What is the real way to play a guitar?

Thanks Wes, I don't know about anyone else but I needed that!!

When you play and end up with a smile on your face and someone else says "that's a pretty song, Ive always liked that tune!"

I have seen a LOT of technically proficient musicians who can do things that are really amazing but if you ask them to play a complete song they will look at you with that "deer in the headlights look".

I also have a friend who never seriously took up playing guitar, just fooled around with it, but at every party he and I will just pick up and play some simple progressions and he will improvise some goofy words to it and sing.

Absolutely hilarious , and everybody has a great time!

That's about the best definition I can come up with. :)

could always try this :lol: :roll:

http://www.metacafe.com/watch/307183/simply_amazing/

Don't worry about what anyone else says, if you hit the strings and it makes a noise that you dig, that is the real way to play the guitar.

Exactly.

Great first post.

Welcome to GN. :lol:

8)

Hmm...

I went to a friend of mine, asking for some advice on what sort of new guitar to get, and he remarked "Why don't you learn to play it first?"

Now, don't get me wrong, this guy is a brilliant guitarist. He's been playing for something like 7-9 years, so he knows his stuff (he's just a year older than me, he's 17). He's in a pretty rich family, and has had a USA Strat since before high school, and recently got a Custom 24.

I didn't really appreciate it seeing as all he did was just spite me for only having two years under my belt.

And i guess a good way to get into guitar is to learn something a tad just beyond your full capability, something to push yourself. I started to learn "Sweet Home Alabama" (Skynard) and i couldn't do it that well compared to the song. I kept practicing it on and off, and a few months later, hey presto, hammer ons and slides are much more improved. I guess part of it is finding a song you like and sticking with it.

But as Bigboy said, if its a sound you like, go with it. Some guitarists didn't get where they were today by pandering to other peoples needs and wants...they stuck with what they liked and knew. Isn't that the way eh? :D

"not the real way to play guitar"

This is the sort of rubbish that pseudo "musicians" sprout all the time. 9 times out of ten these people couldn't play to save their life and have never played outside their bedrooms. They're the same guys who sleep with heaps of girls - alone in their bedroom.

Don't worry about what anyone else says, if you hit the strings and it makes a noise that you dig, that is the real way to play the guitar.

:D :D

That could well be true. :wink:

But I really like that Citruskid didn't just dismiss what the guy said as a put down - he came here and asked for more ideas and advice. That's a great sign that he'll make progress and not just be satisfied with learning something mechanically without having much idea of why it works or how it could be improved. I'd say "Don't worry about what others say, but do listen to it - it might just have some useful truth in it."

Same with Itchard's mate. His comment sounds a bit insensitive and smart-arsey but there's a big grain of truth in it. Mediocre playing is still mediocre on a $5000 guitar and a good player can make an average instrument sound amazing. The real goal is getting enough skills to be able to make the noises you want to. :)

I don't like being told I'm crap either, but when I've stopped feeling aggrieved I always have a good thinks about what was said - because I can always learn something from it. I just love being right, but I usually learn most when I've been wrong and I can step back and see where I could improve.....

Cheers,

Chris

I've been playing the classical guitar for a few months now (still a beginner obviously) but some guy was saying just because I can play a song doesn't mean I can play guitar. How else is a person to learn though? I learnt many chord shapes through different songs, now I may not know the name of the chords but my hands have developed a familiarity with the actual shape of the chord. I have scales to learn and anything but what does it take to become a "real" guitar player?

One thing that might be worth mentioning is that you can 'play guitar' and 'know a song' but you can also play guitar and know a song. If you're beginning you'll be worrying about hitting the right strings, using the correct chord and playing on the right beat. By the time you can do that you 'know a song'. You'll be a 'guitarist'. But it doesn't end there, there's more to music to that. You'll need to get a feel for dynamics, learn different ways to play the same note and understand why you are playing a note instead of just playing because the tab says so. You'll form your own ideas about songs, interpretate things in your own way. You'll know a song.

This, IMHO, has nothing to do with being able to verbally communicate what you're doing with others. You don't absolutely have to know the official words, the names of scales and chords and the reasons behind that. You can learn it, and it certainly won't harm you, but that's not what it takes to be a 'real guitarist'. All you have to do to get there is to appreciate music and learn how to use your abilities to make a song sound the way you want it to sound. Becoming a real guitarist is inevitable if you just stick with it.

Wow guys that's alot of encouragement, I really needed to hear that, thanks =)

Yea sometimes I like messing around with the sounds on my guitar then I try and put some sounds together to hear if it sounds alright. I may not know the names or correct terms or anything, but at least I can hear lol.

Yea usually with tabs I just follow, but if the tab in my opinion sounds awkward to my ears, I add a note here or there to fix it lol.

By the way the guy who made that comment can't play guitar. He loves to play Guitar Hero though but I came into this topic asking for advice from people who actually play a real guitar so yea.

I'm liking this forum, everyone's so friendly and encouraging =D

the great andres segovia was fond of saying, "if you ain't playin with your teeth, you ain't playin."

Never listen to people who like Guitar Hero, they are the bane of our world. ;)

i think that the real answer to this question is that there is no "real way" to play guitar and if there was you probably wouldn't want to play it. you play the way you play and that's what's great about it. no one learns the same things and in the same way so everyone knows something different. it would be against the spirit of rock to have the guitar be like the violin.

if you make an honest attempt and play with feeling
then you do honor to a great instrument.
you know, most of them will outlive us.

I started to play guitar because I wanted to play songs.....I bought a Beatles songbook, the chords were shown at the top of each song - I'd usually end up playing the top three strings, then I got better at playing full chords....

When I want to practise these days, 1/2 the time I'll strum on the acoustic, and the other half is divided between electric and bass - and I usually end up playing along to whatever's playing on Planet Rock.....

Like Wes said, playing guitar's all about playing songs....I love it when i pick up a guitar, start playing some chords or a riff, and someone joins in and starts singing....

:D :D :D

Vic

Yeah, I do say that all the time. Whenever I have a student who's rushing through an exercise I remind them....

If you're playing too fast to do it right, you're practicing your mistakes.

When we're playing something too fast and too sloppily, my band director prefers to say we're "polishing garbage". He's a little more direct...

If it makes you happy, your playing the guitar right.

If it is drudgery, you might want to change something.