RedWine
08-30-2007, 03:05 AM
Fancy yourself a fretboard wizard? To rise to the ranks of guitar god--that is, an exceptionally talented and charismatic guitarist, you must pay your dues. It isn't just about learning how to play guitar; it's about eating, breathing, and sleeping guitar. Read on to follow the lead of widely respected, guitar playing legends like Yngwie Malmsteen, Eddie Van Halen and Randy Rhoads--maybe you've got it in you, maybe you don't, but there's only one way to find out.
Start playing now. The greatest of the great started becoming acquainted with their guitars at a very young age (usually before they they were thirteen years old) so you've probably got a lot of catching up to do! Stop making excuses, stop saying you need the perfect guitar, stop waiting to be "inspired," and stop wasting another minute to learn how to develop your inner guitar god. There's no reason to wait.
There's a very good chance that you will not be good at first. Everyone has to start out being bad, so they can improve from there. Think of it this way - babies are terrible at walking, little children struggle with talking. But they keep doing it, without feeling bad about themselves. Eventually those babies grow up to kick you in the face and insult your mother.
Can't afford a nice guitar? For now, buy an inexpensive guitar when you first start. You only need to get comfortable with the new movements with your fingers. It's only a temporary measure (see Warnings) but it's better than nothing!
MultitaskPractice till your fingers bleed. -- Okay, maybe bleeding fingers aren't the smartest way to go (see Tips), but you get the idea. Eddie Van Halen used to walk around his house with the guitar strapped on and unplugged, practicing incessantly; he'd sit on his bed for hours on end with a guitar while other people went to parties. Are you ready and willing to do the same? Get your priorities straight and learn to multitask. It's all about dedication and discipline.
Be precise. Just because you're starting doesn't give you an excuse to be sloppy. Like in Tai Chi, if you practice very slowly with 100 percent concentration, you'll become five times faster and better; so when you practice, do it slowly and concentrate. You'll be amazed at the results.
If you don't have an experienced instructor or high quality equipment, this may be difficult, but you have to be a stickler for technique. Do your homework and ask questions. Be persistent. If you know someone who's an excellent guitar player, don't be shy. Walk up to them with the guitar strapped on, politely request a moment of their time, and ask them if your finger placement for a particular chord or technique is correct. Most experts, when they see an error, are compelled to correct it out of their love of the art.
Studying your idols. Listen to other guitarists' riffs and solos and learn them.
Some techniques that are worth learning:
Harmonics and pinch harmonics
Palm muting
Right hand tapping
Hammer ons/pull offs.
Scales you should be familiar with:
Major and minor
Be able to play scales forwards as well as backwards, moving from scale to scale in a given key
Pentatonic major and minor.
Study classical music. It may seem worlds apart from the music you envision yourself playing, but practically all of the guitar geniuses that you look up to have studied classical technique at one point or another. Malmsteen, for example, was heavily influenced by 19th century violin virtuoso Niccolò Paganini. In the process of adapting Paganini concerto pieces on guitar, he fostered a prodigious technical fluency that would later make jaws drop. Additionally, Eddie Van Halen began his musical aspirations with classical piano before he discovered the freedom of guitar.
Learn the ins and outs of reading music. Sure, Stevie Ray Vaughn was amazing and he didn't know how to read music, but if you just sit down and learn to read and transpose music, you will be much better off. Not only will you know what sounds good, you will know how to put it into writing and you will learn deeper elements of music. Music is not just the notes you are playing, but the pause between notes and the composition of good music.
Play with emotion. Once you've developed proficiency, you can use the guitar for freedom of expression. You can feel the music in your blood, and make other people feel it, too. Remember, the greatest musicians of all time, the ones who are most deeply respected, are the ones who could move others, physically or emotionally, with their music. Believe you can become a breath-taking guitarist--it makes such a difference if you know you will be brilliant.
Take care of your hands. Before and after you play do warm-up and cool-down sessions with your fingers. Do regular hand exercises with both hands as this helps with all situations with the guitar. Keep your fingernails on your fretting hand as short as possible as this helps grit the strings more easily.
Take care of your guitar. Check it regularly and clean it. Get any parts fixed if broken or not working properly.
Play with a metronome - it's much easier to play with other people if you are used to playing in time. Learn something at a slow tempo and then slowly raise the setting up.
One big problem with many cheap guitars is that the action, or how far the strings are from the fingerboard, is too high. This makes it tough to fret notes and you may end up pressing too hard. However, this problem is easy to solve. Just take your guitar to a guitar shop and they will lower the action, often for free.
Playing on a cheap guitar won't help. It may not hurt, and you don't need to drop more than $200 on your first one, but a bad enough guitar can create bad habits, like pressing so hard you make all the notes sharp; like avoiding the use of correct fingering (to favor "stronger" fingers); like avoiding some chords and notes because they sound bad on poorly dressed frets; like ruining your pitch perception with a poorly cut nut or warped neck that will never play in tune. Also, low-quality guitars make lots of people quit because what they are playing sounds bad and they assume it's their fault when it isn't. A dead fret is a dead fret.
You can put a vise on it and it won't matter.
If you're a beginner, don't play with flash gear straight away; this will make you think you're better then you really are, when really you're just cheating.
If you have a demanding practice regimen and have a break, work yourself back into it gradually or you may injure yourself.
