Suppose you were to start learning guitar again, from scratch.....

[Philly Q]

I've been playing guitar - after a fashion - for well over 30 years now, but I learned almost everything I know in the first 6 or 7 years.  Never got even close to being any good at it, and I've spent the time since then well and truly in a rut (I've dragged myself out, briefly, a couple of times, but soon fell back in again....)

My initial knowledge was gathered from books like Lead Guitar by Harvey Vinson (first published in 1972, I believe) and The Heavy Guitar Bible, then later I dabbled a bit with tuition videos, then DVDs.  Many years after that, I made a half-hearted effort to learn a thing or two from Line 6's online resources.  And I actually had lessons for a few months.  None of them ultimately led me to that breakthrough of being..... competent.

I've often thought of starting again from scratch, trying to forget the pitifully small amount I have learned and going right back to basics.  But what's the best way to do it?

Suppose you were starting again, but armed with the knowledge you've acquired over the years.  Did you learn stuff that was a complete waste of time?  Did you learn useful stuff, but in a hopelessly inefficient manner?  Are there tuition aids/methods you found particularly useful (or completely useless)?  Is there stuff you know now but wish you'd learned much earlier?  Did those 12 hour sessions practicing sweep-picking to a metronome ultimately serve any purpose....?


In short, what do you think's the best way to learn guitar?

[Ian Price]

Good topic Philly - one that I have run over in my head a number of times. I've been on/off playing for about 20-25 years now and whilst I can play more consistently and am more conscious of 'feel' than I was I do wonder if I have actually learnt much.

For instance - I know a pentatonic scale and that's about it. I can play a few chords and make a decent enough sound. I even played a few 'surprise' songs at a friends Christmas party - to the casual observer I was 'amazingly good at guitar' but to me I was 'amazingly medicore'.

I'd love to know more about music theory and know how to effectively apply that to guitar (and my abilities). I just don't know where to start. I think the issue for me is around structure - I can get quickly bored and lose discipline. Even when I've tried to put structure around my own learning time it has quickly fallen apart.

To be honest I think the answer for me is to find a teacher who understands where I am and where I want to get to and, more importantly, one that I can get on with. I've had a teacher before and whilst he was a good guitar player he was pretty boring and uninspiring.

[Twinfan]

In short, what do you think's the best way to learn guitar?

Join a band.

Seriously, if you can bash a few chords out and hold time the best thing you can do is join a band and learn songs to play with them.  Your playing will come on leaps and bounds in no time.

[Ian Price]

....and what Dave said.  :D

Only problem for me is that I just don't have the time to join a band!

[Philly Q]

To be honest I think the answer for me is to find a teacher who understands where I am and where I want to get to and, more importantly, one that I can get on with. I've had a teacher before and whilst he was a good guitar player he was pretty boring and uninspiring.

Join a band.

Seriously, if you can bash a few chords out and hold time the best thing you can do is join a band and learn songs to play with them.  Your playing will come on leaps and bounds in no time.

I was kind of anticipating both those answers (especially Dave's, and from Dave!)  :lol:

My gut feeling is that the "interacting with humans" methods are probably the best, because you get that two-way feedback.  Problem is finding the right people.... and the time, as Ian mentioned.

[Twinfan]

You didn't ask for the easist way Phil, you asked for the best  ;)

[Elliot]

If only all guitarists were as gregarious and generous as you Dave - my experience of being in bands when I was a teen was that it was the war of all against all.  In fact I stopped playing for 12 years due to the horror of the experience.

If I went back in time , I would learn to play in time.  With a metronome or a drum machine.  I suppose I could do that now, but its been along time since I had the patience...

