getting better at playing your instrument

[sylnau]

Hey! I don’t know scales and stuff and don’t care for it… but I feel like I have a big lack of vocabulary when I play guitar.
What you guys/gals do when you practice? Any good book that help you developpe your technique (or non technique)?

[raj007]

So...I started playing guitar when I was 16. And only cared about getting good enough to play simple punk stuff.

Then, fast forward...went to Grad School, got married, had a kid...didn't touch a guitar for about 7 years.

About a year ago I got the itch and I've been playing like a madman ever since.

Ive gone through some of JustinGuitar's videos and those have been cool.

I am learning scales, and knowing what key I am in...root notes...minor, major, sharp, etc. I learned none of this when younger. And actually started doing lessons over Skype with an instructor and I've found that helpful.

I'm less interested in learning cover songs as I'm more engaged with creating my own stuff , but I still do sometimes to challenge myself and give myself something to work on. Practicing bar chords, and different transitions more often. Picking patterns. Etc.

I never took it seriously when younger so now I try to practice broader technique and attain as much knowledge as I can.

I don't want to create blues music really , but I still find it valuable to learn and understand techniques within that genre as you can translate it to other avenues.

I'm rambling...

[Jwar]

Scales are stupid easy dude. I learned them all when I was younger and then never bothered to keep up the effort. Kind of wish I wouldn't have stopped because now I'm starting all over again and it seems harder now. They are the foundation of chords, so I think they are really important if you want to actually be decent. You can get the info online for free though. No real need to buy a chord book or scale book for that matter. LOL


I've developed my technique from watching others play along with listening to constructive feedback from peers.

I'm not the best player, but I think I have a pretty good technique over all. I'm not super heavy handed or light, just right.

A lot of what I've learned came from watching Youtube videos. LOL. For instance, I watched Behndy playing so much that I decided to try a little trick he has where he flicks his hand downward to hit the strings. Every since I tried it, I've worked on getting better and better at it and now I never use a pick. That's my pick if I need one.

Here's a video of him doing it.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAMDEglOmLI[/youtube]


As far as everything else goes, it's been 20+ plus years of trial and error man. Again, I'm no perfect bassist, but I'm no slouch either, at least not in my opinion.

I practice with books every once and awhile to build muscle memory. The best ones in my opinion are the workout type books. For instance https://www.walmart.com/ip/4786433?wmls ... 3=&veh=sem

I dug that book so much, I gave one to my SS this year.

Practice is super important to. The way I practice (even with effects) is to basically play everything I know or have been learning ivn the last couple of weeks. This way it becomes like second nature. When I get something down, I proceed to practice with my eyes closed. I can play almost anything that I've learned this way now. It's something I've worked with for years and years and am very confident in it. I can also play a fretless because of this.

Listen to music and try to pick up the notes by ear. This is a extremely useful skill and I would say 90% of the stuff I've learned has been by ear or straight from memory of a song. It's weird, but I'm pretty good at it in most cases. It takes me a bit, but I never give up.

Also, I think there's a lot of value in getting a teacher. I really want to do that this year and I just need to go for it. I'm thinking of either going in person or signing up for Scott's Bass Lesson's (his shit is amazing).

OH! Timing...man this one is hard for sure. I never use a metronome LOL!! I try to get timing down by ear and repetition. It would probably be easier the other way, but I fucking hate those things. Or I do a loop with my bass and play over it. That really helps too.

Hope I have some useful stuff here.

[popvulture]

This book is actually really great if you'd like to get a better theoretical knowledge, not too intimidatingly presented. The author generally does a really effective job of explaining things. Like every book in this series, the title sucks. Also it has a PRS on the cover. Don't be deterred by either of those

https://www.amazon.com/Guitar-Theory-Du ... or+dummies

[Andrew]

I remember learning scales when I was in my John Petrucci/Jeff Loomis stage of life. But I would either want to play a different style of music or didn't spend the 3 or 4 hours a day it takes to do that shit faster and faster.

What i've found works is pick a scale you like and try to make something musical out of it, then start to expand to different positions. It doesn't need to be Soloing licks but making some sort of Melody or post-rocky lead is generally a good way to learn. It may not be 'traditionally productive' or the most optimal way to learn, but if it helps memorize then it's beneficial. Either way, writing music is still more valuable can reciting theory.

[Mudfuzz]

I watched Behndy playing so much that I decided to try a little trick he has where he flicks his hand downward to hit the strings. Every since I tried it, I've worked on getting better and better at it and now I never use a pick. That's my pick if I need one.

Here's a video of him doing it.

[youtube][/youtube]

That is a fun technique, it's a flamenco guitar thing actually, I like to do that on double bass, it's fun

[youtube][/youtube]

[fcknoise]

Not because I know them, but learning the modal scales would probably be really useful

[BitchPudding]

I kinda wanna learn brent hinds style chicken pickin/hybrid pickig. I sorta already do it, just no where near his level.

[Iommic Pope]

Troy Stetina.
Youre welcome.

[Eivind August]

I basically learnt different scales and chord positions from browsing the internet when I started playing in my early teens. Think that has helped me somewhat expanding, although I'm far from a technical player.

[Invisible Man]

Buy more pedals?

[sylnau]

Buy more pedals?

That's what I've done since I'm on ILF.

This book is actually really great if you'd like to get a better theoretical knowledge, not too intimidatingly presented. The author generally does a really effective job of explaining things. Like every book in this series, the title sucks. Also it has a PRS on the cover. Don't be deterred by either of those

https://www.amazon.com/Guitar-Theory-Du ... or+dummies

That should work.... I'm a dummy.
Seriously... those book are cool... I will look at this one for sure.
There is an improvisation for dummy (in french) that seems cool too.

[sylnau]

As suggested by Chank, I might try to get Arcana vol 1 by John Zorn too.
(for some musical idea)

[popvulture]

Buy more pedals?

That's what I've done since I'm on ILF.

This book is actually really great if you'd like to get a better theoretical knowledge, not too intimidatingly presented. The author generally does a really effective job of explaining things. Like every book in this series, the title sucks. Also it has a PRS on the cover. Don't be deterred by either of those

https://www.amazon.com/Guitar-Theory-Du ... or+dummies

That should work.... I'm a dummy.
Seriously... those book are cool... I will look at this one for sure.
There is an improvisation for dummy (in french) that seems cool too.

It really does help a ton. I took theory in high school but never applied it to guitar—for the most part I'd always totally played by ear, aside from knowing where notes were on the fretboard, chord construction basics and handy stuff about relative majors/minors. I picked this book up to try to understand the mechanics of things in more detail, and it's done exactly what I wanted.

I also still take lessons from time to time. I've been playing since I was 10, but the thing is—we always get stale at points, stuck in habits and not doing anything new or challenging. So occasional lessons have helped me get out of that, as well as the book—you just have to find something to open your eyes to something new.

[rustywire]

TEN THOUSAND HOURS