Stuck In a Rut

When we're new to learning guitar it is somehow easy and exciting to get ahead in large leaps, and our learning curve is steep and steady.  Fueled by desire to emulate our guitar heroes we just chug along and learn something new every day.
But, sooner or later, we all get stuck in that spot where our playing and practice gets boring, and we don't seem to progress at all.  It is equivalent of hitting the wall in the middle of the road.  Going through the motions of playing familiar tunes, changing chords, and all the other skills we acquired in our guitar training get somehow bleak, old and very uninspired.  Learning curve has just flattened, and we sit there wondering where we went wrong, and what is it we need to do to get out of this uncomfortable rut?...

Some guitar players are perfectly happy to possess basic guitar skills only, and they don't seem to mind staying there as long as they can keep time and play along with couple songs they hold dear and worthy of learning.  For instance, ability to change few basic chords can go a long way for mildly ambitious guitarists, and they can stay on that level for years, maybe even a lifetime.  Others want to improve their musicianship all the time, and this is where it gets somewhat painful, especially for those who are learning on their own.

So, what is the way out of the flats, and back into swing of improving skills?  Learning something new will do it most of the time.  I don't care where you get it, just acquire a brand new skill: be it the new exercise, tip from fellow guitar player, learning unfamiliar song, music theory lesson... and best of all going for the things that are hard to play-that alone can give any musician boost on any day, and should always be kept in a back pocket as a sure way ahead.

We seem to reach this, flat and uninspiring, plateau quite a few times during our musical development, and that certainly should not stop us from bettering our skills.  Recognizing and acknowledging it is the first step towards defeating it, and moving along on our quest of conquering guitar and music.  It should never discourage us, or make us quit.  Especially when we find out that it happens to every musician, everywhere.  It should be us deciding how far and how high we want to go; us and nobody else.  Bumps and obstacles on the road to success will always be there, but the road itself is beautiful and certainly worth taking, wherever it might take us.

Keep on picking and
keep on keeping

Cheers!

Yours truly

Shredd

Internet vs. Guitarist

We might not be aware of influence internet exuded on guitarist's world in the past couple decades.  Surely, the globalized access to information and like-minded people is one of the benefits of info super-highway, as it applies to guitar players everywhere.  You can get so much information on your favourite guitar player, view or download many pictures and/or videos, and effectively communicate with your fellow guitar players worldwide - if you have the access to internet.
Ability to watch or stream videos opened another door in the school of guitar music:  The good ol', ever reliable,one on one instruction.  Even though many digital miles might separate instructor and the student, it still is same old music class with a guitar teacher.
Other teaching resources are wide-spread in the digital realm, and they all work on some level, and on some  people.  Question arises: Would you know how to pick the best guitar method suited for you?  What is the best way to learn to play the guitar, and in what order should you stack up your skills towards that ultimate goal of mastering the instrument and becoming musically literate?
Guitar video lessons can go a long way in any guitarist's development, but on the other hand it is vitally important to have a black-on-white references, notes, and yes, why not?, a diary of your progress.


It is safe to say that some middle ground must be established in order to implement the best possible path to expert levels.  As a recommendation then it is prudent to seek a guitar course that is a blend of visual, audio and written methods seamlessly incorporated into one rounded approach to learning how to play the guitar. 
I catch myself leafing through one of those instructional books from time to time, just to see how well it covered guitar fundamentals.  Majority of them can teach me nothing new, but sometimes I still find some interesting facts and guitar techniques and tips.  As a result, I possess half a dozen instructional books featuring different guitar method, and quite a few video guitar lessons.  It saves me a hustle of teaching someone every little detail personally.  Instead, one of the books will cover it for me, and then I can teach them other advanced guitar tips and guitar exercises on top of the basic material they went through.  I am also often asked to recommend "good quality guitar instruction book or DVD".

Another exceptional feature for guitarist of digital age is the ease of access to sheet music and guitar tablatures of popular songs; the holy grail of intermediately skilled players sought for the sheer desire to break through the limitations of current skills, and learn a song that requires more than they can handle by themselves.  I don't mean to belittle anyone; we have all done it:  it was that one part in the tune that we couldn't get just right, or one strange chord that baffled us for a long time, and we  had nobody to ask about it... The next best thing is internet's databases of guitar tabs.

How about all the resources on guitar scales?  That is one popular search on the net's search engines, lemme tell ya.  It just shows how haphazard learning process is for many a beginner players.

It is just about that time that we can find the answer to almost every questions we might have concerning our quest for mastering guitar, and that is solely thanks to the connectedness through wondrous power of the net.

Stay well and in tune

Your brother in arms


Shredd

Importance of Warming Up For Guitar Practice

Every experienced guitar player knows how important it is to warm up before the practice or the gig.  It is not different from warm up that athletes do prior to their physical exertion.  Ask any coach, and they will tell you of this necessity.

