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John Henry · 03-17-2005, 07:22 AM

As far as lessons go, I've seen mixed results. The one thing to watch out for is that too much overly-formal training can result in a very stilted style. It's good to learn from other people one way or another, though. I prefer to pick up bits and pieces from various friends and relatives.

Do finger-walking excercises with your fretting hand when you don't have your guitar available: Just walk your fingers back and forth along a table or your leg in each possible pair combination. This increases co-ordination amazingly. I only discovered this last night and I wish I'd started when I first learnt to play. I did about half an hour last night and my playing was noticeably improved this morning.

Tune your guitar properly and play it clean. This may sound silly, but you learn to play well through feedback (the neural sort, not the electromagnetic sort). You will gradually adapt to play what sounds good to your ear. If you play out of tune, everything will sound crappy and you'll just give up. If you play with effects all the time, you won't be able to hear your mistakes, so you'll never improve. For the same reason, if you're into drugs at all, try to play straight at least some of the time.

Being focussed is always a good thing, but make sure you experiment with different styles and techniques occasionaly as this will help to broaden your understanding of music. Likewise have a pootle on other peoples instruments occasionaly, whether they be guitars or otherwise.

If you have an ultimate goal in mind, start learning as many elements as you can as soon as possible. For example, if you want to sing and play, start learning to do the two together straight away. It might be hard, but it's easier than trying to tack the singing on later on.

Play with other musicians as much as possible. There are far too many bedroom guitarists out there who just learn sequences of notes from their favourite solos, but have absolutely no sense of timing and can't comp. to save their lives.

Use other people's music as a study, but don't just learn it as a repertoire. John Lennon supposedly wrote a lot of his songs by trying to play other people's songs and getting them wrong, so don't be afraid to experiment.

03-17-2005, 07:22 AM	#13 (permalink)
John Henry Addict Location: Grey Britain	As far as lessons go, I've seen mixed results. The one thing to watch out for is that too much overly-formal training can result in a very stilted style. It's good to learn from other people one way or another, though. I prefer to pick up bits and pieces from various friends and relatives. Do finger-walking excercises with your fretting hand when you don't have your guitar available: Just walk your fingers back and forth along a table or your leg in each possible pair combination. This increases co-ordination amazingly. I only discovered this last night and I wish I'd started when I first learnt to play. I did about half an hour last night and my playing was noticeably improved this morning. Tune your guitar properly and play it clean. This may sound silly, but you learn to play well through feedback (the neural sort, not the electromagnetic sort). You will gradually adapt to play what sounds good to your ear. If you play out of tune, everything will sound crappy and you'll just give up. If you play with effects all the time, you won't be able to hear your mistakes, so you'll never improve. For the same reason, if you're into drugs at all, try to play straight at least some of the time. Being focussed is always a good thing, but make sure you experiment with different styles and techniques occasionaly as this will help to broaden your understanding of music. Likewise have a pootle on other peoples instruments occasionaly, whether they be guitars or otherwise. If you have an ultimate goal in mind, start learning as many elements as you can as soon as possible. For example, if you want to sing and play, start learning to do the two together straight away. It might be hard, but it's easier than trying to tack the singing on later on. Play with other musicians as much as possible. There are far too many bedroom guitarists out there who just learn sequences of notes from their favourite solos, but have absolutely no sense of timing and can't comp. to save their lives. Use other people's music as a study, but don't just learn it as a repertoire. John Lennon supposedly wrote a lot of his songs by trying to play other people's songs and getting them wrong, so don't be afraid to experiment. __________________ "No one was behaving from very Buddhist motives. Then, thought Pigsy, he was hardly a Buddha, nor was he a monkey. Presently, he was a pig spirit changed into a little girl pretending to be a little boy to be offered to a water monster. It was all very simple to a pig spirit." Last edited by John Henry; 03-17-2005 at 07:33 AM..