I'm Stuck.

  • Thread starter Thread starter Zaphod B
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Zaphod B

Zaphod B

Raccoons-Be-Gone, Inc.
I need some advice from my fellow guitarists.

I feel like I'm stuck in my technique and I need some way to open up my guitar horizons. I think I need some kind of structured approach to learning and practicing scales, for example, and alternate techniques. I am not a formally educated musician so I've never had the benefit of any kind of structured practice aside from what I impose upon myself, winging it as an "ear" guitarist.

I can't read standard notation but I recognize that I might need to learn. I can do tabs although I rarely use them.

Can anyone recommend a good book or book/video combo that can help break me out of a rut and give me some stuff to work on?

Thanks!
 
Maybe the Guitar Grimoire series.

But perhaps you can just sit down and write out a practice plan for yourself. Examine what exercises work for you, practice to a metronome, and make full use of structured practice. Determine how long to practice, and define goals beyond "make myself better". Are there songs/solos/pieces that you'd like to learn?
 
BTW, also check out your local library. You never know what they have or may be able to obtain from other libraries. This way you can try out exercise books rather than find 2-weeks later you wasted your money.
 
Montage, I do dedicate myself to practice time - I try to get at least 30 minutes a day. I go through my repertoire of licks and build up in speed throughout the session, and run through a series of various chord structures. I can do what I know pretty well but it seems to be getting repetitive. I'm looking for some scale and chord structures with which I'm not familiar.

Checking out the library is a good idea. There are so many instructional books and videos out there, and I'm sure that 95% are just cobbled together.
 
LSD.

Windowpane, barrel, blotter, gelatin pyramids, or eyedrop.

:D
 
Zaphod B said:
Montage, I do dedicate myself to practice time - I try to get at least 30 minutes a day. I go through my repertoire of licks and build up in speed throughout the session, and run through a series of various chord structures. I can do what I know pretty well but it seems to be getting repetitive. I'm looking for some scale and chord structures with which I'm not familiar.

Checking out the library is a good idea. There are so many instructional books and videos out there, and I'm sure that 95% are just cobbled together.
Click to expand...
well, quit going thru your repertoire of licks and spend that time on new stuff that you don't know how to do or don't do well. Last couple of weeks I've been concentrating on descending arpeggios. And I've been picking up gigs with a band that tunes down half a step and, because you can't tune down a sax, I stay in standard tuning on guitar too which puts me playing in odd keys a lot.
It's easy to get in a rut where your practice consists of doing the things you do everytime and then practice time is over.
So quit doing those things and start doing something else.
I'm not making specific recommendations cause I don't know your strengths/weaknesses, but the principle is the same regardless of where you are.
 
Take up piano.

Seriously. Even just a community college class. You pick up a little theory and look at scales and harmony a little differently.

Another angle is learning to recognize relative pitch, intervals. If you could recognize any interval by ear you could play along with anybody.
 
Lt. Bob said:
It's easy to get in a rut where your practice consists of doing the things you do everytime and then practice time is over.
So quit doing those things and start doing something else.
Click to expand...
That's a perfect description. I'm looking for that "something else" to work on.

One thing that I do to keep my head sharp (rather than my fingers) is to take songs that I'm familiar with and transpose them on the fly into various keys, much like you're having to do with your current situation.

Anyhow, I just looked at the Guitar Grimoire web site and I found this:
"I have been playing quitar for 10 to 15 years.
I can play well, but I can't explain exactly what I am doing. I am also bored with my playing. What do you recommend?"

Substitute 40 years for the 10 to 15, and that describes me perfectly. :o
 
c7sus said:
Take up piano.

Seriously. Even just a community college class. You pick up a little theory and look at scales and harmony a little differently.

Another angle is learning to recognize relative pitch, intervals. If you could recognize any interval by ear you could play along with anybody.
Click to expand...

Yep, that's a good idea too.
 
Scales are good for building technical proficiency and developing that technique into speed and precision but they may not make your playing more musical. The deal with scales is knowing what to play and more importantly what not to play. As you become more proficient and hopefully musical as well you learn that there are very few notes you shouldn't play. You just know which note to alter in the ascending/descending scenario as in melodic minor.
 
What style of music do you play?

Are there other styles that you'd like to be able to play?

I have some advice I'd like to give, but I'd like to get a little more background before I do that.
 
