+1
When I first started playing, I didn't take lessons. Not because I was too good for them or anything, but because I couldn't find anybody to teach me what I wanted to play...everybody in my area that was teaching was teaching either country & western/pop or shred/metal.

One guy who I "auditioned" a lesson from (to see if he and I were on the same wavelength) sat down and started to shred for about five minutes (non-stop) and then tell me how great he and his band was (and how much everyone else sucked) and how he had taken lessons for ten years from Master So-and-So and…I walked out halfway through the lesson after telling him he had no business taking money from people, because he had not taught me anything except the fact that he was a jackass. He would have greatly discouraged a new student, due to his dismissive and arrogant manner.

I finally found a guy (Fort Worth blues/Americana player James Hinkle) who would teach me slide techniques (I already had the "feel", I just needed the mechanics), but he stopped teaching when he got a label deal (he was already in two bands, working part-time in construction and then he had to start prepping for his album, so something had to give. However, in the one month I took lessons from him, I had learned more than the previous eight years of playing on my own.

I had one more lesson coming (already paid for), so the shop offered me a chance to check out other instructor. He was much like the first guy I mentioned. He told me, "I don't play slide and I hate blues, but I'm a great teacher, so I'll make you a better guitarist. Play a song for me..."
I played a bluesy rock tune I wrote and he said, "Hmmm, I never heard that one before. I told you I don’t like blues. Maybe we need to break it down like this…can you play anything good?”
As I put my guitar back in her case, I asked him, “Did you have your personality surgically removed or were you born that way?” He wanted to create a clone of himself, a technically good but soulless, unimaginative player who had all the joy of the instrument stomped out, one lesson at a time.

Six months later, I found Rollo Smith (Fort Worth blues player/Texas Roadhouse musician), and he and I clicked right away. Rollo was the right mix of patient, friendly and strict. He made me break some bad habits and improved my technique (not just on slide, but “normal” finger-style, etc.) but he didn’t get bogged down in the minutiae. He was willing to allow me to keep my own style, instead of conform to his way of playing.
He also thanked me, because, “I get so tired of teaching these spoiled little kids stupid pop and metal songs. More than half are going to quit when they realize this requires work. You are enthusiastic and you pick great source material…I also like how you put your own bend to the stuff we’re learning.” I ended up playing harp with his band off and on for a while.
I was only able to take lessons from him for about three or four months, due to a heavy work schedule (I worked about 70 hours a week at that time)…but once again, my playing improved greatly in that short period of time.
I wrote more songs than usual in that short period of time, too; he had goosed my creativity and pumped me up musically. I am a much, much better writer, player, performer and musician because of the lessons with Rollo.

If I had saddled myself with either “teacher” # 1 or # 3, I would possibly lost a great deal of enthusiasm for the instrument.

So the right instructor will make you a better guitarist. The wrong one can remove the joy of playing and actually make you regress.

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Good Vibes To Y'all!



Screamin' Armadillos
Texas Roadhouse Music
Guitar/Slide Guitar/Harp/Vocals

It's cool trwells, same here, just an exchange of thoughts, no disrespect taken or intended.

Most kids think that they would be better off without school (lessons). And nearly all of them were wrong, but didn't realize it until they were older. They all thought that they were the exception ("others"). I guess that you could say: Life lesson.

Do you know the difference between knowledge and wisdom?

BTW, it is "too hard headed", not to. Are you saying that you intentionally make your posts look like they were written by a kindergartner? Surely not?

Maybe you could prove that you got an A in English with a nice legible post? (use the built in spell checker too).

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---> "The amp should be SWITCHED OFF AND UNPLUGGED before you do this!" <---

Por favor, disculpe mi español, no se llega a la práctica con mucha frecuencia.

with knowledge you know the facts, it takes wisdom to know how to use the facts.
the spell check? where is it? i didn't realize there was one.
as for capitolization, i hate using the shift button on the computer, if i were writing in pen, i would use it more..

i myself love school, i know i need it, and i feel sorry for those who think otherwise, now that is for school
lessons, i guess yeah they would be useful, but i will just take my chances and have fun along the way : )

_________________
"He who hates me hates my Father as well."
John 15:23

Talman Ibanez Inner City-Suizy Q
2002 American-Made Fender Telecaster-Vengence
Fender Hot Rod Deluxe III

Notice any words when typing your posts that have a squiggly line underneath them. Highlight these words and then right click on them for suggestions. Often, the correct spelling will appear in the list. Sometimes we go to the huge trouble of hitting the extra key (shift), because wisdom tells us that it is much better to give a little extra effort, and do our best, instead of half-assing it.

