starbuck26
New member
behold: the secret
LOOK I MADE AN ILLUSTRATION:
LOOK I MADE AN ILLUSTRATION:
DrewPeterson7
Sage of the Order
Bingo, we have a winner.
T
Thurgood
New member
bump to an earlier post (and one of my own) Practice, Practice, Practice. Use metronome with scales and arps' , jam witj others and listen. Visualisation is very helpful. That damn Major 6th chord gives me nightmares but repitition helps.
six
New member
very true. "not practice makes perfect. perfect practice makes perfect."
when I started out, I made extremely quick progress because I learned and practiced the right things. now I don't even know what and most of all how to practice... maybe a GOOD teacher would help, but I'm too old.
Milnoque
Resident Curmudgeon
Practice gives you technique but technique does not make you a musician.
Practice your ass off for sure, but also,............ PLAY MUSIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Music that you care about. Music that's fun. Play it with people whose company you enjoy. Play it without worrying about the mistakes. Play it because of the way it makes you feel. Play it to change your mood. Tweak your amp until it sounds stupid and play it that way. Play it on really really bad guitars as well as good ones. Until you have what it takes, give what you have. THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE FUN!!!!!!!!!!
Practice your ass off for sure, but also,............ PLAY MUSIC!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Music that you care about. Music that's fun. Play it with people whose company you enjoy. Play it without worrying about the mistakes. Play it because of the way it makes you feel. Play it to change your mood. Tweak your amp until it sounds stupid and play it that way. Play it on really really bad guitars as well as good ones. Until you have what it takes, give what you have. THIS IS SUPPOSED TO BE FUN!!!!!!!!!!
A
AASteveo
New member
I've been taking guitar lessons from great teachers for years now and i think i found a pretty efficient way to become a better player:
1) determine what you want to learn.
improv, songwriting, chords, speed, double picking, tapping, sweep picking, solo lines, melody lines, sight reading, scales, learning popular songs, etc.
Break it down into categories like this and determine which of these categories you need to work on. you could even rate yourself on a scale of 1-10 in each category so you have a list of "stats" that you can look at to more accurately determine what you need work on.
2) find material to practice. books, magazines, tabs, forums, songs, etc. (I like to use www.guitarknowledgenet.com or youtube).
don't just play stuff you already know. or at least don't count "jamming" time as your practice time. they are two separate things. if you want to be efficient, keep pushing yourself to learn fresh new things for at least one solid hour every day. or maybe work in half hour increments and give yourself a break for "jam-time". whatever feels comfortable.
don't expect everything to be in one place or in one book. you're going to end up with a huge collection of websites, magazines, books, instructional videos, hand-written tabs, etc. but always be skeptical of online scams. if you're really looking to spend money, you'd be better off cruising the local music shop for books and instructional videos.
3) organize your materials into sub-category folders. i read an article about how john petrucci does this, and it makes sense. if you have a specific subject to work on that day, it's really easy to just grab the corresponding folder and start working. or sometimes you'll go on an internet search and you come across boat loads of material that you can't get to right away. just save it to the corresponding folder and it'll be easy to find later. the more organized you are, the more efficient you can be.
this applies to the cleanliness of your desk as well. if you have to move a bunch of stuff around and search your room for cables in order to start playing guitar, you're less likely to play. but if it's just sitting there next to a clean desk ready to play with a bookcase full of organized notes and materials, you'll end up playing more simply because it's more accessible.
4) schedule time to practice and what to practice.
find at least one hour every day to work on these things. if you have to skip a day, try to make up for it the next day. try to maintain the same number of practice hours each week.
there are a few options from here, you can work on one subject until you get bored of it, or you can schedule to switch subjects throughout the week.
if you figure out your top 7 subjects you want to improve on, work on a different one each day of the week. now it's only a matter of time until you've improved in all of those areas!
it's sucks when a guitarist will only work on one aspect for months at a time and then find out later that he's severely lacking in other areas. you want to be well-rounded, so work on different subjects at different times throughout the week and you'll get gradually get better at everything.
the worst thing you can do is sit down at the guitar with no aim. you get frustrated and overwhelmed with the question "what do i practice?", and you just end up playing stuff you already know. but if you schedule ahead of time things to work on, you won't lose focus as easily.
