practice structure, which then leads to boredom cause I cant get better..and lets to me dropping off the instrument..only to come back to it 4 months later. I started playing songs..I could play a few songs nearly completely save for the faster solo bits ( got to half the first solo and half the second solo on iron man). Should I work on pure exercises , or just continue to play the solos slower till I get better, or is there something else I should do to improve? I've been thinking about dividing my time out, for example out of two hours, half an hour of stretches ,then some scales, and some exercises and then finally play a song. Would that be good?
Okay I think there are a lot of questions in here, but would like get a guitar teachers perspective on things.
Id love to help! I need a BIT of an idea of where you are at, and what you are seeking to acheive! If you have at least a vague idea of where you wanna go I can help you shape that shit out and get there. More clarity and we can get this shit goin!!
I guess I should have clarified that I play acoustic! My bad lol
My largest inspirations I'd say are Dave Matthews and almost any of the CandyRat guys. I love the originality and crazy chords/progressions that DMB brings and the CandyRat guys are just amazing at acoustic guitar in every way.
Currently I'd say I'm probably ... average? I honestly wouldn't know but I'm definitely not good. I know the pentatonic scales and I can kinda solo over songs but I have no idea how they go together over different chords. My general chord knowledge is "ok" but definitely lacking beyond the basic abcdefg positions.
My mechanics need work but are passable (unless i need to do bar chord from like a regular chord position, end up having a few mute strings) but that's just a practice thing I'm sure.
I guess overall i'm lacking pretty seriously in the music department. i have no idea about music theory, how chord progressions work, how to read music etc. I just play by ear currently which is tedious when trying to figure out a new song. (I know barely any songs, just a lot of small parts in a lot of diff songs.)
I think a goal of mine would be to be able to go into a jam, sit down and be able to follow along when people are like "Ok this one is in C and goes 1 5 3 2b then switches to X after X time and does XXXX" I see you guys talking about the numbers but I only have a very vague idea of what that is (it's chord progressions with 1 being the base key and then moving up?)
Hope the wall of text isn't too bad, thanks again!
I've been playing my classical a lot lately. I'm getting into playing without a pick, just fingerstyle. Do you have any good drills to do? How freaking hard is flamenco to learn?
Hey i read the blog on the first go around and loved it. I'm a bit further along on guitar playing now (been playing for 9 months). I was wondering if there was anything you could tell me that could help me improve my strumming and rhythm. I can do basic strums when listening, watching people do it and practicing for a bit, but is there anything in general i should be doing? As for rhythm is there anything I can do to practice that will help me?
I'm looking for more classical /classical style stuff to play, but the thing is most classical stuff doesn't sound very interesting to me i.e classical i hate: greensleeves (ugh)
classical i liked: leo brouwer etude simples VI romanza (jerry's breakdown fuck yeah)
On April 12 2011 09:06 BrTarolg wrote: I'm looking for more classical /classical style stuff to play, but the thing is most classical stuff doesn't sound very interesting to me i.e classical i hate: greensleeves (ugh)
classical i liked: leo brouwer etude simples VI romanza (jerry's breakdown fuck yeah)
any suggestions?
if you got an interest in classical guitar, you need to spend a bit of time around here http://www.delcamp.us/
also, what is your level, there's a wide range of music you can play that grows exponentially with your playing experience. the classical guitar music usually gets to the real awesomesauce level once you got a few years of playing under your belt, unlike say an acoustic where you can pick it up now and be jamming your favorite rock ballads in a year.
Can you offer any advice to someone who's been playing for a few months and struggles with the basic F chord? I'm referring to the one where you only use the first finger on strings 1/2 as opposed to the full bar chord. People always tell me to turn the finger inward and use the bony part but then I can't press down on fingers 2 and 3.
On April 12 2011 03:09 dartoo wrote: Hey, I've been trying to play for about 3-4 years now, but I think I lack a proper practice structure, which then leads to boredom cause I cant get better..and lets to me dropping off the instrument..only to come back to it 4 months later. I started playing songs..I could play a few songs nearly completely save for the faster solo bits ( got to half the first solo and half the second solo on iron man). Should I work on pure exercises , or just continue to play the solos slower till I get better, or is there something else I should do to improve? I've been thinking about dividing my time out, for example out of two hours, half an hour of stretches ,then some scales, and some exercises and then finally play a song. Would that be good?
Okay I think there are a lot of questions in here, but would like get a guitar teachers perspective on things.
10 minutes of small warm ups - Alternate pick the open strings, 4 times each, the switch strings, slow and in even tempo. 1 E A U 2 E A U etc etc. These 10 minutes here are about re teaching yourself the basics of guitar here. So, play single notes with the left hand. Picture the energy flowing to the tip of your finger. Try this:
We know what a clean note sounds like, we know what a buzzed note sounds like. Make a buzzed note on purpose. Say, 3rd fret of the low E string. Buzz the note so you hear a bit of the actual note and some buzz. Ok good, now press just a hair harder. You get the clean note. Guitar is a lot more about finesse than strength. Do this every day to remind yourself that you should NEVER struggle with the instrument.
Also in these 10 minutes, review note names. Do the 1st 3 frets on your first and second day the next two days do the next 3 frets, etc. , 20 minutes on scales. Start with two octave scales. What is most important here is that you pay attention to proper left hand technique, and apply STRICT alternate picking, not going fast at all. Make sure everynote is clear, and occurs with VERY LITTLE EFFORT. TOTAL RELAXATION!!
then 30 minutes on songs. Take your iron man solo , lets learn the rest of it. Here's the catch, spen 15 minutes on just 4 bars of the solo, and divide that further by 7 minutes on each 2 bar sets. TAKE THIS SHIT SLOW. The goal here isn't to just learn the notes, its to be patient , be relaxed, and play cleanly. AVOID TEMPTATION TO PLAY FAST
Then the other 15 minutes is the same thing but on a different song or section.
This should get you on a track which will bring up more questions soon enough. Please ask if you have any questions or ideas about this schedule!!
On April 12 2011 06:28 sMi.EternaL wrote: I guess overall i'm lacking pretty seriously in the music department. i have no idea about music theory, how chord progressions work, how to read music etc. I just play by ear currently which is tedious when trying to figure out a new song. (I know barely any songs, just a lot of small parts in a lot of diff songs.)
I think a goal of mine would be to be able to go into a jam, sit down and be able to follow along when people are like "Ok this one is in C and goes 1 5 3 2b then switches to X after X time and does XXXX" I see you guys talking about the numbers but I only have a very vague idea of what that is (it's chord progressions with 1 being the base key and then moving up?)
Hope the wall of text isn't too bad, thanks again!
Ok, so you gotta go in on the WHY of music. LOADS OF FUN MAN. The rewards are infinite and forever.
Here's your task.
This week, twice a day for 2 minutes, you will review your note names.
A A# B C C# D D# E F F# G G#
The week after that, apply this to your first string, all frets up to twelve
So your e string is like this
fret 1 = F 2 = F# 3 = G etc etc.
For every fret you go up, you advance one note , starting on E as the OPEN string.
For each week after, you will do the next string as well as all previous. In about a month from now you will know all the note names down cold and be ready for the nitty gritty of it all .
A month? That doesnt add up you say. Well I trust you will get carried away by your progress once you start to see the patterns. Plus you get a freebie cuz two strings are the same. Let me know if ANY of this is unclear but trust me when I say
YOU MUST KNOW THE NOTE NAMES COLD. Or youll just be stuck as shit again. Do this then lets talk.
On April 12 2011 07:07 caruso wrote: Major - 1 3 5 Minor - 1b3 5 Maj7- 1 3 5 7 min7 - 1 b3 5 b7 Dom7 - 1 3 5 b7
EXACTLY the writeup i wanted.
Thanks mate, I can clearly see the pattern now and it becomes pretty obvious.
Ok , get good at making chords, Learn these types so you can play them rooted on the 4th, 5th, and 6th. Then lets talk more...
On April 12 2011 07:11 Dalguno wrote: I've been playing my classical a lot lately. I'm getting into playing without a pick, just fingerstyle. Do you have any good drills to do? How freaking hard is flamenco to learn?
AWESOME The classical is SO great for teaching us about music and ourselves..
Ok, the right hand we label
P = Thumb (pulgar) I = index M = Middle A = Ring finger (annular)
put the I M A fingers on strings 3 2 1 respectively. P will go on string 5 for now
First arpeggio
P I M
So just pluck P, then I, then M, even tempo, one after the other, over N over.
then when you feel good
P I M I
so up and back again
P I M A
all fingers
P I M A M I
all up and down
DO THESE SLOWLY . DO NOT RUSH. REMAIN FUCKING CALM haha.
Now, the right hand is a very important force in the classical style. Close your first. Open it. Watch again this time, close it, open it. - THATS how you will pluck the strings. Many people try and get underneath and pull. This gives a harsh tone. PUSH through the stings as if they werent there, just as if you were closing one finger on your hand, then reset comfortably. Let me know if this makes sense. It's not easy to have good right hand technique.
