Playing old bars and clubs there is always someone that want to hear (Wipe Out).. For the younger guys here that has no clue what I'm talking about. Lets say just say it can be a small work out for the drum player. Depending How much you played before and the songs that come before hand. People and sometime other players don't understand the physical fatigue there is playing drums 4 to 5 hours. Arms get tired. Calf muscle cramps One night A slung a very nice new hotstick into the dance floor. Striking the lady in the chest getting stuck in her low cut shirt. I was accused of doing that on purpose. Yea right. I was good.. But not that good
Couple more in the same vein 'Sheila' by Tommy Roe, and of course the original Buddy Holly and 'Peggy Sue'- Nick
quote
Originally posted by billpapps:
Playing old bars and clubs there is always someone that want to hear (Wipe Out).. For the younger guys here that has no clue what I'm talking about. Lets say just say it can be a small work out for the drum player. Depending How much you played before and the songs that come before hand. People and sometime other players don't understand the physical fatigue there is playing drums 4 to 5 hours. Arms get tired. Calf muscle cramps One night A slung a very nice new hotstick into the dance floor. Striking the lady in the chest getting stuck in her low cut shirt. I was accused of doing that on purpose. Yea right. I was good.. But not that good
If you want to play blues lead, or many other styles, check out Justin's youtube channel.
I like Justin's methods, although he talks funny.
There is lots of good stuff on his web site.
quote
Originally posted by Mike Gonzalez:
................................ Does anyone haave aany tips that can help me out ? ................................ TIA
Here are my thoughts:
Play it! Learning guitar - read practice - can be boring! Overcome that by learning some songs. Don't worry about keys, scales (pentatonic - 5 position, or 7 position 3-notes-per-string, modes, etc.), theory. Get some chord charts and beginner songs and learn to play them. You'll learn timing and strumming patterns while developing muscle memory. You'll enjoy the appreciation of those who watch you and enjoy your music. Your enjoyment will outweigh the boredom of practice.
Practice! Learn the CAGED method. Learn these chord forms: C - A - G - E - D. Learn them at the nut using 1,2,3 (I,M,R fingers) and learn the using 2,3,4(pinky finger)
Learning them on 2,3,4 will enable you to move chords up the neck. When you can play them in either form, you will be able to move up and down the fretboard easily, using 1(index) for barre chords.
Your practice session should include work on chords and chord changes. It should also include practicing scales. Here's where I'd begin.
Play the natural notes on the bottom strings (E, A, D) in three positions: 1-4, 5-8, 9-12. Recite the notes as you play them. You'll learn the notes on those three strings, which will give you instant access to the root notes for all the chords you'll be learning. By learning those notes, using your muscle memory, you'll be able to easily move chords up the fretboard.
Learning those notes precisely will train your hand to go mechanically to a root position. Moving from 1 to 9, etc. will become a mechanical movement. That will be important once you move on to scales.
Example: E string positions - open, 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10,12. You'll learn E, F, G, A, B, C, D, E. Using the 'E' form, you can now play those chords, using the root notes on E, all the way up the neck. A string positions - open, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12. You'll learn A, B, C, D, E, F, G, A. Using the 'A' form, you can now play those chords, using the root notes on A, all the way up the neck. D string positions - open, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 12. You'll learn D, E, F, G, A, B, C, D. Using the 'D' form, you can now play those chords, using the root notes on D, all the way up the neck.
Learning the positions and the relationship to the chords, you'll discover things like: C chord can be played at the nut (C form), at 3 (barred A form), at 5 (barred G form), at 7 (barred E form), and at 10 (D form).
After you've gained a good knowledge of root notes and chord forms and their relationship, begin practice on scales. Practice them for ACCURACY rather than speed. Working for accuracy will train your muscle memory CORRECTLY. Speed will be a by-product of correctly training your mind/muscle co-ordination, AND you'll be accurate.
I said earlier that you should not be concerned with key signatures, scales, and theory. Well, NOW is the time. Once you've developed a good working knowledge of the fretboard and a muscle memory, you can concentrate on 'Learning to play the guitar'. Boredom will now have evolved into a desire to really LEARN to play the guitar. You can focus on music and theory and not be hampered by struggling to move from position to position and form to form.
