Guitar Players
 

I've been playing the guitar (electric) for about a year and couple of months and I ****ing love it, I wish I didn't have anything else to do so i could play all the time. I want to become much much better but it seems I'm stuck?!? :cuss:

Anyway, just asking for some tips here and there on how to get better.

I'm also looking at buying an acoustic, I fell in love with a black Takamine, it's like $520 bucks though, I have the money, should I buy it or is there a bigger bang for the buck?

Try learning a technique one of your favorite guitarist use. For example, if you like Robert Fripp, go learn about alternate crosspicking. If you like David Gilmour, learn how to play slow legato and how to add subtle harmonics .
If you know just the basic open chords, learn how to play them up and down the neck, learn how to invert them and then learn how to play their partials.
If you're more of a songwriter, just simply practice singing while playing guitar and writing your own tunes, learn about arrangements .
You can never really master most of these things, you can just get better than you were, so don't be too self-critical and have fun. Remember, Kurt Cobain wrote more hits than Malmsteen.

Its funny how most of the insanely skilled guitarists out there, like Yngwie, Seve Vai, etc aren't the best songwriters.
Though I'm listening to Buckethead's new album, Enter the Chicken, right now and he's made a concious effort to write solid songs. Good stuff.

I think I have a bead on the reasoning. Most shred guitarist are pretty damn young when they hit their limelight ,and at that age you're not mature enough to put the song before the shredding. It's more about how clever and fast they think they are and the song comes second. Add to that an ego like Malmsteen's and you get 15(random number but probably close), albums of neo-classical wanking well into his forties, because he never stopped to question his own muse.

I'm like alot of people, when I hear shredding I'm damn impressed...for about 2 minutes ,and then I'm bored silly. I know you're an Opeth fan and they are a perfect example of songwriting over virtuosity, even though they can shred when the song requires it.

There are free blues lessons on the net. Try to pick some of the little licks then play them anywhere on the frets. I like to record my own little rhythm guitar then try to solo on top of myself playing.

Ovation acoustic 12 string-the sound is incredible-get the amp electric version so you can plug in if you want. Run that with some distortion, it is a great sound, then go straight acoustic.

The posibilities are endless.

I've played guitar for 35 years now(hard to believe). Find some guitar players whose style you want to emulate(not copy), then try to learn some of the riffs. Pick up styles from more than just one or 2 guitarists so that you don't just sound like a clone. Keep practicing and trying to spin off into your own riffs and style. Stick with it and play every day possible....

Z

can you link a site to me?

wow 35 years is a long time, do you remember when you actually felt like you could almost play any song or solo consitently

Au contraire...he did stop to question his muse.

It produced an absolutely HORRIBLE cover of "Spanish Castle Magic".

:D

Practice yer scales.
And then practice some more.

Probably within 5 years. Now, when listening to a tune, I can tell what chords are being played just by the sound of the strings and they way they ring out. In effect, rehearsing the tune in my head before ever picking up the guitar. Pretty neat.

BTW- you can hear a few of my licks by clicking on the link in my sig.

Z

But yer a singer. You sound like Plant?

Don't sound like Plant. Look like him.

Z

wow, that's pretty fast!! my guitar teacher does all that crazy stuff, he can play eruption by van halen and what not...it's pretty cool to see.