Flamenco? Do you mean like, real flamenco stylez? The hardest part is getting it in your ear, the rhythms are very foreign to us and grouped in ways that are uncommon. Maybe you could link me to a youtube of what you mean by flamenco, there are many definitions this days. What part of it do you like?
On April 12 2011 09:00 Fulgrim wrote: Hey i read the blog on the first go around and loved it. I'm a bit further along on guitar playing now (been playing for 9 months). I was wondering if there was anything you could tell me that could help me improve my strumming and rhythm. I can do basic strums when listening, watching people do it and practicing for a bit, but is there anything in general i should be doing? As for rhythm is there anything I can do to practice that will help me?
Thanks man I appreciate it. Good job stickin to it BOSS HYPE SWAG SHIT MAAAAN!!
Here's something you can practice - Can you count?
1 2 3 4 with a down strum on each count.
EZ PZ
1 + 2 + 3 + 4 +
Now we do twice as many strums. Say "1 AND 2 AND 3 AND" and you are going Down Up Down up.
EZ PZ
Now to divide a beat further
1 E A U 2 E A U etc "One EEE AND UH two EE AND UH etc"
So now we have a way to count four strums to a beat. So, grab a piece of paper
write
1 2 3 4 1 2 3 4
and at your whim, write Es As Us (not too many to start! very few..) and assign a direction to strum above each . Try and land on the number counts with a downstrum. With this method you can expose yourself to new strums, while writing them in a way that is logical and can be dissected instead of having to rewind a tape over and over.
Let me know how this goes, or if it doesnt make sense.
On April 12 2011 09:06 BrTarolg wrote: I'm looking for more classical /classical style stuff to play, but the thing is most classical stuff doesn't sound very interesting to me i.e classical i hate: greensleeves (ugh)
classical i liked: leo brouwer etude simples VI romanza (jerry's breakdown fuck yeah)
On April 12 2011 10:06 moose162 wrote: Can you offer any advice to someone who's been playing for a few months and struggles with the basic F chord? I'm referring to the one where you only use the first finger on strings 1/2 as opposed to the full bar chord. People always tell me to turn the finger inward and use the bony part but then I can't press down on fingers 2 and 3.
Before you fuck with that, this excersize is needed.
5th fret.
Barre two strings. Finger nice and straight, dont strain, only apply whats needed. Can you do this confidently? Ok
Move on. Barre three strangs, Same applies. Keep adding strings until it gets a bit messy. We need to identify what the problem is. Are you pushing hard enough ? Are you nice and tight behind the fret? Try rolling your finger different sides to see if the strings are getting stuck in your knuckle creases.
As you progress at this, go back to barring just two strings. heres the rub - WHILE barring , use finger two to play the 6th fret of your first string. NOW see if your barre is still working. Good? Ok, move over a string so its on the 6th fret of the 2nd string. Both notes sounding clean? Then add a string to the barre. Keep going. After you get good at this, do the same, but with your 3rd finger reaching for the 7th fret, then repeat the process.
Do this for 5 minutes a day for about a week. Hey, thats not too much to ask right? Let me know how it goes .
Now, the right hand is a very important force in the classical style. Close your first. Open it. Watch again this time, close it, open it. - THATS how you will pluck the strings. Many people try and get underneath and pull. This gives a harsh tone. PUSH through the stings as if they werent there, just as if you were closing one finger on your hand, then reset comfortably. Let me know if this makes sense. It's not easy to have good right hand technique.
That kinda makes it sound like you should be strumming while opening your hand. I really hope I'm misunderstanding. I'll try to post a video on youtube to show how I do it, to see if I'm doing it right.
Flamenco? Do you mean like, real flamenco stylez? The hardest part is getting it in your ear, the rhythms are very foreign to us and grouped in ways that are uncommon. Maybe you could link me to a youtube of what you mean by flamenco, there are many definitions this days. What part of it do you like?
I guess I'l have to do a little more research on this. I've just seen the whole insane using-your-pinky-to-strum-one-million-times-a-second type stuff, and was inspired. I'll see what I mean more later.
I do play guitar (mostly electric, mostly interested in metal) a bit on and off for 3 years now. Most of the time practicing is when I watch seriess or starcraft or something else, where I just play scales, sometimes songs that I know or just randomly putting together a riff.
That means I am quite fast, but lack a lot in everything else. Well, I can read sheet music and have a good sense of rhythm from playing trumpet as a kid and teenager.
So I do know the common chords and can play them, but am not very far. And I pretty much only play with a pick or do tapping. Also, I am shit at transcribing stuff.
That leaves me to ask, where do I go from here? I somehow want to broaden my skill and learn fingerstyle, but I don't know how to really get into that.
And do you have any recommendation on how to get myself to practice transcribing by ear, instead of just getting the tabs? It's just so much more convinient.
We arent talking about strumming, we are talking about plucking out individual strings.. NOT strumming. Perhaps we misunderstood each other. Classical technique is founded on plucking, not strumming , though
The technique you are referring to is Rasgueado. Look it up. There is literally manuals on how to do it . I can link you if need be.
That leaves me to ask, where do I go from here? I somehow want to broaden my skill and learn fingerstyle, but I don't know how to really get into that.
And do you have any recommendation on how to get myself to practice transcribing by ear, instead of just getting the tabs? It's just so much more convinient.
Do you know any thing about keys, and what chords go in what key and why? Knowing a bit of how music works can REALLY save time transcribing since you have thoughts on how the music is likely to be moving, even if your ear is having troubles.
Learn your major scale if you dont know it, because EVERYTHING relates back to it. then boot up this app:
Or if you are willing to do a small download, this program is VERY comprehensive and highly reccomended as it charts your progress and has little lesson plans
Take it slow. At first, your ear can take only so much training. Dont do more than 5-10 minutes. Dont move on until you you are scoring upwards of 80 percent.
WHILE using one of those programs, take REALLY small melodies and figure them out. BEFORE you aim to play them on your guitar, sing them out loud. You HAVE to sing , even if you dont like your voice get over yourself, just sing. We want to connect what we hear to our hands, and singing is the connecting force in that.
So take Eleanor Rigby by the beatles say, and just get the first part of the vocal melody
"IIIIiiiiii look at all the lonely people!" . Just figure that out. Look how it relates back to the key. If you dont know how to do that, ask me more questions and we can learn.
The mistake to make here is to bite big pieces. NO NO NO . Just a measure here, a measure there. Dont worry about doing more than 2 measures of fresh material a day. Take it slow, enjoy it. You are basically training a magical skill, its pretty fuckin cool to slowly take stuff out of the air and make it real. Wow.
Let me know if you need more on this or I'm unclear on what you should do.
Ear training tools Real Life transcribing (SHORT MELODIC FRAGMENTS) How does it relate to a scale
oh shit, just saw you are interesting in fingerstyle. I'm going to draw from an earlier answer I gave
**** Fingerstyle shit is really great and enables your guitar to sound more like a piano, very full even when playing alone. First things first
the right hand we label
P = Thumb (pulgar) I = index M = Middle A = Ring finger (annular)
put the I M A fingers on strings 3 2 1 respectively. P will go on string 5 for now
Do the following two arpeggios for a week to ten days before advancing. DO THEM SLOWLY and relaxed. *** First arpeggio
P I M
So just pluck P, then I, then M, even tempo, one after the other, over N over.
then when you feel good
P I M I
so up and back again
Then move onto these for two weeks while playing the old ones. ******
P I M A
all fingers
P I M A M I
all up and down
DO THESE SLOWLY . DO NOT RUSH. REMAIN FUCKING CALM haha.
Now, the right hand is a very important force in the classical style. Close your first. Open it. Watch again this time, close it, open it. - THATS how you will pluck the strings. Many people try and get underneath and pull. This gives a harsh tone. PUSH through the strings as if they werent there, just as if you were closing one finger on your hand, then reset comfortably. Let me know if this makes sense. It's not easy to have good right hand technique.
This can be hard to explain over text but I'm on the slow process to get equipped to put up videos for all yall.
That leaves me to ask, where do I go from here? I somehow want to broaden my skill and learn fingerstyle, but I don't know how to really get into that.
And do you have any recommendation on how to get myself to practice transcribing by ear, instead of just getting the tabs? It's just so much more convinient.
Do you know any thing about keys, and what chords go in what key and why? Knowing a bit of how music works can REALLY save time transcribing since you have thoughts on how the music is likely to be moving, even if your ear is having troubles.
Learn your major scale if you dont know it, because EVERYTHING relates back to it. then boot up this app:
Or if you are willing to do a small download, this program is VERY comprehensive and highly reccomended as it charts your progress and has little lesson plans
Take it slow. At first, your ear can take only so much training. Dont do more than 5-10 minutes. Dont move on until you you are scoring upwards of 80 percent.
WHILE using one of those programs, take REALLY small melodies and figure them out. BEFORE you aim to play them on your guitar, sing them out loud. You HAVE to sing , even if you dont like your voice get over yourself, just sing. We want to connect what we hear to our hands, and singing is the connecting force in that.
