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[Oerdin]

So I've been trying to learn guitar for a couple of weeks now but it's been slow going.  I've bought both the DVD and the study book for the Watch & Learn series' Accoustic Guitar Primer and I've read the whole study book plus I've been watching the video and playing along with it.  I can form a few chords well enough but my problem is switching smoothly from one chord to another.  I've also been having trouble contorting my fingers so that they go to the correct positions on the fretboard but this has gotten easier the more I've practiced.

Do any of you experienced guitar players have any suggestions on how to improve one's abilty to move from one chord to another?  I of course intend to continue practicing but I'm most interested if there are any drills or excersizes whcih help new players get a feel for this.  Thanks.

[heretic]

LISTEN TO ME RIGHT NOW
i learned this from a very famous jazz/classical guitarist. when learning a chord progression, never try to learn it at full speed right off the bat. do it as slow as you need to, without strumming, being absolutly positive your fingers are in the right place everytime. gradually start strumming and increase speed. this will build a muscle memory, whereas tryng to play it full speed and not getting your fingers in the right place everytime will not. also, learn pendulum strumming as soon as you can because it is vital for many popular songs

[heretic]

not even similar in any way. dave matthews uses pendulum a lot. basically your right hand moves like a pendulum, a constant back and forth motion. you control the rhythem with a combination of when you actually strum (as opposed to just passing over the strings, or adding a variation), which strings you strum, and left hand work. it just means that your right hand moves like a pendulum, keeping time

[Sparky]

As with learning any instrument, practice is the key to everything.

As much as i hate to say it too, practicing things like scales, or in your case, scales and chords, is vital for becoming a good player, as taking your time, like heritic has said and practicing is "it".

really should take my own advise sometime and clean the mounting dust off my bass *rolls eyes*

[Damniel]

bassists have a third less attention span than guitarists...however if a guitarist knocks on your door, what do you do?....leave him there...he (or indeed she) won't know when to come in anyway...there now i've insulted both guitarists and bassists i think that chord books of songs you know help...A LOT...put the record on and try to strum along and even sing if it helps...some books are better than others so watch out and have a check...don't buy something because someonelse says they did...buy it because you want it...you'll get more enjoyment from it...also...learn pendulumn (esp for acoustic) and play at your own speed...things tend to pick up quickly from there...

[ASturge]

When i learn scales, I write down the positions in front of me.

Then i put on some Iron Maiden, work out the root notes, and solo to it using my scales.

Eventually I just remember where im meant to be putting my fingers and i can get rid of the bit of paper.

[Damniel]

or tey to learn the shape of the scales as there all transposable up and down the guitars neck...learning the shape and not the position allows you to play all major scales and not just (for example) C major that would by learning the positions

[McTaggart]

Seeing this thread, I was just about to start a thread called 'Any tips for a new harmonica player?' but I figured a lot of it would be generally interchangeable (like starting slow etc...).

But does anyone have specific tips.

Apologies for the sort-of off topicness

[Me And The Moon Car]

If you fancy a go at scales, try G Pentatonic Major. It is nice for beginners because E A D G B and E are notes in the scale, and you can just pull off and hammer on notes around the bottom of the fretboard and it'll sound very cool. Works well with chords, too. Observe:

Code: [Select]


E-|--------------|-----------|-3----------------
B-|---5p-3p-0----|-----------|-3----------------
G-|------------0-|-4p-2p-0---|-0----------------
D-|--------------|---------0-|-0----------------
A-|--------------|-----------|------------------
E-|--------------|-----------|------------------


Being able to pull off all the way down to 0 on any string makes it sound extra twiddly and flashy and you only need two fingers to do it. If you are trying to do scales like this to a song, learn the chords of the song and try to end solo phrases on the same note as the chord that is being played (so if the chord being played is Eminor, end your little solo ditty on an E, and so on).

[La Creme]

Start small, don't get into bad technique habits, and teach yourself to play what you hear, not just what you read or see in a video. A musician should work just as well from ear and instinct as from theory, riffs, and tricks.

What worked for me and hopefully will work for you is:
I've been playing guitar for a little over 5 years now. The first two, I played nothing but the boring crap out of guitar books and I learned a buttload of basic scales, technique, blah blah blah. Then, I started figuring out songs I liked. About a year and a half ago I started playing jazz, and THAT changed the way I veiw guitar completely. But don't thrust yourself quickly into jazz guitar. Build up to it slowly. And it will profoundly affect the way you play all musics.

Good rocking.

[Patatat]

Don't learn any songs for a while.

Just keep practicing scales, and chords.

Once you feel you have grasped basic finger motion, timing, speed, and strumming. Move onto songs.

[KharBevNor]

But, make sure you get that riff from Smoke on the Water down as quickly as possible.

[sp2]

Play with other people a lot if possible.

Damnit, I can't believe no one's said that yet.

