Guitar theory and practice routines

[Lola]

Give me an ACDC song that I haven’t learned yet and I will practice forever until I get it. I had a hell of a time getting the intro to Back in Black. That intro took me a year of regular practice. The solo to You shook me all night long took me the better part of 3 years. I can never give up on something I want badly. It’s just not in me. The Immigrant song wore the hell out of my hand for months on end but I got it because the other guitar player couldn’t play it. I was so proud of my accomplishment.

 

[Tucson Thump]

Give me an ACDC song that I haven’t learned yet and I will practice forever until I get it. I had a hell of a time getting the intro to Back in Black. That intro took me a year of regular practice. The solo to You shook me all night long took me the better part of 3 years. I can never give up on something I want badly. It’s just not in me. The Immigrant song wore the hell out of my hand for months on end but I got it because the other guitar player couldn’t play it. I was so proud of my accomplishment.

As well you should have.

 

[Mike J.]

Before I pick up a guitar I do various hand exercises. Seems like it's a must these days. (Yeah, I'm getting older! I'll be 69 in March). My hands don't hurt but there is a mild stiffness so hand stretches/exercises help. Then I warm up by playing your typical chromatic runs because it does help my fingers loosen up a bit more. Got a bit of a problem with my index finger on my fretting hand. When I grab the guitar that finger doesn't quite always go where I want it to but it loosens up and is fine before too long.

My main emphasis these days is with improvising because I'm trying to learn the fretboard much better. Even though I've been learning guitar since 1998 I was working very long hours right up until I retired in March of 2020 so progress was very, very slow. I figured out songs when I could to get me going but really never had the time to study what I was doing. Working hard at trying to change that. Most nights I sit down and will record something on my looper to jam along with. It might be a simple chord progression and it might be just one chord. It's slow going but I can tell it is helping me a lot. I'm a "decent" player but now it's time to zero in on what I'm doing and to discover what I can do over these chords.

If anyone has any tips on learning improvising please share! Never too old to learn!

Jeez.....so much to learn and so little time! Hey, I refuse to be one of those older guys who rots in front of the TV all night.

 

[Lola]

When I finish playing I get some hand cream and put it in a cup an nuke for 10 secs, apply an massage my hands with it. It’s very therapeutic. Sometimes I forget but mostly not.

 

[aphantomvaper]

Lately I've been practicing wrong notes, and how to make them right in context.

I know it sounds like Jazz...I'm more interested in covering mistakes up!

 

[Lola]

Lately I've been practicing wrong notes, and how to make them right in context.

I know it sounds like Jazz...I'm more interested in covering mistakes up!

Don’t make the mistakes in the first place.Practice makes perfect. Why would let your self makes mistakes. That would be a waste of my precious time.
That’s a tad ironic.

 

[Tucson Thump]

Don’t make the mistakes in the first place.Practice makes perfect. Why would let your self makes mistakes. That would be a waste of my precious time.
That’s a tad ironic.

So here's an interesting question to weigh in on:

Can mistakes lead to creativity?

 

[Lola]

So here's an interesting question to weigh in on:

Can mistakes lead to creativity?

Yes they can. But when you practice mistakes over and over again they become ingrained in your muscle memory and then they become a nasty habit and then they become very difficult to get rid of. Whatever floats your boat though. Just saying.

 

[dogrocketp]

I believe mistakes can lead to creativity. Practice is very important, but practicing the right things is more important. I target specific weaknesses in my playing and work on them. In addition , I do have a list of songs it may take me years to play to my satisfaction. I try to work on them every day. My theory was learned at a music school in Boston that I got a degree from. After 4 hand surgeries, I start every day with therapy putty exercises for 20 minutes, followed by icing for 5 minutes. That's every day. When I get home from work, I gobble some food and try to get some time in on guitar. Sometimes, it's only 20 minutes, but sometimes I look up and it's 11:00. There is magic every time I touch the guitar. Sometimes it's good and sometimes it's bad, but it's always there. I listen and play as I practice. I'm very proud to say that after 50+ years of playing, I have achieved the status of mediocre guitar player.

 

[Mike J.]

So here's an interesting question to weigh in on:

Can mistakes lead to creativity?

Absolutely! While I write songs for myself, there have been many times where I was trying to find what I heard in my head and went to something by mistake and said "yes, that's it!!" And it worked!

I'm sure this happens all the time with other people. I mean, how can it not?