Find a good teacher. Lessons can help, no matter how long you've been playing. A good teacher can help you move out of your comfort zone and learn new things.
 
dogonjon said:
Scales are good for building technical proficiency and developing that technique into speed and precision but they may not make your playing more musical.
Click to expand...
Roger that.
famous beagle said:
What style of music do you play?

Are there other styles that you'd like to be able to play?

I have some advice I'd like to give, but I'd like to get a little more background before I do that.
Click to expand...
My playing through the years has been based on rock and blues, a bit less on country and pop music. I play with a pick mostly, although I do use my free fingers on my right hand as well.

I'm not particularly interested in learning fingerstyle, for example, or becoming a master at tapping (but I'd tapping is a resource I'd like to, errrr, tap into ;)).

I would like to be able to make forays into jazz, and my lack of theory and complex chord structures really kills me there.

Mainly I want to expand my knowledge of the interrelationship between more complex chord construction and scales, and apply that knowledge to whatever I'm doing at the time. And I'd like to find some structured exercises that can help me build muscle memory.

pohaku said:
Find a good teacher. Lessons can help, no matter how long you've been playing. A good teacher can help you move out of your comfort zone and learn new things.
Click to expand...
I've considered that as well, and may pursue it.
 
Zaphod B said:
Montage, I do dedicate myself to practice time - I try to get at least 30 minutes a day. I go through my repertoire of licks and build up in speed throughout the session, and run through a series of various chord structures. I can do what I know pretty well but it seems to be getting repetitive. I'm looking for some scale and chord structures with which I'm not familiar.

Checking out the library is a good idea. There are so many instructional books and videos out there, and I'm sure that 95% are just cobbled together.
Click to expand...

Get a CD or mp3 of a type of music you do not normally play, and sit down and start playing with it.
 
Last edited:
Outlaws said:
Get a CD or mp3 of a type of music you do not normally play, and sit down and start playing with it.
Click to expand...

Yep, that can be a good exercise, too - learning something that isn't in your comfort zone.
 
I think you might have beat my edit up above...


Zaphod B said:
I would like to be able to make forays into jazz, and my lack of theory and complex chord structures really kills me there.
Click to expand...

Dave Matthews Band Live At Luther College.

I am not a jazz person, but I do like jazz guitar. That concert is amazing IMO to play along with. Its not the big epic DMB, its more of a stripped down version.
 
Lt. Bob said:
And I've been picking up gigs with a band that tunes
down half a step and, because you can't tune down a sax, I stay in standard tuning on guitar too which puts me playing in odd keys a lot.
Click to expand...

That's good advice. Figure out a bunch of bizarre open string chords you can use in flat keys.
 
Another thing you can do is set up a guitar in a way that's outside your comfort zone. If you do a lot of string bending try some strings that are too heavy to do that. If you have a heavy hand try some slinkys. Anyway make it so your old tricks don't work right and you have to play differently. That has worked for me in the past. I'll bet you're a better player than I am but we have a similar history.
 
Well, the first thing I would say is, if you want to learn to play jazz, for instance, start listening to a lot of jazz, and, more importantly, transcribe a lot of solos. Also, get a real book and learn some jazz melodies.

(Obviously, you need to read music to play out of a real book, but you don't need to in order to figure out solos from record --- unless you want to write them out obviously.)

Learning to read music will certainly benefit you, and it really won't be difficult at all. Just get a book, and it will be easy.

However, just learning to read and learning some theory won't allow you to play jazz. (And I'm not suggesting you're under the impression it will.) I certainly support the advice to learn some theory, as it will make many things much easier. Here's a good book I can recommend:

http://www.halleonard.com/product/viewproduct.do?itemid=695790&lid=0&keywords=music theory guitar&subsiteid=1&

I know Tom, and I'm familiar with this book. It's a good one.

But, like I said, learning the notes and the theory is only a part of it. Many great jazz players (Wes for instance) didn't read. If you want to play jazz, listen to it, and learn solos and chords from albums.

A lot of people stress theory as a fix-all solution, but I don't think it is. It's certainly helpful, but listening and ear training are much more important, IMO, to becoming a solid, well-rounded musician. With a well-trained ear, you'll be able to hear your basic pop song once and know the chords without even picking up an instrument. You'll be able to play what you hear in your head without fumbling around on the guitar.

Music is a language, and just like learning to speak a language, there is no substitute for being exposed to things first hand. Take for example, two people learning to speak German. One gets a book and studies how to pronounce things by having it explained to them. The other lives in Germany for a year. There's no contest as to which one will be more effective.

Good luck! :)
 
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