Your Lessons to the Community: GUITAR Related
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XSSIVE
OCDologist
Re: Your Lessons to the Community: GUITAR Related
i'm doing it lol...and it's GREAT advice IMO!! i have always been a setzer fan but i play mostly metal and punk and when i first started playing i was taught blues...just recently i started learning some of setzers stuff little by little and is loads of fun to play. as simple as it is i'm hooked on playing ignition now that i learned it...such a fun song to rip through and has a great shuffle to it. by all means not one of his crazy hard songs but one of my hands down favorites being a car guy and it just has a killer vibe!
-Mike
drew_half_empty said:
i'm doing it lol...and it's GREAT advice IMO!! i have always been a setzer fan but i play mostly metal and punk and when i first started playing i was taught blues...just recently i started learning some of setzers stuff little by little and is loads of fun to play. as simple as it is i'm hooked on playing ignition now that i learned it...such a fun song to rip through and has a great shuffle to it. by all means not one of his crazy hard songs but one of my hands down favorites being a car guy and it just has a killer vibe!
-Mike
A Skater
New member
Re: Your Lessons to the Community: GUITAR Related
My lesson to the Community...don't settle for less and play what comes out of the heart, not what you think you should be playing. Before I moved, I was the only kid in my old community that started playing pop punk/SoCal stuff. 4 months later, a small group of friends and I jam in garages and get audience. Those were pretty rad times.
My lesson to the Community...don't settle for less and play what comes out of the heart, not what you think you should be playing. Before I moved, I was the only kid in my old community that started playing pop punk/SoCal stuff. 4 months later, a small group of friends and I jam in garages and get audience. Those were pretty rad times.
straightblues
New member
Re: Your Lessons to the Community: GUITAR Related
Your guitar has volume and tone knobs - please use them!!!!
Here is how I set my amp and guitar. I first turn the volume knobs on the guitar to 6. I then set the amps volume knob to deliver the amount of crunch I want to play rhthym at a reasonable volume (it usually is about 8 on my Fender Deluxe amp volume.) Then when I am playing I can turn my guitar volume up to 10 for hot lead work and down to about 3 or 4 for clean stuff.
I do the same with the tone knobs. I start out at 5 on the guitars tone knob, I then adjust the amps tone knbos to a nice tone. Now I have the ability to add more or less treble and bass right from my guitar while playing.
If you start at 10 on your guitar, you have nowhere else to go but down.
Your guitar has volume and tone knobs - please use them!!!!
Here is how I set my amp and guitar. I first turn the volume knobs on the guitar to 6. I then set the amps volume knob to deliver the amount of crunch I want to play rhthym at a reasonable volume (it usually is about 8 on my Fender Deluxe amp volume.) Then when I am playing I can turn my guitar volume up to 10 for hot lead work and down to about 3 or 4 for clean stuff.
I do the same with the tone knobs. I start out at 5 on the guitars tone knob, I then adjust the amps tone knbos to a nice tone. Now I have the ability to add more or less treble and bass right from my guitar while playing.
If you start at 10 on your guitar, you have nowhere else to go but down.
Dankerella
New member
Re: Your Lessons to the Community: GUITAR Related
RECORD RECORD RECORD - All the cool riffs you make up, any way you can. Sing them into your voicemail if you need to. You'll forget them after a night's sleep and/or the next bong hit. If you need to, download a simple recording program like N-Track.
Use a metronome or drum machine if you're really trying to practice being precise. Actually, simply programming drums to your riffs is a great way to analyze them - how many bpm's is the riff?, play it as fast as you can (or slow it down to a snail's pace), how many different beats sound good with it?, is there any way to make it 5/4 (or whatever) instead of boring old 4/4? Program a beat first and force yourself to make up a riff to it.
Get an exercise book like "Guitar Fitness."
Play with any musican you can get the chance too, whether they are better or worse than you. You'll learn more in a two hour jam session than any book could ever teach you.
Here's a cool trick from an old Satriani article (dumbed down of course):
-play random notes one after the other all over the fretboard (slowly)
-after awhile, sing/hum after each note is hit to match the note
-after a minute or two, sing/hum the note BEFORE you put your finger down
-if done correctly, you'll end up being able to predict the notes - it's kind of hypnotic
Experiment, tweak things, keep building or checking out new equipment. If you have a favorite setting on your amp, change it. Twist all the knobs around. Use the front pickup instead of the bridge if you never use it. Build a simple overdrive pedal to see how one works. If you play dirty normally, play clean for a night instead.