 

[Tucson Thump]

Yes they can. But when you practice mistakes over and over again they become ingrained in your muscle memory and then they become a nasty habit and then they become very difficult to get rid of. Whatever floats your boat though. Just saying.

I agree, but I think I'm reading @aphantomvaper differently. Let's say you are playing along and someone starts improvising with a key or modal change and you've missed the cue. You have to know how to dig yourself out at that moment. To me it seems he wants to be able to create a path of experience.

 

[Lola]

How do you copy Youtube videos here.

 

[Deleted member 5962]

How do you copy Youtube videos here.

See the little movie film tape looking icon above your post? (In the window when you are typing a post, two right from the smiley face). Copy the link address on YouTube, click that button and paste it in there. It will embed it here.

 

[jak3af3r]

So here's an interesting question to weigh in on:

Can mistakes lead to creativity?

I'd argue yes and no depending on how you define mistake.

If what you mean is something unintentional that sounds good, then I would agree. I would however, encourage analysis afterwards so you can continue to use it in your vocabulary.

If what you mean is something unintentional that clashes or sounds bad, then I would disagree at which point I would say continuing to make those "mistakes" is no longer a mistake but bad practice.

 

[DISTORT6]

So here's an interesting question to weigh in on:

Can mistakes lead to creativity?

Isn’t that jazz?

 

[Tucson Thump]

I'd argue yes and no depending on how you define mistake.

If what you mean is something unintentional that sounds good, then I would agree. I would however, encourage analysis afterwards so you can continue to use it in your vocabulary.

If what you mean is something unintentional that clashes or sounds bad, then I would disagree at which point I would say continuing to make those "mistakes" is no longer a mistake but bad practice.

Succinctly put.

 

[Lola]

See the little movie film tape looking icon above your post? (In the window when you are typing a post, two right from the smiley face). Copy the link address on YouTube, click that button and paste it in there. It will embed it here.

I get it and thx. I follow this shredder named Bernth not that I shred but he has some amazing lessons that I would like to share with you guys. Thx!

 

[Deleted member 5962]

Give me an ACDC song that I haven’t learned yet and I will practice forever until I get it. I had a hell of a time getting the intro to Back in Black. That intro took me a year of regular practice. The solo to You shook me all night long took me the better part of 3 years. I can never give up on something I want badly. It’s just not in me. The Immigrant song wore the hell out of my hand for months on end but I got it because the other guitar player couldn’t play it. I was so proud of my accomplishment

Oh my! THAT is dedication! Wow. I've never even come close to that. The two longest times I've ever worked on any piece of music was just under 45 days to learn one Bach song (can't remember which one it was) but that was mostly because I had to play it from memory at the recital. I was able to play it completely with the music about 25 days in, but it was 20 pages long and it took me another 10-12 days to have it memorized. That was the longest I ever worked on one song on piano. And the other was Far Beyond The Sun. I worked on that one for a month and was very near the end. It's one blazing solo after another and basically getting them all straight and in order, and getting my hand position movements down, was as hard as learning the individual parts. I was very near the end of the song when I got my finger dislocated playing basketball. It was almost 4 months before that finger healed enough to even start playing something like that and by then, I was back to maybe 40% of where I left off.

 

[Lola]

Oh my! THAT is dedication! Wow. I've never even come close to that. The two longest times I've ever worked on any piece of music was just under 45 days to learn one Bach song (can't remember which one it was) but that was mostly because I had to play it from memory at the recital. I was able to play it completely with the music about 25 days in, but it was 20 pages long and it took me another 10-12 days to have it memorized. That was the longest I ever worked on one song on piano. And the other was Far Beyond The Sun. I worked on that one for a month and was very near the end. It's one blazing solo after another and basically getting them all straight and in order, and getting my hand position movements down, was as hard as learning the individual parts. I was very near the end of the song when I got my finger dislocated playing basketball. It was almost 4 months before that finger healed enough to even start playing something like that and by then, I was back to maybe 40% of where I left off.

Pls don’t forget my OCD is a big aid in getting me through this. I am so glad to have this ailment. It has seen me through my guitar journey with so many positive results.

 

[Deleted member 5962]

Pls don’t forget my OCD is a big aid in getting me through this. I am so glad to have this ailment. It has seen me through my guitar journey with so many positive results.?

I don't have OCD, but I had classically trained perfectionists for parents... sort of the same thing.