So, why is it so important?
You will be using your muscles every time you play - even more of them than you would think of right away.  Muscles work best when warmed up.  It will also prevent injuries.
Injuries? By playing guitar?


That's right!  Carpal tunnel and tendonitis (painful inflammation of tendons) are the most common afflictions caused by careless use of your "playing muscles", and it is not a JOKE.  Repeat: NOT A JOKE!  I personally know couple of people, promising talents, who did just that - injured themselves by reckless avoidance of proper warm up techniques before playing.  Need I say that their playing career is over now?
So, don't be lazy and do yourself a big fat favour: find nice set of warm up routines, and do this EVERY TIME you're about to play: it will ALWAYS pay out.
You will find it easier to switch your chords, reach that hard note and your speed will be much better.
The most excellent and time-tested way to warm up and build up your speed and strength can be found here. It was developed and perfected by real guitar teacher, and it is the best I know and use all the time.  And it really works!

So, if you ever want to take a good advice; it is this one:  WARM UP BEFORE YOU PLAY!
You will thank me later; or not.  The important thing is that you do it... And keep playing injury free for many years to come.

Many regards and salutes to all of you fellow guitar warriors

Your pal
Shredd

Guitar Scales Mystery

Every one of us guitar players ran into this dilemma sooner or later: Do I really have to learn music theory to play guitar properly?  Isn’t rock guitar and rock music itself all about freedom and rebellion against constricting norms?
Well, of course it is!  But, you still wanna sound good and in tune, don’t you?

Learning guitar theory is usually perceived as painful and arduous process that takes years to master, and it requires taking music classes with music teacher that you find hard to relate to actual rock songs you want to play.
Another snag is that most of the music theory classes are made by piano teachers for piano students, and that don’t quite translates to guitar theory.

 Don’t get me wrong - pentatonic scales can go a long way for any beginner guitar player, but soon you discover that it’s not quite just five notes that your guitar hero plays, but some tasty passing notes that sound ‘sooo gooood’ even though they do not belong to pentatonic scale at hand.

If you really want to be the expert guitar player, and take your guitar playing skills to the next level, you should never be stumped by questions like:  Is that Dorian mode scale?  What’s the difference between major and minor scales?  What is that exotic sounding scale that Mr/Ms so-and-so plays in that tune?
See what I’m getting at?
The real truth is that learning music theory along with proper ear training will make you so much more complete player and musician… It can make you one of those people who can listen to the song for the very first time and say: “That is interesting tonal twist in that solo, or in that chord progression…”  Or maybe picking up your guitar and play along right away, without guessing tonality or the chords used in the song…This is what we call perfect pitch.  Very few people are born with this gift.
Only 10% of all musicians have this ability, and that would translate into very tiny fraction of general population.  So, if you become one of them – you will be exception to the rule and anomaly in the system.  Did I mention that you don’t have to be born with perfect pitch, but you can attain it through proper training and exercises.

Keep learning and practicing, and you will be playing the guitar on that elusive next level in no time.

Peace and love and guitars for all

Your  pal



Shredd ;O)

Some Advice!

In an interview with one of the new generation guitar 'heroes' that I read little while ago he offered the advice to young guitar players to stick to playing of one style of music. My guess is that he talked about being proficient in whatever style you like and aspire to succeed in, but did it ever come out wrong?
Why, oh why would anyone pigeon-hole themselves to one narrow area of enormously wide field of music and musicianship? If someone really wanted to be a good guitarist, that someone would welcome any chance to be even better at playing through exploring different expressions and techniques present in the motley world of guitar music.

You don't want to be known as "JUST three chords player", do you? Or sound the same in every tune you play, clocking in at the same tempo, using the same chords and progressions? Where is fun in that?
In my humble opinion: the more you delve into different expressions of music ideas and their delivery, the better musician you get to be.

So can or should you use chord progression from, say, gypsy jazz in your shredding tune? Why, yes, of course.
This is why you hear all these new bands on a radio sound just about the same across the board... same sounding guitars, tired ol' chords delivered in the same manner over and over again.
It is certainly much more fun to explore new styles of music and/or guitar, and try to learn something new from it. Your arsenal of guitar tricks and licks will get larger, and you just might discover very cool and very different way of playing and songwriting. Your ear training will also benefit from unknown songs and artists.
Straight to the point: Don't make yourself boring guitar player, you will get bored and your listeners will, too. As in life itself, keep your mind open to new influences and styles - we have enough bore in this world; don't add to it, please.

Mind is like a parachute - it works best when open

The same goes with guitar techniques: if you always flat pick, try to learn some finger or hybrid picking; if you always play electric, distorted guitars, try some acoustic music; find out how classical guitar sounds in your hands... The more, the better; heck! try playing banjo or mandolin; why wouldn't you if it will benefit your guitar playing skills?  In short - feel free to explore wonderfully colourful world of guitars and music. It is intriguing, very useful and fun!

Cheers!

Your brother in (guitar) arms

Shredd :O)