So take Eleanor Rigby by the beatles say, and just get the first part of the vocal melody
"IIIIiiiiii look at all the lonely people!" . Just figure that out. Look how it relates back to the key. If you dont know how to do that, ask me more questions and we can learn.
The mistake to make here is to bite big pieces. NO NO NO . Just a measure here, a measure there. Dont worry about doing more than 2 measures of fresh material a day. Take it slow, enjoy it. You are basically training a magical skill, its pretty fuckin cool to slowly take stuff out of the air and make it real. Wow.
Let me know if you need more on this or I'm unclear on what you should do.
Ear training tools Real Life transcribing (SHORT MELODIC FRAGMENTS) How does it relate to a scale
oh shit, just saw you are interesting in fingerstyle. I'm going to draw from an earlier answer I gave
**** Fingerstyle shit is really great and enables your guitar to sound more like a piano, very full even when playing alone. First things first
the right hand we label
P = Thumb (pulgar) I = index M = Middle A = Ring finger (annular)
put the I M A fingers on strings 3 2 1 respectively. P will go on string 5 for now
Do the following two arpeggios for a week to ten days before advancing. DO THEM SLOWLY and relaxed. *** First arpeggio
P I M
So just pluck P, then I, then M, even tempo, one after the other, over N over.
then when you feel good
P I M I
so up and back again
Then move onto these for two weeks while playing the old ones. ******
P I M A
all fingers
P I M A M I
all up and down
DO THESE SLOWLY . DO NOT RUSH. REMAIN FUCKING CALM haha.
Now, the right hand is a very important force in the classical style. Close your first. Open it. Watch again this time, close it, open it. - THATS how you will pluck the strings. Many people try and get underneath and pull. This gives a harsh tone. PUSH through the strings as if they werent there, just as if you were closing one finger on your hand, then reset comfortably. Let me know if this makes sense. It's not easy to have good right hand technique.
This can be hard to explain over text but I'm on the slow process to get equipped to put up videos for all yall.
That hugely helps for transcribing, thanks.
For fingerstyle, I guess my wording was a bit off, sorry for that. I can do those mechanical exercises pretty easily actualy (or so I would think :D). I actualy don't really know what I want here, I guess I just don't have much of an access to the not rock/metal playing styles.
On April 13 2011 01:12 Zlasher wrote: No guitar questions but hi :o long time nochat
Haha yea I'm back hoping to help some people out with the things I'm best at. Givin shortcuts where I can, from transformice to guitar. GURUVATOR//ELLAVATOR
On April 13 2011 06:17 h3r1n6 wrote:
That hugely helps for transcribing, thanks.
For fingerstyle, I guess my wording was a bit off, sorry for that. I can do those mechanical exercises pretty easily actualy (or so I would think :D). I actualy don't really know what I want here, I guess I just don't have much of an access to the not rock/metal playing styles.
Even if you can't read sheet music , I can still explain how to use those to understand the information.
IF you can play 120 of those cleanly at a decent tempo, you are doing well. There are a lot of cool right hand things you can do that dont come up in the regular rock ballad dust in the wind type thing
Do you like this piece at all? It's fairly aggressive and prettty cool, maybe you'd like to learn something like this
Yay, I have some questions. I've been messing around with electric guitar for a few years, just learning on my own (usually in spurts) and usually learning songs by ear. I guess I'm decent, personally I think I suck because I want to be much better, but the hardest stuff that I can play is maybe Holy Wars (megadeth) and 5150 (van halen), not super cleanly though. The problem is that I feel really stuck, I want to be able to play more solos and I don't think I'm going to improve much more without deliberate practice. I don't know if I should just start over, learn scales properly, play super slowly until I get a clean technique etc, or if I should pay for lessons or whatever. Any tips would be appreciated. I have played cello since I was super young so I can read sheet music, but I never took the time to learn much music theory. I did record myself once so you can judge my playing + Show Spoiler +
Also, regarding guitars, I have decent guitar (Ibanez RG320) and it has a Floyd Rose, but tuning it's a bitch. Or rather, switching tuning is, because if I tune down half a step it just wants to go back up, and I need to undo the bolts and then lock them again over and over, it takes days for it to adjust to a tuning. I wonder if anything can be done about that as it really discourages me from using different tunings (no Van Halen for me =( )
On April 13 2011 01:12 Zlasher wrote: No guitar questions but hi :o long time nochat
Haha yea I'm back hoping to help some people out with the things I'm best at. Givin shortcuts where I can, from transformice to guitar. GURUVATOR//ELLAVATOR
For fingerstyle, I guess my wording was a bit off, sorry for that. I can do those mechanical exercises pretty easily actualy (or so I would think :D). I actualy don't really know what I want here, I guess I just don't have much of an access to the not rock/metal playing styles.
Even if you can't read sheet music , I can still explain how to use those to understand the information.
IF you can play 120 of those cleanly at a decent tempo, you are doing well. There are a lot of cool right hand things you can do that dont come up in the regular rock ballad dust in the wind type thing
Do you like this piece at all? It's fairly aggressive and prettty cool, maybe you'd like to learn something like this
I can read sheets (from playing trumpet for around 6 years), but it takes me some time to read it and translate it onto the guitar, because no practice in it. And since you explained the PIMA earlier, I can read that too now .
However, on thing I am kind of clueless about is how to approach finding the 'right' way to do it (which finger does what on the left hand mainly, or rather which chord). I do know what the notes are and where they are on the neck, but not how to play them properly.
In any case, the exercises will keep me busy for a while on that front.
Edit: And the piece in that video sounds interesting. I love complex music.
On April 13 2011 09:26 hugman wrote: Yay, I have some questions. I've been messing around with electric guitar for a few years, just learning on my own (usually in spurts) and usually learning songs by ear. I guess I'm decent, personally I think I suck because I want to be much better, but the hardest stuff that I can play is maybe Holy Wars (megadeth) and 5150 (van halen), not super cleanly though. The problem is that I feel really stuck, I want to be able to play more solos and I don't think I'm going to improve much more without deliberate practice. I don't know if I should just start over, learn scales properly, play super slowly until I get a clean technique etc, or if I should pay for lessons or whatever. Any tips would be appreciated. I have played cello since I was super young so I can read sheet music, but I never took the time to learn much music theory. I did record myself once so you can judge my playing + Show Spoiler +
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ihyzw2ryVEU
Also, regarding guitars, I have decent guitar (Ibanez RG320) and it has a Floyd Rose, but tuning it's a bitch. Or rather, switching tuning is, because if I tune down half a step it just wants to go back up, and I need to undo the bolts and then lock them again over and over, it takes days for it to adjust to a tuning. I wonder if anything can be done about that as it really discourages me from using different tunings (no Van Halen for me =( )
I'm seeing your 4th finger (pinky) is completely stiff about half the time. Worse yet, look at say about 16 seconds, and even more so at about 29 seconds. Where are your 3rd and 4th fingers going? The guitar is over that way >>>!!! hah. Seriously though, what in your head you might be thinking "I cant go faster, I need to practice going faster" is actually "I need to make my fingers have less work to do for every note" . One way to do that is to minimize the distance, which right now in your technique is a decent amount.
Even if you are thinking "my pinky? I dont use it much anyway!" Well, while I think if you want to have the skills you seek you have to, there's another thing with the pinky sticking out like that. That means you are tense. That little bit of energy that is required to pick the pinky up is just adding up, fatiguing the hand when it shouldnt be. It's like walking around with your arm all day. RELAX.... Here's how
Here's two things I see that beginners rarely get taught with / without a teacher , they both pertain to the left hand.
Dont squeeze to hard
** guitar is a finesse instrument, rarely a strength thing, like golf, say. Here's how we want our left hand technique to go. Imagine you are crushing a can. Open, close, open , close. That's the sort of muscle group we want to engage while using our left hand. Imagine the energy going to the finger tips. Use the finger TIPS not the PADS to press down on the strings. always come DOWN on the strings as best you can, behind the fret nice and close.
Now to the squeezing thing, how hard is too hard?
Well try this, play a single note on the low E string (the big boy). Ok, nice and clean. Now, release pressure and pluck until you get a bit of a crunch sound , but can still hear a bit of the actual note. It'll take a second to find this sweet spot. Ok, now, push just a HAIR BIT MORE in pressure. THATS what it takes to press a string down. Just a bit more then pushing down a key on your keyboard. The problem is, people get exciting and CRUSH the fuck out of their guitar. Plz dont ; ) . The first thing you do when playing is start with about 30 seconds of this buzz technique, to remind yourself that its a relaxed pursuit, not one of strength.
fewf, ok good.
The other thing?
Space Case Left Hand Syndrome
wtf?
