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Post subject: Improving my ability. Where should I begin?
Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2015 9:07 am
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I'm asking for advice on what type of path I should take to improve my guitar and music ability. I'll try to explain where I see myself now and what I want in the future.

1. I want to improve my "playing by ear" ability. Right now I can't play by ear worth a crap. Recently I've been reading about how I can train my ear so I can hear and then play what I hear. I'm thinking "ear training" should be at the top of my list of how to improve.

2. I also would like to learn more music theory. I'm hoping knowing more about theory it will help me to be able to play by ear (sort of) because maybe I would have a list of chords that will work in any given key. Then I could eliminate the chords that I know won't work and focus on the ones that will sound good.

3. Last and certainly not least is becoming a better guitar player. By this I mean getting more accurate and faster on the guitar.

At the moment I'm looking at two courses or lessons. They both cost money. One is "Music Theory Made Easy" on guitarzoom.com. Link to this course: http://guitarzoom.com/musictheorymadeea ... d04f534360

The other is a course on "music theory for guitar" (musictheoryfor guitar.com). Link to this course: (http://www.musictheoryforguitar.com/sca ... ssons.html)

My desires for improvement is to play a song I hear without the aid of sheet music or someone showing me how to play it. I'm thinking this can be accomplished over time with ear training and learning music theory. Preferably both.

I love the rock from the 70's. Southern rock is a favorite. I have always wanted to play this style of music but whenever I have focused on playing in the past I always end up playing more acoustic style music. Melower stuff like James Taylor, Eagles, Simon & Garfunkel, Seals & Croft, etc. I think if I were ever going to play a lot of rock I'd already have done it. I got a Fender Squire strat and small amp in the last month. But after learning a few standard rock songs I picked up the acoustic and started playing the stuff I used to play more often. I have a feeling this is what I should focus on simply because that's what seems to grab my attention and my time when playing. I don't really want to play lead or solo. It has never truely interested me and I doubt it ever will.

So, I don't think I want to buy any courses that focus a lot on soloing in blues or jazz. Seems to be a lot of that out there. I think my deep desire is to play acoustic style music in the mellower rock world. I learned to play Aqualung. I really love the part where the acoustic guitar comes in.

Anyway, any advice on how to progress is greatly appreciated. I know there is no over night answer. Actually that's the main reason I don't want to start in a direction that I won't be interested in for a long time. Since acoustic music is what has repeatedly held my attention more than any other playing it would seem that is what I enjoy more.

Jack


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Post subject: Re: Improving my ability. Where should I begin?
Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2015 11:23 am
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Welcome to the Forum, Jack.

Great question(s). I do play by ear and cannot read music, and my age holds me back from entering this fold as my time is spent elsewhere for the moment. I wish I had taken more time and effort as you have mentioned, so good on you for taking on this adventure.

I will be interested in the answers you will receive, and this is a great place to begin. Plenty of helpful members with a wealth of knowledge are here to help you. Sorry I can't on this one other than to tell you that my playing by ear came naturally, and the more I played the more I remembered where the notes were, and how they worked together. Sometimes it was beneficial in that experimentation, and it released many restrictions (sort of thinking outside the box). There is a downside though; sometimes the finger positions or related finger movement was and is compromised when not knowing preferred finger placement (although, variations of finger placement do exist).

Strictly playing by notation seems to lose some mojo at times IMHO. Having rhythm is a must in any case, and technique along with feeling goes a long way. We've all heard the musician or singer ply their trade without these things and it's easy to separate the good from the bad. Vocalists do not need to read music, but they definitely will do themselves and others a favour if they learn that advantage.

As for playing from example, I learned some 60s songs where I was shown how to use a Strat when I was a teenager. My friend showed me the finger positions, and not only did I recall those, but, as I remember the sound of the starting notes, I can find the respective finger positions, and it helps me to complete the rest of the song. Fifty some odd years later hasn't changed this. In fact, from memory, these songs are an aid in helping me to tune my guitar without a tuner (although, it doesn't replace a good one). Even learning and playing simple songs will help to learn this method as your memory will retain your experience of simplification (think riffs too).

I believe repetition is the name of the game to which your ears will become accustomed to the sounds. Play one note ten times, a hundred times, a thousand times, and you are less likely to forget how it sounds. The same goes for chords and songs; although, there is more to remember and that is where the dfficulty enters the fray.

For those of us who can play by ear (at least for me) we may find it difficult to understand the lack of the ability to do this, and, perhaps, contemplate whether playing by ear is a predominant physical, mental, or both ability. As for learning to read music it would appear that predominant mental ability (and or concentration) comes into play rather than the physical. This is likely a toss up though. Talented prodigies have many natural abilities that are developed for example.

