I'm 19 and have been learnin guitar on my own for a little under a year now (with exceptions of laziness and frustated periods of not touchin my guitar). Anyway, i've never had a lesson, i've mainly gathered tabs of my fav bands (ones i can find) or read articles on this sight which are very helpful. the thing is though, i don't know what I SHOULD be learning. i feel like i need to learn more, rather than takin the tab route. but WHAT should i learn...should i focus on scales for a while, or should i learn chord theory, or what. im at a point where i can play many riffs and and songs, but cant improvise/solo, i really want to be able to improvise...
sorry if this is a stupid question in this area...
...scales, chords, theory, hand excercises, what should i do? :?: :?
"Ride the Bull"
learn your scales and choreds and then after you can improvise move into theory. i would recomend getting lessons for theory because you really need someone to help teach that.
If at all possible hire a teacher, even if you can only afford a few lessons.
A teacher will evaluate were you are now, what your goals are and lead you in the right direction.
S'okay, I'm 19 and after a very long, frustrated period of not playing guitar, I took lessons for a year and have improved DRASTICALLY.
A good teacher will get you to progressively learn more and more, to the point where you can tackle the songs you want to do on your own time and still do the stuff for the lessons. In one year, I've gone from having trouble playing open chord progressions and simple scales to being good enough to play rhythm and a bit of lead in a band with my friends.
Another thing you should consider - upgrade your guitar. If you're using a cheapass $50 starter acoustic (which is what I had, and that made me almost give up guitar ENTIRELY!), I suggest you save up your money or ask your parents to get you a decent $200 acoustic, or $200 electric starter pack. You will hear a difference almost immediately, and I guarantee you will be a million times less frustrated.
And lastly, play scales, but find things that use the scales in them. Scales by themselves are great to play, but you absorb the most by using them in a way you want to learn.
So, to sum up:
If you want to improve, learn how to play well, and enjoy playing, do any of the following:
1) get a good teacher
2) practice, practice practice
3) Invest in better equipment (if you sound better, you're going to practice more. Stupid, but you wouldn't believe how true this is)
4) Play with your friends
5) Scales and Chords the way you like it
Good luck!
-Rodya
Henry Garza, Saul Hudson, and Darrell Abbott could not be here tonight, but they all had sex and are proud to announce the birth of their two-headed baby, Rodya S. Thompson.
- Paraphrased from the Tenacious D series
Ya.. lessons really do work. I didnt know anything about soloing(not now either, but in a weird way i get it) but my guitar techer gave me an e pentatonic minor scale and he played the rythym part to puple haze, and i solod on the spot. And that was my first(and still is until saturday) lesson! Im 13 too and have been playing for about a year like you. Id learn scales and GET A GOOD TEACHER!!!! (i was lucky, i got an exellent one)
Stairway to Freebird!