Here's something my guitar teacher did to me once, which I do to myself on occasion: Let's say you think you aren't very good (and you play 'right handed'). Take your guitar and turn it upside down so that you have a left handed guitar and try to play it. Wow! - you've come a long way since day one, huh?! Want to take it a step further - force yourself to play a scale left handed. It'll rattle the other side of your brain for a bit, clear out some cobwebs.
It sounds silly, but taking care of my gear (cleaning it, really looking at it up close, upgrading the pickups, etc.) really keeps me at one with my axe.
Another trick I do sometimes: go outside in the fresh air with your amp, an extension cord, and your axe. Stand up like your playing an outside venue in your back yard. There's something about playing outside that is more "free" than the confines of my dark little guitar room. A crap load of riffs will come out of nowhere. If you're in an area where you can really crank it, you'll get some cool reverb effects bouncing off trees, sheds, valleys...
RECORD RECORD RECORD - All the cool riffs you make up, any way you can. Sing them into your voicemail if you need to. You'll forget them after a night's sleep and/or the next bong hit. If you need to, download a simple recording program like N-Track.
Use a metronome or drum machine if you're really trying to practice being precise. Actually, simply programming drums to your riffs is a great way to analyze them - how many bpm's is the riff?, play it as fast as you can (or slow it down to a snail's pace), how many different beats sound good with it?, is there any way to make it 5/4 (or whatever) instead of boring old 4/4? Program a beat first and force yourself to make up a riff to it.
Get an exercise book like "Guitar Fitness."
Play with any musican you can get the chance too, whether they are better or worse than you. You'll learn more in a two hour jam session than any book could ever teach you.
Here's a cool trick from an old Satriani article (dumbed down of course):
-play random notes one after the other all over the fretboard (slowly)
-after awhile, sing/hum after each note is hit to match the note
-after a minute or two, sing/hum the note BEFORE you put your finger down
-if done correctly, you'll end up being able to predict the notes - it's kind of hypnotic
Experiment, tweak things, keep building or checking out new equipment. If you have a favorite setting on your amp, change it. Twist all the knobs around. Use the front pickup instead of the bridge if you never use it. Build a simple overdrive pedal to see how one works. If you play dirty normally, play clean for a night instead.
Here's something my guitar teacher did to me once, which I do to myself on occasion: Let's say you think you aren't very good (and you play 'right handed'). Take your guitar and turn it upside down so that you have a left handed guitar and try to play it. Wow! - you've come a long way since day one, huh?! Want to take it a step further - force yourself to play a scale left handed. It'll rattle the other side of your brain for a bit, clear out some cobwebs.
It sounds silly, but taking care of my gear (cleaning it, really looking at it up close, upgrading the pickups, etc.) really keeps me at one with my axe.
Another trick I do sometimes: go outside in the fresh air with your amp, an extension cord, and your axe. Stand up like your playing an outside venue in your back yard. There's something about playing outside that is more "free" than the confines of my dark little guitar room. A crap load of riffs will come out of nowhere. If you're in an area where you can really crank it, you'll get some cool reverb effects bouncing off trees, sheds, valleys...
Last edited:
drew_half_empty
Looking for Real Life
Re: Your Lessons to the Community: GUITAR Related
sorry dude, already bought the adaptor
ledzepp29 said:
sorry dude, already bought the adaptor
Jimbojsr
New member
Re: Your Lessons to the Community: GUITAR Related
Don't be afraid of your influences. Noel Gallagher of Oasis - probably the biggest ripoff merchant the world has ever seen - said that even the most 'original' bands of their time were only playing what they heard in their record collections; admittedly, they maybe had more eclectic record collections than most, but the principle stands. And if my idea of heaven is plugging a 335 into a Marshall Stack and playing I Am The Walrus 20 times in a row, then that's what I'll do!
Don't be afraid of your influences. Noel Gallagher of Oasis - probably the biggest ripoff merchant the world has ever seen - said that even the most 'original' bands of their time were only playing what they heard in their record collections; admittedly, they maybe had more eclectic record collections than most, but the principle stands. And if my idea of heaven is plugging a 335 into a Marshall Stack and playing I Am The Walrus 20 times in a row, then that's what I'll do!