On a side note, many blues players (and others) did not have the luxury to learn music, and they either played by ear or learned finger movement from others. As for your mention of James Taylor, the last I heard, he has not learned to read music (but, I'm betting he would prefer to). :mrgreen:
FSB

By the way, playing acoustic is a great way (but, not the only way) to learn the guitar whether that is your sole preference or electric is part of your arsenal. It often helps to focus on the playing rather than sharing more time on the gear. YMMV. :wink:

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Last edited by Fender Strat Brat on Fri Oct 30, 2015 3:01 pm, edited 2 times in total.

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Post subject: Re: Improving my ability. Where should I begin?
Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2015 12:34 pm
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1: Find something you can't do but want to do.
2: Set aside practice time for that, and that only.
3: Stick to it.[*]
4: Lather, rinse, repeat

[*] Playing something for your own enjoyment or trying something else that isn't in your scheduled practice doesn't count. If you've scheduled half an hour a day for scales, spending ten minutes on learning a couple of new chords does not count. You still need to do your half hour.


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Post subject: Re: Improving my ability. Where should I begin?
Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2015 1:03 pm
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Here's a few rambling thoughts of mine. Going the route of teaching yourself by books and cd's will only be effective if you are very self motivated. Especially since you say you want to focus on acoustic guitar. Acoustic is much more dependent on the proper technique, and it's hard to pick that up without someone watching what you are doing. I guess if you video tape yourself playing and then evaluate what you see, but you would have to be really motivated to do that.
I started playing guitar when I was about 12, but never put the time into it to get good. When I turned 60, I decided to change that. I bought a couple of cd's and books but I soon felt I was drifting around and not headed in any direction. I started taking private lessons and did so for about 3 years. I'm now a good guitarist. Better than average, but not nearly where I want to be. I'm thinking of taking some more lessons in the near future. I don't think I would have progressed this much if not for the lessons. I understand modes and can change up my solo's when necessary with some dorian, mixolydian, licks etc. Modes are definitely the spice that sets players apart, and they can be a bit difficult to grasp and put into context, at first.
I know the cost of lessons are a big consideration, but I'm just being realistic about where I would be if I'd been left on my own. Enough rambling.

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Post subject: Re: Improving my ability. Where should I begin?
Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2015 5:00 pm
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Drew365 wrote:
Here's a few rambling thoughts of mine. Going the route of teaching yourself by books and cd's will only be effective if you are very self motivated. Especially since you say you want to focus on acoustic guitar. Acoustic is much more dependent on the proper technique, and it's hard to pick that up without someone watching what you are doing. I guess if you video tape yourself playing and then evaluate what you see, but you would have to be really motivated to do that.
I started playing guitar when I was about 12, but never put the time into it to get good. When I turned 60, I decided to change that. I bought a couple of cd's and books but I soon felt I was drifting around and not headed in any direction. I started taking private lessons and did so for about 3 years. I'm now a good guitarist. Better than average, but not nearly where I want to be. I'm thinking of taking some more lessons in the near future. I don't think I would have progressed this much if not for the lessons. I understand modes and can change up my solo's when necessary with some dorian, mixolydian, licks etc. Modes are definitely the spice that sets players apart, and they can be a bit difficult to grasp and put into context, at first.
I know the cost of lessons are a big consideration, but I'm just being realistic about where I would be if I'd been left on my own. Enough rambling.


Good ramble Drew :D 8)

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Post subject: Re: Improving my ability. Where should I begin?
Posted: Fri Oct 30, 2015 5:02 pm
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arth1 wrote:
1: Find something you can't do but want to do.
2: Set aside practice time for that, and that only.
3: Stick to it.[*]
4: Lather, rinse, repeat

[*] Playing something for your own enjoyment or trying something else that isn't in your scheduled practice doesn't count. If you've scheduled half an hour a day for scales, spending ten minutes on learning a couple of new chords does not count. You still need to do your half hour.


Agreed and would add:

-Learn the circle of fifths and how they relate (prob on YouTube?)

Image

-Learn a simple riff and then learn to play it in every key.

-Don't get overwhelmed - get inspired!

Good luck

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Post subject: Re: Improving my ability. Where should I begin?
Posted: Sat Oct 31, 2015 8:13 am
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Well I guess I'm off and crawling. I ordered "Music Theory Made Easy" on guitarzoom.com. Hopefully I can get the technical stuff I'm looking for. According to the video add I watched it does cover what I'm looking for and more. Some of the stuff I don't care about (or maybe I do but don't know it). For exmple I don't have any desires to solo in blues. However I've seen lots of musicians who get great knowledge from other types of music. I don't want to limit myself due to my ignorance on what will help me. So I'm hoping to get a lot from this.

About ear training. Since the only thing I've found about that seems to require more money than I want to put out right now I think I'm going to take a little time every day and focus on the little I have seen. For example play and listen to different notes and try to "learn" the different sounds so I can recognize them. For example I'll play the 1, 3 and 5 notes of a major chord. Maybe I can learn the relative differences. Also, play the 1, 4 and 5th chords to be able to recognize the sounds. I've already done that a little bit.

Jack


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