Well basically you'll be playing something and have the left hand just flyin off the fretboard, ESPECIALLY FINGERS 3 AND 4 (ring and pinky) . This is the cause of so much inaccurace because the fingers have to travel so far to get to the next note. No we dont want this. Here is your drill to be done after the above:
Play the chromatic scalenow, DO NOT LIFT A FINGER UNTIL IT IS NEEDED AGAIN. So, I play finger 1 2 3 4 , then as i switch strings to place finger 1, I will not lift fingers 2 3 4. finger 1 lands, then finger 2 has permission to leave since it is needed else where. I call this THE STICKY FINGERS DRILL.. It's not how you ACTUALLY play, but it will fuck with your head and teach your fingers not to stray far from home.
Fewf.
Let me know if this doesnt make sense. I'm working on some videos once I get equipped. GL HF
As for your tuning thing well.... dont use a floyd rose >_<
On April 13 2011 10:59 h3r1n6 wrote:
I can read sheets (from playing trumpet for around 6 years), but it takes me some time to read it and translate it onto the guitar, because no practice in it. And since you explained the PIMA earlier, I can read that too now .
However, on thing I am kind of clueless about is how to approach finding the 'right' way to do it (which finger does what on the left hand mainly, or rather which chord). I do know what the notes are and where they are on the neck, but not how to play them properly.
In any case, the exercises will keep me busy for a while on that front.
Edit: And the piece in that video sounds interesting. I love complex music.
For some left hand ideas, read my above response. Here's some things to keep in mind with left hand technique
Your hand should curve nicely, as if you were holding something like a can, or something phallic or whatever hhaaha. You want the fingers to come straight down on the strings , so that you play with your finger tips, and not the finger pads. RELAX! Relaxtion is speed and comfort.
Let me know if you want more music ideas, you should be able to find the sheet music for that piece with not too much effort.
On April 14 2011 02:09 ella_guru wrote: For some left hand ideas, read my above response. Here's some things to keep in mind with left hand technique
Your hand should curve nicely, as if you were holding something like a can, or something phallic or whatever hhaaha. You want the fingers to come straight down on the strings , so that you play with your finger tips, and not the finger pads. RELAX! Relaxtion is speed and comfort.
Let me know if you want more music ideas, you should be able to find the sheet music for that piece with not too much effort.
Hmm, not really what I meant. I'd like to think I have my finger movement decently clean, don't know for sure and can't really show you a video though.
On the first one. The c would be 3rd fret 5th string. c' to be played with index finger is then 5th fret on 3rd string and e' then on 5th fret 2nd string. (or would I do 1st fret 2nd string and open 1st string?)
Index would play the c, ring and pinky do the c' and e', or should I barre those two?
Is finding a way of playing it just up to me or is there a right way to approach this?
Thanks for you advice, I appreciate it. You're right, I am tense. I actually stopped playing cello because I got pains in my hand and I think it was because I was tense. I'll try to work on it
Ok my question is the same as PetiteCrabe and I looked through the advice you gave him. I can already play the A,E,G major along with Em, Am, D, C,F all cleanly. I've also started on a pentatonic scale(dunno the name of it but it goes like this: 14 13 13 13 14 14
and I been doing that up and down using alternate picking on and off for about a year now but... like what do u do after u learn that. It's boring just constantly going up and down the same sounds over and over. I can't get faster at it for some reason either.
This is where I hit a brick wall. I can play all these chords and be able to play all of today's pop songs with it and learned the pentatonic scales but I don't know wtf to do with it and here's where I'm getting stuck at and can't move forward and thought I needed a guitar teacher or something to help me learn how to improvise the scale and make my own stuff with it. I don't know..
So basically my question is a continuation of PetiteCrabe's. What steps come after the last thing you said for PetiteCrabe's question(after the pentatonic scales).
On April 12 2011 01:50 AdamBanks wrote: Here's my problem.
I start with a note, make some chords, then pick some scale that fits. Then when i want to connect this awsome riff/melody with another awsome riff i have no idea what goes with what and end up droning the same root over and over and over. As soon as i pick a scale it seems to box me into a corner where I can only seem to fit 5-6 notes.
Also I find when i write im constantly trapped or drawn back to the 1-4-5 progression. Any tips?
Perhaps i can help with this one. When creating the backing, it helps in the beginning to associate a meaning to the chords. The progression and tone of a piece of music tells a story. Mr Satriani goes over it a little bit in this video.
When you start piecing together a song, there are several ways of doing it. Starting with a note can help, but when you do that, ask youself, where do i want this song to go? If you give meaning to a song, after a while of playing it, it starts to play itself.
@ about 3 min.
I've always been huge fan of satch, and going over his stuff has taught me gallons about composing music and the thought process behind it.
It seems you have come theory background. I would recommend taking some compositional courses some where, as they go over a bunch of how to write music. But either way, if you don't find that key motivation, to connect your music to emotion, then the problem of what your having won't go away so easily.
Here are some more vids that i picked up, that go over parts of the song writing process for some of the best technical and compositional guitar players.
Paul Gilbert breaks down his method of song writing. Goes over examining some other music.
Joe Satriani goes over one of his more complex pieces.
On April 15 2011 07:08 MaRiNe23 wrote: Ok my question is the same as PetiteCrabe and I looked through the advice you gave him. I can already play the A,E,G major along with Em, Am, D, C,F all cleanly. I've also started on a pentatonic scale(dunno the name of it but it goes like this: 14 13 13 13 14 14
and I been doing that up and down using alternate picking on and off for about a year now but... like what do u do after u learn that. It's boring just constantly going up and down the same sounds over and over. I can't get faster at it for some reason either.
This is where I hit a brick wall. I can play all these chords and be able to play all of today's pop songs with it and learned the pentatonic scales but I don't know wtf to do with it and here's where I'm getting stuck at and can't move forward and thought I needed a guitar teacher or something to help me learn how to improvise the scale and make my own stuff with it. I don't know..
So basically my question is a continuation of PetiteCrabe's. What steps come after the last thing you said for PetiteCrabe's question(after the pentatonic scales).
A fucking metronome a fucking big heart and lots of ATTITUDE!!!!
hah ok like so:
you pick a speed on the metronome you can play confortably, like VERY relaxed , it should feel a bit boring. Say you can play your scale at two notes a click at 72 BPM. So, we will go four notches down to 60 , play your scale 3-5 times. Then, move it up two more notches to 66, repeat, then up to your comfort speed of 72, then you go 2 past to 80, then finally to 88.
So,
60 - 66 - ((72)) - 76 - 80
Slowly you will find that your comfort speed can be moved up to 76, and the whole thing shifts over one. DONT rush the process though, only when 76 really feels comfortable do you move up your whole system two notches. This is how I've found the most surefire way to gain speed.
If you're interested in improvising the scale, you should start by just going for it. Say you like Rock N Roll by Led Zeppelin . Try and use your ear to figure out where to base your minor pentatonic scale. (in this case its A...) then just start messin with those notes. Turn it up loud and start muckin them
BEND THEM!!! SLIDE THEM SHREEEDD THEM!!!
Just have fun with it. Only through having actually experience with the problem can I guide you farther. So just fire up some tunes you like and solo over them. Try playing LOTS of notes, try playing VERY few notes and LISSSTEEN!!
So important to LISTEN.
Ok, if you need help figuring out which key a song is in , just let me know what a song or two and I'll help you out. GL HF
On April 12 2011 01:50 AdamBanks wrote: Here's my problem.
I start with a note, make some chords, then pick some scale that fits. Then when i want to connect this awsome riff/melody with another awsome riff i have no idea what goes with what and end up droning the same root over and over and over. As soon as i pick a scale it seems to box me into a corner where I can only seem to fit 5-6 notes.
Also I find when i write im constantly trapped or drawn back to the 1-4-5 progression. Any tips?
Perhaps i can help with this one. When creating the backing, it helps in the beginning to associate a meaning to the chords. The progression and tone of a piece of music tells a story. Mr Satriani goes over it a little bit in this video.
When you start piecing together a song, there are several ways of doing it. Starting with a note can help, but when you do that, ask youself, where do i want this song to go? If you give meaning to a song, after a while of playing it, it starts to play itself.
I've always been huge fan of satch, and going over his stuff has taught me gallons about composing music and the thought process behind it.
It seems you have come theory background. I would recommend taking some compositional courses some where, as they go over a bunch of how to write music. But either way, if you don't find that key motivation, to connect your music to emotion, then the problem of what your having won't go away so easily.
Here are some more vids that i picked up, that go over parts of the song writing process for some of the best technical and compositional guitar players.
Quick question Adam, do you know how to harmonize the major scale to find out what chords fit in what key? I'm going to help open up your ear to some new sounds if youre willing. Lemme know and we can keep rollin. While I dont really believe about assigning emotions and stories to everything you're doing, it can help for some people.
Background: I'm self-taught (unfortunately), and have played the electric guitar (mainly, along with the acoustic and the classical) for a little over 6 years now.
