I've hit a brick wall...

R

RatedZ

New member
First, I'd like to say hello to everyone, as this is my first post here. I don't even know if I'm on the right forum to ask some of these questions, but I'm going to take a shot in the dark.

I've probably been messing around with a guitar for a total of about 10 years, but that was 10 years ago. The wife and I just moved into a new home and decided to set up a "music room." Since doing so, I've recently gotten back into playing. The problem is that when I stopped playing 10 years ago I got frustrated and hit a brick wall. I felt like I just couldn't excel any further. Now that I've picked up my guitars again, I feel like I'm right where I left off.

Ok, I never liked reading music or theory when I was younger. I just wanted to learn a few chords and play some Metal. Mission accomplished. The problem is that I can't even play a solo. I mean, I just...suck. I don't know where to start, and I feel like I have no creativity whatsoever. I mean, anyone can just pick up a guitar and sound like Kerry King (with all due respect, Kerry...), but that isn't good enough. I want to play something that has some "feeling" to it, but I just can't...get it.

I don't know where to start, or even know how I should approach excelling with my playing. At this point, I'm just getting all irritated once again. :(

The "funny" thing about this is that I own 4 guitars, and I want to buy another one. I currently own a BC Rich Mockingbird NJ Series, USA-made Fender Telecaster Plus, Ibanez EX180, and Gibson Epiphone Shadow Six acoustic "cut-away."
 
Two things I do to get past that point:

1) Completely learn a song by someone else. I don't do covers. I've been playing for 30 years and I don't know one cover from start to finish--I've always been to busy writing my own stuff. So when I'm creatively frustrated, I take the pressure off by learning another song note for note. I always come away better than I started. (and yes, then I get back into my own groove and promptly forget that song--that's why I still don't know any covers!)

2) Play a different style. For me it's jazz. My bread and butter is playing lead guitar in a very classic rock/prog rock context. When I'm stuck I lay down a jazz chord progression (just did that this week in fact) and start soloing over it. Even if I use my same old scales & patterns, they fit differently over the jazz progression, and I always hear and learn new things.

There are lots of jump starts, but these are two that work for me.

Good luck & welcome to the board!
 
WhiteStrat said:
Two things I do to get past that point:

1) Completely learn a song by someone else. I don't do covers. I've been playing for 30 years and I don't know one cover from start to finish--I've always been to busy writing my own stuff. So when I'm creatively frustrated, I take the pressure off by learning another song note for note. I always come away better than I started. (and yes, then I get back into my own groove and promptly forget that song--that's why I still don't know any covers!)

2) Play a different style. For me it's jazz. My bread and butter is playing lead guitar in a very classic rock/prog rock context. When I'm stuck I lay down a jazz chord progression (just did that this week in fact) and start soloing over it. Even if I use my same old scales & patterns, they fit differently over the jazz progression, and I always hear and learn new things.

There are lots of jump starts, but these are two that work for me.

Good luck & welcome to the board!
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Thanks for the suggestions. I think I'm going to do that when I get home from work today. Sometimes I try to "expand" my creativity by breaking out the acoustic and trying to write some material, but it's the same deal. :(

I have a few books, so I'll try thumbing through them for some ideas and some changes!
 
RatedZ said:
Thanks for the suggestions. I think I'm going to do that when I get home from work today. Sometimes I try to "expand" my creativity by breaking out the acoustic and trying to write some material, but it's the same deal. :(

I have a few books, so I'll try thumbing through them for some ideas and some changes!
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Get some folks to come over and jam. Nothing gets you out of a rut faster than playing with other people.
 
Listen to a lot of different music. Stuff you might not normally listen to.

Something I used to do when I was younger was to watch TV, and when the commercials come on, tried soloing to the jingles. Sounds stupid for sure, but it kinda opened things up because I was playing to stuff I wouldn't normally play to.

Basically, try a bit of diversity. Fill your head with melodies from everywhere.

But most importantly, practice. A lot.
 
legionserial said:
Something I used to do when I was younger was to watch TV, and when the commercials come on, tried soloing to the jingles. Sounds stupid for sure, but it kinda opened things up because I was playing to stuff I wouldn't normally play to.
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A friend had an older brother who started on guitar when he was about 11. After deciding he needed a bass player, he convinced the parents to buy my friend a bass and amp -- the younger was maybe 9 at the time. They would get home from school, turn on the TV, and plug in. To this day they can play flawlessly many TV themes ("This is what they play when Ellie Mae's walking by the swimming pool...") and, of course, they can play practically anything by ear. The older brother's son, now grown, told me one time that when he was in high school, he'd see something on MTV and ask his dad how to play it. "Oh, you mean this" and off he'd go.

Good advice from all, especially the jamming. Play stuff you don't know. I seem to have spent a long, musically happy life playing material I really didn't know yet...and then the gig was over, and off we went to do something else. Now, when I play familiar songs, I can really stretch out on them.
 
I expressed a similar sentiment to Clark Terry in my college years. He said to me.."Boy. You don't know your scales."

He was correct. I had ideas, just not the tools to express them. I damn sure know my scales now.:cool:
 
Also ...