C'mon, you couldn't figure that out on your own? (just razzing you)

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---> "The amp should be SWITCHED OFF AND UNPLUGGED before you do this!" <---

Por favor, disculpe mi español, no se llega a la práctica con mucha frecuencia.

well, okay, my computers not doin' the squigly thingy.... i knew how to 'cause my GT teacher used to get at me cuse they would be all over my computer stories...i just don't take the time...

_________________
"He who hates me hates my Father as well."
John 15:23

Talman Ibanez Inner City-Suizy Q
2002 American-Made Fender Telecaster-Vengence
Fender Hot Rod Deluxe III

Doesn't matter how smart you are, it can't compensate for sloppy work and laziness!

Snowjoe, i'm gonna come up and say this, and you deffinately ain't gonna like it. I don't like you and I find you rude, would you please not post on my threads concerning advice unless you are going to be a little nicer?
maybe I'm jumping to conclusions, but you are beggining to make me mad. I am saying this in the most respectful way i figured I could.

_________________
"He who hates me hates my Father as well."
John 15:23

Talman Ibanez Inner City-Suizy Q
2002 American-Made Fender Telecaster-Vengence
Fender Hot Rod Deluxe III

No problem. I guess I was a bit harsh on that last one. In a more productive way what I'm trying to say is that it's all well and good being smart but for people to take that seriously you have to make sure that you present yourself in that way.

You said earlier that you would rather be smart and look less intelligent than be less intelligent and look smart but you have to make sure you look smart because despite what people say, at the end of the day it does matter what people think and you will get a better reaction from people if you present yourself differently.

Especially slopping through work in class, I learnt that the hard way, trust me.

But you seem like a nice enough guy man, apologies for straight out offending you.

trwells,

Which browser are you using? Some have a setting to turn the spell checker on or off. Check your settings, I use IE and FF and both have the spell check. For FF, in the menu above, click "Tools", select "Options", then click the "Advanced" button, then select the "General" tab below that, and check the box next to "Check my spelling as I type". I couldn't find the setting in IE 8, it may just be there by default, I don't use IE very often, so I'm not as familiar with it, but the spell check works on mine.

_________________
---> "The amp should be SWITCHED OFF AND UNPLUGGED before you do this!" <---

Por favor, disculpe mi español, no se llega a la práctica con mucha frecuencia.

1.apology accepted
2.i am a chick
3.i understand wanting to make a good image, but, also, having fun.at my age, image is not near as important as it will be in the future. it is, to me, one of those i'll wait until later things in life.

_________________
"He who hates me hates my Father as well."
John 15:23

Talman Ibanez Inner City-Suizy Q
2002 American-Made Fender Telecaster-Vengence
Fender Hot Rod Deluxe III

I took lessons briefly. I didn't care for my instructor. He didn't seem to know how to play the music i was into the way it should be played. i.e. i had to show him the correct way to play Stairway to Heaven... c'mon Stairway? So i quit and just kept truckin' on my own.

I really wish i had just asked if there was another instructor that suited my goals. I think learning on your own is great but there are certain nuances in technique for solo's and such that i really wish i had had proper training for. That's a big spot for improvement in my own playing.

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YMMV

Chont's Mustang Presets

i use IE 8, I think....

_________________
"He who hates me hates my Father as well."
John 15:23

Talman Ibanez Inner City-Suizy Q
2002 American-Made Fender Telecaster-Vengence
Fender Hot Rod Deluxe III

It looks like I was wrong about IE 8, there is no spell check that I can find. I posted this from IE 8, and no squiggly lines under misspelled words. Oh no! I can't tell if my words are spelled correctly or not.

Maybe there are some IE users here that know of a way to have spell check in IE (add-on?)

But, FF has it, maybe that's one reason that I like it. There must be other browsers that have spell check also.

_________________
---> "The amp should be SWITCHED OFF AND UNPLUGGED before you do this!" <---

Por favor, disculpe mi español, no se llega a la práctica con mucha frecuencia.

I've been taking bass lessons since I was about 10, so about 6 years. I'm working on my grade 8 (Is there an equivalent to music grades in America?), in that sense I'm the most qualified of bass players, or any "rock" musician in my school.
I taught myself to play guitar from playing bass, I guess that makes me semi-self taught.
A lot of my mates have gone through the "I don't need lessons" phase and come out the other end and bit the bullet and improved vastly. (Have you ever had to tune someone's guitar for them? )

Oh, and I really do walk to school uphill both ways.

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Rated "M" for meaty.

look at my thread NAD marshall MG15fx

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Musos can be a pain!!!

But if you have 15,000 they will give you free Fenders