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Posts: 280
Location: Waterloo, IL | With all the Books for Dummies around, there has to be one for guitars. I don't know much about music, other than I like what sounds good to my ears. I don't know a lot of chords, and have found a lot of songs that I like to be in strange chords that I don't know, or can't get my fingers to play yet. While I was on my last ship on deployment in the Persian Gulf, the chaplain onboard had studied music in college, and was able to transpose several songs for me so that I could play them in an easier key.
Is there something out there that will help me with this? I enjoy playing my O's to much to keep playing the same few songs.
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Posts: 15686
Location: SoCal | Buy a capo. Those songs in odd keys, A flat or B flat or E flat can all be played with easier chords using a capo. |
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Posts: 3005
Location: Las Cruces, NM | Chuck
Try this site for learning chords, it was listed here a while back and is very interesting IMHO.
chords for strings it has all kinds of chords and presents them in tab form.
Bailey |
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Posts: 1922
Location: Canton (Detroit), MI | Chuck, there very definitely is a "Guitar For Dummies" book, as well as "Rock Guitar For Dummies" and "The Idiot's Guide To Playing The Guitar". I bought some of these last summer when I was getting back into this.
The best book IMHO, is "Uncle Tim's First Year". It's not an easy read, but the author goes through all the basics, keys, chords in each key and scales, in a concise manner. Plus he explains an approach, that with practice(he emphasizes this), will allow you to steadily improve.
Tim explains the theory, so that you can transpose the key of a song. It actually isn't hard once you understand it.
In conjunction with this, I would buy a few books of music of songs you would like to play and start working on songs. The only way to be able to do it is to PRACTICE it. I find that I gradually work up to playing harder songs, I just have to keep trying them.
Roger |
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March 2004
Posts: 119
Location: Georgia USA | For electric guitar, get "The Heavy Guitar Bible" by Richard Daniels, 1979. It can usually be had on ebay for around $10.
Matt Smith stresses learning the standards. So whether it's Hotel California or Jail House Rock, learn it and play it, then learn another. |
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Posts: 14127
Location: 6 String Ranch | The books will help along the way but in the end it's just practice practice practice. I always just got the chord books and skipped the theory ones (too much reading and thinking) but I guess that explains why I'm still at the bottom of the hill after all these years. |
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Posts: 26
Location: Canton, Ohio | I checked out a "Guitar for Dummies" on video from the library last week.
It's about an hour long and covers the basics. I'd say it's worth seeing.
Why not check the library in your area and see if there are books/videos there you can use? |
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Posts: 10583
Location: NJ | I have a stack of instructional books. I keep looking at them saying I am going to go through and learn the stuff in there. Unfortunately there are not enough hours in the day. |
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July 2002
Posts: 280
Location: Waterloo, IL | Music books I have aplenty. I can sit for 2-3 hours without repeating any songs whie strumming along. I practice for an hour a day. I haven't looked into taking any lessons here as I want to have a job first, then find a house to buy. Right now it looks like I will be starting a job on Monday working shift work at Scott Air Base.
I would like to learn music theory, however just don't have the time. It is more important to study the computer books and stuff for my job right now. I am just looking for a book that will help with the chords and keys. I have a capo, but I have to know what key a piece of music is in so that I can work the capo to help me.
If we buy the place in the country I have been looking at, I will have a good place to play my O's. :) |
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March 2002
Posts: 15686
Location: SoCal | 3 chords, baby, that's all you need. I can play everything with just 3 chords. 'Course nobody has any idea what I'm playing (ask the people at the OFC gathering who said "I've never heard Gentle On My Mind played in those keys before".
Of course, I am working on a 4th chord. One of the nasty ones. |
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Posts: 14842
Location: NJ | ". . . ask the people at the OFC gathering who said "I've never heard Gentle On My Mind played in those keys before . . ."
Shit! I didn't even know it was "Gentle On My Mind"!!
I thought you were doin' some really bad "original"! |
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Posts: 295
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada | I know only the basics of music theory, and can't read music, but I find that just experimenting helps. Move your fingers into unfamiliar positions, strum the strings, and see what comes out. Move some fingers to another position, and see how that goes with the first position. You can develop some interesting progressions that get you out of those ruts we tend to settle into, and it doesn't concern me (too much) that I don't even know the names of the chords.
Also, there's a wealth of tab material on the net for non-readers. It's a good way to find new things to learn, and the more new things you learn, the more you can take a few bits from a piece and take off on your own with something new.
I recently copied tabs of Bach's Toccata and Fugue in D Minor (transcribed to E Minor for guitar), Pagannini's Caprice in A Minor, and an extract from Barber's Adagio for Strings. When I'm through learning a couple of other things I'm working on, I'm going to try to tackle those (yikes!).
