Hey im a noob still on the site although ive been reading for months, but i was just wondering if anyone else here on T-Nation plays guitar, or i guess any other instruments for that matter.
ME? i played drums for about 2 years in high school, then my shit ass band broke up and i eventually quit playing and sold my gear months later, wish i woulda kept it up cuz everyone needs drummers right now…
anyway i picked up a gibson les paul about 7 months ago and have been teaching myself mostly with tab work but it sucks because my biggest influences are KSE, All That Remains, and A7x. not exxactly good stuff for a begginer
lol, thats actually why i started guitar, i got too good at guitar hero and after a couple saturdays of playing Gh for 3 or 4 hours staright i said 'if i put this kinda time into playing a real guitar i bet id be fuking good in a year or two… well needless to say i still play GH but now its split with practicing on a real guitar… plus i missed performing and hope to one day be on stage again but closer to the crowd next time around
[quote]Defekt wrote:
Man, I wish I could play so badly. I get frustrated because just like you, my musical taste isnt exactly conductive for learning how to play a guitar. [/quote]
You have to go into it without that mentality.
When you started bodybuilding, I’m sure you didn’t go into it saying “I wanna look skinny fat.” You probably wanted to look like Arnie.
It’s the same thing with anything… guitar included.
[quote]dg401 wrote:
Defekt wrote:
Man, I wish I could play so badly. I get frustrated because just like you, my musical taste isnt exactly conductive for learning how to play a guitar.
You have to go into it without that mentality.
When you started bodybuilding, I’m sure you didn’t go into it saying “I wanna look skinny fat.” You probably wanted to look like Arnie.
It’s the same thing with anything… guitar included. [/quote]
thats very true man, i guess i kinda have had that mentality, i know my taste in music isnt everyones favorite but thast what i like and IMO the bands i listed up above have some great guitarists… i guess i should ahve stated that im not as much into playing soft songs on an acoustic so a girl with think i have a pretty voice, id rather be making people punch eachother, well not literally but i hope u get the drift
[quote]wfifer wrote:
Learn how to play power chords and you’ll be making shitty rock music in no time!
I would consider myself a blues guitarist. Not a very good one, but if you can feel the blues you can play the blues. [/quote]
lol, that was kinda funny, i can play power chords, but i wanna build speed and work on my alt picking, then after ive swallowed those i wanna learn the mastery of guitar soloing… waht kinda blues, what do u consider blues? like Eric Clapton?
I’m not into metal at all but am familiar with the techniques. One of the keys to their insane speed is sweep picking. I’ve never been into that sort of thing but have no problem with the people that are…
What I was trying to say with my post was that you shouldn’t put the “pussy on a pedestal.”
[quote]dg401 wrote:
I’m not into metal at all but am familiar with the techniques. One of the keys to their insane speed is sweep picking. I’ve never been into that sort of thing but have no problem with the people that are…
What I was trying to say with my post was that you shouldn’t put the “pussy on a pedestal.” [/quote]
LMFAO, haha, i use that quote on a weekly basis with my friends, its awesome to hear it come from someone else, but agreed. i just figure like everything else in life, stick to it and with time i will accomplish what i want to become, for example being with one of these girls, or at least one with a similar ass!!
[quote]dg401 wrote:
I started playing guitar 3.5 years ago. I started with classical training but gave that up after two years. Looking back on it, huge mistake. [/quote]
You’re right, it was a huge mistake. Especially if you’re into playing fingerstyle acoustic now. Classical technique is a lot more efficient (watch michael hedges play vs. andy mckee, etc.)–hedges had a lot of training a classical guitarist.
But hedges was also looked upon as a sort of slacker student while he did his undergrad music with some now famous classical guitarists like Manuel Barrueco.
Anyway, I play guitar. I did my undergrad in music business and classical guitar performance. I just started grad school yesterday to do my masters in guitar performance. I also play some jazz (poorly).
It’s a good time. I didn’t really start play classical until I started undergrad. I was hooked after I heard Leo Brouwer. I did start guitar because I got my first black sabbath and metallica albums–I knew after I heard metallica I wanted to play.
lol, that was kinda funny, i can play power chords, but i wanna build speed and work on my alt picking, then after ive swallowed those i wanna learn the mastery of guitar soloing…[/quote]
First, start working on various 1234 exercises with alternate picking. Don’t focus so much on speed, just on accuracy and taking control of your fingers. You can start working on speed after a while.
As far as soloing, if you start to really get into scales and modes, you’ll realize that most of the solos by your favorite rock guitarist fit into certain patterns. So you learn the patterns.
That said, if a teacher/someone states that you MUST learn 80 different scales and modes, punch them in the face. It’s unnecessary and essentially busy work. Get really good at the 4 or 5 major scale patterns, and learn to relate things to them.
If you want to get into more jazz sounds you can experiment with melodic and harmonic minor and their respective modes.
The best way to learn to “solo” IMO is to get some experience with scales etc. But then go learn a few of your favorite solos. See what the guitarists do. Then steal it! Immitation leads to innovation.
Beyond that, it’s just soloing a lot. Buy band in a box or garage band and jam with it. The more you “practice” soloing, the better you’ll get at it.
I’ve been playing for 20 years or so…I don’t suck. Just keep playing. 10 minutes a day no matter what will help you make improvements. 30 minutes is better…60 minutes is really good.
I took online lessons from Tom Hess for about a year…if I had more time I’d still be taking from him.
I’ve been playing on and off for about 19 years. I started out playing GnR, Metallica, Megadeth, Pantera, etc. not exactly the easiest stuff either for a beginner, but I stuck with it and got there. It takes a great deal of work and dedication, I won’t lie.
I took lessons every week for two years, practiced at least fifteen hours a week (not including time spent rehearsing with my band) and spent 2 weeks every summer at the National Guitar Summer Workshop for the first five years.
My advice is to take lessons and buy a metronome, those two things will get you better faster than anything else (besides constant practice, of course).