Hot _Grits
Buttery Toneologist
Re: Your Lessons to the Community: GUITAR Related
First up: Learn to love rhythm guitar, and rhythm in general. 9 times out of 10, when I hear a guitar player that sounds like they're overstretching themselves or is generally unmusical sounding, I can trace it to their sense of time. Always know where the 'one' is, and try hearing what you play in your head or singing it as you play.
Secondly: Know chords. Take a major scale, and learn the 7 chords built off it. If you learn chords with root notes on the e, a and d strings, pretty soon you'll see a chord off each note of the scale you play. This is a great way to get your modal playing together, as you'll see each chord relative to whatever mode you're playing and be able reference it.
But after a while, something cooler reveals itself: you start seeing the different chords surrounding the root of the scale/chord you're playing. If you start playing these other shapes, you'll open a whole new world of improvisation that breaks away from the 'running up and down the scale' thing most players are guilty of.
First up: Learn to love rhythm guitar, and rhythm in general. 9 times out of 10, when I hear a guitar player that sounds like they're overstretching themselves or is generally unmusical sounding, I can trace it to their sense of time. Always know where the 'one' is, and try hearing what you play in your head or singing it as you play.
Secondly: Know chords. Take a major scale, and learn the 7 chords built off it. If you learn chords with root notes on the e, a and d strings, pretty soon you'll see a chord off each note of the scale you play. This is a great way to get your modal playing together, as you'll see each chord relative to whatever mode you're playing and be able reference it.
But after a while, something cooler reveals itself: you start seeing the different chords surrounding the root of the scale/chord you're playing. If you start playing these other shapes, you'll open a whole new world of improvisation that breaks away from the 'running up and down the scale' thing most players are guilty of.
Dankerella
New member
Re: Your Lessons to the Community: GUITAR Related
Another inspiring book and quick read: "Zen Guitar" (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...002-5309367-4044815?v=glance&s=books&n=507846)
Another inspiring book and quick read: "Zen Guitar" (http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/t...002-5309367-4044815?v=glance&s=books&n=507846)
The New Guy
New member
Re: Your Lessons to the Community: GUITAR Related
First: it's already been said once but make frequent recordings of yourself, have a boom-box with a tape loaded sitting next to you when you practice, ESPECIALLY for you guys just beginning...for one thing you always have a referece point for your improvements, secondly and I think more interesting, you can save any idea that comes out of the blue, I have a ton of cool ideas for songs that I have saved throughout the years, most of which I have forgotten long ago, its neat to throw an old tape in and hear someting really different....most of the best stuff is the simplist, when I was just beginning.
Secondly: for part of your practice routine, turn the radio on, put it on a randam station (with music of course) and play along with whatever song comes on, for me it helped a great deal with my improvisational skills when soloing. It's neat because you never know whats coming up next...
First: it's already been said once but make frequent recordings of yourself, have a boom-box with a tape loaded sitting next to you when you practice, ESPECIALLY for you guys just beginning...for one thing you always have a referece point for your improvements, secondly and I think more interesting, you can save any idea that comes out of the blue, I have a ton of cool ideas for songs that I have saved throughout the years, most of which I have forgotten long ago, its neat to throw an old tape in and hear someting really different....most of the best stuff is the simplist, when I was just beginning.
Secondly: for part of your practice routine, turn the radio on, put it on a randam station (with music of course) and play along with whatever song comes on, for me it helped a great deal with my improvisational skills when soloing. It's neat because you never know whats coming up next...
Dankerella
New member
Re: Your Lessons to the Community: GUITAR Related
I've gotta try that!
I've gotta try that!
tone4days
Heel Whacker
Re: Your Lessons to the Community: GUITAR Related
know why you play and align your choices with that objective ... if you choose to play guitar to make your living, understand what that means ... if you choose to play as an enjoyable hobby, know what that means ...
i read an interview with mike stern 15 vor 20 years ago where he said (paraphrasing) "if you play guitar for a living because you want to, don't! ... it is too hard to make a living and it will likely leave you frustrated and bitter. If you play guitar for a living because you have to, it's the best job you'll ever have and you won't care about anything else"
guitar is my hobby - and i love it with a special passion - it rewards my mental health and keeps me balanced ...
know why you play
cheers
t4d
know why you play and align your choices with that objective ... if you choose to play guitar to make your living, understand what that means ... if you choose to play as an enjoyable hobby, know what that means ...
i read an interview with mike stern 15 vor 20 years ago where he said (paraphrasing) "if you play guitar for a living because you want to, don't! ... it is too hard to make a living and it will likely leave you frustrated and bitter. If you play guitar for a living because you have to, it's the best job you'll ever have and you won't care about anything else"
guitar is my hobby - and i love it with a special passion - it rewards my mental health and keeps me balanced ...
know why you play
cheers
t4d
Re: Your Lessons to the Community: GUITAR Related
Lots of things...
