progress

You can be a good, versatile guitarist without ever getting to a level where you can play that run at full speed, IMHO, let alone play it cleanly. But yeah, two years would be hugely impressive to me, it sounds like you're doing well.

I gather from your wording that you can play the run at close to full speed, but if not there's a fantastic video lesson for it here: http://www.freelicks.net/Sweet_child2.htm

thats the video i have been using to learn it.. there's some exellent stuff there. I dont really know how close i am to full speed, except i know i am many many hours of practice away.
I am also glad you made the comment about being able to become a good guitarist without ever being ble to play that. I dont want to be a "Shredder" - but i do want the ability to choose not to do it rather than be forced not to because im not good enough.
strange, im practicing something so i can choose not to play it anyway......

the questions you ask are kind of trick questions.

a guitarist could play both of those examples you gave, yet not be able to improvise well over a simple 12 bar blues progression. or someone could be able to play acoustic guitar as well as the greats of that field of guitar playing, yet not be able to do the two examples you gave.

I'm really comfortable playing octaves when I'm playing a tune by someone else (e.g. Fire by Hendrix) or a short riff of my own, but I've barely used octaves in my improvisations. that's something I'm working on, lol, for some reason I just don't use them, and when I do try to use them in improv's I get confused as I'm not used to doing it. but I have a really natural bluesy feel to my playing, which I've pretty much always had, and I've always been really comfortable using extended chords (e.g. C9, D augmented, etc) in my compositions, but ask me to improvise over them and I'm often absolutely lost. another thing I need to work on. but I also find finger-picking comes a lot easier to me than many of the guitarists I know who can improvise better than I can.

And when you look at it like that, the whole notion of 'levels of guitar playing' seems a bit pointless, right?

and while you've been playing for two years, that could mean 8 hours a day of focussed practice for two years, or an hour per week of focussed pratice, or an hour per day of unfocussed practice.

sorry for not answering your questions properly, I just feel that your questions are the wrong ones to ask.

scrybe you are spot on with your comments. i guess what i really am after is a realistic target. for example, practicing half an hour a day excluding band practice, how long would it probably take to be able to learn fast runs like the sweet child o mine run (assuming focussed practice).

i know its not important and there are many aspects of playing, i actually never held a plectrum until i moved to electric a year ago, so i have huge respect for the great finger pickers. i guess i just frustrate myself with the amount of things there are to learn and want to be able to do everything now!!

the more i write the more pointless my origional questions were, so ill get back to my guitar and practice insead.

My question to you is..."what contest did you join that requires you to have that level of skill inside of a 2 year timeframe?"
Sounds to me like you are doing just fine. Is that solo the only thing you've been working on for 2 years? Of course not. I bet if you focused on it youd be able to nmail it within a short while.

I wouldn't worry about where you "should be". Just "be" where you are and keep moving forward dude.

thanks for the advice. i think i am in the position lots of self taught people are (the answer is then obviously get a teacher), i am 28 and never played any music before, and as such i am naive about the level of progress that should be made, what should be easy, and what shouldnt (seeing people 10 years my junior in pub bands playing some great stuff doesnt help either!)

Sites like this are great though, not only are there quality lessons but some real experienced level headed players to get advice from - i am sure i will progress with the advice i can get here. cheers guys

Glad you got my drift....the 'realistic targets' you mentioned are easier to plan, although they'll be a little abstract. I'm gonna use my own playing and goals for 2008, just because they're handy, but this is just a rough schematic......

My Goals (guitar playing and theory only)

• Be able to solo comfortably in all major, minor, and modal ‘keys'
• Perfect fretboard knowledge (i.e. be able to reel off all places on the fretboard where a given note can be found)
• Be able to use my guitars and pedals to create a wide tonal palette, and be in control of the tone I generate
• Stronger improvisational skills – make improv's sound ‘complete' or cohesive
• Improve R.H. technique on acoustic guitar
• Be able to use octaves, harmonising in 3rds, 5ths, and 6ths, and big intervals into my regular playing style
• Work on rhythm playing on electric guitar, and mixing rhythm with lead fills

• Know the interval structure for all major, minor, blues, and modal scales
• Know which chords can be derived from these scales
• Understand the ‘traditional' ways of modulating key
• Be able to sight read music
• Be able to notate simple tunes
• Develop my aural skills so I can transcribe accurately and play what I imagine/hear

Now, those are my goals, but they're pretty open-ended, so I'm gonna be keeping a diary/log of my work through the year. Taking the first point, scales. I already know a bunch of scales, but not fully on the fretboard, there are a few 'holes' in my knowledge there. So I'll take things slowly (as low as 60 bpm in 4/4 time, using a metronome) and take a scale I know pretty well, say, G major. Then I'll try to play that scales in as many different fingerings as possible. Once I'm confident I have exhausted all the fingerings, I'll set the metronome to a higher speed and repeat. I'll be doing this for all the major, minor, and modal scales. At the end of 2008, I can look at my log and see the improvement I've made.

Making a list of goals like those I've given for myself, you can then look at how to quantify improvements/changes in ability. So, for the point on improvising, I'll be jamming with other muso's a lot and jamming to backing tracks while recording my guitar playing at home. I can then listen back to it, and see what I've done well, and what bits make it sound uncohesive. Then, I can look at muso's who can improvise well (Coltrane, Jeff Beck, whoever) and listen to their improv work, comparing it with my own. Or even sit down with some TAB/std notation from a magazine like Guitarist, and look for clues as to how they make solos sound cohesive. I can then transfer that back to my own playing.

I started the year with a very vague, "I want to be a better guitarist/muso at the end of this year than I am now" resolution. It was only when I started to pick apart my playing and my desired playing and figured what things I do well and where I need to improve that I was able to construct a focussed practice that would/should (if I stick with it, of course, lol) result in my playing improving significantly over the course of the year. Note: those are my goals, you may have different goals/desires.

As for that particular GnR riff.......set your metronome really slow and play the piece note for note at that speed. When you're really comfortable, speed things up slightly. Repeat this procedure until you get it up to the original speed. The only problem is, that piece will probs be the only (or one of a few) things you can play at that speed. I had to do Hideaway (Clapton) and Scuttle Buttin (SRV) for an exam, so I have learned both of those note for note and can play them at speed. But ask me to improvise or compose an original piece at that speed, and I'm going to have a lot of difficulty.

And as a final note, getting a teacher will only help if you put the work in. And if you're putting the work in, you may not need a teacher. But that's a whole other topic , so go with what feels right for you. If you can formulate clear goals and find methods by which to achieve those goals, you'll probs be okay on your own (with the help of sites like this, of course). If you're struggling with goal-formation and/or planning how to achieve those goals, a teacher may well be a boon.

hth

lol, that was one looooooonnnnngggggg post

I don't remember the fast part of Sweet child o mine but that would be doing really good if you could play that in two years and you may be able to if you only focused on that.

Almann 1979

I've been learning for neary 2 years as well. I had learnt on my own using on line resourses, books and all the usual suspects. Just before Christmas I took a couple of lessons off a teacher and have had another 2 since to try and give me a some guidance. I think its good just to get a teachers opinion. Just 4 lessons has made a great difference to me.

lol, that was one looooooonnnnngggggg post

And a very helpful one, as all of your posts are.