Look at these bad motherfuckers. Chances are if you came in this thread, you know who most of these guys are. Upon diving into their musical catalog, these mortal men disguised themselves as gods by surrounding themselves with lush tones, nimble fingers and the ability to describe emotions through sound better than an eloquent speaker can with words. We idolized these greats upon discovering them, wondering how we could approach even a tiny fraction of their greatness. We put songs on repeat because we want to hear a certain riff 500 times in a day, while wishing the lead singer would just shut the fuck up and let the true talent shine. We save ticket stubs to prove our brush with greatness. Then one day, we find ourselves with our own guitars in our hands, plugging into an amplifier or maybe acoustic is our thing. We hold the pick between our fingers just like the image in our childhood poster and we can hear the crowd cheering us. We put our arm in the air, the anticipation building, and we strum, just like we have done a million times while playing air guitar.

Our dreams are dashed as horrible sounds erupt from the amp or the hollow body of our guitar. After a couple days, a large percentage of people will put that guitar and amp away and it will gather dust. I know I did. We wonder if our heroes secretly made deals with the devil. We want immediate results and we give up without acknowledging that these greats, too, once were at a point where they couldnt even strum a decent chord.

Im making this thread in the hopes of helping others take that initial step and realize success. Ive tried quite a few times to learn how to play guitar and have given up, only to try it again. Ive surrounded myself with enough tools and avenues of learning that I can finally (fucking finally) gotten over that initial hump of feeling like my hands were useless holding my guitar. Im going to describe what I use and where to find it. I have a routine now that is working for me and allows me to see results on a daily basis. What works for me, however, may not work for you. Im hoping that other guitar players will also share their routines in this thread. I pieced my process together from multiple sources so maybe someone reading here can borrow from my ideas, and mash some of it up with what another player is doing and achieve results. It goes without saying that the best way to learn is to have the time and money to pay someone really good to teach you how to play so this is the only time I will mention this. At anytime in your progress, it will benefit you to learn from a live teacher.

Starting out I firmly believe that unless we have fun and can document increases in skill, one loses interest. Rocksmith is the best way to achieve both. Buy this on your console or PC and spend a few weeks with it. This learning tool will not teach you how to play guitar so much as it will teach you how to play songs you like. To me, this was absolutely essential because as I tried to move beyond Rocksmith and into actual learning, my frustration with hitting walls was quelled when I could play a loud riff and it sounded like it was supposed to! My disappointment in fucking up moving from one chord to another vanished when I took a break from the failure and played the opening riff to Be Quiet and Drive or the main riff from Hash Pipe. I spent 60 days playing Rocksmith (the Rocksmith challenge) before moving on. l still had no idea what I was doing, but I could make some cool sounds.

The first thing I integrated into my routine was the Gibson Learn and Master courses. Its kind of pricy but I was able to snag it cheaply.

http://www.learnandmaster.com/guitar/

The instructor is very thorough and complete. He assumes you know nothing. If you do not want to pay for this, you can at least see the lesson book. I do not know if Gibson realizes this or not but you can download it off of their site for free. Im assuming they know, so feel free as its been downloadable for months now. Its 106 pages and very informative.

http://www.learnandmaster.com/resources/Learn-and-Master-Guitar-Lesson-Book.pdf

The Gibson courses are kind of stuffy and I wanted something a little looser. I stumbled upon Justin Guitar.

http://www.justinguitar.com/

I loved his site at first. Free youtube lessons and songs you can play along with. Hes also a very good teacher and makes it fun. He also will start you off from the very beginning. I probably spent a few weeks using his site but to be honest I dont like the layout and found myself wondering where to go instead of playing my guitar.

Thats when I started looking for other online lessons. I found an amazing site that has really helped me out a lot.

http://www.guitartricks.com/v2/index.php

This site rocks. It really rocks. The downfall? Its 15 bucks a month. Is that a lot? Its not when you realize that the level of tutoring is on par with professional tutors who charge up to 30 bucks for a half hour once a week. Its got a two week free trial I believe. Its also got a 60 day money back guarantee as well, I think. I read a lot of reviews of this site before I gave them my money and I only saw favorable comments. It tracks your progress and leads you step by step. There are a large group of tutors who cater to different musical styles. Basically you start at the beginning courses, move onto intermediate courses, and then branch off into whatever musical style suits you best. From there, they offer lessons on playing popular songs within many different genres. h also offer lessons in playing in th style of your favorite guitarists. Im on it everyday now.