Question 1: For something like Cliffs of Dover, how should I approach learning it? Should I start with the hardest runs first, practice them until I can play them cleanly and up to speed, and then move on to the rest? Or should I learn the "easier" parts first, practice them until I can play them cleanly and up to speed, and then move on to the hardest runs? Or should I learn the easy parts and hard parts at the same time (but taking them time to figure out and memorize each individual part on its own, first)? I'm a bit concerned that I may not be able to get the fastest runs, e.g., quintuplets at 150 bpm alternate picked, up to speed with metronome practice before clinical rotations start, when I won't even have time to sleep anymore, let alone practice. But I'm pretty determined, and willing to put in the work. It's my favorite "song" and I've made it my project aka guitar quest for the upcoming year to learn it.
Question 2: How can I make sure that I am keeping relaxed while playing a fast run? Do I just need to repeat the buzz exercise you mention in this thread again and again until there is no way tension is an issue? Whenever I run into Paul Gilbert legato with extensive pinky work, my forearm literally begins to heat up and get muscle burn even if I am focusing on eliminating tension in my arm and hand...whereas if I attempt a similar sequence with the ring finger instead, I don't have the same problem.
Ella ella ella eh eh eh, under my umber-ella ella--- hiiiiii!
I still have some creepy PMs from you.
I think I asked you something in the last guitar thread... hmm what was it-- OH YEA
"Ella how do I switch chords quickly my fingers are fucking suasages wahhhw wahh wahh-" -Lexpar, Last guitar thread
Actually now I've improved a lot. I can play all my major minor seventh chords, and have mastered barre chords (on a classical guitar no less; yeah bitches my fingers are like fucking iron nails). I guess what I'm mostly having troubles now with is doing solos. I don't trip up on chords now pretty much ever, even newish ones to me take like 2 days of practice to master. I guess the main thing is getting into doing solos and things. I know a couple scales (chromatic and blues: yes a couple means exactly two), and have a pretty decent understanding of music theory, and I have this friend whos been playing guitar half as long as me but who is a fantastic piano player and can just hammer out a solo cause he knows the right notes.
Anyway, if you could give me some good exercises to work on sliding and bending with precision, picking speed, scales and some idea on how to improvise solos I'd be eternally grateful.
PS: I learned ALL MY LOVING by THE BEATLES and that song is basically the exercise in barre chord frustration.
ella I'm able to play it at 88 bpm with 2 notes a click with ease. I did not rush it at all. I hardly make any mistakes at 88 bpm. Should I continue to raise the metronome by +6? My metronome that I'm using says 88 bpm is called "Andante."
Hey yall jus got some teeth pulled and im a bit doped up but I'll do my best here.
On April 16 2011 08:50 13th Marine wrote: I got pretty excited when I saw this thread. :D
Background: I'm self-taught (unfortunately), and have played the electric guitar (mainly, along with the acoustic and the classical) for a little over 6 years now.
Question 1: For something like Cliffs of Dover, how should I approach learning it? Should I start with the hardest runs first, practice them until I can play them cleanly and up to speed, and then move on to the rest? Or should I learn the "easier" parts first, practice them until I can play them cleanly and up to speed, and then move on to the hardest runs? Or should I learn the easy parts and hard parts at the same time (but taking them time to figure out and memorize each individual part on its own, first)? I'm a bit concerned that I may not be able to get the fastest runs, e.g., quintuplets at 150 bpm alternate picked, up to speed with metronome practice before clinical rotations start, when I won't even have time to sleep anymore, let alone practice. But I'm pretty determined, and willing to put in the work. It's my favorite "song" and I've made it my project aka guitar quest for the upcoming year to learn it.
Question 2: How can I make sure that I am keeping relaxed while playing a fast run? Do I just need to repeat the buzz exercise you mention in this thread again and again until there is no way tension is an issue? Whenever I run into Paul Gilbert legato with extensive pinky work, my forearm literally begins to heat up and get muscle burn even if I am focusing on eliminating tension in my arm and hand...whereas if I attempt a similar sequence with the ring finger instead, I don't have the same problem.
Q1: Well obviously my first thing is START SMALL. SMALL AND CONSISTENT VICTORIES WILL PULL YOU THROUGH.
Plan out your picking, write down what the right hand has to do, and write down what the left hand has to do. It seems anal, but this is the kind of work that has to go into learning a complex piece. It ends up saving you days upon days and maybe more than months of time depending on the difficulty.
Now my little secret here:
Don't practice the same thing every day.
You'll come up with 3 different schedules that look something like this
day 1 : PART A broken into Parts A1 A2 A3 A4 with 15 minutes being spend on each one. Obviously you start very slow. (scroll down to see my metronome method, this will be the cornerstone to your practise after you figure out how to play the small licks you will be working on)
day 2: PART B broken into 4 parts, same deal
day 3: 40 minutes (or whatever same ratio of time in relation to how long you have) is spent on pure technique. Not especially working on the song. Practice picking open strings, sweeping, all that. In the most BASIC FORM so you can clean up your technique. You'll need to have monster technique to pull this one off, but it's VERY VERY possible. Remember that. It's just a guitar, you can do it. Just be patient and honest. Dont cheat yourself.
The other 20 minutes of this day are spent reviewing the previous two days. NO NEW MATERIAL CAN BE LEARNED HERE. Just VERY SLOW and steady review. There should be no speed, no tension, no goals. Just a casual, relaxed review of what has been done. Rinse and repeat
Here's my metronome method as talked about earlier:
you pick a speed on the metronome you can play confortably, like VERY relaxed , it should feel a bit boring. Say you can play your scale at two notes a click at 72 BPM. So, we will go four notches down to 60 , play your scale 3-5 times. Then, move it up two more notches to 66, repeat, then up to your comfort speed of 72, then you go 2 past to 80, then finally to 88.
So,
60 - 66 - ((72)) - 76 - 80
Slowly you will find that your comfort speed can be moved up to 76, and the whole thing shifts over one. DONT rush the process though, only when 76 really feels comfortable do you move up your whole system two notches. This is how I've found the most surefire way to gain speed.
On April 16 2011 12:13 Lexpar wrote: Ella ella ella eh eh eh, under my umber-ella ella--- hiiiiii!
I still have some creepy PMs from you.
I think I asked you something in the last guitar thread... hmm what was it-- OH YEA
"Ella how do I switch chords quickly my fingers are fucking suasages wahhhw wahh wahh-" -Lexpar, Last guitar thread
Actually now I've improved a lot. I can play all my major minor seventh chords, and have mastered barre chords (on a classical guitar no less; yeah bitches my fingers are like fucking iron nails). I guess what I'm mostly having troubles now with is doing solos. I don't trip up on chords now pretty much ever, even newish ones to me take like 2 days of practice to master. I guess the main thing is getting into doing solos and things. I know a couple scales (chromatic and blues: yes a couple means exactly two), and have a pretty decent understanding of music theory, and I have this friend whos been playing guitar half as long as me but who is a fantastic piano player and can just hammer out a solo cause he knows the right notes.
Anyway, if you could give me some good exercises to work on sliding and bending with precision, picking speed, scales and some idea on how to improvise solos I'd be eternally grateful.
PS: I learned ALL MY LOVING by THE BEATLES and that song is basically the exercise in barre chord frustration.
glad you gave your sausage fingers a good ... grillin hahhaha. It's awesome to look back and say "Shit, Im actually getting better"
Well, the pentatonic scale is kind of the starter for a lot of soloists. I'd grab a song you like, then start playing a one octave pentatonic scale in the right key over it . If you are unsure about how to figure out what key a song is in, feel free to ask me.
First, just start by playing one note every four beats. It'll seem a little empty but what you want to be doing is really hear how the note sort of meshes (or maybe sounds out of wack!) with the chords behind it. Dont think TOO hard, just listen and enjoy.
Then,
Switch notes every two beats. Things are a bit more interesting now.
then,
Every beat play a new note. This shouldnt be TOO fast for your hands, but your head might get tripped up in remembering where the scale is. No big deal, this is a new kind of practice! For the mind and the hands.
OK OK FEWWWF.
Now, go back to the one note for every four beats. And listen again. You may be a bit bored. Start to HEAR (but not play) how you might fill in those extra spaces. Is it a soaring bend? A small and subtle vibrato on the same note you just played? Maybe the note in your head is a little lower sounding, try and find it with your fingers .
Most importantly, ENJOY. This is just the first step to getting familiar with the differencing between joining together with your instrument versus merely playing it. Instead of using it to reach the end, it is the means.
Now I dont expect a rebirth or anything, at first you'll probably feel really shy about this, not sounding as good as the next guy or whatever. Dont let your ego tell you what to do, your musical pursuit doesnt owe your ego a damn thing. So chill out, try it some more. maybe try a different tune. Then, for today, that's enough. Slowly you're going to build the ability to hear what you would want to play in your head, then being able to translate it into your hands onto the fretboard. Like FUCKING MAGIC BRO!!!!
Let me know if you need more specifics or are having troubles. This is just one kickstarter I use for an aspiring soloist
On April 17 2011 08:36 MaRiNe23 wrote: ella I'm able to play it at 88 bpm with 2 notes a click with ease. I did not rush it at all. I hardly make any mistakes at 88 bpm. Should I continue to raise the metronome by +6? My metronome that I'm using says 88 bpm is called "Andante."
