hahah
― call all destroyer, Thursday, 5 January 2012 20:46 (twelve years ago) link
Annoying guitar practice story: one of the people I shared a house with at university was learning to play the guitar. Every night from his room we'd hear the same series of notes over and over again, but I could never work out what tune he was trying to play. Anyway, one night I walked in while he was playing and there was a guitar book open on top of his amp that was open at 'Purple Haze'.
― insert 2012 appropriate display name here (snoball), Thursday, 5 January 2012 20:53 (twelve years ago) link
lol
classical guitar, which I'm also not interested in
― WATERMELON MAYNE aka the seed driver (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 5 January 2012 20:58 (twelve years ago) link
aw don't cry, I might change my mind
the only song I've tried to play is "Faith" by The Cure, and that is only because I taught it to myself 20+ years ago on my brother's guitar
― Bam! Orgasm explosion in your facehole. (DJP), Thursday, 5 January 2012 20:59 (twelve years ago) link
hmm some stray thoughts here
you already know basic music theory which puts you ahead of 99% of people who pick up a guitar. like, just knowing the concepts of chords and scales and how they fit together modularly is enough to get the handle on what is happening in 99% of pop songs, but that's not news probably
two things to remember tho are that guitars are polyphonic, so you get into stuff dealing with chords that many other instruments never touch as part of their pedagogy. also because of the nature of the neck and the nature of a lot of pop music guitar instruction is big into modes where as in more doctrinaire classical training those are kind of a historical afterthought. i came at guitar from a childhood of violin so those two things stuck out to me.
the other thing to remember is that the physical nature of the standard tuning, the frets, and the human hand is responsible for how a lot of rock music ends up sounding. for ex the ringing/droney/arpeggiated folk stuff to keith richards to chuck berry is just dumb simple stuff to your hands but makes unique-sounding harmonies. the whole corpus of blues-rock licks is almost a physical vocabulary as much as a musical one. idk if that makes sense.
as far as looking for a teacher i'd say find someone who is on your level theoretically so you can communicate that way if need be but is willing to walk you through the traditional guitar stuff, which is all very non-traditional classically
― goole, Thursday, 5 January 2012 21:09 (twelve years ago) link
i'm probably underselling the complexity of chuck berry there; his playing sounds simple to us out of repetition but the guy could fucking shred, his scale runs have a lot more color than just pentatonic, the double stop runs are lightning fast but totally clean, he's still amazing and i can't play any of his classic solos for shit.
― goole, Thursday, 5 January 2012 21:11 (twelve years ago) link
I am thinking the three years of piano I took as a kid and the rudimentary exposure it gave me to polyphonic music on one instrument are going to be helpful
― Bam! Orgasm explosion in your facehole. (DJP), Thursday, 5 January 2012 21:21 (twelve years ago) link
dude absolutely positively get lessons and do it sooner rather than later
protip: as a dude in boston, you should def make sure that yer guitar instructor has at least a formal real deal BA in guitar performance.
― blurgh (jjjusten), Thursday, 5 January 2012 22:21 (twelve years ago) link
as a trained violin dude who didnt take any guitar lessons at all i am sad to think of the years (literal) i wasted by not learning stuff correctly in the beginning. and tbf i still play guitar "wrong" even now in a lot of ways.
― blurgh (jjjusten), Thursday, 5 January 2012 22:23 (twelve years ago) link
dude absolutely positively get lessons and do it sooner rather than laterprotip: as a dude in boston, you should def make sure that yer guitar instructor has at least a formal real deal BA in guitar performance.
Don't think there is any stigma in getting a teacher. Based on anecdotal first hand observation in NYC, jazz guitar players are constantly taking lessons from each other, playing duets together and just generally hanging out with one another being guitar dudes
― WATERMELON MAYNE aka the seed driver (James Redd and the Blecchs), Thursday, 5 January 2012 23:59 (twelve years ago) link
I must admit I am envious - learning to use the guitar as an interface to produce music, when you already know some stuff about how music works, sounds idyllic to me.