So, next time you pick up the guitar, instead of going for that familiar D chord, jump to the seventh fret, press a couple of strings, leave a few strings open, and see what happens. |
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August 2003
Posts: 2246
Location: Yucaipa, California | A very basic hint for those who are musically challenged like me:
If you apply the BASIC scale movement steps: A Bb B C Db D Eb E F Gb G Ab A
Then you can play tons of chords just by moving the chord shape up or down the frets in the same sequence of the scale steps, for example:
Play a C7 in the first position, then holding that shape Move it up 2 frets and play the strings you are fretting: D7! Move it up 4 frets and you have E7! Keep moving it up and you'll eventually get back to C7! :cool:
Just remember to play only the strings you are fretting (if open chords) or Barre the others and you can play almost any chord just by moving the shapes the proper fret steps.
Do any of these qualify as the 4th Chord??? |
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May 2004
Posts: 295
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada | Tim, I'd take it one step further. Instead of making sure you barre when you move the chord form up two frets, leave those strings open - e.g., play a standard C chord, then slide it up two frets without barring the strings previously "barred" by the nut; you'll get a nice altered D. The fun of experimenting... |
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Posts: 10583
Location: NJ | just always remember you are one fret away from a good note helps me. |
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Posts: 2246
Location: Yucaipa, California | ...that's exactly what I do (I love those chords).... just figured it might confuse some.... |
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December 2003
Posts: 13997
Location: Upper Left USA | All of the Theory, scales and tunings are things that you will gain or gather if you just get together with others and play. for me, it is the most exciting and enjoyable thing to do. you will learn techniques from reletively inexperienced players and you will have something to leave them with.
And watch the Pros on video any time you can!
When I first saw someone throw a harmonic into a song (Peter Frampton, Heart - Barracuda)or when I was shown open chord phrasings on the 5th, 7th and 9th frets (Dave Mason, John Denver)! Seeing that you could actually change the tuning of the strings and play a song (4+20, Find the Cost of Freedom). Sitting on the Living room floor in my PJ's watching Glen Campbell, Roy Clark and Jim Stafford, et al, just dazzle with strings and wood (and Lyrachord). Priceless!
Then the agonizing hours of practice and playing the LP over and over again.
I guess I'm giving away my age and feeling more than a little nostalgic. I am grateful for those times and memories.
I will miss the last President that stood tall in the saddle. I will miss Cool Ray. I will still relish any Artist that can play his "smash hit" in an acoustic setting. I will enjoy the time spent with youngsters and oldsters swapping songs and riffs. I will still get GAS at the mention of something old, something new, something borrowed and Paul's Big Blue (sorry).
In many ways this site is a jam session.
M(been blessed)Woody |
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Posts: 15686
Location: SoCal | Well said Woodrow. |
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September 2003
Posts: 9301
Location: south east Michigan | At the last open mic session a guy get up and just nails "Mood for the Day". Someone asked how long he had been playing..."35 years", he said. Next guy gets up and and plays something that makes "mood" sound like "dead skunk in the middle of the road". How long has he been playing? All of five years and a finger on his left hand just had a liquid nitrogen treatment that was causing alot of pain.
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The good Lord just wires some people different that others.
Brad |
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Posts: 15686
Location: SoCal | There's alway going to be somebody worse and somebody better out there. You can't do anything about it. Temp once told me that there are some players at the very bottom rung and some players at the very top. But most of the players are somewhere in between.
But as Matt Smith once said (actually I think it's a favorite line of his, but he said it to me at the January NAMM), it's called playing guitar. And he's right. If it was anything else, it would be called "serious, with life and death consequences, working at" guitar.
I've been fortunate in that even with limited ability, my music has brought me friendships with many tremendous people and players (many of whom are on this board, or were met through Ovation connections). The best of those players have never been anything but encouraging of my playing.
My best audiences are my kids, my friends, and most importantly, my wife. Everybody else is just a bonus. |
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Posts: 295
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada | "Somebody worse" and "somebody better" seem to speak to the issue of technique. While technique is important, in that the more you have the greater your potential range of musical expression is (and I've certainly spent countless hours trying to improve my chops), ultimately it's the music that counts. The late pianist/showman Liberace could rip up and down the keyboard but, as far as my ears are concerned, there was no feeling in his music.
Similarly - and some here might consider this blasphemy - Chet Atkins didn't do it for me, either. He had chops galore - hell, he could play two songs simultaneously - but I couldn't connect with his music beyond the fact that it was technically amazing guitar work. |
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Posts: 6202
Location: Phoenix AZ | Personally (and a few of you know 1st hand that I'm telling the truth), it's not how well you play that matters. The real important thing is how good you LOOK doing it. And no better looking way than to have a nice Ovation or Adamas in you hands. Right? |
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Posts: 295
Location: Ottawa, Ontario, Canada | Which is why, of course, I ordered an Adamas a few days ago. Now that I'm on the wrong side of 50, and my pretty-boy rock star visions have faded, I'll have to rely on my guitars to look good. |
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August 2003
Posts: 2246
Location: Yucaipa, California | If you take a look at my "S771 In the Park" picture, I must admit that the only thing that looks good is ths S771! |
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December 2003
Posts: 13997
Location: Upper Left USA | Quote"it's called playing guitar. And he's right. If it was anything else, it would be called "serious, with life and death consequences, working at" guitar."
Hey, even the Doctors call it a "Practice"! |
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Guitars for Dummies?
