Trying to learn Old friend

I won't have a chance to do that, but I'd guess you just have to be patient and keep plugging away at it. As you noted, you had it sounding good for a while. Work on improving a little bit at a time and let your playing evolve over time. It may take a couple of weeks, but you'll get there.

Ok, I'm trying to learn Old friend the more I play it the more it sounds like poo, and I'm not sure why?

but crossroads I can play better then Oldfriend Any idea's why that would be? Am I trying to hard to make it sound perfect and maybe I should relax some?

This may sound stupid, but there is a real simple rule to playing guitar:

If it sounds good, it is good

OK, pretty obvious right? Now, you say this song sounds bad. Good, you are listening, that is the most important thing you can do. Now, why does it sound bad??

Is your timing poor? Are you missing notes? Making bad noises? Lousy guitar tone??

I mean, this is all you can do, analyze what is making the song sound poorly and get rid of that, or fix it. Maybe you just need to practice the song until it is cleaned up. Maybe your guitar tone sounds poor. It could be many things, only you can answer that question.

Nobody here can answer your question. We can't hear the song, and we don't know what you are after.

Well, you've gotta forgive me, I am a natural smart a$$, and you gave me a real opening there. :D

The point I was trying to make is that you really can't ask others here what you are doing wrong unless you provide a clip for us to listen to. But even then, we may not understand what you are after. I think everybody has a particular sound they want to hear in their head, but getting that sound can be almost impossible. I come up with great guitar licks in my head all the time, but can't seem to make them come out right no matter what I do. How could someone else help me with that? They have no idea what I am after.

But let your own ear be your guide. You don't need anybody else to tell you if something is right or wrong. If it sounds good to you, if it is what you want to hear, then forget what anybody else thinks, it doesn't matter. That's the great thing about guitar, you can play what you want, nobody can tell you what or how to play.

If a song or riff doesn't sound right, ask yourself why. Your own ear and imagination will give you the answer. :wink:

Slow it down and get it right. You are missing HALF THE RIFFS? Then you haven't learned it at all.

Try imagining Beethoven's Fifth. Let's just go with the first three notes and forget the fourth...

duh, duh, duh......

Wow, Beethoven sucks if he's only missing one quarter of the notes and you are missing twice as many.

that's not the point.

Learn to play it or don't, but don't learn it halfway and then wonder why it only sounds half as good as you expect.

Derek, please don't think I'm taking a cheap shot at you here, because I'm not - I'm just trying to make a point. If you approach your guitar playing the same way as you approach your written English, it's going to be sloppy and all over the place. It seems to me as if you're trying TOO hard and you're very impatient - you get an idea, and you can't wait to get it down on paper or play it on guitar, at the cost of pushing everything else aside. What you need to do is step back, and take a little time to think what you really want to do.....

Self-discipline is what you need to practise. Before you jump into something, take a deep breath, count to ten and ask yourself, "What am I trying to achieve here?" - maybe even write down what you want to do. Planning and preparation are half the battle, whatever you're trying to achieve - and you can't be meticulous and precise in one aspect of your life (ie guitar playing) if you're careless and sloppy in other aspects (ie written English.)

You've got a lot going for you as a guitarist - you're keen and eager, willing to learn, and willing to work hard at it.

Maybe you should write down a list of what you want to achieve.......

1 - I want to play like Derek Trucks or Warren Haynes. Ask yourself, is this achieveable? Answer, yes it is. But it's going to take years and years of hard work - it isn't going to happen overnight. DT and WH have worked hard for years at what they do - and they spend hours and hours every day honing their skills. What you've got going for you there is the fact that you're willing to put that same sort of commitment into playing - you'll find the more you play, the more you learn.

2 - I want to....well, you know what you want to do. Like I said, make a list. Maybe 10 things you want to be able to do. Ask yourself "How can I achieve my goals?" and then ask questions on what you don't know.

To go back to the point about your posts - if you make a mistake playing guitar, you'll go back and correct that mistake, won't you? If you do the same with your posts, and look back at what you've written before you hit the submit button, people will have a far better idea of what you're asking. Take a little time, take a little care, and practise self discipline in ALL aspects of your life, not just playing guitar. You'll find that patience is a virtue, and practise does pay, among other things. I'd like to see you become a good guitarist - you've been bitten by the bug, and bitten hard! - it'd be a shame to see you waste the talent you've got.

As for "Old Friend" - yep, excellent song, and I loved the youtube clip you posted where DT and WH were playing it in a dressing room on acoustics. Why don't you listen very carefully to the song, break it down into small pieces, and try and master one piece at a time? That's the way I usually learn a new song - but I don't always learn it note-for-note, I don't want to be just a copyist, I'll always try and put my own slant on it. Again, it's always about putting the hard work in....someone once called Jack Nicklaus the luckiest golfer alive, to which he replied, "Yes, I am. And you know what's funny? The harder I practise, the luckier I get!" That applies to everything you do in life, and I've taken it as my personal credo....and it seems to work.

All the best,

:D :D :D

Vic

That's a good list. But always remember, you want people to respect Derek Robinson's guitar playing - be yourself, not just a cheap copy of someone else. Apart from that, it's all good!

:D :D :D

Vic

but once I can learn his finger style.....

You can't actually learn someone else's style - it can vary from song to song - what you can do is learn a song or two in a certain style, then adapt that style to or for your own style of playing. You can be influenced by certain guitarists - but don't just copy everything they do, note for note.

Always, be yourself!

:D :D :D

Vic

well today, I'm giving the Telecaster a good workout - it hasn't been here for a few weeks, been repaired. So I'm making up for lost time and giving it some stick!

Play it loud, and play it often.....!

:D :D :D

Vic