As DJP and goole already noted, a huge amount of early guitar instruction is stuff like: this is what a note is, this is what a scale is, this is what a chord is, this is what I and IV and V mean, this is what minor and major mean. Not having to wrap your brain around that stuff when you're also wrapping your fingers around the guitar must make a huge difference.
I am not a particularly good guitar player but I really enjoy the peculiarity of the guitar-as-interface. The layout is both so bizarre (compared to a linear keyboard) and so friendly (in terms of giving you immediate feedback about what you're doing) it can't help but affect the music you make and don't make.
The guitar makes suggestions to you. When you're fingering a particular chord shape, there will be other notes that are more or less easy to reach; you can choose to accept those suggestions or resist them. Sometimes the result is cliche; sometimes it's great. Guitars like some keys more than others; you can choose to go along with that tendency or work to subvert it.
Um, anyway good luck and godspeed
― Ye Mad Puffin, Friday, 6 January 2012 01:45 (twelve years ago) link
jjusten totally totally OTM and yes you live in the one city other than LA where super-competent gtr instructors like fall out of trees.
ime the first few months are tough and then as your fingers get stronger and smarter everything just opens up and it's beautiful
― all yoga attacks are fire based (rogermexico.), Friday, 6 January 2012 03:04 (twelve years ago) link
Dan, the first thing you should get your new teacher to show you is what a Power Chord is.
― WATERMELON MAYNE aka the seed driver (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 6 January 2012 03:05 (twelve years ago) link
first off- congrats on the guitar!
second- ditto on lessons, between your personal contacts and craigslist there should be no problem finding somebody you vibe with.
finally- i'd start off learning some basic open chords: a, am, c, d, dm, e, em, f, g, g7... you'll find you can play a ton of different songs with basic open chords, and they are a good first dance for your fingers to learn
oh almost forgot the most important advice: Do Not Keep The Guitar In A Case. get a stand, put it on the stand near where you spend lots of time (couch, computer area, etc.) so it is in reach & readily available.
-'case kryptonite' is real, i started playing way more once i started keeping my guitar out.
― natlawdp, Friday, 6 January 2012 17:37 (twelve years ago) link
case kryptonite totally real. also, that is good advice to not fuck with b chords...yet.
― beachville, Friday, 6 January 2012 17:38 (twelve years ago) link
...or you could drop your low E to D and proceed directly to Soundgarden 'Outshined'.
― natlawdp, Friday, 6 January 2012 17:40 (twelve years ago) link
edit: "between your personal contacts and craigslist there should be no problem finding somebody you vibe/DIE with."
sidebar- anybody ever skype guitar lessons?
― natlawdp, Friday, 6 January 2012 17:43 (twelve years ago) link
lol, the guitar is on a stand already but is currently in the back bedroom; I am working up the courage to move it to the living room where I expect my wife will lovingly notice that the wonderful gift she gave me is totally in the fucking way and is going to get knocked over plus it just causes clutter and why do I have to play all the time while she's trying to watch TV, anyway
or maybe I'm just inventing all of that
I did some cursory guitar teacher research and there's something undeniably off-putting about seeing a guitar school with a 20-year-old on their teaching staff, no matter how impressive her performance bio appears to be
I mean, maybe this is totally ageist of me but I do not want to take lessons from someone the age of a hypothetical child I could have had assuming my life had taken a slightly different turn
― Bam! Orgasm explosion in your facehole. (DJP), Friday, 6 January 2012 17:48 (twelve years ago) link
'case kryptonite' - never heard it called that before, but yes, have the guitar and amp set up so that you can pick it up and strum away for ten minutes (which will quickly become two hours but that's another thing).
― insert 2012 appropriate display name here (snoball), Friday, 6 January 2012 18:05 (twelve years ago) link
is it wrong that I want to tune the entire guitar a half-step down so I have an instrument that matches my preferred singing range, before I've even learned how to play it
― Bam! Orgasm explosion in your facehole. (DJP), Friday, 6 January 2012 19:15 (twelve years ago) link
you know who tuned a half step down? weezer.
― call all destroyer, Friday, 6 January 2012 19:18 (twelve years ago) link
Eb tuning, very 90s :)
― goole, Friday, 6 January 2012 19:19 (twelve years ago) link
yeah the more i think about it like every fucking alt rock band used that tuning. it was really annoying.