While Im at work, I have a lot of time to listen to podcasts. How the hell can you learn to play guitar while at work, right? Well, this guy named Desi Serna has a podcast that is amazing.

https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/guitar-music-theory-lessons/id258401691

Its basically discussions on guitar theory. Most of it is over my head but I listen anyway because you do pick up stuff. However, podcast number 2 is a MUST LISTEN for anyone wanting to learn guitar. Its like 45 minutes long and without even needing a guitar to look at, after just listening to it, you will be able to identify any note on the fretboard by either memorization of string 5 and 6 or using octave shapes to identify notes on the other strings. Literally, you will know EVERY note or know how to find it in seconds just by putting your hands on the neck. This absolutely kicked down one of the walls I was hitting in regards to learning. The podcasts are free, and he has DVDs you can buy which are pretty favorably reviewed as well. I have not purchased anything from him.

I incorporate everything Ive listed above on a daily basis except for Justin Guitar. Ill go there to look at songs when Ive learned a new chord. I try to play at least a half hour everyday. Most days I have more time so Im learning by leaps and bounds now.

My daily routine is as follows.

1. Read the Gibson books at the appropriate spot where I am skill wise.
2. Warm up my fingers by playing the racing game in Rocksmith 2014. It will teach you finger dexterity and scales at the same time.
3. Play a few songs I like in Rocksmith. I play through the songs I can 100%.
4. Do the next lesson on Guitar Tricks. Practice what was taught for awhile.
5. Go back to Rocksmith and use the session mode to finish out my time. What is session mode? Watch this. Its like having your own band. I try to incorporate what Ive learned into this at the end.

Things a beginner needs but doesn't realize.
1. Buy a metronome
2. Buy stiff picks, imo. Softer picks are thought o be easier to learn with but every thing ive read says that you will graduate to stiff picks so you might as well use stiff ones.
3. Buy extra sets of good strings. You will break yours.
4. Buy some kind of string lubricant. Your fingers will thank you and its easier to move around the fretboard with slick strings.
5. Buy a capo.
6. Buy an adapter so you can plug your headphones into your amp so your spouse doesnt kill you when it sounds like youre strangling cats at first.


Anyway, I hope this information Ive gathered helps someone. I really hope maybe we can establish a small guitar playing community and others will share their tips, tricks and successes. Would be awesome to see some youtube videos of our better guitarists to motivate us to keep going.

Good OP, definitely will check out the podcasts and some of the other resources. Having gone through a lot of Justinguitar I've been looking for some other approaches.

Thanks for making this thread man ✌️
Op needs a pic of john motherfuckin frusciante IMO

Anyone got any simple tips for chord switching? I try but I feel in the middle of switching I play open way to long and it seems awkward.

hypernima said:

Anyone got any simple tips for chord switching? I try but I feel in the middle of switching I play open way to long and it seems awkward.

Click to expand...

Just practice slowly, you need the muscle memory before you can build up speed.

hypernima said:

Anyone got any simple tips for chord switching? I try but I feel in the middle of switching I play open way to long and it seems awkward.

Click to expand...

Practice a lot, and slowly. There is no fucking secret. The sooner you accept that fact, the less time you'll waste looking for a magic solution.

E-A-B flat7 is all you need. Now you're playin' the blues, son.

hypernima said:

Anyone got any simple tips for chord switching? I try but I feel in the middle of switching I play open way to long and it seems awkward.

Click to expand...

Practise. Sooner or later you'll be making the chord shapes with your hands before they even touch the strings, and it'll be seamless.

There's no shortcuts, if you just play a lot you'll get better. Sure there's proper technique and all, and it's important, but nothing is going to be more beneficial than just playing and playing a lot.

Everyone likes to shy away from it, but a little bit of music theory goes a long way.

I-IV-V

If you get it, then you can play a ton of songs and can switch keys no problem.

Xyber said:

Just practice slowly, you need the muscle memory before you can build up speed.

Click to expand...

ComputerMKII said:

Practice a lot, and slowly. There is no fucking secret. The sooner you accept that fact, the less time you'll waste looking for a magic solution.

Click to expand...

Mistle said:

Practise. Sooner or later you'll be making the chord shapes with your hands before they even touch the strings, and it'll be seamless.

There's no shortcuts, if you just play a lot you'll get better. Sure there's proper technique and all, and it's important, but nothing is going to be more beneficial than just playing and playing a lot.