[Twinfan]

Sorry to hear that Elliot - sounds like it was rough  :(  I agree it can be hard to find good musicians, but if you can join the right group of people you all work together and feed off each other.  In my band we've all pushed ourselves to become better at what we do for the greater good.  It can be hard work, but when you nail a tricky song there's no other feeling like it  :)

[itamar101]

1) Get a good teacher. He doesn't actually need to be the worlds greatest player, just charismatic. A charismatic teacher is an inspiring one. I you find yourself wanting to go back to him every lesson and practise the stuff he tells you to practise then you've found a good teacher. It took me a long time. My first two teachers were horrendous. The 3rd teacher was the one that really got me into guitar. He was the owner of the local music shop and he was very friendly. To make it better, since the lessons were over at the music shop, he let me use any guitar I wanted for the lessons.
But I found that, despite enjoying the lessons, I wasn't progressing technique-wise and I couldn't get the hang of theory at all. He taught me a whole lot about improvising and keeping in time though. That leads me to point number 2.

2) Get a Drum Machine and a Looper - Make your own backing tracks and just jam to them. It works wonders, it's almost as good as being in a band and it's much less hassle. I used to sit down for hours just jamming with myself. It also helps you to learn and memorise scales much faster. I actually think that this is so important that the first pedal you should ever get is a looper.

3) The teacher isn't everything. Practise what the teacher tells you to practise but also do what you want or you'll never enjoy it and you'll end up quitting. If you wanna learn anything... sweeps, pinch harmonics, arpeggios, songs and even just writing your own stuff - do it.

4) Don't give yourself a $%&#ing schedule! - Practise when you want and what you want. If you enjoy it I imagine that you'll practise a lot anyway. A schedule just turns it into work - and it shouldn't be. Also, I've never believed in the "take a break every 15 minutes thing that you find all over the internet. bullshitee. If you get tired and sloppy after 15 minutes how on earth will you survive a gig! :D If you get tired or bored of practising a certain technique just move on to something else. If you take a break you'll most likely end up surfing the internet for the next hour looking at pictures of cats without even realising it.

Obviously, this is just my opinion and it probably isn't the same with most other people.

[Philly Q]

The Drum Machine/Looper thing does make sense to me.  One of the few "learning tools" I've found useful and enjoyable over the years was jamming over backing tracks..... although I only felt comfortable playing over blues progressions, and I can't be sure I wasn't just trotting out tired old licks rather than learning anything new.  :?   Definitely good for feel and timing, if nothing else.

The problem with the Looper is I don't think I even have the skills or imagination to record anything loop-able....

(I'm imagining myself as John Martyn now.... but hopefully retaining both legs)

[bucketshred]

I started off by teaching myself the very basics, taking a years worth of lessons for advanced techniques and theory (which I am cr@p at) and then just playing in bands and picking up little things off other players here and there.

The only thing I'd change is not going through a shred phase.

Paddy

[Elliot]

itamar101 wrote:

'I used to sit down for hours just jamming with myself'

Am I the only one whose glad that Afghan Dave is not about at the moment?

[Toe-Knee]

I found the best way for me personally development wise was guitar pro.

There are literally thousands of lessons out there not to mention all of the tabbed songs.

And the features such as being able to slow down the entire track or just sections and loop something that speeds up in increments that you set until its at full speed or beyond are just invaluable.

After that its playing with friends/band (these are generally the same for me I know loads of musicians) which I find to be more fine tuning and learning things I that I hadn't even considered that they already know.

I'd be in a band right now if the above said musicians didn't all start having kids  :shock:

[itamar101]

itamar101 wrote:

'I used to sit down for hours just jamming with myself'

Am I the only one whose glad that Afghan Dave is not about at the moment?

Why is that?

[gwEm]

I would do exactly the same as I did.. but the change I would do is to try to expand the range of practice material faster.

I learnt guitar from a Black Sabbath tab book. Later I learnt more ways of playing from Diamond Head tabs. This was my base for years, that and lots of "jamming around with myself".

Later I learnt songs from other bands, and the way those guitarists worked the instrument was different and taught me new things.. Judas Priest and Deep Purple taught me a lot. I should have done that quicker!! I'd got in a bit of a rut for a bit.

Finally now I am learning all the cowboy chords and stuff, which I know most people learn first, but its not that fun is it? ;)