I listen mostly to Country/Classic/Flamenco guitar. While I appreciate the talent of a Hendrix or Santa, I just don't enjoy the music. When you watch Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, flat pickers like Ricky Scaggs, Dan Tyminski, Jerry Douglas (Dobro - Allison Krauss/Union Station), or any good guitarist, you know for sure they learned to play scales, CORRECTLY. That requires a dedication to learning and WORK. PRACTICE!
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12:13 PM
PFF
System Bot
Jul 9th, 2011
Wolfhound Member
Posts: 5317 From: Opelika , Alabama, USA Registered: Oct 1999
Texasfiero, Really good advice, clearly stated. One thing I noticed, and see often in other explainations, is the reference to "bottom strings" (bass) and "up the neck" {toward the bridge} This of course refers to pitch,but for someone begining it can be confused with physical position as you hold the guitar.
quote
Originally posted by texasfiero:
Play the natural notes on the bottom strings (E, A, D) in three positions: 1-4, 5-8, 9-12. Recite the notes as you play them. You'll learn the notes on those three strings, which will give you instant access to the root notes for all the chords you'll be learning. By learning those notes, using your muscle memory, you'll be able to easily move chords up the fretboard.
Ditto on Doc Watson and Ricky Scaggs. I was lucky enough to see them perform live several times.
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07:38 AM
texasfiero Member
Posts: 4674 From: Houston, TX USA Registered: Jun 2003
Originally posted by Wolfhound: One thing I noticed, and see often in other explanations, is the reference to "bottom strings" (bass) and "up the neck" {toward the bridge} This of course refers to pitch, but for someone beginning it can be confused with physical position as you hold the guitar.
Yes, I should have said 'tonally', as in up and down the music scale.
quote
Originally posted by Wolfhound: Ditto on Doc Watson and Ricky Scaggs. I was lucky enough to see them perform live several times.
I first became interested in guitar after seeing a Charlie Byrd concert. My most memorable were Jose Feliciano and Andreas Segovia. WOW! There have been so many great guitarists.
I ran across an album by Stephan Pasero in a pawn shop several years ago that included his play on 'Balero'. That album should have been sold with bottles of Viagra.I loaned the cd to a friend and he told me after listening to the album that "If Balero don't do it for ya, ain't NOTHIN' gonna do it"!
[This message has been edited by texasfiero (edited 07-09-2011).]
Play it! Learning guitar - read practice - can be boring! Overcome that by learning some songs. Don't worry about keys, scales (pentatonic - 5 position, or 7 position 3-notes-per-string, modes, etc.), theory. Get some chord charts and beginner songs and learn to play them. You'll learn timing and strumming patterns while developing muscle memory. You'll enjoy the appreciation of those who watch you and enjoy your music. Your enjoyment will outweigh the boredom of practice.
Practice! Learn the CAGED method. Learn these chord forms: C - A - G - E - D. Learn them at the nut using 1,2,3 (I,M,R fingers) and learn the using 2,3,4(pinky finger)
Learning them on 2,3,4 will enable you to move chords up the neck. When you can play them in either form, you will be able to move up and down the fretboard easily, using 1(index) for barre chords.
Your practice session should include work on chords and chord changes. It should also include practicing scales. Here's where I'd begin.
Play the natural notes on the bottom strings (E, A, D) in three positions: 1-4, 5-8, 9-12. Recite the notes as you play them. You'll learn the notes on those three strings, which will give you instant access to the root notes for all the chords you'll be learning. By learning those notes, using your muscle memory, you'll be able to easily move chords up the fretboard.
Learning those notes precisely will train your hand to go mechanically to a root position. Moving from 1 to 9, etc. will become a mechanical movement. That will be important once you move on to scales.
Example: E string positions - open, 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10,12. You'll learn E, F, G, A, B, C, D, E. Using the 'E' form, you can now play those chords, using the root notes on E, all the way up the neck. A string positions - open, 2, 3, 5, 7, 8, 10, 12. You'll learn A, B, C, D, E, F, G, A. Using the 'A' form, you can now play those chords, using the root notes on A, all the way up the neck. D string positions - open, 2, 3, 5, 7, 9, 10, 12. You'll learn D, E, F, G, A, B, C, D. Using the 'D' form, you can now play those chords, using the root notes on D, all the way up the neck.
Learning the positions and the relationship to the chords, you'll discover things like: C chord can be played at the nut (C form), at 3 (barred A form), at 5 (barred G form), at 7 (barred E form), and at 10 (D form).
