Share some tips on learning to play the guitar

Andelusion said:
'The pros' shouldn't need to look at a single guitar tab to be honest ;) :D

SidewinderINC said:
if you're a pro surely you should know where they're supposed to go anyway ;)
i generally use it becuase its tricky to find official sheet music for half of the songs i want to play.

So lets get this right - you both think because you are a pro you automatically know where the notes are to any song?
I'll wager my guitar collection that the likes of Paul Gilbert and Tommy Emmanuel have to spend a reasonable amount of time working stuff out by other people like everybody else and a tool like Guitar pro would speed up the process.
In 37 years of gigging I've never met anybody who can just pick up a guitar and play a complex tune after hearing it - I suppose theres always one.
 
yeah, reading the tab is how i know where to fret - dont need guitar pro for that. if i could get official sheet music i'd use that becuase it'll be accurate where half of the tabs for guitar pro are frankly just terrible.
 
dmpoole said:
Are you talking about the same program ?
This actually shows you in real time (or time you choose) where exactly to put your fingers and how to play the riff on a guitar neck.
This is without doubt the tool for a newbie and pro's.

This is exactly why i dont advocate using it because guitar isnt a science its an art. Every great guitarist has their own style of playing. I would rather a new player developed their own sense of the neck rather than what some program says they should do.

It also reduces a players ability as a musician because they will become reliant on being shown the steps to success. Being able to actively listen to a tune and figure out the part is far more valuable then being hand held through it.

Although most of what i do these days is write snippets of riffs and licks when im trying to learn something tricky the process is generally two fold. I have the tab up in front of me while listening to the song in repeat. It trains the ear to recognise sounds and will improve your playing.
 
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Clinkz said:
This is exactly why i dont advocate using it because guitar isnt a science its an art. Every great guitarist has their own style of playing. I would rather a new player developed their own sense of the neck rather than what some program says they should do.

It also reduces a players ability as a musician because they will become reliant on being shown the steps to success. Being able to actively listen to a tune and figure out the part is far more valuable then being able to read it.

Ok, so this means you must also advise against using chord books, DVD tutors and other teaching aids.
In fact, don't use a guitar tutor because you need to develop your own style and not somebody elses.
Poppycock.

After 37 years of gigging my advice is to buy chord books, DVD tutorials, Guitar Pro, proper Tab books, a proper teacher, your mate down the road who plays a bit, You Tube and learn from wherever you can.
 
Clinkz said:
This is exactly why i dont advocate using it because guitar isnt a science its an art. Every great guitarist has their own style of playing. I would rather a new player developed their own sense of the neck rather than what some program says they should do.

It also reduces a players ability as a musician because they will become reliant on being shown the steps to success. Being able to actively listen to a tune and figure out the part is far more valuable then being hand held through it.

Although most of what i do these days is write snippets of riffs and licks when im trying to learn something tricky the process is generally two fold. I have the tab up in front of me while listening to the song in repeat. It trains the ear to recognise sounds and will improve your playing.

In that case, bear in mind what works for you and think back to what it was like to be a beginner. I'd been playing for five years before I was comfortably able to work stuff out by ear, and at the start all I wanted was to learn how to play my favourite songs, not slave for hours to figure out four bars.

To the OP. Guitar pro is an excellent tool for learning songs quickly, and as you get better you'll be able to use it more as a basis for learning songs and then filling in the incorrect parts by ear etc. Give it a try and see how you find it, but nothing kickstarted my playing like Guitar Pro. Check out www.ultimate-guitar.com for GP tabs.

[edit] Too slow... I totally agree with what dmpoole says above. By acting like a guitar playing sponge and absorbing influences from all the musicians around you, on record, in books or in person you'll become a far more rounded player. At the minute after 8 years of electric guitar I'm just discovering the joys of the great acoustic players. Playing guitar is a lifelong journey, and arming yourself with the tools to make it as smooth a road as possible makes sense. Experiment with tab, playing by ear, drilling scales, noodling around to your favourite albums etc. etc. See what works for you, stick with it and don't be afraid to mix it up if you reach a plateau.
 
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dmpoole said:
Ok, so this means you must also advise against using chord books, DVD tutors and other teaching aids.
In fact, don't use a guitar tutor because you need to develop your own style and not somebody elses.
Poppycock.

After 37 years of gigging my advice is to buy chord books, DVD tutorials, Guitar Pro, proper Tab books, a proper teacher, your mate down the road who plays a bit, You Tube and learn from wherever you can.