Click to expand...

Gotcha, I know there's no shortcuts, but it gets really frustrating when even changing from G to C is really difficult sometimes.

Also does it really matter if I barre some chords? (em and A in particular.)

Switching between chords is really something that just takes time. Make sure you start slow and focus on technique. Be smooth and efficient. As time goes on, the speed will come naturally. You just don't want to create bad habits.

There's nothing actually wrong with barring regular chords. If works for you and then go with it. The only problem with that is transitioning between certain chords can be more difficult if you barre them. This again goes back to efficiency. Just keep that in mind.

I downloaded the Desi Serna podcasts mentioned in the OP and eventually bought his book because I liked his instruction. I feel like I've made as big a jump in the last three weeks as I had in the past couple of years (though I was more or less just putzing around over that time period). He doesn't say anything revolutionary, but I really found the way he explains things, like scale relationships, CAGED, etc., to be very intuitive. I'm recognizing patterns and chords in normal tabs a lot easier thanks to it.

Don't play a bunch of drop D power chords and never learn anything new.

For those new players, I would like to direct you to GuitarGAF.

Coins said:

2. Buy stiff picks, imo. Softer picks are thought o be easier to learn with but every thing ive read says that you will graduate to stiff picks so you might as well use stiff ones.

Click to expand...

Actually it's good to have both hard and soft picks. The pick I use depends on the kind of playing I'm doing. Soft are good for rhythm playing (strumming and stuff). Hard are better for lead and faster stuff. So you should try a variety of different picks when you start out to see what you like. My personal favourites are the Fender "tortoise shell" hard picks and the Dunlop thin nylon picks.

Anyone have any Pink Floyd/Gilmour solo suggestions? I've never been much into PF, but I love listening to Gilmour play. So, I don't know much of their stuff is the point I'm getting at. I learned Comfortably Numb, which is fucking awesome to play. Now what should I check out?

I started with Justin guitar for the basics. Once I learned the basic of the basics it was off to YouTube for independent study of stuff I cared about. I'm not trying to be some awesome guitar player extraordinaire. I just like to play songs I like. It's pretty rewarding being able to strum out a song you love.

Hey!

I've been playing the guitar for... almost a couple of decades now on and off.

Some tips for beginners.

1) Buy one of the new clip on tuners. They are really fantastic, and being always able to know your in tune helps a lot. They are also really cheap.

2) Cheap guitars can be awesome. If you are buying one, try THE ONE YOU ARE BUYING in a store first as the quality varies wildly. If you are going for an electric, something that's comfortable (a neck you like, no sharp edges on frets) is more important than the pickups being crap as those can easily be replaced later. There are some really excellent cheap acoustics, so don't dismiss them offhand.
3) If you are going for an electric, getting a good amplifier has a really big impact on the sound it produces (along with the pickups, it contributes the most, imho). In the last five years or so, the rise of the small, low-wattage, affordable valve amplifier has meant you can buy something that *sounds* like a 100 watt valve amp being driven hard at a concert, but at volumes you can play in your house. I have a Blackstar HT-5R, but I hear really excellent things about the Orange Tiny Terror range as well. But valves aren't golden - I've been through a lot of very cheap but good solid-state ones too (again, try before you buy!). Alternatively, there are software packages which can emulate guitar amps (including one for iOS) but I've not really played with those.

4) Again for electrics, GAIN ISN'T EVERYTHING. This has taken me only until this year to really grasp, but if you are buying a mini valve amp you can get some amazing sounds when it is only very slightly overdriven.

And finally: Have fun! Internet guitar forums are full of gear snobs, ego and stupidity, If you do things that *you* find fun, you'll keep playing and you'll get better over time! Sometimes I'm having the most fun is with my cheap Warlock, in dropped tuning through a fuzzy metal pedal mashing out random riffs: Really gets the stress out after a frustrating day at work!

Oh yeah. This is RIGHT up my alley. Been playing almost 20 years now, so I think I might be able to answer a few questions. From beginner to advanced, feel free to fire a few my way! No charge

Great thread, OP.

nomster said:

Good OP, definitely will check out the podcasts and some of the other resources. Having gone through a lot of Justinguitar I've been looking for some other approaches.

Click to expand...

Approaches to practicing? Different playing styles? What is your end goal? To be proficient in rhythm and leads? Improvisation? Or just to not look and sound like you've just started? What style of music gets you going?

hypernima said:

Anyone got any simple tips for chord switching? I try but I feel in the middle of switching I play open way to long and it seems awkward.

