Some questions to the more experienced guitar players

Hello Isabelle! And welcome to GuitarNoise!

1 & 2. My father was a guitarist so there were always guitars and music going on in my house growing up. My dad took me to Montogmery Wards back in 1969 and bought me a little 3/4 sized steel string no-name acoustic. He was my first teacher and I pretty much learned the songs that he wanted to teach me! (He had no interest in that "new fangled rock and roll" stuff, so I learned a lot of country, country swing and even some polka music!) That went on until I felt secure enough in my playing to start playing what I liked. The first song I taught myself was "House of the Rising Sun". I played (rock and roll!) steadily for 10-12 years and then stopped playing for around 20 years (long story!). I decided to pick it back up about 5 years ago. Since then I've been learning (and re-learning) on my own without a teacher.

3. I played in bands until about a month ago (my health won't allow me to stand onstage for four or more hours at a stretch anymore :cry: , but it sure was fun while it lasted!). But, I intend to keep playing for myself and to go jam whenever possible!

4. IMHO, the most important things to master before moving on to more complicated things are (in no particular order):
a. chord changes
b. strum techniques
c. knowing where all of the notes are on the fretboard
d. modes
e. keys and key transposition
f. timing

I'm sure others will add to my incomplete list!

Welcome to the musical madhouse!

First guitar -- Alvarez acoustic. It's been replaced by a better Alvarez and now has several electric friends

I'm an advocate of finding and learning from a good teacher/coach. I still take lessons (and just might never stop taking them!)

I now play in a band for fun -- and highly recommend finding people to play with at some point in your musical journey.

EB's advice, as always, is golden. And that list is actually pretty complete. A, B, and C will keep you busy for quite a while.

Again, welcome to this altnerate universe of guitar obsession!

Hi Isabelle :D

Well, I guess I'm qualified to answer this....
You said 'more experienced'.
Not 'Good' players.... :P

I started sometime before I was a teenager, with a used no name hollow body electric that I still have today.
My dad played guitar.... though in no way taught me anything.
I did however start by taking lessons from his guitar teacher.

He started out by trying to teach me how to read music and play simple melodies...
Something that I didn't quickly pick up, and he was a 'professional' musician that had little patience for people like me.
So, after several lessons in which I was driven to the verge of tears - I quit.

Then, when I was 18.... I had the bright idea to form a band with my two best friends.
So, despite the fact that I couldn't play the guitar (or any other musical instrument), I saved up $500.00 and then rushed
right out and bought myself a brand new Fender Stratocaster! (Which I still have and play)

We didn't have any amps - so I rigged up my old twin channel JVC cassette deck to a stereo amplifier and some speaker cabs,
and Viola!
Harold (the bass player) and I were now amplified.
And we even had seperate volumes. (Bonus!)
(Side note - I still have that JVC and STILL play through it!)

Here comes the tricky part.

As I said... I had NO IDEA how to play.
Harold on the other hand, had several years of school band, and his entire family played a musical instrument (3 brothers/2 sisters).
So he had no trouble playing simple bass lines.
And Big Joe - all he had to do was play drums. (Just a little band humor - J/K :twisted: )

I, on the other hand was expected to sing/play rhythm/and lead. LOL!

One day, Harold stopped playing and angrily stated that he couldn't take any more.
It would seem that I didn't play in tune or in key and didn't play any real chords or use any real scales. :roll:
Some people are just hard to please I guess. :P

So - they started bringing in 'guest' guitarists, and I found myself more often than not, sitting on my amp with my guitar in my lap.

So I went to uncle Bobby and asked him to teach me some things. (He went to school for music and could play classical guitar)
He taught me some open chords and when I had a handfull of those down, taught me my first song -
Gloria by THEM.
E - D - A
Pretty simple and straight forward.
Allowed me to get some changes down and work on my timing and strum technique.
Then, as it was so easy, I also learned how to sing and play it at the same time.

To this day, whenever I get together with Harold and Joe to play....
The first song we do is Gloria :D

Uncle Bobby taught me for several months, and even made some apperances at band practice.
We still get together and jam whenever we're in town together. (He lives in Illinois, I in Wisconsin)

I went on to get another teacher while still in the band.

