Learning stuff above your current level is the only way to improve.
Simple, keep playing at level 1, you'll never get to level 2.
for sale, MXR Zakk Wylde overdrive. PM if you're interested.
We all do it. I learnt to play Always With You by Satriani in about 92 and I can still play most of it, but I didn't learn a great deal from the process as I wasn't enjoying it, just aware of my failings.Originally Posted by racefaceec90
holy thread resurrectionsorry couldn't resist.thanks everyone for your tips.i will start to use them when i am playing guitar from now on.i must admit to attempting to play stuff that is (shall we say) slightly above my own ability level
It took a couple of lessons with Justin Sandercoe to convince me to pick winnable battles.even then they're not easy - I remember thinking "So What" by Ronny Jordan was a bit simples but it was rather hard to transcribe
I would advocate caution, weed out any sense of negativity by the root, I've certainly been worn down by nagging doubts when I've least needed it - when playing in front of people. Think of it as part of your practise, because the notion that you'll play perfectly to defeat it doesn't seem to work for anyone I knowi do keep saying to myself that i should give up the guitar.but at the end of the day i won't as i do love the instrument (even when i want to chuck it out of the windowi will try and learn stuff at my ability level.
mucus ardour urban mr men turnip!
To explain this better. To get playing at a higher level, you need to try to play there.
If you've learnt minor pentatonic and a handfull of chords, then that's level 1.
To progress to level 2, learn how to use these in a musical way. The best way would be to learn some songs which use these chords/scales.
To prgress to level 3, you need to learn some more scales/chords, but more complex ones.
So, learn 7th chords,blues scales etc
Again learn songs which use these.
Then, once these are down and perfected, and only then look at really complex things like modes etc
The ideal thing would be to perfect each part before moving on.
So scale wise, start with major and minor pentatonics.
Then learn diatonic (7 note) major and minor.
Once you have these down and learnt thoroughly, and can apply them musically move on to modes.
Remember it takes roughly 6 hours (total) to memorise something permanently.
So 30 mins a day, would take 12 days. Allow yourself a break in that 30 mins.
So a 1hr practice session would be
15 mins chords (try to add a new one each week)
15 mins scales (try to learn scales appropriate to the chords you're learning)
30 mins learning songs (start with ones you like)
for sale, MXR Zakk Wylde overdrive. PM if you're interested.
Having a practice routine that you stick to is one of the most efficient ways to do it.
Having a teacher than can assess where you're at and the best path to improve is even better but you have to stick to what they say and do that first, then go onto your own stuff.
I do skype lessons, would be happy to give you a 30 min freebie to set you off (or in person if you're in London).
PM me if you are interested.
Last edited by octatonic; 9th December 2011 at 03:30 PM.
octatonic thanks for the offer.unfortunately i cannot afford lessons at the moment as i'm unemployed at present (am currently saving towards a new guitar/amp,as i do not currently have my own guitar).
i have a lovely vintage lemon drop guitar
Owning a guitar is probably the first step. :-)
As I said, I wasn't going to charge you for the first lesson and you don't have to continue.
I can give you enough in 30 mins to keep you going for a year.
Just having a guitar around is so important. Muscle memory from regularly playing is key to progressing, at least I would suggest. Same as any muscular activity, familiarity is a key aspect to improving.
I learnt to sweep-pick playing on my unplugged electric while watching TV. Just doing it regularly and methodically, almost as an afterthought to what I was otherwise doing. Familiarity.
Did the same thing with Steve Vai's Guitar Secrets from Guitar Magazine. Worked wonders.
raceface, obviously you know where I'm headed here, first step: acquire a guitar, this is fundamental. Doesn't need to be a great one, awesome music has been produced by the cruddiest of equipment.
I also had some "proper" guitar tuition fairly early on, so my approach to practising is pretty regimented when it's "practise time". I'd be taking up Octatonic's offer soon as you can.
You obviously to have the desire required to want to learn and play like a mofo one day, I don't doubt you'll do rather well
Above All - Have Fun
as you may have read on the electric forum (i now have my own guitar/a lovely squier classic vibe vintage blonde teleyet to buy an amp though (planning on getting a mustang 1) as it's now the new year,i am planning on,starting to do some sort of proper practice routine (as i feel that i have just been wandering tbh with any guitar practice type playing).the number 1 thing that i really want to be able to do is improvisation (as i cannot do it very well at all
to me that is the holy grail of being a guitarist (and i don't feel that i can call myself that yet. have just downloaded a justin sandercombe lesson (beginner blues inprovisation) to start to get the basics (i feel that blues/rock is where i most want to play).also all my favourite players (david gilmour/alex lifeson/steve rothery) very rarely play fast.i love ethereal/dreamy type guitar playing the best (if that makes any sense
and would love to be able to play like this myself (i really do feel with enough practice e.t.c that i could make a reasonable stab at it
Last edited by racefaceec90; 1st January 2012 at 12:45 PM.