Click to expand...

Before ANYTHING else, stretch your hands. Stretch any muscle that will be used in the playing of a stringed instrument. Yes, I'm being that guy, but do it and your fingers and hands will thank you. Make this part of your routine. Doesn't take long.

As for chord switching, you need to work on economy of motion. Efficiency. Reduce "finger flying" as much as possible. If your fingers are lifting way off of the string every time you go to switch a chord, you're wasting energy and time. Work on "finger lowness." It takes time and patience, but you'll get there. Don't worry about an awkward pause as your fingers try to search for the proper fret, this switch will become faster as shapes and movement become engrained. Muscle memory will kick in eventually.

I'm guessing based off of the general nature of your question that you're still practicing open position chords. Do you have an Xbox One or other means of Skyping? I'll be happy to help out, but I'll also echo what others have said: practice practice practice. There is no substitute.

You'll find that with any instrument you pick up, there will be things (techniques, styles, etc) that come naturally and things that seem like no amount of practice will overcome. Short of a physical handicap (and even those can be accounted for), you will be as good as you want to be as long as you have a good practice routine set out and the drive/desire to achieve goals on any given instrument. I've seen guys that have a ton of natural talent get blown away by those who dont. Don't ever think that there are shortcuts. Try not to get complacent. All players - regardless of talent level - get better through practice.

Find a good teacher locally if you're so inclined. In the meantime, and I extend this as an invitation to anyone reading this thread, hit me up if you'd like some help. I mean this in the most sincere way possible, no ego.

Coins said:

Things a beginner needs but doesn't realize.
1. Buy a metronome
2. Buy stiff picks, imo. Softer picks are thought o be easier to learn with but every thing ive read says that you will graduate to stiff picks so you might as well use stiff ones.
3. Buy extra sets of good strings. You will break yours.
4. Buy some kind of string lubricant. Your fingers will thank you and its easier to move around the fretboard with slick strings.
5. Buy a capo.
6. Buy an adapter so you can plug your headphones into your amp so your spouse doesnt kill you when it sounds like youre strangling cats at first.

Click to expand...

I'm quoting you, but this is just in general.

- Buy lots of strings. Cheap frets, abused frets, or poorly taken care frets can have sharp protrusions, snap goes the string. Bridges in poor shape (specifically the string saddles) can also do this.

- Make sure your guitar is set up properly! This includes string action, intonation, neck alignment. This is just as important, if not more so, than anything else for beginners. A poorly set up - therefore poorly playing - guitar can be the difference between being excited for or being turned away from the guitar. If you aren't confident in your ability to research these things, take it in for a proper setup.

- Always wipe down your guitar after playing. Wipe down the strings, the neck, and the bridge. This will prolong the life of the strings and hardware. Depending on how acidic your sweat is, you'll see the life expectancy of strings and bridges go down dramatically without a simple wipe.

- If starting on an electric (most do), I'd recommend a lighter gauge of string. 9 - 42's would be good. Your fret hand hasn't developed much muscle yet, this will help stave off finger and hand fatigue. Especially that muscle between the thumb and forefinger

- I'll second the thick pick suggestion. You want something that can move through the strings without giving. Imagine writing with a rubber pencil. Rigidity is important. Jazz III's are fantastic; their name doesnt mean they're intended for Jazz only. My personal favorite (I have 8) are the regular fender style and jazz III style picks from www.picksandstones.com. These are expensive, but they will pay for themselves a million times over if you don't lose them, which happens a lot to most guitarists My main one is 7 years old and still looks and plays brand new.

- Disregard tastes, and practice with distortion (overdrive) on and off. Practice unplugged. All of these will help you with things like hand/palm/finger muting. Mistakes will be amplified, so you'll know what areas of your playing might need some tidying up.

Hero_of_the_Day said:

Anyone have any Pink Floyd/Gilmour solo suggestions? I've never been much into PF, but I love listening to Gilmour play. So, I don't know much of their stuff is the point I'm getting at. I learned Comfortably Numb, which is fucking awesome to play. Now what should I check out?

Click to expand...

Mother has a fantastic solo and I think is one of the most tasteful pieces of lead work he recorded.
You have Comfortably Numb down so Mother should be a walk in the park for you.
Also check out if you haven't already: Time, Young Lust, Money, What Do You Want From Me.

