I've been playing guitar for a few years now, but I'm not really that good. I improved alot my first year, and I've kind of plateaued since then. I know a decent number of chords, and I can play pretty much any chord progression in a song unless it's really fast or ridiculously complicated. I can play Dream On, Stairway to Heaven (sort of) and stuff like that, but not the solos to them or anything that impressive. I'm getting an Epiphone Les Paul Standard for christmas and I want to start practicing more and get better at electric guitar, but I'm not sure how to go about it. I know the major, pentatonic and blues scales, but I'm not that good at soloing. I'm alright, but not that good. I looked at the turning scales into solos lesson, but all I got out of it was that I should just use scales that include important notes in the chord progression. I probably just don't understand it.
I know its kind of a dumb question, but how did you guys get better at guitar? Every time I read about a really good guitarist (not that I'll ever get that good) like Jimi Hendrix or Eddie Van Halen, it says that they practiced all the time, but what did the practice? Are there some exercises to make your fingers faster or something? Thanks for any help.
Learn songs........that's my downfall.....Also be patient & slowly learn some minor pentatonic... you'll have a good base to start with then. Also don't learn ALL alternate tuning stuff.....Standard is a handful as it is. JMHO
ive only been playing a year or so now and i can remember feeling the same way as you awhile back...i remember reading duane allmans biography and how he would have his guitar around his neck all day and he would fall asleep on his back with it still around his neck...and i was always thinking i would love to be able to do that but what should i practice???
what helped me out was thinking about all those older guitar gods we all love. weather its duane, clapton, hendrix etc. NONE of them had tab data data bases and online lessons and youtube and electronic tuners and the list goes on and on. if im ever at a loss like you are now just go old school. listen to your influences try to copy their licks and fills just using your ears cause at the end of the day thats what they were doing. it sounds like you have the tools i saw you say you knew your scales. duane allman used to keep his record player at his feet so he could play along to his bb king record than use his toe to move the needle if he needed to figure a part out.
anyway good luck man i hope this doesn't lead to packing your guitar up for good.
ok - pick three songs you're not played before and learn them.
Don't just learn them "sort of" - get into the meaty stuff; go buy the music, and the CD, and spend a few hours just following the song from the music before you start trying to play. Effectively, know how to play them before you pick up your axe.
Soloing - we can't teach you to improvise - learn one or two patterns of the basic pentatonic scale and find some backing tracks; there are loads online. There are no right or wrong answers in soloing, start with three-note blasts anywhere in the scale, follow that with short-long-short note blasts, then long-short-long - again anywhere in the scale. Then try four and five note runs. Do not just progress up the scale in crotchets and then down again. Do not be afraid to play the same note twice.
A :-)
"Be good at what you can do" - Fingerbanger"
I have always felt that it is better to do what is beautiful than what is 'right'" - Eliot Fisk
Wedding music and guitar lessons in Essex. Listen at: http://www.rollmopmusic.co.uk
Can you imagine not having the WWW and reading all those articles telling you to practice 10 hours a day. I CAN. :shock: I also can imagine not having a teacher. Yeah, life was hell! And I still have problems because of it. But I digress...
Try making yourself a Guitar Pro backing track. If you don't know how timing works, you'll find out pretty quickly. Maybe learn how chords resolve - here's a good start:
Pay attention to the blue squares. Ask a bunch of WHY question on the theory board.
Wooooooohhhh NEZTOK I sooooo just glazed over when I saw that progression map!!!!!
Paul B