Continue through with the method. So, make your comfort speed 92, and everything else gets shifted up one. So, your top speed now is 100, and your low safety speed is 84. I'm proud of your patience and you should be too. Keep pursuing this method and you will soon see that no speed is too quick as long as you get to that goal in a controlled and relaxed way.
I just want one part cleared up. If I feel comfortable at my current speed, do I just keep moving it up by +8 or +6? I'm not familiar with these guitar terminologies you throw at me like "notches" and stuff.
When I say +6 I mean for example, say my comfort speed is 92, then if I want to raise it, I add 6 from 92 which is 98 so I would set the speed on the metronome to 98 and practice at that speed.
So when you say "everything gets shifted up one" what is "one"? All I see is that you added 8 from my comfort speed for 100 and subtracted 8 for 84. But in the previous post you went up and down by 6 so I'm confused on this one part. So basically, do I keep moving it up by 6 or 8? Thanks.
My math was all bullshitty because most metronomes dont move in equal BPM from their lowest to highest speeds, it starts with 2s and gets up to 8s. So just move two higher.
If you have a digital metronome that doesn't move in that way, just move in 4 BPM as your "notch"
My math was all bullshitty because most metronomes dont move in equal BPM from their lowest to highest speeds, it starts with 2s and gets up to 8s. So just move two higher.
If you have a digital metronome that doesn't move in that way, just move in 4 BPM as your "notch"
Make sense?
Coincidentally I had the same question, and this definitely clears it up!
I have two more follow up questions:
In the example you gave, there were two parts and subsections to those parts. Each part would get a day, and each subsection its own time. And then on the third day of the rotation, it'd be technique work and review. So for Cliffs of Dover, at least for me it makes sense to think of it as having an Intro, Verse, Chorus, Bridge, Solo, and Outro. And within each of these, it seems that there's usually a few subsections...so to approach this, should the overall schedule be extended from 3 days to 7 days? Or should I stick to 3 days and then rotate which parts I practice for each cycle? Or perhaps stick to 3 days but double the overall practice time and cover two parts in a day? Or perhaps stick with the original 3 day template, get the first two parts clean and up to speed, and then work on the next two parts with the first two parts incorporated into review?
Also, there is quite a bit of vibrato thrown in, which is often a bit brisk...and I was never really sure how to practice vibrato, as important as it is. Should I practice it on its own, starting slow and clean and then slowly speeding it up? Or should I try to get to the desired speed, and work on cleaning that up? Or should this be done in the context of a melodic line?
Thanks again for the tips! I never knew that starting small and practicing different things was so crucial. The lack of that knowledge does explain quite a bit, looking back on my practice, and I'm psyched that I'm better equipped for the future.
I know this is a very random question. I am buying a relatively new guitar from one of my friends. Do you know if how much it costs to ship or is it worth it to bring on the airplane? I am going from Atlanta to Houston.
hello ella_guru! i would like to thank you for taking your time to help out TL!
ive been playing electric guitar on and off for a few years now. i know some basic chords and can switch between them quite well, but most of the songs i play are just power chords anyway. im pretty much your average guy who picks up the guitar and doesnt bother to learn much theory. i can play the major and minor pentatonic scale.. for a warm up exercise.
can you recommend me a few steps for me to take to improve? i dont know what to learn from here.. thank you!
1) Hey I have a $600 acoustic guitar. Can I change the action on it from a low action to a high action? 2) Would using high quality strings effect the sound significantly? 3) What's the best way to make your fingers tougher so they don't hurt as much?
Coincidentally I had the same question, and this definitely clears it up!
I have two more follow up questions:
In the example you gave, there were two parts and subsections to those parts. Each part would get a day, and each subsection its own time. And then on the third day of the rotation, it'd be technique work and review. So for Cliffs of Dover, at least for me it makes sense to think of it as having an Intro, Verse, Chorus, Bridge, Solo, and Outro. And within each of these, it seems that there's usually a few subsections...so to approach this, should the overall schedule be extended from 3 days to 7 days? Or should I stick to 3 days and then rotate which parts I practice for each cycle? Or perhaps stick to 3 days but double the overall practice time and cover two parts in a day? Or perhaps stick with the original 3 day template, get the first two parts clean and up to speed, and then work on the next two parts with the first two parts incorporated into review?
Also, there is quite a bit of vibrato thrown in, which is often a bit brisk...and I was never really sure how to practice vibrato, as important as it is. Should I practice it on its own, starting slow and clean and then slowly speeding it up? Or should I try to get to the desired speed, and work on cleaning that up? Or should this be done in the context of a melodic line?
Thanks again for the tips! I never knew that starting small and practicing different things was so crucial. The lack of that knowledge does explain quite a bit, looking back on my practice, and I'm psyched that I'm better equipped for the future.
Ahh, in regards to your sectioning question. I would take a couple weeks or so to get the first half or third of the piece in a VERY SLOW and playable condition. This isn't USUALLY how I'd suggest learning music as one can get into the habit of just practicing the parts theyre good at, but you should sort of think of this tune as 2 or 3 seperate tunes since it is a pretty substantial one to learn. So for two weeks or so do that sectioning thing I talked about in a way you see fit, moving nice and slow. Then, when you can play the begginning sections (doesn't matter if you can really connect them together or not yet, so long as you can play the sections cleanly and SLOWLY)
So divide that tune into 3 seperate sections, and then apply what we talked about to each one . So you work on small parts of each third until you can sort of noodle your way through each, then you begin to practice using the three larger sections.
I'd just spend about one minute a day on vibrato. The trick is to open your ear up to how you want the vibrato to sound, and connecting your fingers to that sound, since the actually physical motion of it isn't all that hard.
Just so you're aware - there are two (some say three but..) main types of vibrato.
Vibrato one - It's just like bending , then releasing to your original note (or close to it) and repeating in an even way. Practice doing this both SLOW AND WIDE, FAST AND WIDE, SLOW AND TIGHT, and FAST AND TIGHT.
Vibrato two - I like this one more, it's usually more subtle too. You apply pressure to the string and sort of pull it left and right instead of up and down. So, you are actually pulling on the string to make it tighter when you move left, this raises the pitch, then when you push the string to the right you slacken it a bit and the pitch lowers. This one has the benefit of going both ABOVE and BELOW the target note, so it has a sort of richer more even sound, though if you want a really wide vibrato this probably isn't the best choice. Same deal with how to practice.
On April 27 2011 14:43 JiSu wrote: I know this is a very random question. I am buying a relatively new guitar from one of my friends. Do you know if how much it costs to ship or is it worth it to bring on the airplane? I am going from Atlanta to Houston.
The thing with the airplane is - THINGS CAN GO WRONG. If you aren't prepared to damage the guitar then you'd probably be better of packing it tightly in something with packing foam and sending it by courier. When I take the plane, there have been times with a little fuss I can get it on the plane with me (some airlines are better/worse than others, some are used to it and have a little closet for things like that on the plane). Other than that, things CAN happen if it goes in the cargo hold. I saw a guitarist once, and he landed the day before the concert and his next snapped off at the body and had to borrow someone elses guitar.
On April 27 2011 16:58 scyper wrote: hello ella_guru! i would like to thank you for taking your time to help out TL!
ive been playing electric guitar on and off for a few years now. i know some basic chords and can switch between them quite well, but most of the songs i play are just power chords anyway. im pretty much your average guy who picks up the guitar and doesnt bother to learn much theory. i can play the major and minor pentatonic scale.. for a warm up exercise.
can you recommend me a few steps for me to take to improve? i dont know what to learn from here.. thank you!
Oh no worries Scyper! I'm doin the best I can to hopefully guide y'all down some new paths.
Hmm, well it depends on your goals. On one hand, if the only music you desire to play on the guitar is mostly power chords, then I dont blame you for not wanting to explore higher techniques or ideas because they don't really apply to your music (this isnt a bad thing! you should always just play what you enjoy). On the other hand you could take a chance and try and broaden your musical palette.
I would look to some barre chords for something for your hands to do. How is your alternate picking? You should get it to the point where you can do 16th notes at 120 two octace scales. (16th notes mean 4 notes for every click) Where are you at with that?
To get the mind going, I would learn the note names on the fretboard for each string up to fret 12. I would take a few days to learn what notes actually exist. When you are comfortable with that apply it to your first string. Take 5 days to learn your first string (spend only two minutes a day on this!) then take another 5 days to learn the second string WHILE maintaining the first string. After a couple weeks you'll have the whole fretboard down for the rest of your life cold.
Why bother? It's going to open up shortcuts in where/how you play chords and licks, as well as help you to begin to understand ways to make riffs and solos.
On May 04 2011 13:40 Androg wrote: 1) Hey I have a $600 acoustic guitar. Can I change the action on it from a low action to a high action? 2) Would using high quality strings effect the sound significantly? 3) What's the best way to make your fingers tougher so they don't hurt as much?