SockyJohnson said:

Mother has a fantastic solo and I think is one of the most tasteful pieces of lead work he recorded.
You have Comfortably Numb down so Mother should be a walk in the park for you.
Also check out if you haven't already: Time, Young Lust, Money, What Do You Want From Me.

Click to expand...

Confession, Money is where my dislike of Pink Floyd came from. I can't stand hearing that intro on the radio. The rest I will check out, though. Thanks for the suggestions.

Hero_of_the_Day said:

Confession, Money is where my dislike of Pink Floyd came from. I can't stand hearing that intro on the radio. The rest I will check out, though. Thanks for the suggestions.

Click to expand...

I love Pink Floyd, but nothing makes me switch to another station faster than Money.

Hey! Great topic!

Would love a few pointers on my practice schedule. I keep wondering if I'm working on actually useful stuff or not.

A year ago, when I started, my goal was basically to be able to have a better communication with the members of the bands I play with on the drums. Well, Ended up liking the strings and I hope to eventually, in a few years, be able to compose my own stuff (we can all dream! haha).

What I've been doing almost daily is below. Since I've been drumming for a few years, most of my practice time on the guitar is with a metronome.

30mins hearing exercises (using earmaster) and theory. I do this during my lunch hour at work, so It's a period I can't really practice with a guitar.
15 mins: chromatic exercises, mainly switching up different finger combinations, skipping strings, stretching over a fret etc;
15mins: scales. Working on a couple of shapes of the major scale and these pentatonic shapes (http://www.ultimate-guitar.com/lessons/the_basics/pentatonic_scales.html)
30mins: bits of music. I've downloaded a bundle of guitarpro tabs and I'm chipping at a few intros, riffs etc.

I've also signed up for guitartricks.com and had a few months of live lessons to work on posture etc. Will go back to those lessons asap, hopefully by the beginning of the next year.

Thanks in advance for any help/tips, and subscribed the thread

I've played electric guitar for a while (a few years on and off), but I feel like I hit a wall ages ago and stopped improving. For example, I know maybe close to half of Iron Maiden's songs and I can play maybe one or two of their solos without it sounding like complete garbage. I probably need to do some actual practice instead of just playing along to songs but I can't afford lessons atm.

Been playing for almost an year now and my acoustic guitar is getting pretty good. I usually play Bossa Nova and Samba, so it was really hard at the beginning but it's coming along nicely.

My electric guitar was where I started, and I even bought The Metal Method and Rocksmith 2014. However I really don't like the way the latter tries to teach (except for the arcade games). The former is really good, I recommend it. My biggest problem so far is the lead part, as I struggle a lot with the pick to do the licks and scales fast enough. Been thinking about getting a private instructor for the electric guitar to see if I can get past this barrier.

Been playing off and on for almost 20 years, and I still consider myself pretty damned terrible. The problem I'm encountering now is that my fingers and hands are starting to feel weak whenever I play. I can't make certain chord shapes as well as I used to, the few scales I know are starting to get sloppy, and I can't chugachug like I could in college.

One thing I've constantly struggled with is solos. I can do really slow 12-bar blues solos full of bends, double-stops, and the like, but even Comfortably Numb's faster parts seem unattainable even after all these years.

Fucking awesome thread. Subscribed. I've been playing guitar for about 2 years now and have so much to learn it's not even funny. I literally just learned how to play songs off of youtube and practiced the shit out of them until my calluses grew in and I felt comfortable changing most of the main chords with ease. I am only playing acoustic right now and I'm gonna drop 100 or so on another used acoustic this Friday because the one I have kind of sucks.

I need to buy a guitar. Something beginner-friendly and also something I can plug into Ableton and have fun with. I used to have an Epiphone Dot and it was pretty great.

Subscribed.

I purchased a Les Paul and a Line6 amp a few years ago in hopes to finally learn how to play. Unfortunately, I found out it is a lot harder than I thought. I really need to get back into it and try again.

it's been a while since I have picked up my guitar, this thread is really good and makes me want to get good gear now that I can afford it x)

Wag said:

E-A-B flat7 is all you need. Now you're playin' the blues, son.

Click to expand...

It's typically described as dominant 7 instead of a flat 7, notated simply as "B7".

And if you want your blues to sound good, you'll also want E7 and A7, as well as some understanding of the turnaround.

