Beginners Guitar Lessons

Archive for August, 2009

I am a lead guitarist in a Metalcore band. I am not a theory library because I haven’t taken lessons but I generally know about soloing.
So, for most songs we play Dropped D, and the key most commonly used would be D minor.

I know all 7 modes and how they work, what type of feeling they produce etc., but when I solo, I feel I’m just shredding through them or going up and down them. In other words, my solos lack depth because I am just going up and down the scales without stopping.

I have 3 questions;
1. How do the chord progressions behind the lead guitar affect the solo, or the key? I’d just like a general understanding of this.
2. How do I avoid running through the scales/modes without stopping and give the solo more depth?
3. Say I stop in a solo, if I start again on another chord, does the key change?
You don’t have to answer all 3, just #2 really is important

Well, sounds like you’re a guitarist LOL!!!!

…
No just kidding , please don’t take that seriously.

Anyways, to answer you’re questions:
1. Try this, go to a piano (or if not use your open strings) play one pitch and have that pitch ring continuously (sustain pedal on piano or open string on guitar) and start playing notes above that pitch. Pretty soon you’ll hear that not all of them sound the same, some notes are more consonant (have less tension like the root, 3rd, and 5th, generally the chord tones/arpeggios) while some notes are more dissonant (like the minor second) then try doing this over chords, you’ll definitely get a sense of how it affects the solo. Also, try playing some rhythm guitar behind another lead guitar player soloing and you’ll get some hands on experience with how that affects a lead guitar solo.
2. It’s great that you’ve got chops and know you’re scales, but now its time to put it together and turning these "tools" into music. So instead of thinking just scales, what I would recommend is to actually sing whats in you’re head and play it. That’s right, so like take a track that you could solo over and try singing a phrase, playing it back on your guitar, then repeat the process. Don’t sweat if you can’t hear anything in your head or if you’re unable to sing a phrase, you’re stepping into a concept that many guitarists (especially metal/rock) struggle with initially. It’s called phrasing. You’ll find that once you start doing this, you’ll start forcing yourself to think more melodically and in melodic phrases rather then hand patterns or what lays nice on a guitar fretboard. Since singing is the easiest method to getting out what you hear in you’re head thats why I said singing, but basically the point is so that you actually hear what you play before you play it, so you’re relying on your ears rather than your hands.
3. Depends on what chord and the preceding chord(s). So say the next chord you start on is F7 and the chord before that was Bb major 7, then no you’d still be in the same key of Bb. If the first chord was something like D minor and then the next chord is something Eb7 then probably not, though like I said it depends on the whole context.

Like what kind of beginners guitar should i look for? cost? instruction?

Find an experienced instructor and take lessons in person. Books, videos, & online resorces are better than nothing, but the problem is when you are doing something wrong and there’s no one there to tell you that it’s wrong. Once you get used to doing something a certain way, it’s a hard habit to break. Optimally find an instructor that also teaches music theory and take it also. Once it all comes together you’ll be glad that you had the theory on top of the conventional guitar specific instruction so you’ll not only know how to play something, but why it’s played that way.

The guitar is a matter of how dedicated you plan to be. Don’t buy a $1,200 American Strat if you don’t know if you’re going to stick with it or not. The best bang for the buck that I know of currently is the Yamaha RGX-A2. They can be had online for under $275 and you won’t "outgrow" it for years if ever. It’s a fairly decent guitar even for advanced players.

im looking for a nice guitar teacher, preferably a guy, who teaches around the castle Rock area in Colorado. any suggestions?

Check the Craigslist lessons section in your area, or try other guitar teacher directories like http://www.findguitarteachers.com.

When I was young, some of my friends knew how to play the guitar really good and I alwawys wanted to learn. I always wanted to play the guittar, the piano and violin, but first of all the guitar. Is it possible to learn how to play guitar without having ever held one. If so, how and is there a website to go to or what.