― call all destroyer, Friday, 6 January 2012 19:20 (twelve years ago) link
http://www.wfu.edu/~breckers/howtoplayguitar.htm
― (๑•̀⌓•́๑) (am0n), Friday, 6 January 2012 19:21 (twelve years ago) link
DJP you can learn the songs of metallica's "load"
― goole, Friday, 6 January 2012 19:21 (twelve years ago) link
yeah the more i think about it like every fucking alt rock band used that tuning
that's because every fucking alt rock band in the 90s was fronted by a yelpy baritone
― Bam! Orgasm explosion in your facehole. (DJP), Friday, 6 January 2012 19:27 (twelve years ago) link
you should just capo the 11th fret instead
― congratulations (n/a), Friday, 6 January 2012 19:29 (twelve years ago) link
Then cut the neck off immediately behind the capo.
― insert 2012 appropriate display name here (snoball), Friday, 6 January 2012 19:40 (twelve years ago) link
I'm sure your new teacher, Mick Goodrick, author of The Advancing Guitarist will be very impressed with this instrument
― WATERMELON MAYNE aka the seed driver (James Redd and the Blecchs), Friday, 6 January 2012 19:56 (twelve years ago) link
Eb = Hendrix tuning. Eddie Van Halen too. Stevie Ray too, I think...
― natlawdp, Friday, 6 January 2012 20:23 (twelve years ago) link
Slash
― beachville, Friday, 6 January 2012 20:24 (twelve years ago) link
Have you practiced yet this weekend yet, Dan?
― Fanfare for the History Mayne (James Redd and the Blecchs), Saturday, 7 January 2012 20:37 (twelve years ago) link
haha have I practiced yet
I spent 90 minutes Saturday afternoon playing simple songs from my lesson book on strings 1 and 2, including "Jingle Bells" and "Ode To Joy" (which btw was annoying me because the version in the book was super simple and all in half and quarter notes and without the drop down a fourth at the end of the third line, so I started playing it "right" and using the third string as well).
Then, I started playing the C scale during the 2nd half of the Saints game and kept playing it and random songs until the end of SNL.
Then I started working on really incorporating string 3 yesterday for about an hour but my evening shenanigans really did a number on my fingertips and shoulder.
Need to pick a teacher this week.
― Bam! Orgasm explosion in your facehole. (DJP), Monday, 9 January 2012 15:09 (twelve years ago) link
. because my new year's resolution is to learn to play the guitari need to get a guitar first.does anyone want to sell me a guitar for cheap?
― bene_gesserit, Monday, 9 January 2012 15:46 (twelve years ago) link
talk to jjj, it's kind of like he does that for a living
no wait, it's EXACTLY like he does that for a living
― Bam! Orgasm explosion in your facehole. (DJP), Monday, 9 January 2012 15:46 (twelve years ago) link
to be fair i took guitar lessons for about 6 months in high school, but my teacher was a jazz dude, and that's not the kind of guitar i want to learn to play now (plus i don't remember anything).
― bene_gesserit, Monday, 9 January 2012 15:48 (twelve years ago) link
Which shoulder hurts, Dan? I have to admit I'm a little confused.
― beachville, Monday, 9 January 2012 15:49 (twelve years ago) link
right shoulder
― Bam! Orgasm explosion in your facehole. (DJP), Monday, 9 January 2012 15:51 (twelve years ago) link
Perhaps one of these arrangements will be more to your likinghttp://www.guitarnoise.com/topic/christmas-songs/
― TEH PNINFOX aka the veen driver (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 9 January 2012 16:49 (twelve years ago) link
― TEH PNINFOX aka the veen driver (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 9 January 2012 17:43 (twelve years ago) link
ha that is assuming I have a shortlist; as noted upthread, Boston is DROWNING in music teachers
oh and I moved the guitar into the corner of the living room; no fight!
― Bam! Orgasm explosion in your facehole. (DJP), Monday, 9 January 2012 17:51 (twelve years ago) link
How cheap is cheap bene?
