Rx Tone

You trying to learn from books, a friend, a teacher...or just making stuff up and thrashing around?

I suggest asking one of your friends who plays to show you some shortcuts, patterns and licks from music that you like...but I'm sure you've already had that idea.

If you already know a few chords, go to the library and find a "Fake Book" It's a book of hundreds of songs that shows chords and a simple single note lead line. You'll see/learn lots of new chords and how they fit together to make music.
That way you're learning songs that you like instead of tedious exercises.

Good luck.

mr dave

no offense intended but based on just about everything else you've posted on this site i think this is it.

your first instruments thread was pretty much a big whine about not getting enough attention/appreciation as a drummer from your peers. do you actually want to play the guitar or are you just trying to get a little piece of the attention you think the other guys in your band were getting?

again i don't mean to be insulting or anything, it's just how you come across in your posts. it's like you're looking for someone to answer a question only you can figure out - why do you want to play music? what is music to you?

i had been playing guitar for over 7 years before i ever felt comfortable calling myself a musician. took me a few more years after that to finally be able to define what i call music in a way that the people i jam with could understand (and either get in line or get out of the way). there's no quick answer that someone is just going to type out and put everything in its right place.

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Freebase Dali

^ This.

As a musician, even before I was good enough to call myself anything but a kid who fiddles with instruments, I KNEW it was what I was meant to do and I had absolutely no doubt in my mind that I would never let the musician in me die.
It was never really a matter of motivation for me. That part was automatic.
It was more about finding new inspiration that led me to see things differently and by virtue of that, allowing me to expand my creativity.

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VEGANGELICA

Hi, Sam-Y,
I agree that 1 and 2 above may be the answer, and yet it is also possible that right now guitar just isn't the instrument that grabs your attention (like the drums do), and if this is the case it doesn't mean you can't take it up again later if you do decide to put the guitar down now.

I agree with others that it is wise to take you where your interests lead, so that practicing your instrument feels like liberation rather than constraint. I played clarinet from 5th grade to 12th grade, and practiced many hours, did well in competitions, etc., but I never really *loved* playing. It often felt like a chore to practice. Sometimes I watched TV while I practiced to make it more exciting, and after high school I rarely picked up the clarinet again! Perhaps I was playing it more to feel accomplished and follow through with a choice I made in 5th grade (to play the clarinet), than to experience playing the instrument primarily as a way of expressing myself musically.

In contrast, the electric guitar rivets my attention. I'd play for hours if I could. Like others, I recommend you practice playing what you want to play. For example, if you want to play rock music and you haven't learned power and barre chords, I recommend those since then you can play lots of songs right away. In my case, I prefer to make up songs and try to come up with my own fingerings/chords. I've enjoyed playing "Steady as She Goes" by the Raconteurs after downloading the TABs (and playing along with their YouTube video so I feel like I'm part of the band!), but that's the only song I've played so far that was created by someone else (besides Home on the Range and some other simple folk tunes).

I would like to be able to play other people's guitar songs in theory, but in practice my interests take me elsewhere (I like to make up my own songs), and so I do what I like. When I play the guitar, I really feel like I'm *playing.* It is fun, like a game; playing makes me feel much more alive. My goal isn't to become an expert but to have fun making music that *I* like.

Sam-Y, what do you feel your musical goals are? Answering this will probably help you figure out what guitar-playing means to you and whether it is an instrument you want to continue with right now, like Mr Dave said. I wouldn't want you to end up doing what I did with the clarinet: spend thousands of hours with an instrument making music that really doesn't move you. I somewhat regret the time I spent on the clarinet. I don't regret my time with the guitar at all: when I practice guitar, time flies by quickly and seems to stretch out deliciously long at the same time.

--Erica

Sam-Y

You all make good points. I got to stop thinking externally and start doing what I want to be doing.

Mr. Dave, you hurt my feelings in the process but you said it best. I guess I'm trying to have someone decide for me indirectly which is stupid. I got me some thinking to do people.

mr dave

sorry dude but sometimes people need a little tough love. at least you're able to recognize that the intention was not to hurt your feelings but to be direct on the issue.

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Sam-Y

No I completely understand man. Thanks. You think you could help me learn Let It Die by the Foo Fighters Mr. Dave? I can't hold the notes properly and I got some questions regarding tabs.

Ricochet~kun

well ive been playing for maybe 2 1/2 years now, and i havent found any jam buddies yet, but it was alot like that for me for the first year and a half, then i had a HUGE downtime... maybe a month, when i just didnt want to, but the *i want to go play guitar now!* comes in waves. during the down times i try to play at least 15 mins. -> 1/2 hour every day. thats helps me get back when i get pumped up again =P

so i would say play a little bit each day so you dont lose skill while your waiting for interest to return

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mr dave

i'll see what i can do.

this is the tab i'm looking at - seems about right. Let It Die Tab by Foo Fighters

for the first bit you're only moving a mash up of the open G and C chord shapes the notes on the high E are played with your ring finger, the B string is your index and the others are handled by your middle finger. there is a bit of a tricky bit but if you take it slow it's not that bad.

so the two main 'chords' up to the first chorus are:

e--8---5------
B--6---3------
G--0---0------
D--8---5------
A-------------
E-------------

notice how the relative spacing between the notes stays the same, that way you don't have to move the fingers on the top two strings much.

the middle 'tricky' bit is where your middle finger takes control

chord 1********tricky*****chord 2
e||-----8----- --------- -----5------||
B||-------6--- --------- -------3----||
G||---------0- --0---0-- -0-------0--||
D||--/8------- ----7---5 ---5--------||
A||----------- 8-------- ------------||
E||----------- ---------- ----------||

hold the first chord shape when you start the tricky bit as you want those notes to keep ringing. by the time you're hitting the note at the 7th fret they should be dying out to the point where you can relax your fingers (and silence the notes). the end of the tricky bit allows you to move your hand down the neck two frets and get in position so that you can be ready to let the high notes ring out from chord 2.

the chorus sticks to the open C shape but you change frets when you alternate between playing the high notes and low notes pairings (either skipping strings between B and D or alternating between A and D).

the open C shape is in full effect again for the bridge only this time you add a little extra pizazz on the high E with your little finger.

the power chords and pedal point breakdown seem pretty straight forward.

hope this helps, the only way to nail the acoustic bit in this song is practice. incidentally that chord shape is only missing the bass note octave on the low E to be the same one Hendrix used for the intro to 'Castles Made of Sand'.

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Sam-Y

Sweet. Thanks Mr. Dave. That part with the middle finger is really tricky. Also, when I'm holding the D string with my third finger, I find it difficult to pluck the open G string as it gets caught. Do you recommend I wrap my thumb around the upper neck of the guitar or just place it right in the middle of the neck in a pushing position? Is my question confusing? lol