The basics -- learn/practice chords (more chords and more positions) and scales (more positions), especially minor and blues scales if rock soloing is a major goal. There is plenty of stuff on line free to guide you; while you are looking check out the CAGED approach to guitar chords and scales. Music theory isn't necessary I suppose, unless you want to write songs, in which case at least a little theory knowledge is needed. A little work on theory can also help you better identify what is being played on songs you listen to, thus making it easier to figure things out.
 
ggunn said:
Get some folks to come over and jam. Nothing gets you out of a rut faster than playing with other people.
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+1000 000.
Start jamming, with people, form a band maybe. I'm in a rut, been for a couple of years now.... Skill-wise. But playing with friends or on stages, I don't mind, I'm having fun!!:D
And actually, listening, and seeing friends play, has teached me things, and with those things, I like to play more at home again.
..and don't get me even started on how much of a learning-curve it is to form, play, rehearse, and record, a band.:)
 
Do you have the means to record a couple small tracks on your PC? Lay down some crappy midi drums and a guitar riff, loop it, and practice over it. Even just a couple measures of 2 chords back and forth, or even 1 chord, chug out some E's, anything. Just some simple rhythm to jam to.

Learn your scales!!! Start by just playing the roots of the chords, then play the root+2 frets, the root+3 frets, the root-2 frets. Just try out different notes near the root, you'll figure out what sounds good and what doesn't. Stay in time, throw in some double picking, etc. My 1st guitar solos were pretty much E E E E G EEE E E G EEE E E E E E E... etc.
 
The 2 things I've found that accelerate the learning curve faster than ANYTHING else...

1) Take lessons. Having one-on-one interaction with a good teacher who can tailor the plan to your needs and level will help you progress WAY faster than anything you can do by yourself.

2) Play with other people - especially ones better than you. It's easy to fall into the same playing patterns and habits when playing alone. Like private lessons, interacting with others to make music together will force you to step out of your own box and expand your horizons.
 
Wow, those are some really good suggestions! I especially like the one about trying to play to the jingles of a tv commercial. That's a great idea!

Unfortunately, I don't really have anyone to jam with. I'm in a new area and the only people I really associate with are over an hour away; none which are into music. :(

I'm working on finding a good instructor in the area for lessons.

As for soloing, I would feel so accomplished if I could just get out there and shred something right off the top of my head. I understand it's not going to happen over night, and I certainly don't expect it to. My main problem isn't speed or accuracy (even though there's always room for improvement...) but more or less "putting the puzzle together." I have the most trouble with starting at a position, and then finding notes that will "mesh" smoothly. :(
 
+1 on the lessons. It is a good way to get you out of your comfort zone - which is too easy to fall back into. I've started taking lessons again after many, many years and it has certainly made me learn and play things that otherwise would never have occurred to me to try on my own.
 
RatedZ said:
My main problem isn't speed or accuracy (even though there's always room for improvement...) but more or less "putting the puzzle together." I have the most trouble with starting at a position, and then finding notes that will "mesh" smoothly. :(
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Understanding chord structures and where those notes occur on the fretboard is the first key to unlocking that little secret. ;)
 
Eric F said:
Understanding chord structures and where those notes occur on the fretboard is the first key to unlocking that little secret. ;)
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This sounds so much like a quote I've read from every guitar book out there, but what does it mean really? I know all the notes on the fretboard, can name any chord I can play, and can play that chord any where on the neck. I understand inversions and can play any scale or mode you'd like to hear. When do I get let in on the secret?

There ain't no secret. You can only play what you have practiced. You may reach the stage where you don't need a guitar to "practice" and this just means your ears are developing. Some people develop their ears enough to name all the notes in a solo without picking up an instrument. The notes are emblazened in their mind and their fingers before they grab a fret. The kind of player you'd like to be is the guy who can "write" the notes ahead of the time you want to play them.
 
mikemorgan said:
This sounds so much like a quote I've read from every guitar book out there, but what does it mean really? I know all the notes on the fretboard, can name any chord I can play, and can play that chord any where on the neck. I understand inversions and can play any scale or mode you'd like to hear. When do I get let in on the secret?

There ain't no secret. You can only play what you have practiced. You may reach the stage where you don't need a guitar to "practice" and this just means your ears are developing. Some people develop their ears enough to name all the notes in a solo without picking up an instrument. The notes are emblazened in their mind and their fingers before they grab a fret. The kind of player you'd like to be is the guy who can "write" the notes ahead of the time you want to play them.
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The key (for me, anyway) was understanding which notes/scales fit with which chords. If I'm playing over an Am, I know what my options are. I can't necessarily name all the notes in a every chord or scale like some people can. I process things in visual patterns or shapes much more efficiently. Once I understood how the patterns linked together, and how they apply to different chords, the horizon started to grow for me. There are no short cuts, only understanding. It's the understanding of how the pieces (chords, scales, inversions, etc.) fit together that is the secret. No matter how you do it, it takes practice.
 
Eric F said:
The key (for me, anyway) was understanding which notes/scales fit with which chords. If I'm playing over an Am, I know what my options are. I can't necessarily name all the notes in a every chord or scale like some people can. I process things in visual patterns or shapes much more efficiently. Once I understood how the patterns linked together, and how they apply to different chords, the horizon started to grow for me. There are no short cuts, only understanding. It's the understanding of how the pieces (chords, scales, inversions, etc.) fit together that is the secret. No matter how you do it, it takes practice.
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And this sounds like exactly what my catch is; the understanding of how the chords, scales, etc. fit together.
 
The only thing I can add to what's already been posted is this. When you hit the wall (and all of us do) Its more important than ever to make yourself put in the time. Force yourself to give it 30 minutes or an hour every day no matter what. Do more if you can. There is no substitute for moving your fingers.

Best of luck from a guy who's been there a bunch of times.
 
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