1)Yes, either by shaving the nut (hahaaha) or adjusting the truss rod. This is typically a non-expensive adjustment at any music shop 2)More so on an acoustic than an electric. It sort of depends on how well your ear is atuned to the subtleties of tone. Good tone is a bit like wine I guess, where most people will just say "well, it tastes like wine and gets me drunk so it is good wine!" where other people practically make a career out of understanding how to feel all the ingredients in the wine.
Bottom line here - If you like the sound of the cheap strings, just play them! If you think it could sound better, splurge on a pack and see if you notice the difference (ideally make recordings so you can do a side by side comparison).
3)The disease is the cure haha. Just play . After a few weeks of regular playing (something like 15 minutes on most days) itll go away. If it is still really hurting, it's an issue with your left hand technique .
Here's a C+P when this problem was
guitar is a finesse instrument, rarely a strength thing, like golf, say. Here's how we want our left hand technique to go. Imagine you are crushing a can. Open, close, open , close. That's the sort of muscle group we want to engage while using our left hand. Imagine the energy going to the finger tips. Use the finger TIPS not the PADS to press down on the strings. always come DOWN on the strings as best you can, behind the fret nice and close.
Now to the squeezing thing, how hard is too hard?
Well try this, play a single note on the low E string (the big boy). Ok, nice and clean. Now, release pressure and pluck until you get a bit of a crunch sound , but can still hear a bit of the actual note. It'll take a second to find this sweet spot. Ok, now, push just a HAIR BIT MORE in pressure. THATS what it takes to press a string down. Just a bit more then pushing down a key on your keyboard. The problem is, people get exciting and CRUSH the fuck out of their guitar. Plz dont ; ) . The first thing you do when playing is start with about 30 seconds of this buzz technique, to remind yourself that its a relaxed pursuit, not one of strength.
Do you know the standard factory setup for a Taylor 410ce (e.g. height of action along frets etc)? Can this information be found anywhere on the internet, as I am having trouble knowing where to look.
The reason I ask is because I had my saddle sanded to make it easier to play on the higher frets but now regret it because the guitar has lost a lot of its tone and power, so I have ordered a new bone saddle so that I can start over. The thing is I don't know how high it ought to be - the maker says they make them slightly larger so some sanding may be required depending on the guitar, but I'd like to be as close to the factory condition as possible.
Taking the guitar to a Taylor luthier won't be possible as I do not live in the US.
Just to start off, I own an acoustic guitar and would like to learn play with a pick since I heard fingerstyle was more challenging... on to the questions:
What's the best way to start for a complete beginner(i.e. How should I be spending my time while practicing)? I know how to read piano notes, but from what I have heard guitar is focused heavily on learning and playing chords so is the best way to learn chords first?
I've tried playing a bit, but some problems I've run into are: accidentally lightly touching strings I'm not supposed to which messes up the sound, not being able to move from one finger position fast enough, I sometimes strum strings I'm not supposed to.
Any tips on how to fix these. I'm assuming lots of practice(though it would be nice to be practicing the right way)... Is there any particular way I should be holding the guitar and pick? I know you can strum up or down, but my question is do you alter the way you hold or angle the pick when you are switching from one or the other because I think this is the source of my problems with hitting strings I shouldn't be hitting? If yes, then how do I do it.
Last, is there anything I should know about or any questions I should have asked?
Thanks for letting me ask questions... btw summer is coming up, so I should be able to practice and I will definitely update you on any progress I make or what I learn.
P.S. I'll of course look at the 'first round' of questions on your blog, but as of now I haven't gotten around to it
When playing rasgueado, does one strum first with the index finger and go down to the pinky, or start with the pinky finger and move to the index finger? Or is it personal preference? I hope I haven't been learning wrong...
I just noticed this thread now and I'm a songwriter. Anyway, that graph can apply to many things other than guitar.
If your in a band, sure you are on the road a lot and in the studio which is hard on all relationships. Or you could be a guitar addict and that speaks for itself.
I have a problem where my musical technique is far better than my musical ability, and I would like to work on the latter. I've played guitar on and off since I was a kid, playing the acoustic one as a kid and the electric as a teen. Last year I decided to pick up the classical guitar and learned to read music by myself and can play some pretty decent songs which is what I mean by the musical technique. I can play Sor's Study in B minor, Valse Venezolano no.2 by Antonio Lauro, and parts of many others such as Choro Tipico no.1 by Villa Lobos, Recuerdos Del la Alhambra by Tárrega and I'm currently working on Fantasie by Weiss transcribed for guitar.
These are just examples to help you understand where I am in terms of skill on the guitar, however, in terms of my musical ability the situation is different. I don't have a very good ear, I still can't tune the guitar very well and I know very little music theory and I would like to close this gap some but I don't know where to start or any good resources since I am mostly self-taught. I have done some music theory when I played in the jazz ensemble at my high school for one semester, but I was playing the bass and it was many years ago now!
I saw that goodear trainer you linked earlier and figured I should practice some with it, but in terms of other things I could use some tips on where to go and what to practice to improve. For example I know almost no scales, just the major and blues one starting on the root note on the lower E string. Any pointers where to go to read up or stuff to learn to improve would be appreciated!
Excellent blog. I have more of a general question. How many songs do you think one should practice at once with say...an hour each day of time. Would it be counterproductive to learn too many at once?
Recently been practicing Wonderful Slippery Thing by Guthrie Govan and Asturias by Albeniz arr. Segovia (in addition to Cliffs of Dover), and came across a technique question for each song:
For the tapping lick that occurs at 1:23ish, there are quite a few hammer-ons out of nowhere...and for some reason I can't seem to get them to sound out loud and clear. My right hand tapping will get as loud as a plucked note even if I only use moderate finger strength, but even if I make sure I'm fretting next to the wire and even if smash my fretting hand fingers to sound the notes it still doesn't get to the same volume, especially with the pinky and ring fingers. Are there any general tips for achieving even dynamics in this case?
For Asturias, there are a lot of chord shapes that require a partial barre of the lower strings while also having the top strings open and ringing out...and for now my problem seems to be that whenever I pluck the open strings, e.g., B on the B string, while doing a barre across E and A on the A and D strings, any pluck of appreciable volume causes the string to touch my barring index and get muted. Does that seem to be more a problem with not achieving enough of a kink in the index finger to leave enough space (and solved with gradual practice over time, since it seems a bit uncomfortable like full barre chords were at first), or should I be aiming to pluck more lightly?
And more theory related: is it worthwhile to learn the maj/min/dom/dim/aug triad shapes and the inversions before moving onto 6th/7th/altered/extended chord shapes, if my end goal is to be able to improvise with and without a pick? I want to make the fretboard "transparent" to me, and have started off by learning where all the natural notes are, but am not sure where to go from there...
Thanks!
I've figured out the answers to these questions, more or less.
On September 14 2011 13:38 Emporio wrote: Do most people start learning in order to pick up girls? Not like thy would blatently say that? but a strong motivator was the image factor?
I would like to think that peoples motivations to start playing a musical instruments go beyond being able to strum wonderwall at a party..
Sadly i wouldnt be surprised if thats the case lol
Incredible thread - big thanks to the OP and to all who contributed & participated!
Learned a lot from the thread, as a beginner/med level guitar player (used to play acoustic, mostly rhythm strumming) and it has just been about a month since I jumped onto finger picking. Just got my electric guitar yesterday, and totally hyped to get better.
Glad to see that most of the stuff I've been doing for finger picking/scale learning is accurate, and definitely picking up a lot of awesome new practice advise. Thank you!
If I could actually ask a specific question (wasn't planning on doing so, but popped into my head). I am at the stage where I understand the circle of fifth, and different scales. Been mostly practicing finger picking off music sheet, not tabs. Almost at the point where I can spontaneously read and play simple music. (Feeling comfortable up to 2 sharps so would it be accurate to say I'm almost comfortable playing C, G and D scale?)
Now at this point I'm focusing on implementing various finger-picking exercises u've prescribed, as well as continuing to read and play various music sheets (hoping on getting to the point where I feel comfortable spontaneously reading & playing 2 or 3 note harmonic notes. So the first question is, do u think that's a positive direction to head into?
and also the second question is how chords are formed. I did try reading up books where they mentioned that u take the root note, and something like taking the 5th and so on... I could memorize that at the face value, but i'm not understanding the rational behind it. If you could please explain that in a manner like the circle of fifth, I would be most grateful.
Thank you!! (I wanna ask about major scale/minor scale and what they are, but I'll save that for later )
On September 22 2011 09:04 LuciferSC wrote: Incredible thread - big thanks to the OP and to all who contributed & participated!
Learned a lot from the thread, as a beginner/med level guitar player (used to play acoustic, mostly rhythm strumming) and it has just been about a month since I jumped onto finger picking. Just got my electric guitar yesterday, and totally hyped to get better.
Glad to see that most of the stuff I've been doing for finger picking/scale learning is accurate, and definitely picking up a lot of awesome new practice advise. Thank you!
