Hi everyone :D . Im new to this forum and im looking for advice! Ive been playing guitar propery for around a year now ( I stopped when I sarted high school but have picked it up again in the 6th form) and im finding the learning process really exciting. I play a strat copy by a company know as Vintage which was the first guitar I was bought. I pay this through my small but yet powerful Orange amp.On a side note i find the clean on this amp really nice but to get a good distorted sound is difficult.It always seems very basey to me :? .Unfortunately i dont have the funds for a guitar teacher (annoying i know!) so i've been receiving informal but useful lessons from 2 of my freinds which are experienced guitarits in a local band. I've completed books like 'Electric guitar for dummies' but at the moment i lack a sense of direction as to what i should do to progress effectively and apply the knowledge I have gained to my own playing.
So far i have mastered the root chords, bar chords, power chords and I can solo in key along to riffs which my freinds play. I have learnt a few songs like 'You shook me all night long' and 'Dont Cry' in their entirety but to be honest with you i dont think im progressing by just learning songs and solos by tab, especially as I lack knowledge concerning what I am actually playing and why it works (theory?).For these reasons I lack confidence when learning songs from tab.
I really enjoy soloing along within the pentatonic scale and as noted before I have only just figured out what 'playing in key' means. I have learnt the notes on the low E and A sting in order to locate where I should be playing the pentatonic and how to locate E shape and A shape bar chords. I dont understand the difference between the pentatonic major and minor apart from the principle that the sound is different and I dont know where to play major or minor scales. The only scale i really know is the pentatonic shape and i want to be more flexible on the fret board. You can tell from this that Im lacking in musical theory, for instance if you asked me to play Gm then C#m id probably just look confused at you :shock: . I need a sense of what to do next.I would love to be able to make up my own riffs and solos and become a creative player.
Thanks for reading this rather lengthy post and any response is highly appreciated.
Rich R- Cheshire,Uk
I am a beginner far behind your skill level so don't take what I say as truth...but it sounds to me like you should start learning music theory..and of course improving your technique...
You seem very advanced by your description of yourself so since you don't have the money for a teacher (I know the feeling!!) music theory seems like the next logical step.
I ask the experts here if I am correct?
Hey Rich, welcome to GN!!!
First of all, there are many more scales than pentatonic....you could do a lot worse than buy Noteboat's theory book (a piece of advice I should take myself!!!) as he's the man who answers all the theory questions round here....
You are finding the learning process "really exciting"...that's a big plus...as long as you enjoy playing guitar, you'l find learning fairly easy....
Regarding the distortion effect, try the Amps and FX forum....plenty of good people on there who'll point you in the right direction....
:D :D :D
Vic
(Not too far from Cheshire, Warrington is 10 mins away by train!!!)
"Sometimes the beauty of music can help us all find strength to deal with all the curves life can throw us." (D. Hodge.)
Sure , being a beginner is tough and challenging too.For music theory , check out David hodge articles on music theory (how to read music and scales within scales , heck just look at all of his 137 articles :P )Also you can dig for more lessons at http://www.acousticguitar.com or at http://www.about.com , and hey http://www.cyberfret.com got ALL the guitar theory to get you started.
And yeah as always welcome to Gnoise , where you find great people and great discussions. :wink: (right vic?)
First of all, there are many more scales than pentatonic....you could do a lot worse than buy Noteboat's theory book
Second that .. I bought it recently, and I've found it very informative. You need to supplement it by creating some excercises for yourself so that the theory can get converted into playing (like tabbing some different scales and excercise..I'm just starting to do that.)
--vink
"Life is either an adventure or nothing" -- Helen Keller
Hi. Ive just been on that Cyberfret Site- Think I might just work through the music theory there. It seems very thorough. Thanks to everyone for replying!! On a side note has anyone heard the new Avenged Sevenfold album? Its rather good :wink:
Cheers
Rich R
I like cyberfret as well except 1. They don't include a printable version for their articles; and 2. Their pop-ups (every now and then one get's past my popup blocker...
However they are VERY thorough!
Hello and Welcome to GN.
I would add one thing. You mentioned knowing the notes on only 2 strings but playing scales(up and down the neck?) meaning you are playing scale patterns but are not really understanding what notes you are actually playing.
A good place to start (even at your current stage) is a beginner book that teaches you the notes on all of the strings (it also has the added benefit of teaching you to read music as well so you won't have to rely so much on TABs)
Hey mike,
If you know a bit of html you can yourself convert the pages at cyberfret to printable.(like by deleting the meta command in the source).Its gonna take some time though :? .And of course you can't expect to find everything.Those people probably earn ONLY through advertisements. :wink: IMHO