Books - YES! DVD tutors - YES! tutors - YES!
Dillydash

edit: Your both missing the point. Im not saying dont learn guitar, im saying dont bother with guitar pro :p Your rants are meaningless
 
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Clinkz said:
Books - YES! DVD tutors - YES! tutors - YES!
Dillydash

edit: Your both missing the point. Im not saying dont learn guitar, im saying dont bother with guitar pro :p Your rants are meaningless

You're missing the point and your anti Guitar Pro rant is meaningless.
What exactly is wrong with Guitar Pro?
Why say yes to books, tutors etc but no to Guitar Pro?
There are good and bad tabs in Guitar Pro but the same applies to books off the shelf and most definitely applies to a guitar teacher.
The greatest teaching aid is to sit in front of somebody and watch them play - Guitar Pro is the next best thing (even if some of the notes might be wrong).
 
dmpoole said:
So lets get this right - you both think because you are a pro you automatically know where the notes are to any song?
I'll wager my guitar collection that the likes of Paul Gilbert and Tommy Emmanuel have to spend a reasonable amount of time working stuff out by other people like everybody else and a tool like Guitar pro would speed up the process.
In 37 years of gigging I've never met anybody who can just pick up a guitar and play a complex tune after hearing it - I suppose theres always one.

There are some I can think of who would have to spend very little time with their guitar to get the jist of what they're trying to transcribe.

My point is, I can't imagine someone like Guthrie Govan, Andy Timmons, or Ron Thal popping onto ultimate-guitar because they want to learn that tricky solo from a Led Zeppelin song :D
 
I'll never forget when I asked Clive Carroll if he could play Mombasa and he said "I've never played it before, but I'll have a go". And he just suddenly played it note for note PERFECT without ever having played it before. :D
 
DADGAD is my favourite open tuning. Written a few celtic pieces in it.

I wrote one for Clive Carroll and sent it to him, and I got this in response:

" 'Kin brilliant....Great work , cheers Nathaniel! Hope to hear it live at some point.... "

:D
 
Whilst it's from Celtic, you can hammer and pull anywhere and it sounds fantastic because its all the same note, also the chords harmony like fiends and humm. It's definatley a form of cheating. :D

I was thinking Newton Faulkner. :cool:

Edit:

Someone needs to tell the OP about this because nobody ever told me and its the most useful you need to know when you start.


Bar Chords with E Shape.

Since you know the F, you know where your 2nd, 3rd and 4th fingers go to form the E shape. Sliding up and down the neck with an E Shape Barred gives you most of the common major open chords which you usually play at the top.

E Shape on 1st Fret - F
E Shape on 3rd Fret - G
E Shape on 5th Fret - A
E Shape on 8th Fret - C
E Shape on 10th Fret - D
E Shape on 12th Fret - E

So you have a very fast way of changing chords, sliding and muting with your bar finger.

If you play E Minor (take your middle finger off the neck) and bar it, you just get the same chords but the minor version, so:

Em Shape on 1st Fret - Fm
Em Shape on 3rd Fret - Gm
Em Shape on 5th Fret - Am
Em Shape on 8th Fret - Cm
Em Shape on 10th Fret - Dm
Em Shape on 12th Fret - Em

There you go its all an indie band needs, you can make your own songs more interesting now with muting. You'll also notice, that tabs are often written wrong, using the open chords and they are either overly difficult to play for what they sound like, or they sound wrong. If you use the bar version if the open version isn't working for you, chances are it will sound right and it's much easier to play.

Prehaps get a setup done on the guitar to make the action lower so you don't have to be so strong or change to a lighter string, or a string designed for a different type of music, for example Elixirs are much easier to play with than Martins.

Learn scales when you have the chance too, basis of all music, worth knowing them for that if not for the technique they give you. :)



Oh yeah:

Why play other people's stuff when you can play your own, the only reason you should look at other people stuff is so you can nick it. :D
 
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Hehe good ol' powerchords :D Plug in the distortion!

I'd also start transcribing. It's an odd thing but you'll never stop doing this - just as the guy says. Start with a simple tune - for example wombles, pink panther that you can hum a single note then find it on the guitar.
The fun with wombles/PP is the timing.

Last two personal points:
1. Please, try listening to different guitar music too. You'll find yourself pulling things into your playing.
2. Play with how you feel the music should be played, example of what I mean:
Someone that can learn: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=chuGEJEv33I
Someone that feels: http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=pT4az_Fzfqo

The second player is Alirio Diaz.

There are errors and differences in interpretation but it's a hard piece. Listen to some Venezuelan music and you'll see the feeling that's missing in the first but shown by Diaz playing his native music.

Something completely different, again it's Diaz:
http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=6XQ-XifFZL0

I learnt playing along to Iron Maiden, Megadeth, Guns'n'Roses :D
Now the only thing that I don't listen to is Country..
 
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1. get some lessons from a good teacher. I am self tought and proud of it, but a good teacher will stop sloppy habbits at thier inception.

2. Learn to use your pinky, wierd at frist, but very good to use it

3. Listen to all types of music, if you can play good rock lead, you can play anything.

4. Get yuour guitar playing well, nothing is worse to play than a badly setup guitar, but nothing is better to play thana good one, same goes for your amp, find a sound you like

5. dont try to play too quickly too fast, cant stress this enough

6. structure your practice to get the best from it

7. set very small goals, most beginners get really disheartened when they cant learn the yngwie lick they like, set very small, very attainable goals, this will keep your interest up and motivate you.

8. have fun !!
 
Make sure your guitar is tuned, obvious one, but so important, learn what each note sounds like, so you can tell its out of tune without grabbing a tuner everytime, good ear training.
 
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