― blurgh (jjjusten), Monday, 9 January 2012 17:56 (twelve years ago) link
Dan, I assume you acted prudently and looked on craigslist asked your opera buddies for recommendations
― TEH PNINFOX aka the veen driver (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 9 January 2012 18:05 (twelve years ago) link
not yet I haven't, that is today's Facebook project
― Bam! Orgasm explosion in your facehole. (DJP), Monday, 9 January 2012 18:07 (twelve years ago) link
Too bad Peter Frampton found his guitar, bene_gesserit, or maybe you could have bought that one.
― TEH PNINFOX aka the veen driver (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 9 January 2012 18:56 (twelve years ago) link
jjj, under a hundred
― bene_gesserit, Monday, 9 January 2012 19:01 (twelve years ago) link
Don't tell Dick Destiny that.
― TEH PNINFOX aka the veen driver (James Redd and the Blecchs), Monday, 9 January 2012 19:06 (twelve years ago) link
http://www.rondomusic.com/
― beachville, Monday, 9 January 2012 19:20 (twelve years ago) link
I have not personally played a Rondo instrument and cannot go to bat for their quality.
― beachville, Monday, 9 January 2012 19:22 (twelve years ago) link
Any progress? IMM wants to know.
― TEH PNINFOX aka the veen driver (James Redd and the Blecchs), Wednesday, 11 January 2012 15:12 (twelve years ago) link
Terrible, terrible idea. The problem is not that it will break in the same spot, but that the wood fibers on either side of the neck have been greatly compromised. One more drop or fall could be unrepairable.
― a strawman stuffed with their collection of 12 cds (jjjusten), Sunday, 7 December 2014 23:56 (nine years ago) link
good to know, thx jjj!
― gbx, Monday, 8 December 2014 00:26 (nine years ago) link
so i got an ebay ultra swede
― gbx, Tuesday, 9 December 2014 22:10 (nine years ago) link
should i take it into the local shop to get "set up" is that what you're supposed to do
iirc you are supposed to play cliffs of dover
― $0.00 Butter sauce only. No marinara. (Sufjan Grafton), Tuesday, 9 December 2014 22:17 (nine years ago) link
hahaha oh man i str8 up thought that song was the fucking coolest
― gbx, Tuesday, 9 December 2014 22:20 (nine years ago) link
dan meme4 months ago So good. I thought it was Joe Satriani for the longest time. This is one of the few songs without vocals that give me a lump in my throat. Emotional, progressive, futuristic, past ,present and heavy all rolled into one. This one of those songs you want played after a lifetime accomplishment with your hand raised in triumph.
― gbx, Tuesday, 9 December 2014 22:21 (nine years ago) link
lol that is otm
― $0.00 Butter sauce only. No marinara. (Sufjan Grafton), Tuesday, 9 December 2014 22:28 (nine years ago) link
I loved cliffs of dover during the time of my life when I'd read the sweetwater catalog in the bathroom and dream of being rich enough to buy my friend Roland V-Drums so we could really show up the rival high school band by playing cliffs of dover at a pep rally or something.
― $0.00 Butter sauce only. No marinara. (Sufjan Grafton), Tuesday, 9 December 2014 22:37 (nine years ago) link
Uh.
I did have 3 of these new and one used fyi.
― a strawman stuffed with their collection of 12 cds (jjjusten), Wednesday, 10 December 2014 05:07 (nine years ago) link
I want to ask how much you paid, it might soothe my wounded soul
― a strawman stuffed with their collection of 12 cds (jjjusten), Wednesday, 10 December 2014 05:08 (nine years ago) link
i'm going out on a limb and saying 279.95
― resulting post (rogermexico.), Wednesday, 10 December 2014 05:46 (nine years ago) link
oh no!!! sorry jj, i figured this would be the cheapest -- i didn't realize you had used
― gbx, Wednesday, 10 December 2014 15:24 (nine years ago) link
No worries dude, if you paid $280 I would have only saved you $25 and I'm so stupid busy that not having one more thing to ship is probably best for me anyway.
Re: setup, check this out and act accordingly:
Public service announcement: how to set up your own guitar/bass and not pay for others to do it...
― a strawman stuffed with their collection of 12 cds (jjjusten), Wednesday, 10 December 2014 21:46 (nine years ago) link
ah, cool post. thanks for that.
