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How to get better at guitar

jakeworth.com

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Re: How to get better at guitar

#131

Post by faustlast »

fleebee wrote: post #63
H1Supreme wrote: post #47

Recognizing melodies by ear is a hugely useful skill, but I can't help but think it's going to be nearly impossible to do without a sound foundation in music theory. Tabs are, in large part, paint-by-number. Lots of guitarists out there are only interested in learning a song. Regardless of key, mode, or what the notes actually are. And, tabs satisfy that group by saying: "Play this fret on this string". To write tabs…

> To write tabs, you'll need to be able to make an educated guess at what's being played. Knowing the theory certainly makes the process faster because you'll recognize patterns, but you can definitely work through most songs without knowing anything about music theory. Just pick up your guitar, slow the track down and try to reproduce the tones. Back when I first started playing guitar, my teacher had me transcribe…

> I didn't even know the major scale at that point, but by trial and error

That is not productive. Sure, you can do that once or twice. But it gets painful quickly.

> but I wouldn't say it's a prerequisite.

I firmly believe it is a prerequisite. Just by knowing what an interval is and playing that repeatedly, trains your brain to recognize it. Specifically 1-3-5 interval range.

Re: How to get better at guitar

#132

Post by imp0cat »

ozgrakkurt wrote: post #130

Personally prefer to search for guitar tabs of things I can barely play. And also sound terrible while playing them and tense my whole body while doing so. This is the point of playing the guitar, RIGHT?

Nope, the point is collecting as many guitars as possible. ;)

I wish this was a joke. :D :(

Re: How to get better at guitar

#133

Post by pcdevils »

claysmithr wrote: post #87
WalterBright wrote: post #76

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Another incident: I was stepping out of my ride to the airport, and noticed another woman pulling her luggage out of the trunk of a car. I remarked "I bet you're a ballet dancer." She said "nope, I'm an ice dancer!" Funny I could tell just by the way she wrangled the luggage.

and I'm on my knees looking for the answer

Killer reply

Re: How to get better at guitar

#134

Post by tayo42 »

hn_throwaway_99 wrote: post #84
WalterBright wrote: post #62

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I was at a dance hall the other day, and this young lady came floating in. It's hard to describe how she walked - just like she was effortlessly gliding. It looks easy, but anyone else would look like a moose trying it. It's the result of a lifetime of ballet dancing. Probably 10,000 hours, at least. I was just in awe.

It's not just the 10,000 hours, it's learning it very young. I am an ex-professional ballet dancer, and one of the things I always find interesting is that any experienced ballet dancer can instantly tell who trained as a child and who didn't solely by how they stand (literally not even moving) at the barre. But the thing is, children with only a few years of training under their belt will often show this good form,…

funny, surfing is like this too

Re: How to get better at guitar

#135

Post by Ma8ee »

hunter-gatherer wrote: post #94
gxs wrote: post #67

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I've picked up a couple languages relatively easily and I 100% attribute it to the fact that I have no shame - zero I will speak in my ugly, broken, American accent and do it til I improve. I didn't read about this technique in a book or anything, I simply mirrored what I saw kids do and IMO a big reason kids do well with picking up language (aside from all the physiological stuff) is that they actual speak it - they…

I also picked up a couple languages as an adult and can attest to this. You have to be willing to talk and know you are butchering the language. Nobody cares either. People are genuinely pleased to hear the effort, especially if you're a guest in their country.

I guess you never tried to speak French in France.

Re: How to get better at guitar

#137

Post by steinvakt2 »

bananamogul wrote: post #114

57yo here who started guitar from scratch 16 months ago, with zero musical background. For my fellow players, I'm at the stage where barre chords are playable but switching between them quickly is still tough. I studied exclusively with an app (Yousician) for the first 13 months, then got a local teacher I see once a week. I practice 45-60 minutes a day and have only missed a few days in the last 16 months. In my exp…

And because she does less things in her day? Letting the brain process the instrument playing during day and night, not a bunch of other stuff. I’m sure brain age matters a lot but I think it’s a bit overrated. Probably a lot to do with environment as well.

Re: How to get better at guitar

#138

Post by frankosaurus »

ggerules wrote: post #128

This piece of software has been my goto on transcribing music for all of the instruments I play for the past 25 years. I can't recommend it enough. It has been pivotal in me being a better musician. Works on Linux, Mac and Windows. https://www.seventhstring.com/xscribe/overview.html

Same for me. It came recommended by my upright bass teacher. I used to transcribe all songs that way.

Recently, I've been lazy and learn new songs by watching players on YouTube.

Re: How to get better at guitar

#139

Post by jcattle »

Jean-Papoulos wrote: post #136

>When you hear the first guitar note, stop the song, find the note on the guitar, and write it down. OP, you should have mentionned the prerequisite of absolute pitch...

No need for absolute pitch. All you need is relative pitch. You play a note, compare to the note you heard, maybe even play them at the same time. And then change the note till you find the right one.

Re: How to get better at guitar

#140

Post by lukashrb »

Jean-Papoulos wrote: post #136

>When you hear the first guitar note, stop the song, find the note on the guitar, and write it down. OP, you should have mentionned the prerequisite of absolute pitch...

I thought the same for a long time and it really discouraged me. My natural pitch recognition is pretty bad. What helped was starting with very simple melodies and songs, so I could get familiar with the most common movements. That made it easier to figure out progressions, because I learned how to narrow down the options. I’m still not great at it, but I keep improving. That’s why I think it’s trainable.
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