What techniques to learn next?

[JackB1]

OK so I am doing some online 1 on 1 lessons over google hangouts and my teacher wants to know what techniques I want to work on next and i am not sure what to reply? Do you guys have any suggestions on what to say? I am currently past the beginner stage. I know most open chords and bar chords and can play about 50 songs. I mostly strum chords now. What types of techniques should I be asking to learn?

[reeve21]

Fingerpicking! It opens up a whole new world, especially if you like to play instrumentals.

[MC5C]

Do you want to finger-pick chords as background instead of strum? Do you want to play melodies and instrumental songs? Do you want to learn to flat-pick leads like rock and roll, or bluegrass? It's whatever music you want to play that you should learn next, rather than a specific technique. For me, if I was getting good with chords and strumming, I'd want to learn more single note instrumental stuff, or how to finger pick rolls like banjo players do. Maybe travis picking.

[SouthpawJeff]

I guess you should tell him what you want to learn😁. Unless your goal is to get a formal education and hang a degree on the wall, that’s a different situation altogether in which case your teacher wouldn’t be asking. And what other people say you should learn.... just may not suit you.

It sounds like your in a place where you can probably strum through most songs you want to learn. So my advice is to decide what you want to play beyond that and what you need to learn to play it. Maybe it’s a song with a fingerstyle intro? Or a solo with hammer-ons galore? Or a song that uses different chord inversions than what you already know. The easiest way for me to learn is by hearing a song I like and figuring out how to play it. So decide what you want to play and what you need to learn to play it😉

Good luck,
Jeff

[JackB1]

Originally Posted by reeve21

Fingerpicking! It opens up a whole new world, especially if you like to play instrumentals.

Not sure I want to jump into that yet??? Why not perfect strumming and flatpicking first before moving on...

[Wyllys]

Originally Posted by JackB1

Not sure I want to jump into that yet??? Why not perfect strumming and flatpicking first before moving on...

That's sort of like saying "why not perfect crawling before learning to walk".

Fingerstyle, without a doubt. The sooner you start, the sooner you arrive.

Good luck and enjoy the journey!

[Nymuso]

Another vote for fingerpicking, a skill that will always serve you well no matter what genre you concentrate on. But you might want to define and discuss your musical goals, whether they be lofty or limited.

[FwL]

C major scale if you want to get into theory. Major/Minor Pentatonic if you just want to noodle some licks between chords.

.

[JackB1]

I don't really like having to tell my teacher what to teach me. Shouldnt he
be able to evaluate my playing/skills and tell me what to focus on?

Almost every in person instructor I have went to asked me "so what do you want to learn"? I think I prefer online video lessons like jamplay, because the lessons help you build certain skills while learning songs. I can use Youtube if I just want to learn my favorite songs....what's the point of a teacher then? I want to build solid techniques and fundamentals. I want the teacher to tell me what I need to work on. Is that unrealistic?

[reeve21]

Originally Posted by JackB1

Not sure I want to jump into that yet??? Why not perfect strumming and flatpicking first before moving on...

I understand where you’re coming from, Jack. I thought about trying to learn to finger pick for years before I dove into it. I knew it would be difficult and it’s probably even harder than I thought. I’m a year and a half in and there’s been progress but it’s a pretty slow slog. Frankly, if I were a better singer or played in a band I probably would never have made the effort, but I’m sure glad I did. For someone who plays as a hobby and entertains himself and his dog it has opened up a whole new world for me.

[TBman]

Originally Posted by JackB1

Not sure I want to jump into that yet??? Why not perfect strumming and flatpicking first before moving on...

Perfecting flatpicking might keep you busy for a while.

[SunnyDee]

Originally Posted by JackB1

OK so I am doing some online 1 on 1 lessons over google hangouts and my teacher wants to know what techniques I want to work on next and i am not sure what to reply? Do you guys have any suggestions on what to say? I am currently past the beginner stage. I know most open chords and bar chords and can play about 50 songs. I mostly strum chords now. What types of techniques should I be asking to learn?