― $0.00 Butter sauce only. No marinara. (Sufjan Grafton), Wednesday, 10 December 2014 22:00 (nine years ago) link
my fingers hurt
― gbx, Sunday, 14 December 2014 01:17 (nine years ago) link
went through a bunch of this guy's youtubes, too, the website is v organized: www.justinguitar.com
― gbx, Sunday, 14 December 2014 01:18 (nine years ago) link
Came across that website whilst looking for something else. Seems like it might be useful.
― Pigbag Wanderer (James Redd and the Blecchs), Sunday, 28 December 2014 16:29 (nine years ago) link
you know, I never got a teacher
I should change that, especially since I picked the guitar back up this week after a LOOOOOOOOONG hiatus
― shout-out to his family (DJP), Wednesday, 19 August 2020 14:24 (four years ago) link
btw I'm learning the lead guitar part to "Ana" by the Pixies, which is fun
― shout-out to his family (DJP), Thursday, 20 August 2020 17:31 (four years ago) link
I can recommend a couple of good teachers who Zoom. They’re west coast based but that may not be a bad thing if you’re looking for post-work hours.As a crap player who has settled comfortably into the “friend’s older brother who used to play a little” skill level i’m also happy to hop on Zoom 4 u
― Larry Elleison (rogermexico.), Thursday, 27 August 2020 19:55 (four years ago) link
ooh I am interested
― shout-out to his family (DJP), Thursday, 27 August 2020 19:58 (four years ago) link
I am bumping this thread because rogermexico totally hooked me up with a teacher who rules and I can now get through/legitimately play the following songs:
Blackbird - The BeatlesBoys Don't Cry - The CureJust Like Heaven - The CureTrue Faith - New OrderGet The Message - ElectronicNever Let Me Down Again - Depeche ModeI Feel You - Depeche ModeLovesong - The CureThe Blood - The CureLullaby - The CureHere At The Home - TribeAna - Pixies
― a gentle push against my Wonder Bread face (DJP), Friday, 13 August 2021 13:08 (three years ago) link
<3 this makes me so happy. i've been in the black hole of work and totally dropped the ball on seeing if you guys even connected and I DIEEEE
― Larry Elleison (rogermexico.), Tuesday, 17 August 2021 03:40 (three years ago) link
He's teaching me how to play The Rain Song by Zepplin! I never would have been able to imagine this a year ago
― a gentle push against my Wonder Bread face (DJP), Wednesday, 18 August 2021 12:48 (three years ago) link
That's awesome DJP!
― Blues Guitar Solo Heatmap (Free Download) (upper mississippi sh@kedown), Wednesday, 18 August 2021 12:49 (three years ago) link
also after retuning my guitar to DGCGCD I want to keep it that way and buy another one, lol
― a gentle push against my Wonder Bread face (DJP), Wednesday, 18 August 2021 13:51 (three years ago) link
yessss…you can have one good acoustic for life but electric guitars breed like rabbits
― Larry Elleison (rogermexico.), Thursday, 19 August 2021 04:41 (three years ago) link
i am not a guitar newb but years and years ago someone on this board recommended a guitar "instruction" book that was not about technique but more about philosophy/attitude towards playing guitar. i had it on my to-read list for years but never got around to it and now i can't remember what it was or how to search for it on here. does that ring any bells for anyone?
― na (NA), Tuesday, 27 September 2022 15:18 (one year ago) link
it totally does ring a bell but i don't think i have any more leads for you unfortunately
― call all destroyer, Tuesday, 27 September 2022 15:29 (one year ago) link
oh i think it was "the advancing guitarist" by mick goodrick. the description doesn't sound exactly like what I'm remembering but the cover looks right
― na (NA), Tuesday, 27 September 2022 15:55 (one year ago) link
Wow, I started this thread 10 years ago
Imagine if I'd gotten a teacher then, I'd be a lot better now
― castanuts (DJP), Tuesday, 27 September 2022 16:37 (one year ago) link
Also I did end up buying a d'Angelico guitar from jjjusten
― castanuts (DJP), Tuesday, 27 September 2022 16:38 (one year ago) link