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How to get better at guitar

jakeworth.com

261–270 of 276 posts

Re: How to get better at guitar

#261
post #190

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I picked up Violin as an adult, have done recitals, and I suck. Being able to suck and find joy in something anyway even if you're not top nth percentile is a valuable life skill.

That's why I enjoy singing so much. Moderate skill good enough as most people can't even bring themselves to do it in public out of embarrassment. My sister is in a whole different league than me in terms of singing but she also performs live, which I don't plan to do unless it's a karakoe evening.

I am 57M. I started singing less than 3 years back. Had a teacher from Koltaka doing weekly zooms for a few months, but mostly on my own. Started with karaoke, then graduated to a capella bollywood songs. The idea was to improve my voice, I was always shy/introvert but something triggered me to get on camera. With embarrassment out of the way, now it just 1) keep working on it - singing, producing tiktoks, learning editing on the way, and 2) lot more fun since I can hear my voice and enjoy it ... many of the times. Not a great singer, but getting better every single day.

As mentioned in the top comment, or somewhere near that, the first step ... listening to your first botched song, going on camera ... was the hard step. I made a monologue about this, a mix of english and hindi, on my tiktok profile.

PS: I have an alt, or a main. Not sure if that is an issue or not. I opened this account a long time back and then decided I did not want my name to be public so I opened an alt. This discussion made me reverse that decision just for one comment.

I updated my profile to add my social links, and happy to answer any questions from mods/dang about dupe accounts, but in general do not want to comment on AI, politics, corporations or anything controversial where it can be linked to my identity. And this is not trying to get followers or viewers - I have my hands full anyways.

Re: How to get better at guitar

#262

Earlier quoted context omitted.

RiP Eugene Wright - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2Qs1J612nZs

I adore those albums with Paul Desmond and Jim Hall. So killer.

I too like the albums of which you speak, they are a little tangential to the piece I linked above which was a sneaky Double Take Five misdirect.

apologies.

Re: How to get better at guitar

#263
post #239

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Wow, true. The David Gilmour note is plain as day. Only other one nearly as easy for me was EVH. The Jimi note sounded like Jimi but like the top comment says, a lot of the others sounded like Jimi too.

Jimi and Eddie are the two singularities of guitar, though. Before them it was unimaginable for anyone to sound like that. After them it was the normal. (Although they're also tones that a lot of players still try to chase for their entire lives and never really reach. There's some magic to them beyond the more obvious steps.)

Cranked tube amps melting down was also part of that magic. A feat not appreciated anymore in this day and age on most stages.

Re: How to get better at guitar

#264

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nope, the point is collecting as many guitars as possible. ;) I wish this was a joke. :D :(

I guess I am doing it wrong, I thought you become a guitar god by building the perfect pedalboard.

Why not both? ;)

Re: How to get better at guitar

#265

I’ve transcribed hundreds of hours of guitar music over 25+ years, using the method described in this article. It was such a slog that I ended up creating tool to help streamline the process: Soundslice ( https://www.soundslice.com/ ). It combines audio playback directly with a tab editor, so that you can immediately write down what you’ve figured out and your transcription stays in sync with the original audio. This…

Ah! Looks like Drumeo (part of Musora) uses Soundslice as their transcription tool? The UI of the demos exactly matches what I'm used to seeing in Drumeo.

Re: How to get better at guitar

#266

I’ve transcribed hundreds of hours of guitar music over 25+ years, using the method described in this article. It was such a slog that I ended up creating tool to help streamline the process: Soundslice ( https://www.soundslice.com/ ). It combines audio playback directly with a tab editor, so that you can immediately write down what you’ve figured out and your transcription stays in sync with the original audio. This…

Ah! Looks like Drumeo (part of Musora) uses Soundslice as their transcription tool? The UI of the demos exactly matches what I'm used to seeing in Drumeo.

Yes, Drumeo embeds the Soundslice player within its product. :)

Re: How to get better at guitar

#267
post #164

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think it's pretty frustrating if the songs/pieces you actually want to play are demanding or even at the virtuoso level. If you really want to play a David Gilmour guitar solo or sing some Led Zeppelin, it better not suck because it won't hit the mark at all. For me, the reason to pick up the guitar as a kid was to play stuff I liked, stuff that turned out not to be that easy, and every time I play, I feel that gap…

Rick Beato did a video about being able to identify guitarists by a single note. David Gilmour was by far the easiest to recognize. It got me wondering how much work would it take to even be able to play a single note as well as David Gilmour. And even then I would still only be imitating someone, not creating something original. [1] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gESY87hn7_Q

I've heard two people separately tell me that Yo Yo Ma would start his concert by playing a single long, low note. And they both told me they were immediately hooked.

Re: How to get better at guitar

#268
post #97

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Curious to know more: Where are you doing your interdisciplinary PhD in music + CS? Thanks

Hi, University of Victoria in Canada.

Fantastic. That's on the island, yes? Do they have a Music + CS program, or is yours self-designed interdisciplinary?

Re: How to get better at guitar

#269

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> uptight jazz bass mah man . . . too much of that loosey goosey stuff.

Lol I have to admit, I do play "uptight bass". The Freudian thumb slip got me, ha Relaxing on that thing is hard! :)

Hah. Bass player here, too. Although I only play the electric. Haven't had a chance to do the upright (or uptight even!). Needless to say, I only play rock / blues stuff, though I do love listening to Jazz. Brubeck is a perennial fav of mine.

Re: How to get better at guitar

#270
post #111

Earlier quoted context omitted.

>If you mess up, redo the part you messed up correctly 5 times in a row. I think it may be important to note _when_ to redo this. I started off this way, but after working with a guitar teacher (a Berklee graduate), he recommended that I continue on with the song and return to the problematic parts afterwards. If you constantly stop at the problematic parts to replay them and get it right, you'll have no idea what ot…

When learning a new piece you should play all the way through once. You should play through it again, stopping at all the problematic areas and making note of them, but continuing. After that there are a lot of ways to go about practicing a piece. I think repetitions on the problematic areas in conjunction with working backwards, especially if you want/need to memorize the piece, is fastest. Playing through the whole…

Not the whole song, just the part you mess up. For instance, in the guitar part for Under the Bridge by RHCP, there's the simple melodic part that only requires learning the chord forms and picking patterns.

That transitions into a more rhythmic chord progression with a few embellishments, which also isn't terribly difficult at first, but then a few verses later that ramps up a good amount and becomes moderately difficult.

If you stumble on that transition / passage, then that is where you would stop and then practice until you do it correctly 5 times.

The next day, once you've rested and let your brain absorb the info, try it again and you'll find it much easier to get right on the first try.

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