After you've gained a good knowledge of root notes and chord forms and their relationship, begin practice on scales. Practice them for ACCURACY rather than speed. Working for accuracy will train your muscle memory CORRECTLY. Speed will be a by-product of correctly training your mind/muscle co-ordination, AND you'll be accurate.
I said earlier that you should not be concerned with key signatures, scales, and theory. Well, NOW is the time. Once you've developed a good working knowledge of the fretboard and a muscle memory, you can concentrate on 'Learning to play the guitar'. Boredom will now have evolved into a desire to really LEARN to play the guitar. You can focus on music and theory and not be hampered by struggling to move from position to position and form to form.
I listen mostly to Country/Classic/Flamenco guitar. While I appreciate the talent of a Hendrix or Santa, I just don't enjoy the music. When you watch Brad Paisley, Keith Urban, flat pickers like Ricky Scaggs, Dan Tyminski, Jerry Douglas (Dobro - Allison Krauss/Union Station), or any good guitarist, you know for sure they learned to play scales, CORRECTLY. That requires a dedication to learning and WORK. PRACTICE!
Errrrmmm....great minds think alike, texasfiero But you probably PLAY better than I Nick
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09:39 AM
texasfiero Member
Posts: 4674 From: Houston, TX USA Registered: Jun 2003
Make sure your actually grounded in music before you look up tabs. It may seem boring now but with just using tabs you won't know hat you are playing. It is ok to build muscle memory I suppose but if you decide to actually take playing a step further, then you will need to definitely know scales, rhythms, melodies, as well as many others. Say if you are playing and the chord progression in C E G. Well not being taught basics, you would have to come up with some pentatonic or heptatonic scale for each chord. But one who knows his music will easily say that C E G makes up a C chord.
What I am saying is, don't rely on tablature because you will lose originality. Teach your self music theory and rhythm reading, and you can virtually play anything.
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09:58 AM
Mike Gonzalez Member
Posts: 5093 From: Colorado Springs, CO. USA Registered: Jul 2001
Thanks guys ! I am getting bored of just trying to play chords and stuff. I would like to learn a couple easy songs to make it more fun/interesting. I havent been able to practice much this last week due to a hurniated disc in my back, I just cant get comfortable. Your advice and comments are making we want to get back to it ASAP !
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10:05 AM
texasfiero Member
Posts: 4674 From: Houston, TX USA Registered: Jun 2003
Just going through my library and ran across a GREAT guitarist, although he's known more for what he smokes than his guitar, he IS a great guitarist. How could I have forgotten to include him? Blue Eyes Cryin' In the Rain - Willie Nelson
Another very good musician recorded one instrumental many years ago. I first discovered the album in the Houston library. It took me several years of searching before I found my own copy of the album (on ebay). The Guitars of Sonny James.
Just going through my library and ran across a GREAT guitarist, although he's known more for what he smokes than his guitar, he IS a great guitarist. How could I have forgotten to include him? Blue Eyes Cryin' In the Rain - Willie Nelson
Another very good musician recorded one instrumental many years ago. I first discovered the album in the Houston library. It took me several years of searching before I found my own copy of the album (on ebay). The Guitars of Sonny James.
Respectfully I disagree. I know Willie for his music and "trigger", not his pot smoking, although thats ok with me too. I love him, I think he is one of the best guitar players that ever lived. His gypsy jazz/country blend is fantastic. My wife's first concert was Willie.. she was in the womb. I've seen him play 5 times now, I hope to get to see him 5 more times before either he or I die. Favorite Willy song is actually a blues song. The Nightlife. It ain't no good life, but its MY life.
Mike- Find a song you like with 3 major chords you know and go to town. I play 'Werewolves of London'.. its only D,C and G.. (D,D, C,C, G,G,C,G... thats it.. well, thats a little simplified, but it will get you going!) song could not be easier. Play something where you feel you have a sense of accomplishment... completing a song from beginning to end is a great feeling.. thats the direction I would go. Chords will be with you the rest of your life while playing, dont get sick of them, embrace them and let them take you in new directions. Its not all strumming.. you can learn rolls, right hand technique, flat picking... there is a lot going on with those boring chords, you may never be able to get away from. You learn those chords better, you wil be able to de-construct them and turn them into parts of a solo.