Mostly though, I've largely taught myself.
I will admit though that the teachers jump started the learning process and I probably would've not gone on to do anything
with the guitar without them.
And, I wish I would have learned to read music and play those simple melodies all those years ago.

These days, I just play for myself (and am quite lazy about it :( ).

I think EB's list pretty much sums it up.
(Hi EB! :D I was just thinking about you last night. Haven't heard from you in a while. I was going to PM you. Hope you are doing well)

Playing the guitar can be awfully frustrating at times.
And it seems like you get stuck in one place for eternities
Then - like magic, you leap to a new level.

Find a song that has chords you can play AND has an F chord in it.
That'll take your mind off of things :wink:

And remember...
Relax and HAVE FUN!

Ken

I started because I saw a guy playing guitar and I thought "I could do that...". My first guitar was a 1962 Harmony acoustic.

At first I was teaching myself, and people told me I was getting to be pretty good. I'd started performing, but I kept wanting to be able to play better, so I got a teacher after a couple of years. It turned out a lot of the things I was doing were dead wrong from a technique standpoint, so in some ways it was like starting over. But I'm glad I did :)

I play with bands sometimes, but I'm not in one at the moment. But I teach guitar for a living, so I'm playing more than most people I know.

I think the most important thing to master is a sense of comfort with the instrument, and the confidence that you CAN make music with it. You don't have to be great to have fun, or even to make money - somebody like Billie Joe Armstrong isn't a great guitarist, but he seems to be doing fine with it. But most people have to shake the feeling that they can't before they discover that hey, they really can!

(Hi EB! :D I was just thinking about you last night. Haven't heard from you in a while. I was going to PM you. Hope you are doing well)

Thanks, Ken! I'm doing well! I just sold my house so I'm packing up and looking for a new house at the same time, so I've been pretty busy! Thanks for asking!! :D

3. I played in bands until about a month ago (my health won't allow me to stand onstage for four or more hours at a stretch anymore :cry: , but it sure was fun while it lasted!). But, I intend to keep playing for myself and to go jam whenever possible!

WASSAMADDAYOU!!!!? B.B King got himself a nice comfy chair to perform in. The bass player in my band carries his Fender stool with the nice padded seat to plop his derrière upon. If it's good enough for THEM, then you can certainly do the same. You won't be able to perform in those short miniskirts any more (at least not at all ages shows), but tight jeans can be a fine substitute.

Now stop making excuses and go rock out :P :P :P

First guitar? Cheap Monkey Wards piece of crap.
SOng? Cold Gin (KISS)

Self taught .... still am. :wink:

Play solo and with my son right now. We need a drummer ... used to have a band.

Most important thing to master? Addiction to the guitar. Once you get the bug you will play and practice non stop and do very well.

I started 25-30 years ago. I played more or less a year. I hanged the guitar when I had to learn the F chord. I had a teacher who didn't keep me motivated. We played traditional and folk songs in a "rondalla" with other string instruments (bandurrias and laudes).

One year ago, I was in Lisbon, listening some fados, and I found the sound of the guitar again. When I returned to Madrid I started to play again. Now, I don't want more traditional teachers (it seems we have similar experiences). I'm following several books for exercises and the wonderful people of GN is teaching me alot.

My first guitar was a Spanish acoustic guitar. Currently I play electric and steel-string acoustic guitar.

I don't know what are the most important things in this context. When you try to learn something, you always need a goals, a plan to achieve them and a methodology. What are your goals?

I think Ken gave the great advice (as usual): Relax and have fun!

Hi,

Good advice and good lists above. :)

I'll stick to one of your questions:
What would you say is the most important thing to master before moving on to more complicated things?

I'd expand on what Ken said about Relaxing and having fun.

We all take different paths, some students need a lot of structure and discipline - either from a teacher, a book or even self organised - and others will just freeze up and start hating it all if everything is too precisely laid out. So the most important part is working out what learning style works best for you. Don't get too swayed or rattled by what others did or might still do. Check it all out but then go with your own strengths and interests. If you can work out what motivates you to keep going then the exact path doesn't matter, it will all eventually fall into place.