[Shadow]

LISTEN TO ME RIGHT NOW
i learned this from a very famous jazz/classical guitarist. when learning a chord progression, never try to learn it at full speed right off the bat. do it as slow as you need to, without strumming, being absolutly positive your fingers are in the right place everytime. gradually start strumming and increase speed. this will build a muscle memory, whereas tryng to play it full speed and not getting your fingers in the right place everytime will not. also, learn pendulum strumming as soon as you can because it is vital for many popular songs

I don't know about this, maybe its just me, but when I look at songs in The Real Book and I learn em, I find I master changes better when I do do it at full speed, kinda  spin on an old orchestra teacher I had who would have us sight read music at full tempo and would never slow it down.

But you do what works for you.

and also, I didn't learn scales until about...4 months after I started playing guitar, I learned a couple of simple songs first, but I hated my first guitar teacher, stupid punk kid all he did was give me some green day songs (even though I like green day). Easy songs still remain nirvana (most things), smoke on the water, Seven Nation Army (I actually was messing around with this the other day and just improvised on it and its a good song for improv and extended solos).

Good first scale, Aminor Penetonic, cause you can solo with it, and the blues scale only has one more note.

and yes, PLAY WITH OTHER PEOPLE.

[Kanno]

Play with other people a lot if possible.

Damnit, I can't believe no one's said that yet.

I think I know why:
Who in their right mind wants to jam with a beginning guitar player?

But now for something competely different (actually helpful):

You can kill a lot of time with your CD collection, a guitar, and some good tab sites on the internet.  Grab a tabbed out version of your favorite song, tune your guitar, throw the CD on, and learn it!  This is how I learned the bulk of my guitar chops, just learning new songs I wanted to play.  

Start with, uh...  Wish You Were Here by Pink Floyd.  You learn some cool G variations, plus, listen to me here on this one:  DRUNK PEOPLE LOVE THIS SONG.

After a while, you'll become good enough to learn that most the tabs you are following are wrong in the first place!

[Kai]

I find that drunken people tend to prefer Boston to Pink Floyd, at least in this area.

[KharBevNor]

I wish I had some people to play with.

[bucky_2300]

I play with myself. My new flanger pedal with the right settings sounds like a chorus pedal, and I can do a mean rendition of Fly By Night, if I do say so myself.

Chord shapes are not easy to get between at first, but after you've practiced them for long enough, you'll have them cold. Just don't rush yourself. It's too easy to end up with bad habits from that.

[KharBevNor]

I'd definitely be up for that. I also need a decent line-in though.

[heretic]

i'm down if you all get it together

also, bass is not more fun. i started on bass. it takes longer to get anything that is satisfying on bass. guitar it takes a day to learn your first song

[heretic]

well you're wrong

[onewheelwizzard]

Bass can be way more fun than guitar if you learn to improvise with it.  Learning bass on your own in silence is boring as all hell.  Listening to and mimicing amazing bass players like Scott Reeder (listen to "Gardenia" by Kyuss if you doubt me) is fun.  Jamming with skilled musicians on bass is amazing.

Whoops, I just realized I'm threadjacking.

Um, trying to keep on topic, how about beginning bass players?  Any differences in tips for learning, or is it basically the same?

[sp2]

Play with other people a lot if possible.

Damnit, I can't believe no one's said that yet.

I think I know why:
Who in their right mind wants to jam with a beginning guitar player?

You'd be surprised.  I have several friends who are pretty damned advanced on guitar.  I, on the other hand, am not particularly amazing on bass.  But I can hold a rhythm going that they can solo off of.  The same goes for a beginning guitarist.  They can hold down a rhythm while slightly more advanced players can solo off it.  It's satisfying to everyone involved, and if the folks you play with are cool, they'll teach you what they know at the same time.  As long as you can play a chord progression, you're golden.

So seriously, play with other people.

As for bass, pretty much learn pentatonics and don't focus on learning songs you like so much as focus on learning songs with cool bass things you want to be able to do in the future.  This doesn't mean don't ever learn songs you like, but keep an eye out for songs with cool bass bits.  But pretty much, pentatonics, jazz scales, and arpeggios are key for learning to really crank cool stuff out.

And play with other people.  No matter how bad you are.  Otherwise you won't learn to keep rhythm with other people and what complements a guitar riff and so forth.

Really, playing with other people is invaluable no matter what you play.  Really seriously.

[will: wanton sex god]

im tooo lazy to read through this page full of replies.

so allow me to possibly be redundant.  here are somethings you may or may not be aware of

when strumming chords or doing just about anything on guitar, the NATURAL thing to do is anchor your thumb over the top of the fretboard.   Not only is this horrible playing, but it also causes a good ole ache in the joints when you get older.   the correct place for your thumb is for it to lay flat up to the first "joint" in a place as close to teh center of the back of the guitar neck as possible.  Not only will this ease tension, but itl allow you to move more accurately and quickly.

anyway switching between chords just takes practice.  make up your own progressions involving chords you hate switching between and practice a lot.

[La Creme]

I play with myself.

All growed up!

I do too. Sometimes I play with my dad. He plays piano. We play jazz.

Sometimes I play with Phobo. He is the greatest drummer ever. Word.