If I could actually ask a specific question (wasn't planning on doing so, but popped into my head). I am at the stage where I understand the circle of fifth, and different scales. Been mostly practicing finger picking off music sheet, not tabs. Almost at the point where I can spontaneously read and play simple music. (Feeling comfortable up to 2 sharps so would it be accurate to say I'm almost comfortable playing C, G and D scale?)
Now at this point I'm focusing on implementing various finger-picking exercises u've prescribed, as well as continuing to read and play various music sheets (hoping on getting to the point where I feel comfortable spontaneously reading & playing 2 or 3 note harmonic notes. So the first question is, do u think that's a positive direction to head into?
and also the second question is how chords are formed. I did try reading up books where they mentioned that u take the root note, and something like taking the 5th and so on... I could memorize that at the face value, but i'm not understanding the rational behind it. If you could please explain that in a manner like the circle of fifth, I would be most grateful.
Thank you!! (I wanna ask about major scale/minor scale and what they are, but I'll save that for later )
I might be able to help out a bit with the second theory question, in an abbreviated form: 1. Music combines Pitches and Rhythms. 2. In terms of Pitch, you can play a single Note, a combination of two Notes AKA a Dyad, a combination of three Notes AKA a Triad, a combination of four Notes AKA a Tetrad, etc. Generally, a Chord is defined as a combination of three or more Notes, although when it comes to guitar playing Dyads are more or less "honorary" Chords. 3. A combo of two Notes has a specific sound, based on the Interval or "space" in between them. 4. In Western music, the smallest Interval in between two different Notes is called a Semitone. 5. If there is an Interval of one Semitone in between two Notes, it is called a Minor 2nd. If there is an Interval of two Semitones in between two Notes, it is called a Major 2nd...three Semitones, Minor 3rd...four Semitones, Major 3rd...five Semitones, Perfect 4th...six Semitones, Augmented 4th AKA Diminished 5th AKA Tritone...seven Semitones, Perfect 5th...eight Semitones, Minor 6th...nine Semitones, Major 6th... ten Semitones, Minor 7th...eleven Semitones, Major 7th...and twelve semitones for an Octave. After an Octave, you more or less start the cycle over and have the same intervals as before, but with an Octave added. The naming changes a bit, e.g., 9ths and 11ths would be 2nds an Octave up and 4ths an Octave up. 6. Generally, there are 7 Notes, NOT including the Octave, in a Western Scale, which is a subset of the total 12 possible of what is called the Chromatic Scale. Other scales like the Pentatonic will be an even smaller subset, in this case a set of 5 Notes, of all the possible Notes you could use. 7. Intervals are named Minor or Major or Perfect based on their Tonality AKA Sound as it functions within a scale, chord, etc. Major Intervals sound and work in a specific way, etc. 8. Just as any combination of two Notes AKA Interval has its own sound, any combination of more than two Notes AKA Chord has its own sound. For example, if you have a Chord with three Notes, the overall sound combines the sounds of the Intervals in between any two Notes within the Chord. 9. Generally, people start off by using pre-defined Chords, i.e., specific combinations of Notes with defined Intervals in between the individual Notes. The Note you are starting off with, which you can think of as the "leader" is called the Root. Then you can build a Chord by adding Notes on top of the Root, at least to start off. 10. The most common types are Major Chords, Minor Chords, Diminished Chords, and Augmented Chords. Each type has its own sound, as well as function within the context of a scale or key. 11. To build a Major Chord, for example, you start with a Root Note as the lowest Note, then add both the Major 3rd and Perfect 5th above it, in that order. A Major Chord has a specific sound, which is determined by the Intervals that make it up. The Intervals are defined with respect to the Root Note. To build a Minor Chord, you can add both the Minor 3rd and the Perfect 5th. That specific combination of Intervals has its own sound as well. Diminished Chords are formed by adding a Minor 3rd and a Flat 5th, i.e., you take the Perfect 5th and subtract a Semitone from it to get the Flat form. Adding a Semitone would give you the Sharp form. In terms of naming, Flattening a Perfect Interval results in a Diminished Interval, while Sharpening a Perfect Interval results in an Augmented Interval. So to build an Augmented Chord, you add the Major 3rd and a Sharp 5th AKA Augmented 5th. It might seem like a lot to memorize, but it may also help to think of it as a way to give a name to the sounds that you are hearing, so that if you hear something or want to achieve a certain sound, you know what it is called and how to build it. To make an analogy, if you want green paint, one way to make it is to know that yellow and blue paint can be combined to make green paint, and that yellow and blue paint can each be made from specific berries or something. Or you can start with the berries, and try out different combinations to see what colors you get. Building Chords can be the same way. If you want to make a Major Chord, one way to make it is to know that you need at least three Notes, and that the specific combination of a Root, Major 3rd, and Perfect 5th makes the final product. Or you can start with the Notes in a Scale, and try out different combinations of Notes AKA Intervals and then different combinations of Intervals. 12. Another way to think of Chords is to think about the Intervals in between consecutive Notes, rather than the Intervals between the Root and each of the other Notes. So an Augmented Chord, when you think about it that way, is two Major 3rd Intervals stacked one on top of another. 13. Even though you define a Chord by its Root and the other Notes in relation to it, you can end up changing the order of notes from lowest to highest. For example, instead of starting with the Root, then going to the 3rd and then to the 5th, you could start with the 3rd, then go to the 5th, and then go to the Root...which is now the highest in pitch in this case, when it was the lowest in pitch in the other case. This is called an Inversion, and if you have a Chord with three Notes, there is the standard Chord with the Root on the bottom and two possible Inversions. 14. You can get even bigger Chord with more Notes, e.g., 6th and 7th Chords, as well as Extended Chords using Intervals past the first Octave and Altered Chords that change up the basic Root, 3rd, and 5th structure of the basic Chords.
Hopefully I didn't make any/many errors with this. Hope this helps!
I have 2 exams tomorrow morning so I won't be able to read the whole thing right now, but I can see the great effort you've put in to the reply, so a big thank you!!
I promise you I'll try my best to go thoroughly through your reply & understand its concepts. (might have to shoot u back with some questions though - read some of the top paragraphs, can already tell it's pretty complicated )
On September 22 2011 16:07 LuciferSC wrote: Wow 13th Marine - thank you for your reply.
I have 2 exams tomorrow morning so I won't be able to read the whole thing right now, but I can see the great effort you've put in to the reply, so a big thank you!!
I promise you I'll try my best to go thoroughly through your reply & understand its concepts. (might have to shoot u back with some questions though - read some of the top paragraphs, can already tell it's pretty complicated )
Trying to learn music theory can definitely become a sort of "death trap" if that's the ultimate goal you are seeking, but if you approach it as a way to put a name to the things you are hearing in music or in your mind, it becomes much more approachable and to the point.
I guess I have another question now, regarding ear training: I want to work on my ability to figure out music by ear, whether to just learn it straight away or to tab it for others to learn from as well. But is there any way to guide where on the fretboard in general I should be playing something? Which fingers to use and when? When to change positions versus when to stretch? Sometimes it is a clear cut, but to me it often seems like there are multiple options...and for some reason I always end up choosing a less efficient way of fingering a lick/riff/chord/etc. Maybe there's some way to understand the general rules that a player follows when navigating the fretboard?
Also, in terms of improvisation, I've been trying to make the fretboard become "transparent" so that I can directly translate what I am hearing into what I am playing. Or at least in theory. But I'm not sure what that really means? Should I be able to name any note on the fretboard instantly? To be able to hear it in my head? Same idea for the intervals? Should I have a some scale shapes, e.g., pentatonic or western scales, to use as a skeleton for improvisation, and then fill in other notes if I want to play more "outside"? Or should I know the notes on the fretboard and of the chord in the background, and use the chord tones as the skeleton and fill in the other notes? Or is it a mix?
Last question on improvisation...so I've heard a lot that players like Yngwie will have a huge repertoire of licks or scale patterns that they use quite often when soloing...but I've also heard that some guitarists, like Guthrie, don't really use licks when improvising? How does that work?
I have received confirmation from ella_guru that he is back, and that I could review the thread with a question. So here goes:
On a scale of 0-100, my knowledge on guitars is around 2, but my enthusiasm is about 95. Last summer I got a pretty basic-cheap classic guitar and started lessons, but I couldn't get along with my instructor well so the project was aborted after about 1 month.
I really want to play guitar. My favorite genres are Flamenco (especially Paco Pena) and Blues/Jazz with some good guitar parts, to be specific, like the guitar in "baby did a bad bad thing" by chris isaak (i know that's not jazz ).
So, I want to start learning how to play again, and be able to play the music that I enjoy listening to. I have no idea where to start. I currently have no guitar, I'm not sure if I should buy a classic or bass, or even acoustic. I feel like currently I can practice up to 3-4 hours per day, but how viable is learning from the internet without the interactive aspect of learning from a tutor? I'm just open to any kind of suggestions and thanks in advance