So I'd say that the most important thing to master is - as Ken said - how to relax and enjoy yourself. You can have fun with three notes on one string, on the first day you pick up a guitar, if you are prepared to just put aside all the grander goals for a while. :)

There's no real list of skills that you must have before you can make some reasonable sounds, get some pleasure from it, and feel you've achieved something. So I'd say that the only thing to master before you move on to anything more complicated is simply how to feel relaxed and confident with the simple stuff first. If not you'll just stretch yourself thinner and thinner..

Cheers,

Chris

Most self taught players seem to get into the trap of digging themselves a hole and never being able to find their way out of it, in other words practicng the wrong way. Most beginners get themselves a guitar, learn a few chords and strum along to some old standards like stand by me. After awhile they will they will look for their next challenge, which seems to be learning to read guitar tablature and looking for songs off the internet, which are wrong most of the time anyway. The songs people want to learn are normaly well above their ability to play so this leads to frustration. Normaly they can bang out bits and pieces(badly) but never can play the song from start to finish because they are attempting to play something like Little Wing when they can't even play Michael Row Your Boat Ashore. So they give up on one song and go to the next to find the same frustration. It is unbelievable how common this is and is one of the biggest problem guitar players come across. Learning an instrument is a process and cannot be rushed, It takes time and dedication to play an instrument, not to mention a lot of patience. My suggestion is to seek out a competant guitar teacher and learn how to read music,believe me it will save you a lot of time and frustration. Music notation is superior to tab and will not just show you the note but the timing of the note. You can also see how music is constructed through notation, not to mention you can play music written for other instruments. Would you rather play by notes or numbers? A guitar teacher will guide you every step of the way and unlike a book can tell you exactly when your going wrong and pull you back on the right tracks.A good teacher is also like a coach and mentor and should inspire you and get you through the times when you feel like breaking your guitar in half through frustration. Food for thought?

How did I start? I was laying bed one Saturday morning when I was nearly 14, listening to the radio, and the DJ played Classical Gas (Mason Williams) and I thought "I just gotta do that." I could already read music, so when the birthday present guitar turned up I just had to learn where the little black dots were on the neck. My first guitar was a no-name accoustic, heavier than my classical guitars are now. I switched to electric on my 16th birthday. The first song was something by David Bowie - probably Jean Genie, but maybe Ziggy Stardust

I taught myself a bunch for a few years, but took lessons when I wanted to start doing classical. I went back to lessons earlier this year for my Grade 7, and I might take a few more ahead of my Grade 8 exam.

Bands, duets, solo work, done the lot.

Be comfortable with what you're doing now before you move on. If you wait until you master it, you'll probably never move up and you need to start moving up to realise how easy what you're doing now really is. Grade 3 felt like a big step up from Grade 2, but pales into insignificance compared to the higher Grade work.

Best,

A :-)

3. I played in bands until about a month ago (my health won't allow me to stand onstage for four or more hours at a stretch anymore :cry: , but it sure was fun while it lasted!). But, I intend to keep playing for myself and to go jam whenever possible!

WASSAMADDAYOU!!!!? B.B King got himself a nice comfy chair to perform in. The bass player in my band carries his Fender stool with the nice padded seat to plop his derrière upon. If it's good enough for THEM, then you can certainly do the same. You won't be able to perform in those short miniskirts any more (at least not at all ages shows), but tight jeans can be a fine substitute.

Now stop making excuses and go rock out :P :P :P

Actually, Moonrider, there's a little more to it than just not being able to stand for 4 hours. I have a terminal liver disease and, as a result, I have no energy anymore. When I would play a gig, I would spend the next 2 days in bed. It was like I was saving up all of my energy just to play on a Saturday night, leaving me no energy to do the everyday life things. I also have some pulmonary problems and it's reaching the point where I have very little breath to spare. I can't sing a song all the way through anymore without seriously fading out or having a coughing fit in the middle of it. The guys in the band were (are) great about it, though. They provided me with a chair to play from, but that just didn't sit well with me (I like to stand and sometimes dance with my guitar!). They covered me when my vocals got weak. They hauled all of my equipment for me. They rightfully should have replaced me a while ago, but, left to them, it would never have happened. So, I had to do what I know is the best thing for them and for me. I played my last gig with them the in August, thanked them for being such great and wonderful friends and for their understanding of my situation and took my "toys" home. They told me that I am now and will always be a member of the band and that means the world to me! So, no, I'm finished with live performances. But that doesn't mean that I won't still play!!!!!!! :D

