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Tagged: Needing a break through!
- This topic has 6 replies, 1 voice, and was last updated 4 years, 4 months ago by sunjamr.
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November 12, 2019 at 8:41 pm #150280
I have been chording to songs for years. I’ve been learning from Brian’s lessons – learned so much, but I cannot get a break through – I mean throwing in some riffs to songs. I can play 12 bar rhythms at at least 160 bpm, and Steel Guitar Rag at a good pace (140?). I know bar chords, but “fingering” new triads and changes between them seems to be tough for me. I think the idea is to pick a song, thrown in a riff, and play slowly to integrate that extra stuff. Is there anything else I could do?
Thanks, Kathy L. -
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November 12, 2019 at 8:49 pm #150281
I’d love to hear some advice too. I’m stuck! I Practice and play every day if I can. My fingers just don’t do what I need and I’ve been practicing for 3 years. How does a 9 year old play eruption and other crazy guitar stuff… natural talent?!
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November 14, 2019 at 2:11 pm #150410
Hi Ryan – My grandson is 12, and he’s been playing at least 5 years. His elementary school had a school rock band, and after practicing about a year, he became the lead guitarist for that band. Now he is in junior high school, and he’s the lead guitarist for that school rock band. From what I have seen, playing in a band has been really important to his development as a guitarist. So I would say if you are not in a band, you should be. If your school doesn’t have one, get together with your friends and start one yourself. And speed is not the goal. Most people in an audience don’t care how fast you can play, it’s about how good you can play. If you want to develop speed as a hobby, just search Youtube for “speed picking on guitar” or whatever. You can try slant picking, or holding your pick so that only a tiny bit of it sticks out from your fingers, or using different kinds of picks, or practicing economy of movement. Whatever. But why bother? Your fingers have a lot more growing to do, so just relax and play what’s easy for you at this stage. Remember what BB King said: “I can’t play fast like some of those boys, so I decided to just get the most I can out of every note I play.”
Sunjamr Steve
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November 12, 2019 at 10:19 pm #150288
if it’s improvising you’re heading towards, then I’d suggest slowly building up your “vocabulary” of licks. Instead of running the major or minor pentatonic scales, just pick a little lick and get it “under your fingers”, so you can play it any time without thinking about it.
Brian’s blues course is full of little licks; and he’s got some early lessons (somebody will hopefully ID them) where he just uses little two- or three- or four-note licks through a whole solo, just small variations makes them sing.
The only other thing i work on is being able to play a straight melody.
So when it comes to moving off your plateau to the next level, you said it in your post:
“I think the idea is to pick a song, thrown in a riff, and play slowly to integrate that extra stuff. Is there anything else I could do?”
I’ve been playing 50 years but that’s still my approach; just posted a song (Michael Buble’s Home) where I played the melody, then added a few licks that i’m comfortable with, then moved the melody up into a high range, and then pushed my luck with some faster licks.
Melody. Your vocabulary of licks. And then go for feeling and expression.
Easier said than done, but that’s always been my approach, and gradually over time you just get better. And most important of all, for me, is loving every minute that guitar is in my hand. -
November 12, 2019 at 10:26 pm #150290
I’d love to hear some advice too. I’m stuck! I Practice and play every day if I can. My fingers just don’t do what I need and I’ve been practicing for 3 years. How does a 9 year old play eruption and other crazy guitar stuff… natural talent?!
i wish i’d started at 9 yrs old.
not sure about playing “crazy guitar stuff” but i think you start with playing just a little small bit of whatever you want to play, and get it “under your fingers” and then learn another little bit and get it down, and gradually over time you build up your vocabulary and you’re playing what you want.
If you learn a lick a week (really learn it so you can play it without thinking) then you’ve got 50 licks a year, which is way more than most AM members have.
Natural talent? No.
Focused disciplined building up of your own licks? Yes.
Don’t be in a hurry, buddy. All of your guitar heroes took their time. There’s no short cut, you’ve got to put in the time. But use that time well, choose what you want to learn, and then learn it in little pieces and really really get them down. -
November 12, 2019 at 10:34 pm #150291
I’m on a roll here because this is such an important question. It’s not about scales or modes, it’s about the psychology of improving.
And really my main source for this comes from a little book i stumbled on years ago:
Zen Guitar by Philip Sudo.
There’s no “music” instruction, no scales or licks or anything like that, but if anyone wants to make a breakthrough and move on up the mountain to the next level, then this is the book.
If i was on a desert island with nothing but a guitar and one book, this is the book.
In fact, even if i didn’t have a guitar, this would be the book.
It has kept me going and growing, and loving every minute. -
November 14, 2019 at 1:57 pm #150405
Hi Kathryn – I don’t understand why you are concerned about how fast you can play. Is it your goal to be able to play really fast songs? What kind of songs are you wanting to learn? If you want instant gratification, you could just learn to play the chords and sing BB King’s “The Thrill is Gone”, then use the licks from EP078 as an interlude. The duet he does with Tracy Chapman would be a good place to start.
If you want to insert some original licks, then you’re talking about improv. And the only way to learn to improv is to start doing it. Toward that end, you either need to play along with jamtracks, or get yourself a looper. Then you need to consider this fact: If you can’t hum it (out loud or in your head), you can’t play it. So you put on a jamtrack or some chord sequence you’ve looped, then sit back and hum something that sounds good with it. Once you can hum your original lick melody, just pick out the single notes on your guitar. Try playing those single notes in different places on the neck. If you like dyads, try adding some harmony notes to your lick.
Meanwhile, keep learning Brian’s lessons and gradually your lick library will increase. All guitarists need a basic lick library they can tap into. Then the next phase is when they start to make small modifications to the licks they already know. Then eventually it happens that they can start to create original licks on the fly.
Sunjamr Steve
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