Everyone has already said it depends on the music you want to play, so... that, and do you know all types of chords and how to use them, like not just A or Am but Amaj7 and Amadd9, slash chords, sus chords, maj7 and dominant 7 chords? Can you play all the major and minor keys easily? Can you play the chords you know in different places on the neck or at least in a couple different places putting them in songs? Do you know the notes on the fretboard? Do you know a good variety of different scales? If you just want technique, are you comfortable incorporating hammer-ons, pull-offs, slides, muting, percussive techniques...? I've been playing a couple years, just learning from the internet. I didn't find anything particularly hard about basic fingerpicking. I'd consider that maybe late beginner, but this is some of the other stuff I've learned and am still working on between beginner and intermediate. Maybe some will interest you. I used this list when I was working out what to study on my own when I was trying to move past beginner. http://jimbowley.com/status-update-p...diate-student/

[Wyllys]

Originally Posted by JackB1

I don't really like having to tell my teacher what to teach me. I want the teacher to tell me what I need to work on. Is that unrealistic?

Finger-style.

[Riverwolf]

I was in your position 2 years ago and took lessons one on one and online in Carter style and some bluegrass.
While I am not overly fond of those styles and seldom listen to that genre, the lessons opened up a whole new world of adding bass note picking and bass runs to my songs.
It is easily adapted to a lot of country and rock.

[JonPR]

Originally Posted by JackB1

I don't really like having to tell my teacher what to teach me. Shouldnt he be able to evaluate my playing/skills and tell me what to focus on?

Yes - but that means identifying problem areas in what you can already do. I.e., helping you improve the techniques you already have. He should certainly be doing that.

But for moving on to other techniques or styles, that's really up to you. He can't read your mind!

Ask yourself why you wanted to learn guitar in the first place. You must have heard some guitar music that excited you - or just any kind of music you wanted to play (and guitar just seemed the best instrument to start on).

There must be something you can't do at the moment, but would like to be able to do. You might not think of it as a specific technique, maybe just a sound or style; e.g., you want to "sound like [x]", or "play like [y]".
Or maybe you want to write songs, or improvise (and have no idea how). That will at least give your teacher a ballpark idea to work from. "OK, if that's where you want to get to, here's the route you need to start following..."

Originally Posted by JackB1

Almost every in person instructor I have went to asked me "so what do you want to learn"? I think I prefer online video lessons like jamplay, because the lessons help you build certain skills while learning songs. I can use Youtube if I just want to learn my favorite songs....what's the point of a teacher then?

To tell you what you're doing wrong, basically.
I.e., you can certainly learn a lot of stuff from the internet, books, MP3, DVDs, etc. Many people do just that. In fact most of the great classic rock artists taught themselves, by listening to records and copying them. Nobody taught rock guitar back in the 1960s!

But it's also easy to develop bad habits that way because it's hard to be self-critical. You're working blind, in a way.
You can't always tell if you're playing something the most efficient way. You might be getting all the right notes in the right order, but it somehow still doesn't sound right, or feel right - and you don't know why. That's where a teacher (who knows the song or style well) can spot straightaway what you're doing wrong.

Teaching yourself, IOW, is "passive" learning - using passive resources. Youtube can't watch you or listen to you and say "hold on, not like that, like this..." A teacher provides the active component, the guide and corrective where necessary.

As a teacher myself (but who taught myself to begin with), I like to think of myself as a driving instructor. The student is the one behind the wheel. It's their car, they know where they want to go - or at least they know why they want to learn to drive. I'm just there to show them the techniques: how to get the thing moving, how to steer, what to look out for on the road.
Then, once they can do all the basics (they're beyond beginner stage, they pass their test as it were), they don't need me to help them improve - but I can still be a satnav, helping them find routes to where they want to get to. Again, the destination is their choice, not mine. I'm just the guide.