AFollowerNotALeader said:

1) Buy one of the new clip on tuners. They are really fantastic, and being always able to know your in tune helps a lot. They are also really cheap.

Click to expand...

Even cheaper are tuner apps for your smartphone.

sqwarlock said:

One thing I've constantly struggled with is solos. I can do really slow 12-bar blues solos full of bends, double-stops, and the like, but even Comfortably Numb's faster parts seem unattainable even after all these years.

Click to expand...

Embrace what you can play well and enjoy it. Simply playing more will get your strength back, and then you can start practicing on playing those solos if you want to. When I was in university I played 3 hours a day; I probably don't play three hours a week now. I've been playing 25 years and I've had to work to accept that I need to work on new things longer before I can play them more than I did when I was younger. At the same time, my taste is better and I play with far more nuance than I did a decade ago.

eot said:

[...] I feel like I hit a wall ages ago and stopped improving. [...] I probably need to do some actual practice instead of just playing along to songs but I can't afford lessons atm.

Click to expand...

That's normal, I think. At least, it's very familiar to me. Pick a new song and learn it. If it's impossible, pick something else.

A metronome is really an essential bit of kit to have as it will help your timing and speed.
While running scales it always good to have one ticking away.

http://www.all-guitar-chords.com/
This site is one where I often send students of mine: bare essentials, no gimmicks.

I should try to get better. I've played guitar since I was a pre teen, but I just kinda learned all the chords early and while I'm definitely proficient at playing a huge variety of open chords and their variations and singing while strumming away, I've never learned any scales, really. Just the rhythm. If I'm sitting around playing with friends/family and somebody tries to get me to take a solo, I can't really. I have to say "nah..." and deflect it to somebody else, or if really pressed, squeeze out some shitty solo where I'm just blindly bullshitting around and then crack a joke when it's over. I don't think I've really learned anything new in years. Maybe this is a good time to actually learn.

Shemyaza said:

Fucking awesome thread. Subscribed. I've been playing guitar for about 2 years now and have so much to learn it's not even funny. I literally just learned how to play songs off of youtube and practiced the shit out of them until my calluses grew in and I felt comfortable changing most of the main chords with ease. I am only playing acoustic right now and I'm gonna drop 100 or so on another used acoustic this Friday because the one I have kind of sucks.

Click to expand...

I realize no one elected me as anything here in this thread, but I will try to reply to as many thingd as I can as I get time to do.

Remember to play the thing and not let excitement sway you. It's a pitfall I've seen many get into despite being level-headed individuals.

You may look at an $800 acoustic and a $199 acoustic and wonder what the difference is. Now, a poster above me said that great guitars can be had on the cheap and in some cases, he's 100% right. But generally, its higher quality materials and components. These allow for a better setup. See my posts above about playability.

Take a look at the strings on the acoustic. Can you fit your fingers underneath (extreme example, but point still stands). Thats bad, and will have you wondering why you suck so much when, in reality, you're having to work so hard to press the damn strings down.

Is it time to move on? Not necessarily.

There could be a nut that needs to be filed down if there's enough material to do so, same with the bridge. Ive seen some nut installations so bad, that the nut was up to high because it sat on too much glue. Beyond materials, this attention to detail goes overlooked in cheaper instruments.

Would say more but coming off lunch pretty soon. Please dont take my posts as condescending. You may know all this. I just eat, breathe, and sleep guitar.

Nakho said:

Been playing for almost an year now and my acoustic guitar is getting pretty good. I usually play Bossa Nova and Samba, so it was really hard at the beginning but it's coming along nicely.

My electric guitar was where I started, and I even bought The Metal Method and Rocksmith 2014. However I really don't like the way the latter tries to teach (except for the arcade games). The former is really good, I recommend it. My biggest problem so far is the lead part, as I struggle a lot with the pick to do the licks and scales fast enough. Been thinking about getting a private instructor for the electric guitar to see if I can get past this barrier.

Click to expand...

Ha! Used to speak to Doug Marks. That brings back memories.

How is it you struggle with the pick? Do you mean picking in general? Keep in mind, this is a very common hurdle that many guitarists struggle with.

