Author Topic: inspiration for playing.. (Read 14476 times)

_tom_ · « **Reply #15 on:** April 09, 2006, 11:30:27 AM »

Thanks alot for all the help, I guess I have some ideas of what to do now! Peterku, I'll check out those songs you recommended, and 38th I'll have to find some Robben Ford, I've always heard of him but never listened to him.

Kilby · « **Reply #16 on:** April 09, 2006, 02:59:49 PM »

I'd also suggest having a listen to some North African or Eastern influenced stuff, that is away from the usual 'western' scales.

Try some John Coltraine too.

Rob...

Not that I can play any of it as I still can't get my head around it :(

carlaz · « **Reply #17 on:** April 11, 2006, 10:40:16 AM »

And, alas, the best inspiration I find comes from playing with other people when they're all actually listening to each other. This, is, alas, a tough condition to fulfill, it seems ....

But, man, even when it's just you and one other person with a couple of acoustics, and you've all got your ears on, you can keep a lively musical conversation going for ages without even trying! :)

booboo_bass · « **Reply #18 on:** April 11, 2006, 11:17:54 AM »

learn bass!!

learn ukulele!!

learn Banjo!!

Learning another instrument is so cool, especially when you can play with guitars and have banjo solos...lol

Ever heard that banjo vs guitar song from that western film, "Deliverance"...Its fooking amazing.

_tom_ · « **Reply #19 on:** April 11, 2006, 01:03:49 PM »

Yeah I've heard the Duelling Banjos song, its so cool!

I want to learn bass actually, each time I listen to Primus I wish I had a bass lying around to try and learn some of their riffs :P

carlaz · « **Reply #20 on:** April 11, 2006, 01:11:32 PM »

Quote from: _tom_

Yeah I've heard the Duelling Banjos song, its so cool!
I want to learn bass actually, each time I listen to Primus I wish I had a bass lying around to try and learn some of their riffs :P

Les Claypool has a thing for the Dueling Banjos riff on bass, speaking of these things. I've heard recordings of him poppingit into the middle of "Thela Hun Ginjeet" in the Frog Brigade performance at the first Bonnaroo fest, and he also drops it into "Greasy Granny's Gopher Guts" on the Gov't Mule Deepest End DVD.

I started on guitar, later taught myself a bit of bass, and now probably play bass better. :P I've also taught myself a bit of mandolin :) though I've not had an opportunity to have a go at banjo ... yet! :)

_tom_ · « **Reply #21 on:** April 11, 2006, 01:21:38 PM »

Quote from: Peterku

Quote from: _tom_
Jazz standards eh.. can you elaborate on these?

http://guitar-primer.com/Charts/index2.html ;)

The melodies are simple, and it's an interesting challenge to find out how to play the chords, if you don't know some of them. Here's a little help:

http://guitar-primer.com/Concepts/Z-00.html

Learning the chord progression usually gives you a picture of the mood of the song. Blue Bossa, How Insensitive, and The Girl from Ipanema would be a nice start. Having learnt a few standards you'll have a lot of new ideas, both progressions and melodies.

I just looked at Blue Bossa and the music transcription scares me, I have no idea how to read music anymore (although I played piano when I was younger, I've forgot it all)

38thBeatle · « **Reply #22 on:** April 11, 2006, 01:25:20 PM »

Learning bass is a good idea Tom. I consider myself to be a bass player though I have always played guitar too and the two have combined quite well and have each helped with the other. A lot of guitarists think bass is easy ( and indeed, to some it is) but there is of lot of rhythmic aspects to bass that can really help a guitarist with phrasing. Carlaz is absolutely right regarding listening out to people you play with. Meandering slightly away from where this started, playing with others can inspire you to places you might not have gone-by learning bass you seem to find yourself listening to everything else that is going on ( rather than some guitar players who are only interested in showing the world how fast they can play- no-one on this forum would ever do such a thing I know

) if only to ensure you don't overkill it. Leaving space can be one of the best rhythmic devices. I know that Ronnie Wood might not be the first guitarist that would spring to mind when the word "great" is used but if you listen to his stuff with The Faces (i.e. post Small Faces era) his rhythm playing is spot on- Ronnie was a bass player beforehand.

_tom_ · « **Reply #23 on:** April 11, 2006, 01:35:21 PM »

Yeah I dont think bass is easy atall, I've played on a few mates basses and struggled to fret the notes as well as I do on guitar, I'm not used to the spacing inbetween the strings :lol: I'll have to find some stuff by The Faces then I guess. Cheers for all the help, I guess now I just need to learn how to read music :P

Kilby · « **Reply #24 on:** April 11, 2006, 05:57:38 PM »

You could try the following for some suggestions in taking your playing in less predictable directions though you may have to install the vox ware codec for the windows media player.

A many of the suggestions are chordal (using augmented or suspended) and basically surprising yourself. Unfortunitely there is only 2 lessons not the 4 advertised.

http://www.guitar.com/VideosMain.aspx?ParID=X

Also have a look at the Roger McGuinn lesson for incorporation of banjo techniques (amongst others on a 12 swtring ;) ) and the Reeves Gabrels for use of vibrators.

Rob...

carlaz · « **Reply #25 on:** April 11, 2006, 06:02:04 PM »

+1 on the space thing -- this becomes really important when you're in a band with more people, too. The little band I play in started out in a "power trio" configuration, where the bass actually has a fair bit of work to do filling in the sound. Later, we added a keyboard, which meant the guitar and bass both needed to leave more space (not something that comes naturally to many guitarists ;)). In a 2-guitar/bass/keys/drums lineup (or something even more complicated) the need to play fewer notes -- while listening even harder to figure which notes do need playing -- becomes even more important.

And +1 on bass being fun :) though I have a very "guitaristic" style of bass playing, partially because of my background as a guitarist and partially because many of my favorite bass players themselves started as guitarists or were at least also familiar with guitar.

hunter · « **Reply #26 on:** April 11, 2006, 06:07:22 PM »

I had the same situation, and after 17 years of more or less playing the guitar, I finally looked out for a teacher. Now I'm once a week with this London GIT graduate, who forces me to learn intervals, play 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 7 notes per beat in 40 bpm accurately and all that stuff, and it's opened me to completely new horizons.

Though I think jamming with different people is the better option.

Searcher · « **Reply #27 on:** April 12, 2006, 06:41:51 AM »

Quote from: 38thBeatle

there is of lot of rhythmic aspects to bass that can really help a guitarist with phrasing

Drumming, obviously, is good for this as well. If you're gonna learn another instrument I recommend drums. There're lots of fun, too. :)

_tom_ · « **Reply #28 on:** April 12, 2006, 10:33:41 AM »

Quote from: Searcher

Quote from: 38thBeatle
there is of lot of rhythmic aspects to bass that can really help a guitarist with phrasing

Drumming, obviously, is good for this as well. If you're gonna learn another instrument I recommend drums. There're lots of fun, too. :)

I have a drum kit allready and I'm ok on them, I can fit a rhythm to most songs when I've been playing with mates :)

donovan.x · « **Reply #29 on:** April 13, 2006, 10:45:53 PM »

Can you sweep pick? I found this was the thing that got me out of my rut, it is such a cool technique. I have just tried to learn as much as possible, this came about from giving guitar lessons and not wanting to find myself upstaged by some 13 year olds. Seriously, I find the guitar a infinite wealth of techniques and secrets, I dont favour any one style any more(which makes the GAS harder to cope with) and get a serious pleasure out of playing everything that I can. Funk is also a low pressure style to master, great fun and so natural its unreal.