5) 'practice logs'. keep track of your dedicated practice time and watch yourself grow.
there are calender programs that work great. or you could just write it on a piece of paper each week.
write how long you practiced each day and what you worked on.
at the beginning of each week, write down a list of objectives that you want to accomplish. then cross them out as you go.
tally up the total number of hours at the end of each week and compare this to your past logs. if you can look back on how much time you put into practicing, it's much easier to determine how to be more efficient in the future. and it's inspiring to see all the work you've done and the things you've accomplished when you look back at these practice logs.
1) determine what you want to learn.
improv, songwriting, chords, speed, double picking, tapping, sweep picking, solo lines, melody lines, sight reading, scales, learning popular songs, etc.
Break it down into categories like this and determine which of these categories you need to work on. you could even rate yourself on a scale of 1-10 in each category so you have a list of "stats" that you can look at to more accurately determine what you need work on.
2) find material to practice. books, magazines, tabs, forums, songs, etc. (I like to use www.guitarknowledgenet.com or youtube).
don't just play stuff you already know. or at least don't count "jamming" time as your practice time. they are two separate things. if you want to be efficient, keep pushing yourself to learn fresh new things for at least one solid hour every day. or maybe work in half hour increments and give yourself a break for "jam-time". whatever feels comfortable.
don't expect everything to be in one place or in one book. you're going to end up with a huge collection of websites, magazines, books, instructional videos, hand-written tabs, etc. but always be skeptical of online scams. if you're really looking to spend money, you'd be better off cruising the local music shop for books and instructional videos.
3) organize your materials into sub-category folders. i read an article about how john petrucci does this, and it makes sense. if you have a specific subject to work on that day, it's really easy to just grab the corresponding folder and start working. or sometimes you'll go on an internet search and you come across boat loads of material that you can't get to right away. just save it to the corresponding folder and it'll be easy to find later. the more organized you are, the more efficient you can be.
this applies to the cleanliness of your desk as well. if you have to move a bunch of stuff around and search your room for cables in order to start playing guitar, you're less likely to play. but if it's just sitting there next to a clean desk ready to play with a bookcase full of organized notes and materials, you'll end up playing more simply because it's more accessible.
4) schedule time to practice and what to practice.
find at least one hour every day to work on these things. if you have to skip a day, try to make up for it the next day. try to maintain the same number of practice hours each week.
there are a few options from here, you can work on one subject until you get bored of it, or you can schedule to switch subjects throughout the week.
if you figure out your top 7 subjects you want to improve on, work on a different one each day of the week. now it's only a matter of time until you've improved in all of those areas!
it's sucks when a guitarist will only work on one aspect for months at a time and then find out later that he's severely lacking in other areas. you want to be well-rounded, so work on different subjects at different times throughout the week and you'll get gradually get better at everything.
the worst thing you can do is sit down at the guitar with no aim. you get frustrated and overwhelmed with the question "what do i practice?", and you just end up playing stuff you already know. but if you schedule ahead of time things to work on, you won't lose focus as easily.
5) 'practice logs'. keep track of your dedicated practice time and watch yourself grow.
there are calender programs that work great. or you could just write it on a piece of paper each week.
write how long you practiced each day and what you worked on.
at the beginning of each week, write down a list of objectives that you want to accomplish. then cross them out as you go.
tally up the total number of hours at the end of each week and compare this to your past logs. if you can look back on how much time you put into practicing, it's much easier to determine how to be more efficient in the future. and it's inspiring to see all the work you've done and the things you've accomplished when you look back at these practice logs.
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T
thurni
New member
Secrets? Easy...
1. Listen
2. Play A LOT
3. Love what you do
4. Have talent
Repeat 1 & 2 enough and maybe you or someone else will discover 4 is true. If not at least you'll be having fun.
1. Listen
2. Play A LOT
3. Love what you do
4. Have talent
Repeat 1 & 2 enough and maybe you or someone else will discover 4 is true. If not at least you'll be having fun.
