Hi all,
I'm from Hobart, Tasmania. I've played classical guitar on and off for quite a few years.
I'm a decent player in the classical genre, but I sometimes wonder if my classical training is actually a hinderance. I would really love to be able to play contemporary, jazz and blues styles, to be able to improvise and jam with my guitar-playing friends, but I find I become totally paralysed without proper sheet music in front of me! Anyway, I'm hoping to make the transition from nylon to steel string, to learn new styles and techniques, to somehow free myself from the shackles of my rigid classical background. Hopefully, this site will be of some help! I'd certainly be interested to hear from anyone else who comes from a classical background and has faced/is facing the same sorts of barriers as me...
Welcome, I am from Sydney, late starter but enjoying the experience. This is a great forum, enjoy your time here.
Cheers, b.
Welcome aboard! 8)
Dan
"The only way I know that guarantees no mistakes is not to play and that's simply not an option". David Hodge
Welcome to Guitar Noise! We look forward to seeing you around the forums! :D
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"Don't wanna ride no shootin' star. Just wanna play on the rhythm guitar." Emmylou Harris, "Rhythm Guitar" from "The Ballad of Sally Rose"
Welcome to GN!
#4491....
G'Day from Brissy,
I played (badly) between 14yo and 18yo. Then came the Army, then work for a looooonnnggg time, so I just bought myself a Les Paul axe and a Fender Frontman amp for my 50th birthday! Yahoo! My teacher has gone down the opposite path to you. Great bloke, Kiwi. He chucked his Jackson at me for a while "I don't need the electric, just bought a nylon and getting into classical". Having a teacher really helps. This site looks awesome. I subscribe to Guitar Tricks which I find really helpful. Twelve bucks a month, shrug. Not much money. Although I just worked through the 'scales to solos' set of six lessons on this site, and I found it outstanding. The Les Paul is awesome with the Fender. Bloody thing plays itself!
Later,
Mark
Brisbane.
"One of the hallmarks of the baby boomer generation is that it doesn't live like the previous generation. It hasn't yet given up jeans and T-shirts or beer."
Welcome to GN. First of all, since you're from Australia, I have to tell you that I have tickets to see Tommy Emmanuel on March 27th. I'm sure you know Australia's greatest guitar player. Anyway, back to your post. I started taking guitar lessons when I was 9 years old. When I was about 12 my father found me another teacher since I was no longer learning anything from the first teacher. I started taking classical from a teacher who was a student of Andre Segovia...yes, that Andre Segovia. Needless to say, I learned more from him in 2 years than I did from anyone. When I was about 16 I started getting the rock and roll bug. This was about 1965 when the Beatles were on the scene. I was able to make the transition pretty well using the knowledge from all those chord melodies to help me learn lead guitar riffs. In my experience, I have found it much easier to learn songs from listening to the recording rather than the sheet music because sheet music just doesn't seem to be able to express the song like the recording does. I very rarely read music now and have made out just fine. However, some people have trouble learning by ear and I hope this isn't you. I would encourage you to try. I'm soon to be 60 years old now and have played in all kinds of bands including rock bands, country bands, wedding bands and top 40 bands. I'm currently playing with an Elvis tribute show traveling from the east coast to Arizona and having the time of my life. I wish you luck in your transition from classical music to whatever else you decide to play.
