The Question for Almost Everyone


Bonafan1
Registered User
Joined: 08/07/10
Posts: 88
Bonafan1
Registered User
Joined: 08/07/10
Posts: 88
05/09/2011 11:29 pm
Vague question here but I want to learn to PLAY the guitar and I am wondering how people might approach it given my situation. I started about 7 months ago and at first I just wanted to play songs I like. Went through GF1 and GF2...enjoyed it and learned a 5-6 songs on You Tube - 7 months ago I would have been satisfied knowing what I already know and have learned Feel like I could play hundreds of songs using open chords and maybe some barre chords. Definitely fun, but also feel like I am just memorizing songs...cool to hear me play this stuff, but feel like I want more. Went though Blues I and am into Blues II....like it alot, but also feel like I am developing a lot of little cool "tricks" but can't/don't actually play anything. Also feel like I am learning vs memorizing but don't and can't play any songs with what I've been learning recently...just starting the Blues solo stuff but I am playing it over a 2 minute jam track so all I think I have is a cool little trick when done with a lesson.

Right now I am just continuing through Blues II and then with this approach will move to the Rock section. Still interesting and fun but don't feel like I will really be playing anything, unless I go back to You Tube or learn songs here, which again seems more like memorization than PLAYING, to me.

Based on what I've read here my guess is alot of people will tell me to set goals (which I haven't done)...in a dream world would play in a band, but Im a novice, 43, married with kids so I need to be able to play from home, when I want (every day, some days 15 minutes, others 2 hours. I love alot of the old Blues stuff, like the Allman Brothers, Black Crowes, extended jams. How do I learn and ultimately play from home, without a band.

Maybe this is like asking how to play like Tiger Woods with only using a video game but interested in peoples comments that have been playing longer than me. Again, this is probably too vague for most people to respond to but I hope it resonates with a few. Regardless, very interested in your comments and thoughts.

Bona
# 1
Razbo
Full Access
Joined: 03/02/09
Posts: 1,562
Razbo
Full Access
Joined: 03/02/09
Posts: 1,562
05/09/2011 11:44 pm
I would maybe suggest playing with another person or two.

I guess learning songs and learning licks is flat out memorization when you come down to it. So, maybe try some of those licks you learn over songs you know. Fit them in, try and feel the timing how you can mix andf match stuff into the song.

Especially with the Blues, bro... improv and feeling are what it's all about. It's kind of like a car: built with many, many parts, most of which are small and easily understood, but combined into a mighty machine of speed and sound! :)

Sometimes you got to just close your eyes, pretend someone's listening and play for them.
...so ever since then, I always hang on to the buckle.
# 2
Ben Lindholm
Guitar Tricks Instructor
Joined: 02/02/02
Posts: 980
Ben Lindholm
Guitar Tricks Instructor
Joined: 02/02/02
Posts: 980
05/10/2011 6:07 am
Originally Posted by: Bonafan1
Maybe this is like asking how to play like Tiger Woods with only using a video game...
Bona


I would say that you can definitely become a pretty decent guitar player from just practicing at home, if you set the right goals and have really good self-discipline.

That being said, playing and jamming with others (preferrably much better than you) will develop your playing MUCH faster. They will tell you things you would never think of, and you will notice the difference between your own playing and theirs.

I thought I was a pretty good player before I went to music school, but the first day, after seeing some of the teachers play at school, I realized I knew little about being a true musician. I had been playing a lot for 10 years then!

But at school, I was forced to play with people who were much, much better than I was, and I was put into situations that were far outside my guitar comfort zone, which forced me to develop at a rate so much faster than when I was just practicing at home.

Of course, I realize not everyone can go join bands or go to music school etc., and that's why Guitar Tricks is great! But try to find someone to jam with just every now and then, and try to record yourself playing.

These are some useful tips for practicing at home:

• Try to always use something to help you keep time - a metronome, drum machine...
• Learn things by ear - try to learn a song (or lick) just by listening, not looking at any tabs at all. This will connect your playing to the sounds it produces much better.
• Record yourself and listen back - when you just play, your mind is so occupied with where to put your fingers etc. that you think everything sounds pretty good. If you record yourself, and listen back, you'll most likely notice many things you can improve.

/Ben
# 3

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