In the beggining did you learn a lot of chords?

I like to add new chords as I go along. Can't learn too many chords, including some bar chords. Some of them are difficult to do but the hard ones are important as they help develop your abilities.

That and strumming patterns all help and help learning songs easier because you already know some of the chords.

There is a variety of strumming patterns here that may help...

http://grouptherapy.guernsey.net/strumming.html

8)

Learn to add fills and riffs to the chords, learn to play them picking and how to play their arppegios. Think about which notes makes the chords you play and compare that to the melody line. Then try to come up with your own chord progression and think about a melody line. Ask yourself why playing a B note in the melody during a Bm chord sounds way different from playing the same B note during a C chord.

If you have a piano/keybord at hand play a Cm, Am en F chord. Try to play them so your hand stays close together and write down in what order you play the notes of each chord. Play those three notes in the same order on your guitar and compare that to the voicing you already know. Try these new voicings in songs you already know.

Just a few suggestions. :lol:

http://grouptherapy.guernsey.net/strumming.html

I have a question about this link:

If your trying to play in time; how is the following going to help?

DDUUD

That might be a pattern, but a pattern to what? 5/4 time or something.

I think it's better to teach strumming this way:

Don't ya think or I'm I just nitpicking?[/url]

Well, you can play them slow or play them fast. They are just general patterns to get used to so you can play them without thinking about it. Timing and accentuation for any part of the strum will be specific to the song you are working on. 8)

Chords are like scales, in my opinion knowing a certain scale or chord is pretty pointless unless you know how and where to use them. So I started out learning all the major and minor shapes, after that i'd learn the odd cool sounding chords that i hear in songs. After a while I played in a jazz band at school so i learned all those 7th and 9th chords. Nowadays I rarely use those 7th chords or 9th chords because I'm not a huge jazz fan, as a rock player I usually just use power chords and major and minor chords. So I would really say that you shouldn't worry too much about chords.

learn the minors of all the chords you know, and the 7ths, and the minor 7ths, and the major 7ths. Then you'll really be kickin'!

Bohh,

Does that list mean that you've been avoiding the dreaded F chord(s)? If so I'd get onto that as soon as you can. There's a zillion simple songs with an F in them.

http://grouptherapy.guernsey.net/strumming.html

I have a question about this link:

If your trying to play in time; how is the following going to help?

DDUUD

That might be a pattern, but a pattern to what? 5/4 time or something.

That would usually be standard 4/4 time, but it can depend on what speed each section is being done at. Each D or U would take half a beat, but there are "missed" half beats implied in there as you return to position for the next stroke (missing the strings as you go)

Usually, that would mean:

DOWN +missed Up again
DOWN + UP
Missed Down + played UP
DOWN + missed Up again to get ready for the next bar.

Most of the books I've got use a large V for downtrokes and a small inverted v for upstrokes. The method doesn't really matter, just as long as you know what it is you're trying to sound like. :)

And unfortunately, most tab, sheet music , etc doesn't give you strumming info in any of those forms anyway. Mostly we're left to decide which way we'll strum. So practising a few different styles is a worthwhile exercise. Many performers seem to vary the strum from bar to bar, and performance to performance anyway, so a good range of patterns, plus the ability to switch and improvise seems like a good idea. :)

Cheers, Chris

in order: the e and a barre chord shapes, major scales, blues scales, minor scales. after that, start trying to figure out songs by ear.

Theory anyone? I wouldn't say you need to be a music academic, but it helps to have a general knowledge of music theory and how it applies to the guitar. Try the theory lessons here at GN. It's nice to know stuff like what notes make up a chord and where those notes are on the guitar neck. If I'm playing a song in the key of G and I put a capo on the third fret, what key am I playing in now? What notes would I play now for a lick or solo in this new key? Having a better understanding of your instrument will make you a better player imo.

I've read a lot of different articles about what to learn and know what they all have in common? Absolutely nothing.

I've read different views on what chords to learn, what techniques to learn. Some argue, learn power chords first, they are the easiest. While others say, learn open chords first, they are the basis to guitar playing. Some say you should learn to read sheet music and theory to truly understand the guitar. While others say go entirely by ear because its easier and more expressive. I've even seen people have different views over what kind of guitar you should get first (acoustic/electric).

