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  #1  
Old 07-06-2017, 06:18 AM
Facers Facers is offline
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Default 6 Months Learning Guitar

Hi all,

Tomorrow will be my 6 month anniversary learning guitar

I stumbled up on this forum back in January when I first started my journey learning the guitar and a lot of friendly folks here offered some great advice. I have been learning completely from internet and finished the free courses that I have been following online and in the past weeks I feel like I have come to somewhat a bit of a roadblock to knowing what I should be learning to make the best of my time and continuing improving.

Obviously, practice, practice, practice... but I have a lingering feeling I am missing some basics as a result of learning online - things like rhythym, timing, also I don't understand what pentatonic scale is or why it is important, etc...

I was wondering (hoping) if some kind folks here could have a look at a couple of my latest videos here to get an idea of where I am at and give some advice on where to go from here.

Below are two videos I made recently of my playing, any and all advice is extremely welcome. Many thanks in advance!


https://youtu.be/nEfjsj7FxKE


https://youtu.be/-goudoAw1YA

Last edited by Facers; 07-06-2017 at 07:00 AM.
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  #2  
Old 07-06-2017, 06:25 AM
amyFB amyFB is offline
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You are doing great after just six months.

I can suggest using a metronome to practice the guitar progressions for the songs. Start slow so you can work the rough spots to smooth execution and then slowly speed it up until you can do the whole thing smooth at the desired tempo.

Treat the vocals the same way a use the metronome and just sing along without the guitar to get the words Into memory so you can concentrate on the music.
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  #3  
Old 07-06-2017, 06:43 AM
Wyllys Wyllys is offline
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Heartily agree that the metronome is your friend. Not only will it help you with tempo and pacing, it will be a good substitute for playing along with others by keeping you open to more than just your own playing. But...

I prefer one which clicks. The commonly available "beepers" have an electronic tone on a fixed pitch, not good if you're playing in one key and it's beeping in another.
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Old 07-06-2017, 08:07 AM
JonPR JonPR is offline
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I agree, this is really good work after 6 months.
There are timing issues in Tears in Heaven, but mainly because of a couple of chord transitions - I'm sure you know where they are if you listen back. Your sense of time (holding a beat) is otherwise good. I suggest focusing just on those changes where you stumble, just repeating those over and over - slower - until you can get them in time. A metronome is useful here, but don't try and speed up until you're totally solid at slower speeds.

Congratulations on the singing and the confidence to post your work here too. (I don't mean the singing is great - it's at about the same level as the guitar playing, but at least you're doing it, and your ear seems OK. Just like the guitar, it will improve the more you begin to feel in control, and to take control.)

I wish my students were this good after six months... ;( (They clearly don't have the commitment and discipline you have.)
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Last edited by JonPR; 07-06-2017 at 08:12 AM.
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  #5  
Old 07-06-2017, 08:37 AM
lkingston lkingston is offline
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Really good guitar playing for six months.

One of the biggest things for singing well is picking the right key. The one your playing in is too low for you. You want to have to push a bit to hit the highest notes of the song. Use a capo if you have to. When you sing too low, it's hard to have any control and stay on pitch or put much emotion into your singing.
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Old 07-06-2017, 03:41 PM
s0cks s0cks is offline
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First off, really great!

Secondly, I reckon your singing is throwing off your playing. I recommend counting out loud over the guitar rather than singing. Either 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + etc... or just 1 2 3 4 etc... This will lock your voice in with the guitar and help improve your timing (I actually rate it over using a metronome, but even better if you count AND use a metronome at the same time). It will also help you sing in time.
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Old 07-06-2017, 04:10 PM
Jusca Jusca is offline
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You're doing great for such a short time. The first video sounds musical to me.


Only tip is your fretting hand position. Your wrist is at a bent angle and will hinder you once you get to barre chords and overall technique. Try dropping the wrist similar to your hand position in the first 10 seconds of your second video.
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Old 07-07-2017, 12:54 AM
Facers Facers is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by s0cks View Post
First off, really great!

Secondly, I reckon your singing is throwing off your playing. I recommend counting out loud over the guitar rather than singing. Either 1 + 2 + 3 + 4 + etc... or just 1 2 3 4 etc... This will lock your voice in with the guitar and help improve your timing (I actually rate it over using a metronome, but even better if you count AND use a metronome at the same time). It will also help you sing in time.
Thank you for that suggestion. I hadn't thought of that. I do the singing because for me it feels kinda empty without but yes, I realise that it is throwing me off and also doesn't sound amazing

I will try the counting out and I can imagine this helps me a lot with getting down rhythms.
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Old 07-07-2017, 03:49 AM
Silly Moustache Silly Moustache is offline
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Hi, REALLY good progress!

Here's a coupla points to consider other than has already been mentioned:

1. both these songs - in different picking styles are accompaniments to the lyrics, so take some guidance from a singing teacher at some point because the voice IS the main thing. Never let the accompaniment drown out the vocals.

2. Your finger picking on TIH is good, but PLEASE don't use that scrubbing strumming style that you used on the second number - try to change that into simple "boom" (bass note) and "chick" (three/four note strum to make it musical.

