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May 2008
Posts: 160
Location: Montana | Does anyone have any advice for resources (books, websites, videos, etc) to learn good technique? I'm mostly self-taught or learned from others that are self-taught. I can play some songs that sound OK. But I often don't play as clean as I'd like and I struggle with some barre chords. And I feel I'm at a point where just continuing to play and practice the way I always have is not getting me much better. So any thoughts? |
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April 2008
Posts: 2336
Location: Brighty in Blighty | Go and see a teacher. |
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March 2008
Posts: 2683
Location: Hot Springs, S.D. | Scott, you're in Montana. How far west? You could take a ride to the Black Hills and I'd be happy to show you some stuff. I've been teaching for most of my life. It really is hard to learn technique from a book or a website. You need someone there to see how you're holding your wrist, your elbow, and your thumb. |
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November 2005
Posts: 4827
Location: Campbell River, British Columbia | and your tongue.
don't forget the tongue.
it's all in how you hold your tongue. |
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August 2007
Posts: 494
Location: Location Location Location | I don't know what type of music you play, but here's a cool sight that's just chock full of info, riffs, etc. I spent a good deal of time on the WAV/SOUND Files, which has TAB for the riffs and licks, and audio so you can gauge your progress by ear as well. Being able to play musical ideas is certainly good for techniqe.
http://tinpan.fortunecity.com/melody/73/tab.html |
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January 2006
Posts: 2120
Location: Chicago | Grumpy sez: Be sure to learn strict alternate picking for scales/chords. Use ALL fingers of left hand: position-playing! Get acquainted ASAP with scale-types: major/minor, melodic minor, diminished. Chords: discover all drop-2, drop-3 in addition to barre. And always make music and have fun! |
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May 2008
Posts: 160
Location: Montana | Thanks folks, I think I will go the teacher route. Yes Dobro! That is some of the stuff I'm just discovering that is leading me to realize that there is a bigger world out there than cowboy chords and sloppy bars (of both types).
Canterberry - Thanks for the offer, but I'm on the West side near Glacier Park - Seattle is actually closer than Glendive MT or Sheridan WY. |
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Posts: 160
Location: Montana | Oops, CanterBURY, sorry 'bout that. |
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February 2005
Posts: 11840
Location: closely held secret | Originally posted by fillhixx:
and your tongue.
don't forget the tongue.
it's all in how you hold your tongue. ...and here we see a perfect example of the difference between theory and practice... |
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May 2008
Posts: 194
Location: Las Vegas, NV | I've been playing for a little over a year, self-taught, and felt I was reaching a sort of plateau. So, I started lessons three weeks ago. I'll second the "go see a teacher" school of thought. I've become a fair player in a year, but the learning curve has ramped up significantly in the last three weeks. In another year, I believe I will be 10 times better (and much more versatile) than I am now. |
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September 2006
Posts: 10777
Location: Keepin' It Weird in Portland, OR | One of these days I really need to take some lessons.
On assorted lesson videos and in books is always sez "Avoid Developing Bad Habits"...
This advice always seems a bit late for me. |
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January 2006
Posts: 2120
Location: Chicago | For starters I had to learn that I could not simultaneously pick my nose AND the guitar strings; set me back a bit! |
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May 2008
Posts: 194
Location: Las Vegas, NV | So, you misunderstood the whole "fingerpicking" thing...
And coated strings... |
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January 2009
Posts: 4535
Location: Flahdaw | Originally posted by ScottMt:
but I'm on the West side near Glacier Park - Seattle is actually closer than Glendive MT or Sheridan WY. Had a friend that went out there (Whitefish) for a weeks vacation, and stayed for 14 years. Pretty country.....guitar playing country. |
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February 2004
Posts: 2487
| Ahhh so that's why they make the coated srings.
As for technique, if your's is poor make sure your kids don't make the same mistakes. Send them to a teacher. I still have some poor habits and it has taken a while to break some old problems down and do it right now. I am now able to play chords in differing fingerings depending upon what the chord progressions are or what fingers need to be available to do other things on the neck. But that is just experience. The last vestage of my Old Ways, is using the "CLAW" I go to the two finger picking every time. It is natural to me and I am fast with it but it is limiting and I have forced myself to use three fingers now. Good musicians can use all five on the picking hand.
Wish I had taken the time to learn that years ago. |
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June 2003
Posts: 1792
Location: Rego Park, NY, | Originally posted by dobro:
For starters I had to learn that I could not simultaneously pick my nose AND the guitar strings; set me back a bit! Does your alternate picking start with the left nostril like this?
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January 2006
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Location: Chicago | No, the right one. Then both! |
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December 2003
Posts: 13987
Location: Upper Left USA | I learned from L... uthiers! |
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November 2008
Posts: 1119
Location: Michigan | |
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November 2008
Posts: 1119
Location: Michigan | Originally posted by CanterburyStrings:
Scott, you're in Montana. How far west? You could take a ride to the Black Hills and I'd be happy to show you some stuff. I've been teaching for most of my life. It really is hard to learn technique from a book or a website. You need someone there to see how you're holding your wrist, your elbow, and your thumb. I will be there tomorrow morning :) Plan on me staying for a couple of weeks. I rise late and prefer fresh brewed coffee :) |
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July 2005
Posts: 3410
Location: GA USA | I have so far to go. I have a START on a lot of stuff, and a proficiency on nothing. So I looked all over the link that Brooklyn posted above, and tried to apply part one of "Grumpy sez".
This morning I got in a solid hour of practice, and will get another hour in today. I worked on chromatic finger exercises, alternative picking, and focused on thumb position. It sounded so bad, but I remembered when Dobro said he sucked for a year when he set out to re-train his thumb. That's an encouragement.
Then barre chord forms. Then played a couple of songs.
It was hard work, but still fun. Ever hear Dave Ramsey on the radio, saying that you should live like nobody else (on little money) so that one day you can live like nobody else?
That sounds like good guitar sense too. Practice like nobody else (basics), and you'll play like nobody else. |
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January 2006
Posts: 2120
Location: Chicago | That's great, Jas. For a long time I was "Mr. Downstroke" and it DID take a long time to retrain (not my thumb so much as alternate picking). Everyone has his own quirks but getting grounded in solid up ^ down v is KEY for anything.
Here's an idea: since we don't usually just play scales in our music, take what you're working on and make a PATTERN that sounds good and use THAT to practice your picking and scale. Then you can apply it to a lead.
For example: If you are working on a C major scale, try "thirds": C E D F E G F A etc., It will train the fings and the brain. Plus... it can sound good in a lead passage.
Here is just one example of what I mean:
JM PATTERN FOR LEAD PLAYING |
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January 2006
Posts: 2120
Location: Chicago | PS In the last lessons she recorded, Emily Remler noted that she only had, actually, about 25 patterns under her fingers. You'd think she had a million! If you train your "system" with only a few it will quickly turn into interesting lead playing (and rhythm too). |
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Learning Good Technique?