Z
zwardlaw
New member
seriously, practice more than you would think you should practice. and dont drop something until it sounds right. oh, and learn about music it's self. learn the theory and really figure out what you are playing. Beyond just learning chords and scales, learn why the chords and scales are the way they are. It will help a ton. theory is always good to know even if it doesnt sound as much fun as rocking out.
even if it doesnt sound as much fun as rocking out.
iqi616
Yet another Mike
On the busy days, if you can't fit in an hour, at least try to fit in 15 minutes - a warm-up (e.g. a scale you're trying to learn), then work on a study piece, then something you can play okay but you're working to get good enough to add to your repertoire. For me, I can usually only find 15 minutes a day but I've found 15 minutes per day during the week keeps me in better shape than a couple of hours on the weekend.
S
Superhuman
Shagaholic
That works for me too. I have so little time that I prefer to spend it composing, for me the most engaging way of practicing and learning is while recording/jamming/composing.
eyema_believer
Bondservant
Here's my biggest secret I like to share with any amature musician. If you learn this, you will often be mistaken for a seasoned pro.
***********"SILENCE IS A NOTE."***********
There. Now, you know. Learn how to add just enough to a song, and never over-play. People will love to play with you then.
Peace!
~Shawn
***********"SILENCE IS A NOTE."***********
There. Now, you know. Learn how to add just enough to a song, and never over-play. People will love to play with you then.
Peace!
~Shawn
cavedog101
Well-known member
Can I get an AMEN BROTHER!!!!
WhiteStrat
Don't stare at the eye.
2nd time I've heard overplay talked about in a couple weeks. (It sticks out to me--cause I overplay!). Had a dude in my studio who was a very accomplished rock player going back 30 years. But he wasn't happy--you might say he had the blues. Seriously, he just wanted to play the blues. The transition itself took 10-15 years, and now (and for some years now) the dudes OOZES incredibly authentic blues music.
The number one hurdle in his decade long transition? He had to stop overplaying. I was jamming with him. He did so much less and sounded so much better...
c7sus
Disenfranchised Member
Garcia said his "tone" and sound was really the result of his limitations more than anything else.
An interesting way to look at it, IMHO.
I guess if there is a secret weapon I would say it is learning to recognize intervals by ear. If you can learn that and master it then it's just a matter of developing good technique so you can play all those beautiful intervals fast and clean.
Good luck!!!
An interesting way to look at it, IMHO.
I guess if there is a secret weapon I would say it is learning to recognize intervals by ear. If you can learn that and master it then it's just a matter of developing good technique so you can play all those beautiful intervals fast and clean.
Good luck!!!
soldierone
the future is amazing...
I do have to say that I like this approach...
unless you just have to be the most technical player out there, you should really focus on making some good tunes or playing some stuff that you enjoy. If you like what you're doing and having a good time, it will come through in your playing.
D
dogonjon
New member
It's not what you know...
Get to know your local musicians. Make friends with them and go to their shows, buy them a beer now and then. Sponsor an after hours party and invite them. Engage them in conversations where you steer them into talking about their experiences, they will love talking with you. You will learn and become inspired to play. They will be impressed and invite you to jam with them.
Get to know your local musicians. Make friends with them and go to their shows, buy them a beer now and then. Sponsor an after hours party and invite them. Engage them in conversations where you steer them into talking about their experiences, they will love talking with you. You will learn and become inspired to play. They will be impressed and invite you to jam with them.
B
Bob's Mods
New member
Jack Daniels
A substantial amount of Charlie Daniel's brother Jack would help greatly in addition with a oz of Columbian Gold. Proven performance enhancers.
Seriously, practice is good but only goes so far. To really take your chops to the next level......all the LIVE playing you get. Its the live play that really molds an artist.
A substantial amount of Charlie Daniel's brother Jack would help greatly in addition with a oz of Columbian Gold. Proven performance enhancers.
Seriously, practice is good but only goes so far. To really take your chops to the next level......all the LIVE playing you get. Its the live play that really molds an artist.
eyema_believer
Bondservant
Yeah! This way, at least you'll think you sound good, even when your performance has been "enhanced" to the point that you suck, really really bad.