3. Never give up!
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  #10  
Old 07-07-2017, 04:37 AM
rbriggs82 rbriggs82 is offline
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I'm at the year and a half mark and couldn't play and sing until a year ago and even now it's hard. So good job accomplishing that, it's way harder than it looks.

I'm currently working on the A Team too. Seems like you have the timing about right but you're lacking the dynamics which make the song more musical.

On beats two and four either do a muted strike or what I've been doing is a slap by twisting your wrist away from you and then slapping the strings with my thumb and strumming the song with you pointer finger. It feels awkward at first but after some practice it really adds a lot to the song.

You're definitely ahead of where I was at the six month mark. Keep at it, you're doing awesome.
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  #11  
Old 07-07-2017, 04:39 AM
1neeto 1neeto is offline
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I can't sing and play after 5 years. Good job! Just keep practicing and concentrate on playing on time.
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  #12  
Old 07-11-2017, 11:31 AM
BFD BFD is offline
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Agree w/everyone - great work! Regarding rhythm, which lots of folks have touched on for 'Tears..', a metronome is great, but you can accomplish a lot w/a steady foot tap (a good habit to cultivate) while working timing out on more difficult parts. Once you're closer to having a tune down, a metronome is the boss reality check!

Also (I heard this TOO many times before putting it into practice) when working on more difficult passages that cause you to slow down, DON'T slow down! Instead play the easier part before, the difficult part, back into the easier part after all at the same SLOWER tempo. For the most part, unless it's rythmic, it's not music. Slowing down for the hard part is practicing mistakes, which you should never do. If you practice the hard parts slowly and rhythmically you will be able to bring them up to speed much faster.

Playing and singing together - way to go! As you've heard, many folks don't crack this nut 'till much later. You seem to take it for granted, which is great - you're just setting the bar higher. Commendable. And recording yourself - also a valuable tool.
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  #13  
Old 07-12-2017, 10:17 AM
Gitfiddlemann Gitfiddlemann is offline
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Just 6 months. Agree with the others. Terrific progress.
Quote:
I was wondering (hoping) if some kind folks here could have a look at a couple of my latest videos here to get an idea of where I am at and give some advice on where to go from here.
Looking at your Tears in Heaven video, two things struck me:
1) Right hand
Excellent position, and good picking motions. Looks to be in overall "low tension" mode, which is what you want. This will be a big asset to your control and timing when you progress down the road.

2) Left hand
Try to avoid fretting chords with such a pronounced bent wrist. Have a look at your right hand, and go for the same "wrist in line with the hand" approach. Anytime you bend your wrist like that you're putting the joint under a lot of unnecessary tension. You don't need to, and it could/likely will lead to wrist pain down the road, assuming you'll be playing a lot, which it looks like you will given your excellent progress.
You're just starting, so now's the time to get into the habit of fretting with as little tension and wrist bend as possible. It'll be hard at first to break your tendency to bend the wrist like that, but it will be worth it in the long run!
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  #14  
Old 07-13-2017, 05:49 PM
Johan Madsen Johan Madsen is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Facers View Post
Hi all,

Tomorrow will be my 6 month anniversary learning guitar

I stumbled up on this forum back in January when I first started my journey learning the guitar and a lot of friendly folks here offered some great advice. I have been learning completely from internet and finished the free courses that I have been following online and in the past weeks I feel like I have come to somewhat a bit of a roadblock to knowing what I should be learning to make the best of my time and continuing improving.

Obviously, practice, practice, practice... but I have a lingering feeling I am missing some basics as a result of learning online - things like rhythym, timing, also I don't understand what pentatonic scale is or why it is important, etc...

I was wondering (hoping) if some kind folks here could have a look at a couple of my latest videos here to get an idea of where I am at and give some advice on where to go from here.

Below are two videos I made recently of my playing, any and all advice is extremely welcome. Many thanks in advance!


https://youtu.be/nEfjsj7FxKE


https://youtu.be/-goudoAw1YA
I paste here what I answered to another guy concerning what could be a learning plan concerning music theory (which is the thing that will offer you the opportunity of a real and deep understanding of how music works ). Of course rhythm and technique are important too, so is feeling but that's up to you :

In my opinion the thing that will be the most helpful for your progression besides technique and all those stuffs is musical theory, and especially scale harmonization. The program could be something like :

1. Learning major scales and understand how those works
2. Learn how to harmonize them with 3 notes chords (major and minor chords)
3. Same with 4 notes chords (7, Maj 7, min7 etc )
4. You could learn the 5 notes chords later (9th, 11th 13th etc)
5. But what you have to understand is that chords are nothing more than notes from the scale played together , so when you know your scales , and he harmonization process you will be able to :

- compose as you know which chords works together or not
-improvise, as you know which scale to use for any chord progression
- enlight your chords very easily as you can add any note from the scale to any of the chords related to it, it doesn't matter in a first time if you don't have a clue what you're adding , all that matters is to use the notes from the scale, and avoid the others (those will be useful later as "out" notes)

This is enough to get confident and then to keep learning at your own rhythm.
Of course pentatonics are very important too as they are very frequently used in American music , but that's easy to manage as they are just simplificated major and minor scales .

When you'll be done with that, you can dig into triads, chord reversement , minor scales , exotic scales , degrees theory stuffs etc ... but there's no hurry start with the beginning and the most useful thing ever for any musician : SCALE HARMONIZATION
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