Here's some of my advices:

• When starting playing guitar or learning new technique or learning new song, you are absolute beginner, which means that you're going to make tons of mistakes, your fingers will be slow and inaccurate, your picking hand will not be synchronised with your fretting one. But it's okay, keep practicing, after 1 - 2 weeks you'll start t get better, you will start to develop muscle memory. If you've been exhausted and frustrated playing all day, take a rest or sleep, tomorrow your fingers will improve a bit.
• Learn scale, learn major scale in 5 different shapes. You should be able to memorise them within a week, and when you've memorised them, you've also learnt all the guitar modes (e.g. myxolydian, lydian, etc)
• Learn how to construct chords, and learn what is chord progression. That will help to learn new songs from ear.
• Play with metronome or song. Use songsterr.com or GuitarPro, try to make sure that you play with accurate rhythm first. Tap your foot or your toes when you play.
• There are always other theoretical stuff, such as arpeggios, harmony, chord substitution, etc. But by the time you've learnt how to construct chords, you've probably been motivated to learn those too.
• Try something new all the time!

Awesome thread here, I've lately been taking lessons with Emil Werstler. He's a fucking monster and made me a flat 5 kind of guy.

He has a series on JamPlay (also a great resource for a cheap cost)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rmv6fdomgeI

CrudeDiatribe said:

That's normal, I think. At least, it's very familiar to me. Pick a new song and learn it. If it's impossible, pick something else.

Click to expand...

That and learn something in a style of music you don't care much for.

Click to expand...

My latest addition. Pretty much hogged all of my time.

eot said:

I've played electric guitar for a while (a few years on and off), but I feel like I hit a wall ages ago and stopped improving. For example, I know maybe close to half of Iron Maiden's songs and I can play maybe one or two of their solos without it sounding like complete garbage. I probably need to do some actual practice instead of just playing along to songs but I can't afford lessons atm.

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Try creating as well. Try playing over a backing track. Spend a day without a pick and work on fingerstyle. Break up your routine. Spend a day creating instead of learning another band's songs. Play on a keyboard. That will give you some cool ideas for the fretboard.

Guitar is badass. It's never too late to start. Hell, I love almost any instrument. Personally I play guitar, bass, viola, and keyboards. Im a hack at drums though, but I can keep a 4/4 beat going

Music kicks ass. Especially when you're writing and playing for your own enjoyment. Everything else is secondary.

Zuhzuhzombie!! said:

That and learn something in a style of music you don't care much for.






My latest addition. Pretty much hogged all of my time.

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Yup. Getting out of your comfort zone can open up all types of doors for your playing.

And hell yeah on that guitar brother. Love the Les!

hypernima said:

Anyone got any simple tips for chord switching? I try but I feel in the middle of switching I play open way to long and it seems awkward.

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Keep it up. One day it will just click with you. Quality over tempo. What I mean by that is make sure every note within the chord rings. Play it right before you play it fast. Don't go rushing and muting strings unless it is intended to be muted. Play it over and over the right way and get to the intended tempo without the quality suffering.

I started playing in January after my son got an electric guitar. Rocksmith 2014 is pretty great. I average only about 45 minutes a day every other day, but I can play four songs near 100% and another handful above 80%. There are lessons to teach you techniques, there are arcade game to practice techniques, and there are the songs that are fun if you enjoy the music. The best part of playing with the song is you can slow it down and focus on smaller sections in order to learn the parts you are struggling with.

One of Rocksmith's downfalls is there is almost no music theory. That wasn't a big deal for me because I learned a lot of this when I taught myself to play the piano. Knowing theory has made shaping and memorizing chords (7s, Maj7s, power chords, chords with base notes) more intuitive for me, but it may not be the same for everyone.

Any fingerstyle people out there?

Ol No Bones said:

Any fingerstyle people out there?

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Yo!

Ol No Bones said:

Any fingerstyle people out there?

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Took four years of Classical/Flamenco guitar in high school! Best thing I ever learned in high school.

Added note: I still suck at sight reading!

Ol No Bones said:

Any fingerstyle people out there?

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Here!

Any fusion guys? Jazzers? Rockers?

Would be kinda cool to get a NeoGAF jam session Send each other music files and just build on top of another poster's work.

TheFNEffecT said:

Took four years of Classical/Flamenco guitar in high school! Best thing I ever learned in high school.

Added note: I still suck at sight reading!

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Rip Paco

Ol No Bones said:

Any fingerstyle people out there?

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Me!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-UufMPKiVJo&list=UU_9Rkz6dA3pRtmF4uU_L-nw

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=emC5Ozashfw&list=UU_9Rkz6dA3pRtmF4uU_L-nw

I'm self-taught, been playing since i was 12 (31 now)

If there's anything i can do to help let me know