i have a lovely vintage lemon drop guitar
I'm with Frankus all the way on this and just to add that, with regards to practice, it is quality and not quantity that really counts. Those of us with busy professional and domestic commitments learned that one a long time ago!Lesson 1 : phrasing
It helps the listener digest what you've got to say. It can also help you formulate exactly what you want to say.
Lesson 2: teaching yourself requires tolerance.
Your brain can imagine things long before your fingers can perform them, your fingers might hit a block and it's your brains job to confidently and patiently find ways over or around that impediment: not to berate your fingers until they play it perfectly - that simply won't happen.
Lesson 3: Practice DOES NOT make perfect.
Only perfect practice makes perfect. If you play it too fast (that means at a speed you cannot consistently recreate) you're training your hands to make mistakes - each mistake will take 20-30 perfect practices to unlearn. If you practice something 10 times and each time you introduce a new mistake, you're looking at 20-30 perfect practices at a speed you can play at before you can consider turning the metronome up a notch.
Lesson 4: Easy does it.
Who's the better guitarist, the one who can play a hundred pop and rock songs or the one who's struggling to learn a few extremely technically challenging tunes? Who's got the better insight into basic musicianship? Good teaching is all about setting realistic goals - lots of small increments where success can be charted, or smaller steps identified.
When I read "I just cannot improve on the guitar" this thought occurred to me: you can't see how you've improved. Too ambitious a goal and you're only going to cross the finish line after a million tiny victories - but if you can't see those tiny victories, you'll lose heart long before the end is in sight.
Lesson 5: Familiarity DOES NOT breed contempt.
A lot of what people like about fast or complex music is the excitement, it can be for the person who played it first, but everyone who follows has the slog of learning how that first guy plays guitar as well as learning a piece of complex music, learning it is enlightening but is not the fast-paced adventure that listening to it was.
Lesson 6: Know thyself.
When you sit down to practice know exactly the goal you want to get from that 10 or 20 minutes, know yourself well enough to make that a realistic goal.
When you set out to play a tune, try and listen to your motivations for learning it; gaining admiration or acceptance from other people won't be strong enough motivation as they're vague and depend on other people doing what you want and you can't guarantee that.
Things like satisfaction at gaining a technique, having something you're confident enough to play in a band or open mic will work.
hope that helps
Just take a step back, identify your objectives and then plan how to best achieve your goals by breaking them down into smaller manageable "chunks".
Be ambitious but also make sure you are being realistic. Look for the positives in your achievements and try to avoid being negative about your progress and present position.
Finally, be flexible. Your game plan should not be set in stone and it is highly likely (read inevitable) that you will have to rethink your strategies in light of progress made and new areas for improvement identified.
Above all, enjoy the process and the journey.
Good luck
Last edited by Stan1968; 2nd January 2012 at 12:38 AM.
You know what Frankus said about phrasing? It's no different to this. If there is no punctuation -- no way to tell when a phrase is starting or finishing -- it's ugly on the eye, an effort to read. And the musical equivalent is very similar.i have been playing since 2004 (although i have played back in mid 90's for a while).basically when i learn a track,i just do not know if i will play it half decently or make a load of mistakes.what i mean is that sometimes my fingers will play the track without many mistakes,but other times it is as if my fingers have completely forgotten what to do.as an example i have just been learning to play the spirit of radio by rush.right from the off there is a repeated hammer on/pull off part (that also appears throughout the track).well sometimes i can play it (as following along to the track.) but other times it's as if my fingers have never learned it before. (i have actually played along to the whole track/know all the parts).this has been a major setback to my guitar improvement (it's as if my fingers just have a mind of their own sometimes) i also cannot play fast (have practised fast solos/ well fast for me anyway e.g the third solo to sanitarium) but my fingers just will not improve (i must have practiced it hundreds of times) this problem has really set me back with trying to learn to play guitar. does anyone have any idea what is going on? it really is frustratingthanks in advance as you may have read on the electric forum (i now have my own guitar/a lovely squier classic vibe vintage blonde tele
Spend a bit of time learning to use musical full stops, Capital letters, sentences, paragraphs. Everything becomes much clearer and more meaningful.
And much easier to read, er, I mean listen to.
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