I always wanted to be a drummer, I would still like to get a kit and learn. I can play very basic drums. My best friend in High School had a guitar and took lessons. Whenever I went over to his house I would ask him to show me how to play. He showed me the chords for House of the Rising Sun, so that was the first song I learned. But my buddy never really played, so one day I asked him to sell me his guitar. He sold it to me for $10. :D

I can't even remember what brand it was, it was a cheap acoustic with super-high action. But I practiced everyday. I would just listen to the radio and try to copy what I heard. The first song I learned by ear was The Ballad of John and Yoko by John Lennon.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qigigRgUlGo

I still love this song.

I would go down to the music store and buy books. One of the best books I bought showed how to play barre chords. Everybody struggles with barre chords but I learned these before open chords. The nice thing was I learned how to barre not only the common E and A shape forms, but C, D, G and all the Minor and 7th forms too. It also had progressions so I learned some common progressions. I had a good ear and would recognize most progressions right away.

I actually got pretty good on guitar quick. In a month or two I could play many songs. People were kinda amazed how I could listen to a song and learn it in a few minutes. I didn't play well, I tended to be sloppy, but I could pick up guitar by ear easily. This is probably my greatest "talent".

A buddy sold me a couple of Japanese electrics that I suspected were stolen (you had to know the guy). I used to run the guitar into my FM radio and get awesome distortion through the little speakers. Plus, you could play along with the songs on the radio. I got into all the heavier groups of the time like Hendrix, Cream, and later Led Zeppelin. I guess my three biggest influences were Hendrix, Clapton, and Page. I probably learned more about guitar from copying Jimmy Page than anyone. I could tell he was often using different tunings and would figure them out. I learned alot about alternate tunings this way. But I listened to many other guitarists as well.

I would just learn anyway I could. I had friends who played who would show me songs. I would go to see groups and get up close so I could watch the guitarist. I would read guitar magazine articles and buy songbooks. But I relied on my ear. I still do not read very well. I would look at the chords but then just follow my ear.

My younger brother started playing shortly after I started. In a few months we started a band with some other friends. We would jam for hours. We were terrible but had a great time. We played a little outdoor gig once in our neighborhood.

I got married pretty young and moved to New England. I wasn't in a band for awhile. But one day a fellow named Sam walked by while I was playing on my front porch. He said he was in a band and invited me to come play. We clicked the first night and I played in that band for a year or two. That broke up and I got in another band. I went through a few more bands, but then kids came and I didn't play out for about 15 years or so. But I played everyday.

Then I got divorced and found myself a single man again. I missed playing in bands and got back into it. That was about 13 years ago and I have pretty much been in a band since.

My advice?? I would take lessons if you can afford it. I think it would be great to sight-read. Just opens up more music to you. Practice good timing, timing is probably the most important aspect of playing. Doesn't matter how well you play, if you have poor timing you will not be a good player.

Get in a band if possible. I don't think it is ever to early to get in a band. It forces you to learn songs from beginning to end and play properly. Plus it is lots of fun, you learn without even trying.

Wes

How did you start: I went to an annual family party and my cousin had two electric guitars sitting in his basement. I asked him if I could borrow one he he said yea. I returned it 6 months later!

First guitar: The one I borrowed was a Squire Bullet (Strat copy). Pretty ratty guitar. When I returned that guitar I went out and bought a Gibson SG and have absolutely loved that guitar since.

First songs that you learned? It's been 5 years so hard to remember. I think "That'll Be the Day" by Buddy Holly and "Bad Moon Rising" by CCR (both in the wrong key).

Do/did you have a teacher or is it all self-taught? Self-taught for about 4 weeks and I was going to quit so I got a teacher for 12 lessons and went on from there.

Do you play in a band or do you play for yourself? Both, LOL. I practice songs with the CDs at home and practice without them at band practice.

What would you say is the most important thing to master before moving on to more complicated things? Honestly, I don't think I'm qualified to answer that one. I'll let the big boys answer that one.

I will second Wes' mention to get into a band. It really does force you to tighten everything up.