Any other struggling guitarist out there?

Love the guitar but I really struggle. Always looking for tips, techniques and practice routines. Any and all help appreciated.

 

Just play... Don't try to be like "those other guys". It's supposed to be fun, not a competition.

 

I agree and I do. I have what is called zero talent but I still play and even have 5 guitars with one being a 3/4 that I call my couch guitar. That way I can sit on the couch while watching TV and practice.

 

I'm sure a lot of people would say I have zero talent too....

 

I am a guitar god . Ask me focused questions .

 

I'm not particularly talented either. But I've been playing since 1994.

I never felt like I knew anything until I learned the major modes, but only as they pertain to playing individual notes; not chord progressions. Ionian, Dorian, Phrygian, Lydian, Mixolydian, Aeolian, & Locrian are the names of the major modes.

You may also know these "modes" as scales. The "major" scale, as it's commonly known is also the Ionian mode. The "minor" scale, as it's commonly known is also the Aeolian mode. The others are funky and if they have other names I don't know them.

The gist of playing with these is basically that you can riff lots of different places on the fretboard using different modes because they are relative to each other. So playing around in A Aeolian (A minor) is relative to C Ionian, D Dorian, E Phrygian, F Lydian, G Mixolydian, and B Locrian.

I like to switch between A Aeolian and B Locrian when I'm playing around with lead only because they are right next to each other and I am lazy. Lol. It's interesting. That's all I want to say.

EDIT: I said "only individual notes" & that's not entirely true. The chords of the C major scale (just as an example) are C major, D minor, E minor, F major, G major, A minor, and B diminished (which I don't know how to play, but I think you lower the 3rd and the 5th for a diminished. We can Google this...).

 

Tone, Time, Three chords..

As Ty said. Just play man...

I never really bother to play a lot of SRV. Just follow the style, set tone and jam..

 

ai've been trying for to get good with pickin
somewhat in the style of Mississippi John Hurt
of course I'm not attempting to sound like him but I dig that alternating bass & melody type deal that you can get with your thumb... kind of the same concept as a piano but on one hand

but it taint easy... and it can be frustrating...

any one have some pointers?

 

Mississippi John Hurt's style is all his own, hard to copy. there are many others to listen too, try some banjo rolls or travis picking....

 

note how he uses an alternate bass line with his thumb. if he's picking a hard line his bass line goes to a single note

 

maybe this will help

 

I'm just a washed drummer. All I ever wanted was to be in a punk band

 

I've got that down pretty well
I can pick a few songs like Ballad of Casey Jones and Freight Train
but it's just bones
I listen to the recordings and can hear all the little flourishes that Hurt & Cotten throw in there to fill in the gaps
that is what I'm working on
and, in a sense, I suppose I'm trying to develop my own style while not completely imitating those who inspire it

 

figure out your attention span, I find if I don't put it down and let my mind take a break, it all goes downhill

 

Some of the scales I work with is the A minor pentatonic scale with the blues lick added. I've taken many lessons and have a good understanding of what I need to do, but translating that to the hands is where I do have issues.

I have been working over a year on "Littleworth Lane" and quite gotten there yet. The tab below is not the one I work with but rather the one my instructor tabbed out but you get the thought. I quit the lessons because life got in the way but I have signed up for the 3 months from Fender that was posted here.

Littleworth Lane Tab by Joe Satriani - Gtr.1 - Overdriven Guitar | Songsterr Tabs with Rhythm

 

Learn tab. practice for hours and hours a week to make the feel come natural to you. Everything else will fall into place with time. The keyword here is time. And remember it's not a race.

 

Maybe work your way up to Satriani. But if you're intent on playing that type of stuff, learning those scales soulcompromise mentioned is a good start. They are basically like a pentatonic scale but with 2 notes extra. It might seem like a lot but pay attention to the symmetry of the notes and maybe you can pick up on it being the same patterns just in different postions.

Some practice tips:

Use a metronome

On top of learning the major and minor scales, practice chromatic "runs" where you go up the strings each note playing a fret in succession and then you can slide up a fret on the way back down the fretboard or go all the way back down on the same frets you came up and then slide up a note, go up the fretboard starting with the pointer finger, then back down in reverse, leading with the pinky, basically try all different kind of permutations to warm up.

Another exercise I used to do without the guitar when watching tv or when I was out and about to improve finger control is:

Set your fretting hand up on top of a table/flat surface like if the photo below was inverted... And keep your thumb anchored to the table and lift each finger up one at a time without lifting any of the other fingers. When you get that down try 2 fingers at a time while the rest of the fingers on the table and try all different permutations of that.

 

Good suggestions My instructor (when I was taking lessons) was big on the use of the metronome that and playing along with the song. I find that trying to play with the song helps. Another issue I have is I let my fingers "fly" of the fret board when changing notes. I try to work on that.

 

100% on the metronome,, and don't get stuck in a rut of just learning stuff to,,, make the time to just 'play' it.
Also,, have fun with it. Great input in this thread.

 

satriani taught steve vai….vai said he had to really hard to get it. look at him now