Hello all new to the forum here and have been playing guitar off and on for 14 years. As a 15 year old young man who just wanting to pick up a guitar and play I skipped the learning techniques, practice, scales, etc and jumped right into learning songs. I am able to get through very few songs like seek and destroy and slither minus the guitar solos. I wish I had applied my self better at a young age. Fast forward to 2024 I want to get better at guitar and be able to just sit down and jam/improvise that's not just playing power chords and the same songs over but do not want to sit through hours of beginner guitar videos. Can anyone help me with my goal for 2024, where do I start without starting over?
Playing off and on 14 years
- Thread starter Masoniac
- Start date
jak3af3r
Jake
I would do a few things.
1. Start learning where the notes on the fretboard are. Take something like G and try to find it everywhere. This will give you anchoring points when you're improvising and keep you from getting lost. It should also begin to reveal patterning of note placement throughout the instrument.
2. Try figuring out songs or parts of songs by ear. This will build a link between auditory and visual on the guitar and it leads me to the most important thing I could tell anyone...
3. LISTEN LISTEN LISTEN. Listening to anything and everything will expose you to ideas and help engrain things in your head. I could watch a million videos on how to write letters or learning big words but it won't inform me on how to string them together into a coherent sentence like listening to language in action would.
4. Have fun. It's easy to get frustrated while trying to actually make new neural pathways in your brain so I would always learn a little and then go play something I enjoyed for a while.
1. Start learning where the notes on the fretboard are. Take something like G and try to find it everywhere. This will give you anchoring points when you're improvising and keep you from getting lost. It should also begin to reveal patterning of note placement throughout the instrument.
2. Try figuring out songs or parts of songs by ear. This will build a link between auditory and visual on the guitar and it leads me to the most important thing I could tell anyone...
3. LISTEN LISTEN LISTEN. Listening to anything and everything will expose you to ideas and help engrain things in your head. I could watch a million videos on how to write letters or learning big words but it won't inform me on how to string them together into a coherent sentence like listening to language in action would.
4. Have fun. It's easy to get frustrated while trying to actually make new neural pathways in your brain so I would always learn a little and then go play something I enjoyed for a while.
Improv takes knowledge , Jake is spot on. I tell all of my students , LEARN the fretboard , so you can play a scale starting at any point on the neck .
My teacher ( Masters in Music , Stanford Prof ) made us practice in the dark , and sing each not we played . It doesn't matter if you can sing , the point is the connection to your instrument .
My teacher ( Masters in Music , Stanford Prof ) made us practice in the dark , and sing each not we played . It doesn't matter if you can sing , the point is the connection to your instrument .
I got into guitar very late in life. One thing that is really helping me with learning the fretboard is jam tracks on YouTube.
Different styles and different chord progressions is really helping. Believe it or not, some of my favorites are the jam tracks that vamp over one chord like A minor for example. We all learn different and this is one thing that has really helped me.
Different styles and different chord progressions is really helping. Believe it or not, some of my favorites are the jam tracks that vamp over one chord like A minor for example. We all learn different and this is one thing that has really helped me.
JasonE
New Member
I will tell you the same thing I gold my daughter when she wanted to learn to play. There are no shortcuts. If it were easy everyone would be a rock star guitar player. You have to put the time in and learn the rules of how music and the instrument work. You are already getting some good advice, but keep in mind, it will take focus and work.
revtime
New Member
- Joined
- Oct 31, 2023
- Messages
- 66
I started at 43 years of age. My wife had just passed and I had alot of time on my hands. Im 54 now. People that see me play say Im very good. I credit that to learning the pentatonic scale in all 5 positions like my life depended on it. For me the pent scale is the heart. Everything blossoms from it.
I spent 3 to 4 hours a day for 6 months on nothing but the pent scale. It paid off huge. I can play in any key. I can improvise without putting to much thought into it. Even if you are fuzzy on what you are doing the pent scale can make you look like a pro.
Youtube vids help. I like Steve Stine. He makes it understandable.
Just be prepared. If you want to get good plan on spending a lot, and I mean ALOT, of time with a guitar in your hands.
I spent 3 to 4 hours a day for 6 months on nothing but the pent scale. It paid off huge. I can play in any key. I can improvise without putting to much thought into it. Even if you are fuzzy on what you are doing the pent scale can make you look like a pro.
Youtube vids help. I like Steve Stine. He makes it understandable.
Just be prepared. If you want to get good plan on spending a lot, and I mean ALOT, of time with a guitar in your hands.
Juan Luis Vidal
Not so new member
Before learning to run you need to learn how to properly walk. To all the great suggestions offered add the most important one, IMHO: practice any difficult part really slowly, with the help of a metronome, making sure you nail it and then speed up. Software like Guitar Pro can be your best friend, serving both as a metronome and as a backing track.
RossF
Legato Fugato
Learn the Major scale and the intervals between the root an the other notes of the scale. Nothing is more important imo