So the conclusion I drew from all this is that its all a matter of personal preference. Do whatever you want to learn, what's easiest for you but most important of all, do what is fun.

OneWingedAngel,

This is what I learned when I started a little over 3 months ago:

*Open chords (C, D, G, E to start) then added a few (Am, Dm, F (partial barre))

*Started scales but got bored of them...

*Strumming patterns (but was then told that I should learn DUDUDU with a metronome and then skip strums)

*A few songs I liked that were easy..this was the KEY motivating factor for me! (This I started around the 2nd or 3rd week)

Now that is what I started with...however as my experience increased my philosophy has changed somewhat...

*First I ALWAYS play one or two songs in ALL my practices...but now I am trying to add fills, transition cleaner, and do the actual strumming from the songs and not the "easy" versions.

*I have started to use a metronome for strumming but I still practice the strumming patterns on this site: http://grouptherapy.guernsey.net/strumming.html (I have not used a metronome to learns songs yet).

*I STILL practice ALL my open chord progressions...this has become my new warmup...

*Barre Chords are a MUST...I am also sneaking them into my chord progressions a little at a time. I concentrated on one shape (E shape) first since it's used in most of the songs I want to learn...I add one shape at a time and practice sliding it up and down the neck...

*Techniques...This is one I wish I practiced more earlier on...hammer-on's and pull-offs...learn on an acoustic first..then when you do them on an electric you FLY through them.

*NEW songs...but I take them slowly since I am no longer in a rush to learn songs...and sometimes I may start a song and leave it for a few days and come back later...no real reason.

My point here is that your learning will evolve as your skills improve AND as you notice what needs work. Each practice should focus on what NEEDS work and not necessarily what you already know (however refinement should ALWAYS bwe a part of every practice).

If you search the forums for my earlier posts you will see I had asked a similar question not so long ago. I am sure most of the members here have asked that question..what should I practice? You said it perfectly...
So the conclusion I drew from all this is that its all a matter of personal preference. Do whatever you want to learn, what's easiest for you but most important of all, do what is fun.

Except don't just do what is "easiest" for you...keep taking steps to add more new things as you go. And of course...HAVE FUN!

I actually meant easiest way to learn something. Like if you are really good at playing by ear, you could go without knowing standard notation. My friend actually goes entirely by ear.

As for what I've learned in the last 2 months:

*open chords (C, D, G) and (Em, Dsus2, C7)

*Strumming pattern DUDUDUDU (only learned it to play Nirvana)

*A couple songs I liked

*Power chords. I practice them more than anything since the music I like contains them more than anything

*Figuring out songs by ear (still improving that one)

*Hammer ons and string bending

I actually don't learn basics, I sorta take it song by song. More often I hear a song on the radio or whatever and say "This is an awesome song, I have to learn it!" Then look it up and find it has techniques or chords I don't know yet, so I learn them as I play the song. I tend to do things that give me an immediate result, so I have trouble just working on skills that will eventually lead to playing a song. That's why I work on skills as I learn songs. It's probably not the smartest way, but it works for me.

I actually meant easiest way to learn something. Like if you are really good at playing by ear, you could go without knowing standard notation. My friend actually goes entirely by ear.

I doubt standard notation was invented solely for people with bad hearing... :P

Standard Notation is definitely helpful though, especially if you're like me and like learning different instruments: it's EXTREMELY helpful when learning piano, I guess you could learn piano by ear, but something tells me it would be very hard to figure out entire parts for both the left hand and the right hand.

Anyways, what do I practice? Lately I've come to the realisation that I want to be able to play faster, not necessarily become a sweep arpeggio master or anything, just improve my speed to be able to get through some fast licks and sequences in alot of classic rock and such. So I would say that the main focus point of my practicing is going to be on technique, and then I'm probably going to work on getting a bigger repertoire both with rock music and classical music (which will include reading standard notation).

Right now i take violin lessons and my teacher is also teaching me piano, vocal and theory, but I'm pretty much on my own for guitar. On top of all that I'm going to college full time, so I really have to carefully plan out my schedule to equally balance everything out, which should be fun.