100% No.

You can learn alot about guitar. But until you have to overcome the physical hurdles of the instrument you won’t be able to do much of anything.

http://www.chaddukes.org/

i have guitar lessons in a few days and i really want to completely surprise my guitar teacher with some awesome solo or song that is easy but sounds super cool can you help me

I’ve been playing for a little over a decade, and I know the difference between quality playing ie genuine skill and something flashy that’s meant to look impressive.

I, as a musician, have no respect for players who strike a guitar pose, try to pull off some flash two-hand tapping or sweep-picking, and completely screw it up, hitting their notes incorrectly, string buzz, miffing notes, extra string noise, etc. I’ve heard too much of it, and it basically just makes me shake my head, roll my eyes, and walk away.

So "flash" does not impress me. On the other hand, it is a breath of fresh air to encounter a guitarist who may not be able to play lots of that flashy stuff, but what they do know how to play they’ve got *down* and can perform it flawlessly.

You want to impress your teacher? Come in and play your scales perfectly, fluidly, in time… nail your chord transitions cleanly, etc. That shows you’ve been practicing, and that you’re motivated to truly become a better player by learning the fundamentals of the craft, instead of just shooting for the glamour and excitement and hype of it all.

People who aren’t musicians are impressed by guitarists who move their hands up and down the neck a lot, who strike guitar hero poses, and confuse sloppy playing with "emotion".

Musicians *expect* you to play your notes correctly, to play "in key" when required, and keep time with the rest of the band. Musicians are impressed when you play something that is even moderately difficult, play it flawlessly, and make it look *easy*.

In other words, musicians set the bar much higher than your average joe, and your teacher will absolutely know when you’re trying to sound "cool" instead of sounding skilled and talented!

Keep practicing!

Saul

Anyone know of any good websites where i can get guitar lessons or name of a video where someone will tell me where to place my fingers and explain scales and stuff?

http://www.justinguitar.com/

That’s a good site with a full beginner course explained with videos and tabs, and breaks into several genres. There are also sections for technique and essentially everything you should need.

I attempted to paint my guitar in the past and got an uneven finish and many of the lines were smudged. I was wondering where i could find reliable instructions on how to paint and finish a guitar

Most guitars are sprayed with an aribrush.

Check out http://www.paintyourownguitar.com/

I ran a search for "paint guitar" and this was the first to pop up.

Good luck!

ive never touched a guitar before
anybody know any good lesson-givers on youtube for the basics?

its an electric guitar btw

im mostly into rock and alternative if that helps

I YouTubed it for ya!

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=guitar+electric+lessons&search_type=

=) Have fun.

hey
well i am pretty good playing guitar hero 3 an i wanna challenge myself so i wanna get the impossible song but i don’t know how

PLEASE tell me if yo know how!!!!
i know that through the fire and flames is the ls song and i beated it but i know that there is a song called "do not do this song" or "impossible song" it kind of a secret song but how do i get it??

The "impossible song" you heard may just be a hack someone put into the game. There is no such song.

hey i have been playing for about 3 months now and i a not bad at all, but as im still a beginner i want to know ways to become good at an early stage.

like what to work on?

i want to do lead more than rhtyham. i can already play stairway to heaven solo.

And i want to know all the possible soloing techniques for a player who is Begginer/intermediate

my point is i don’t want to be just good at guitar i want to be real good and i mean real good. i already take guitar lessons

any advice u could give me

Hi,

Learn early that on top of learning scales, chords, etc… that being unique is important.

look at a piece of music, learn it, and try to add different aspects to it to make it your own.

Then down the road you will see you have your own style, and not a cookie-cutter type.

Also listen to different instruments and ask… How can I makes my guitar respond like that? For example, flow like a harp, attack like a drummer, be light like a flute… I hope you see what I mean.

Practice, practice, practice… three important things

Send me tickets to your first show!

All the best.

Smiles – Old Owl