woot! Newb practice does pay off!

[CaptainDesslock]

Alas,

I feel so proud of myself now and I don't know who to blab to so I figured this was the best place.

I've been kicking around the guitar now for almost two years but haven't really learned anything,  pieces and bits of songs the basic chords, tuning ect but not really understanding what i was doing......so finally over the last month I decided I'd put my procrastinary ass to practising and behold!!

Tonight while practicing with my squier strat I realized I could move across the fretboard with the basic 5-pattern minor pentatonic scale, like decently.......i know this is like whoopdee doo to 99% of the forums who can blaze blues licks like hendrix and tapping solos like vai, but for me just to be able to move across the board with some semblance of what i'm doing and not having to stop to think about it is a major accomplishment!

admittedly its not like i'm busting out searing solos (must....learn...phrasing...) but hey you gotta learn the letters before you can learn the words right?

I think this justifies NGD!!!

what say you?!

[hamfist]

Well done sir. Keep up the good work !

You put me to shame. I often seem more interested in fiddling around with amps, rather than actually playing.  :?

[38thBeatle]

I have been playing years but I can recall exactly what you are getting at. The great thing is, this is a milestone passed and it will lead on to others and they also give you a great sense of achievement. Great stuff.

[Nadz1lla]

Nice dude! I've been playing for over 10 years now and my solos all suck, so keep at it and by the time you've been playing this long you'll be blazing all over the fretboard!

My biggest regret is not putting the time in to learn more about playing. As soon as I learned how to do a pinched harmonic I guess I was just happy with that as I'm more of a riffer anyway than a soloist.

Hmmm...where did that Rock Discipline DVD get to.... :D

[AndyR]

I have been playing years but I can recall exactly what you are getting at. The great thing is, this is a milestone passed and it will lead on to others and they also give you a great sense of achievement. Great stuff.

+1
I too remember this very clearly Captain - but it takes a post like your to remind me :D

Congratulations...

Whether it justifies a NGD depends on so many other "non-music" factors though :lol:

I would say that what you've just been through is that "aha!" moment when the guitar actually rewards you a bit. So many people give up because they don't reach one of those. You've found out that a bit of effort (and not a painful amount) gives you tangible results and encourages you on further - for this reason I'd say you're less likely to give up now, so a NGD sounds like a better proposition than it did a month ago

[MDV]

Good stuff!

The thing to remember is moments like this keep on coming, no matter how good you get, theres always a whole new thing to get under your fingers, and the "HAHA! I can DO IT!" moments keep on coming.

Its gonna get pretty expensive if you buy a guitar for every one of them ;) But who am I to advise against a NGD? DO IT!

[indysmith]

I remember this moment - it feels damn good doesn't it? :D The bad thing is that it gets harder from here on. In a few years you'll hate those minor pentatonic shapes, and every time you play you'll yearn for them to be removed from your head as you endlessly spew tired licks straight from the boxes.

hey you gotta learn the letters before you can learn the words right?

I'd have loved to have heard you speaking at 2 years old. :P

[_tom_]

I remember this moment - it feels damn good doesn't it? :D The bad thing is that it gets harder from here on. In a few years you'll hate those minor pentatonic shapes, and every time you play you'll yearn for them to be removed from your head as you endlessly spew tired licks straight from the boxes.

This is so true

[gwEm]

I remember this moment - it feels damn good doesn't it? :D The bad thing is that it gets harder from here on. In a few years you'll hate those minor pentatonic shapes, and every time you play you'll yearn for them to be removed from your head as you endlessly spew tired licks straight from the boxes.

This is so true

uli roth is the answer ;)

[TwilightOdyssey]

Congrats!

One question, though ... why Captain Desslock and not LEADER DESSLOCK???

[FELINEGUITARS]

Congrats!

One question, though ... why Captain Desslock and not LEADER DESSLOCK???

You are the Uber-Geek Ben!

[TwilightOdyssey]

Congrats!

One question, though ... why Captain Desslock and not LEADER DESSLOCK???

You are the Uber-Geek Ben!

Thanks, Jon ... a badge I wear with pride!! :)

[MrBump]

Yeah, well done.  Playing the guitar is a path, not a destination, Grasshopper.

It's full of frustration, plateaus, milestones and great joy!  And I don't think that any of us would have it any other way.

And better than that, it's all yours.  Ain't no-one that can tell you that you're right or wrong.

Mark.

[Johnny Mac]

Well done! I remember that time myself and it does really give you a lift. But, like the others have said here lies the ultimate in comfort zone noodleing! Keep striving to learn more and have a crack at some techniques. You may as well start learning Legato now as it takes years!
 :D

[sgmypod]

Good to hear practice works..for me now practice is to remember stuff I already learned *L*.....and justifies NGD if you have the cash..what guitar you after out of interest