One of my favorites is 'practicing in your head'. I know this sounds funny, but if you've got a pattern that you're having trouble with, write it down. Then visualize in your mind the moves you have to make, physically, to do it, and feel it in time. Repeat it many times.
This trains your brain to do it-then all you have to do is get your fingers and brain synched. I get some really difficult patterns down this way, and I can practice when I'm a long way from my guitar.
Also, record backing tracks and play over them, trying different positions and just jamming. This is especially important if you find working with a metronome boring. You'll improve your timing exponentially.
Mark
Lots of things...
One of my favorites is 'practicing in your head'. I know this sounds funny, but if you've got a pattern that you're having trouble with, write it down. Then visualize in your mind the moves you have to make, physically, to do it, and feel it in time. Repeat it many times.
This trains your brain to do it-then all you have to do is get your fingers and brain synched. I get some really difficult patterns down this way, and I can practice when I'm a long way from my guitar.
Also, record backing tracks and play over them, trying different positions and just jamming. This is especially important if you find working with a metronome boring. You'll improve your timing exponentially.
Mark
Tony_H
New member
Re: Your Lessons to the Community: GUITAR Related
Here's a piece of wisdom that I read. It's from a guy who used to play sax in one of the most witch-hunted bands here in Czechoslovakia back in the communist times in the 1970's and 1980's. He said:
"If you've got something to say, you'll be able to play it on an old carpet."
True, if you've got a real good instrument, everything is easier. But if you don't have anything to say, even the best equipment in the world will not make you a good player.
Sadly, I must admit I don't follow this piece of advice.
Tony
Here's a piece of wisdom that I read. It's from a guy who used to play sax in one of the most witch-hunted bands here in Czechoslovakia back in the communist times in the 1970's and 1980's. He said:
"If you've got something to say, you'll be able to play it on an old carpet."
True, if you've got a real good instrument, everything is easier. But if you don't have anything to say, even the best equipment in the world will not make you a good player.
Sadly, I must admit I don't follow this piece of advice.
Tony
The New Guy
New member
Re: Your Lessons to the Community: GUITAR Related
"One of my favorites is 'practicing in your head'. I know this sounds funny, but if you've got a pattern that you're having trouble with, write it down. Then visualize in your mind the moves you have to make, physically, to do it, and feel it in time. Repeat it many times.
This trains your brain to do it-then all you have to do is get your fingers and brain synched. I get some really difficult patterns down this way, and I can practice when I'm a long way from my guitar.
Also, record backing tracks and play over them, trying different positions and just jamming. This is especially important if you find working with a metronome boring. You'll improve your timing exponentially.
Mark"
I agree totally....it really does work.
"One of my favorites is 'practicing in your head'. I know this sounds funny, but if you've got a pattern that you're having trouble with, write it down. Then visualize in your mind the moves you have to make, physically, to do it, and feel it in time. Repeat it many times.
This trains your brain to do it-then all you have to do is get your fingers and brain synched. I get some really difficult patterns down this way, and I can practice when I'm a long way from my guitar.
Also, record backing tracks and play over them, trying different positions and just jamming. This is especially important if you find working with a metronome boring. You'll improve your timing exponentially.
Mark"
I agree totally....it really does work.
Chace
New member
Re: Your Lessons to the Community: GUITAR Related
The only tips I could possibly give as an aspiring shredder are... The key to playing fast is playing slow, and as Guitarist said earlier if your struggling with a solo/riff break it down and master it afew bars at a time if you have to, get it sounding perfect at a lower speed and slowly build up till its full pace then move on.
Always warm up before you play... the muscles in your right and left hand must be 'loose' or 'flexible' are the best words i can think of atm, a good way to do with is alternate picking chromatic scales, starting slow and getting faster.
The only tips I could possibly give as an aspiring shredder are... The key to playing fast is playing slow, and as Guitarist said earlier if your struggling with a solo/riff break it down and master it afew bars at a time if you have to, get it sounding perfect at a lower speed and slowly build up till its full pace then move on.
Always warm up before you play... the muscles in your right and left hand must be 'loose' or 'flexible' are the best words i can think of atm, a good way to do with is alternate picking chromatic scales, starting slow and getting faster.