Hit websites like Chordie and GuitarTabs.com and look at songs you know pretty well... find an easy one with most chords you already know, and just pound it out until you are sick of it or get it perfect.
When I was learning, my wife must have heard the same practice song over and over again for months. I never play that one anymore.
By the way Gonzo, I would be willing to help you much further in private if you wish... it would be a good trade if you make that tattoo machine frame for me.
[This message has been edited by tbone42 (edited 07-09-2011).]
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11:37 AM
texasfiero Member
Posts: 4674 From: Houston, TX USA Registered: Jun 2003
Respectfully I disagree. I know Willie for his music and "trigger", not his pot smoking, although thats ok with me too. I love him, I think he is one of the best guitar players that ever lived. His gypsy jazz/country blend is fantastic. My wife's first concert was Willie.. she was in the womb. I've seen him play 5 times now, I hope to get to see him 5 more times before either he or I die. Favorite Willy song is actually a blues song. The Nightlife. It ain't no good life, but its MY life.
I'm with ya on that. I remember "Wee Willie Nelson" from the Grand Ole Opry, when he was going nowhere. Suddenly he found himself, and his style, and became one of the 'outlaws'. So much of his great music is not now played or heard. He most often makes news when his smoke makes the news. What a great musician he is.! At this moment, I'm listening to the Red Headed Stranger album.....hardly ever gets played anymore. Country has moved on Taylor Swift and Kid Rock! I miss Clint Black.
If your just starting out i wouldn't even worry about scales at the moment.. It can be tedious and difficult for beginners to start on scales, and that's why so many people just get frustrated and quit. Focus on the basic chords, and work on your rythem hand.. Once you get good rythem, then start on scales..
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12:16 PM
PFF
System Bot
Mike Gonzalez Member
Posts: 5093 From: Colorado Springs, CO. USA Registered: Jul 2001
By the way Gonzo, I would be willing to help you much further in private if you wish... it would be a good trade if you make that tattoo machine frame for me.
LOL, Gonzo is what they called my Dad in his band days !
I still plan on tackling the Tatt gun, just gotta get that machine fixed....I have a bunch of stuff I am behind on ! Between my Girlfriend leaving and my hurniated disc I just havent been able to get myself motivated. I need to get out of his funk and get out to the shop. Sorry I havent gotten to it yet, lifes a mess lately
Ha Ha, not even close I have not been able to get into it lately. I have not given up, Just been trying to piece my life back together and get things figured out around here. Thought I was doin good and getting back to buisness as usual, then went back into depression. I think i'm on my way up again now, hope to get back to it soon ! Thanks for the help guys !
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09:51 PM
IMSA GT Member
Posts: 10268 From: California Registered: Aug 2007
Just wonderin' if you have started working on playing.
Here is a video that demonstrates what I was talking about when I said to learn the root notes on the top strings, E,A,D.
He shows how to play Sweet Home Alabama with bar chords. Good instruction for actually USING the method. Learn the positions and a few chords and strumming techniques. You can then move on to the more difficult 'fun' stuff.
If you register on his site (free), there are other good songs for learning.
Dock of the Bay Click on "Click here to view this document", just under the title, to download a pdf chord chart with lyrics.
[This message has been edited by texasfiero (edited 11-29-2011).]
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10:59 AM
Xuin39 Member
Posts: 293 From: Sandusky, Ohio, United States Registered: Aug 2009
Mike, have you pulled that guitar out of the closet yet?
quote
Originally posted by texasfiero:
I'm with ya on that. I remember "Wee Willie Nelson" from the Grand Ole Opry, when he was going nowhere. Suddenly he found himself, and his style, and became one of the 'outlaws'. So much of his great music is not now played or heard. He most often makes news when his smoke makes the news. What a great musician he is.! At this moment, I'm listening to the Red Headed Stranger album.....hardly ever gets played anymore. Country has moved on Taylor Swift and Kid Rock! I miss Clint Black.
Just ran across this video and remembered this post. Wonder how many folks remember 'this' Willie Nelson'.
Quite a contrast in these videos. Although he has changed his presentation of Blue Eyes a number of times, this version is still my favorite due to the tempo and guitar work. A truly GREAT musician!
[This message has been edited by texasfiero (edited 02-05-2012).]
Start a new thread for drummer jokes. 
'Sheila' by Tommy Roe, and of course the original 
Blue Eyes Cryin' In the Rain - Willie Nelson