Things You'll Need
A guitar
An amplifier
Instrument cable
Strap (optional until 5 months in)
Stereo
Albums of your favourite bands
A tuner
Picks
Guitar case
Metronome
It is a really good idea to get a good teacher. I recommend studying classical music in addition to rock. However, if taking lessons is too expensive, don't worry about it.
Start playing now. The greatest of the great started becoming acquainted with their guitars at a very young age (usually before they they were thirteen years old) so you've probably got a lot of catching up to do! Stop making excuses, stop saying you need the perfect guitar, stop waiting to be "inspired," and stop wasting another minute to learn how to develop your inner guitar god. There's no reason to wait.
There's a very good chance that you will not be good at first. Everyone has to start out being bad, so they can improve from there. Think of it this way - babies are terrible at walking, little children struggle with talking. But they keep doing it, without feeling bad about themselves. Eventually those babies grow up to kick you in the face and insult your mother.
Can't afford a nice guitar? For now, buy an inexpensive guitar when you first start. You only need to get comfortable with the new movements with your fingers. It's only a temporary measure (see Warnings) but it's better than nothing!
MultitaskPractice till your fingers bleed. -- Okay, maybe bleeding fingers aren't the smartest way to go (see Tips), but you get the idea. Eddie Van Halen used to walk around his house with the guitar strapped on and unplugged, practicing incessantly; he'd sit on his bed for hours on end with a guitar while other people went to parties. Are you ready and willing to do the same? Get your priorities straight and learn to multitask. It's all about dedication and discipline.
Be precise. Just because you're starting doesn't give you an excuse to be sloppy. Like in Tai Chi, if you practice very slowly with 100 percent concentration, you'll become five times faster and better; so when you practice, do it slowly and concentrate. You'll be amazed at the results.
If you don't have an experienced instructor or high quality equipment, this may be difficult, but you have to be a stickler for technique. Do your homework and ask questions. Be persistent. If you know someone who's an excellent guitar player, don't be shy. Walk up to them with the guitar strapped on, politely request a moment of their time, and ask them if your finger placement for a particular chord or technique is correct. Most experts, when they see an error, are compelled to correct it out of their love of the art.
Studying your idols. Listen to other guitarists' riffs and solos and learn them.
Some techniques that are worth learning:
Harmonics and pinch harmonics
Palm muting
Right hand tapping
Hammer ons/pull offs.
Scales you should be familiar with:
Major and minor
Be able to play scales forwards as well as backwards, moving from scale to scale in a given key
Pentatonic major and minor.
Study classical music. It may seem worlds apart from the music you envision yourself playing, but practically all of the guitar geniuses that you look up to have studied classical technique at one point or another. Malmsteen, for example, was heavily influenced by 19th century violin virtuoso Niccolò Paganini. In the process of adapting Paganini concerto pieces on guitar, he fostered a prodigious technical fluency that would later make jaws drop. Additionally, Eddie Van Halen began his musical aspirations with classical piano before he discovered the freedom of guitar.
Learn the ins and outs of reading music. Sure, Stevie Ray Vaughn was amazing and he didn't know how to read music, but if you just sit down and learn to read and transpose music, you will be much better off. Not only will you know what sounds good, you will know how to put it into writing and you will learn deeper elements of music. Music is not just the notes you are playing, but the pause between notes and the composition of good music.
Play with emotion. Once you've developed proficiency, you can use the guitar for freedom of expression. You can feel the music in your blood, and make other people feel it, too. Remember, the greatest musicians of all time, the ones who are most deeply respected, are the ones who could move others, physically or emotionally, with their music. Believe you can become a breath-taking guitarist--it makes such a difference if you know you will be brilliant.
Take care of your hands. Before and after you play do warm-up and cool-down sessions with your fingers. Do regular hand exercises with both hands as this helps with all situations with the guitar. Keep your fingernails on your fretting hand as short as possible as this helps grit the strings more easily.
Take care of your guitar. Check it regularly and clean it. Get any parts fixed if broken or not working properly.
Play with a metronome - it's much easier to play with other people if you are used to playing in time. Learn something at a slow tempo and then slowly raise the setting up.
One big problem with many cheap guitars is that the action, or how far the strings are from the fingerboard, is too high. This makes it tough to fret notes and you may end up pressing too hard. However, this problem is easy to solve. Just take your guitar to a guitar shop and they will lower the action, often for free.
Playing on a cheap guitar won't help. It may not hurt, and you don't need to drop more than $200 on your first one, but a bad enough guitar can create bad habits, like pressing so hard you make all the notes sharp; like avoiding the use of correct fingering (to favor "stronger" fingers); like avoiding some chords and notes because they sound bad on poorly dressed frets; like ruining your pitch perception with a poorly cut nut or warped neck that will never play in tune. Also, low-quality guitars make lots of people quit because what they are playing sounds bad and they assume it's their fault when it isn't. A dead fret is a dead fret.
You can put a vise on it and it won't matter.
If you're a beginner, don't play with flash gear straight away; this will make you think you're better then you really are, when really you're just cheating.
If you have a demanding practice regimen and have a break, work yourself back into it gradually or you may injure yourself.
Things You'll Need
A guitar
An amplifier
Instrument cable
Strap (optional until 5 months in)
Stereo
Albums of your favourite bands
A tuner
Picks
Guitar case
Metronome
It is a really good idea to get a good teacher. I recommend studying classical music in addition to rock. However, if taking lessons is too expensive, don't worry about it.