The Guitar Appreciation Thread

[Jacques the Japer]

As stated in the title above, share your tips and tricks, discuss your favourite artists and just share your general thoughts on the king of the instruments! :cheers:

[Iskaral Pust]

I am 9 months into my guitar-playing career and I still really enjoy it. I had to start with learning to read music. I can sight read now and have played melodies and chords for a pretty good mix of classical, country, gospel and blues from the Hal Leonard instruction book. The Ben Bolt book is good too but much more challenging. I know a couple of dozen chords and my chord changes are improving - the easier ones are almost seamless. The G#/C# chord in the chorus to About A Girl is still a bitch of a transition. I can play a half dozen rock/pop songs and am adding one per week. The latest is Good Riddance.

My guitar teacher is classically trained and is pushing for an equal balance between performing, improvising and composing. So I'm also working on scales at various points on the fretboard. I've already worked on pentatonic scales for improvising and solos. This week I'm playing Ode to Joy at three distinct parts of the fretboard and transposing a second blues song from E to A. My son has been playing for 3.5 years and he is now learning jazz. My dad has played for decades but only ever learned the basic dozen chords and those cover most of the ballads and country songs he likes.

Any good resources for guitar chords for popular songs? I have the iReal Pro app, which is pretty good but doesn't always have the songs I have in mind. I bought some music books at the guitar store, but it's hard to find one with the particular mix of songs you have in your head.

[aceluby]

Now THIS is my thread! Been playing for about 15 years, own over 10 guitars (of which I need to get rid of a few), have been playing in bands for the last 6-7 years or so, usually two, and have taught guitar lessons in the past, though it's too much work for not enough out of it.

Started out with cowboy chords, then moved on to pentatonics, learned to do some simple improvisation on my own, and then went and took lessons for a few years.

Isk, your teacher is definitely right about equal balance, but I'd take it a step further. I'm a big proponent of equal practice time for these 7 attributes of playing:

1. Left hand (strength/dexterity)

2. Right hand picking technique

3. Scales

4. Chords

5. Ear training

6. Improvisation

7. Songs

10 minutes on each of these is about an hour long, very well rounded practice session. Do this every day and I guarantee you'll see fast results. I know it did when I started doing it.

As for learning popular songs I'd say the best resource is your ear, your guitar, and a recording. A training device can help with this as well. It's what I usually do for my ear training. Spend 10 minutes learning a new song by ear, or a section of a solo, or an intro, etc....

Really into the chord work of Bob Weir these days. So good and really overshadowed.

[Inigima]

I've been playing guitar for about... 17 years or so? and music generally for substantially longer. It seems unfair that no matter how hard I try I will never be as good as Mark Knopfler.

Edit: Isk, for open chords just dick around with song transcriptions posted online and you'll learn most of them. For barre chords there are only a few common shapes really. In general, and especially for jazz, I would suggest learning some theory, so you can identify different voicings on your own. When I say in general I mean everyone should do this, jazz guitarist or no -- theory is important and the world is littered with guitarists who have no idea what they're doing.

[Larry of the Lawn]

I've been playing guitar for about... 17 years or so? and music generally for substantially longer. It seems unfair that no matter how hard I try I will never be as good as Mark Knopfler.

Edit: Isk, for open chords just dick around with song transcriptions posted online and you'll learn most of them. For barre chords there are only a few common shapes really. In general, and especially for jazz, I would suggest learning some theory, so you can identify different voicings on your own. When I say in general I mean everyone should do this, jazz guitarist or no -- theory is important and the world is littered with guitarists who have no idea what they're doing.

. As a bass player I strongly approve this message.

[aceluby]

. As a bass player I strongly approve this message.

As a guitar player who plays constantly with people who have no idea what they are actually playing, I also approve of this message.

Can't be in a band if you can't communicate what you're doing. Also, it's hard not to be all over each other if you don't know the basic voicings of the major and minor chords. It's only 5 positions each and once you have it down the rest of the fret board seems to just open up.

[Larry of the Lawn]

Also.. the unpracriced right hand is the downfall of most guitar players. Learn to play an acoustic and an electric, learn to pick and finger pick, and listen to what the drummer says, all jokes aside he/she is probably right.

[Iskaral Pust]

Actually I do a decent amount of Aceluby's list in my daily (almost every day) practice. I play a couple of chord songs to warm up, then a few scales around the fret board, then a finger-picking exercise, then some power chords (Seven Star Nation ftw) for left hand mobility and stretch. I usually have an "ear" exercise, e.g. a couple of weeks ago it was to pick out Happy Birthday by ear and then play it at two other locations on the fret board. Now I'm doing the same with Ode to Joy. Then something that demands an unusual strum pattern or just improvise some blues. If I can persuade him, I play a Beatles' song with my son too just to work on rhythm & timing to play with someone. My singing is my biggest limitation now, and slow chord changes. But just this week I found myself playing & changing chords without looking at my left hand at all.

I have not started playing with a pick/plectrum yet. Soon.

With this teacher I won't be able to avoid a deep grounding in theory. All to the good.

It seems to take a long time though. Real proficiency will take years. I can remember as a teenager some of my friends picking up guitars and being able to bash out a few songs within a few months, which shaped some unrealistic expectations. Although I recognize now that they only knew a handful of chords, had no other technique, and were probably practicing for a lot more time each day than I do now. Back then I was in a quasi-band, but my role was just to play what I now know as Em and A in the most limited rhythm section ever.

My wife is really hot. Now that I'm a guitarist it won't seem so improbable that she's married to me.

Ini - thanks for the suggestion. London Calling by The Clash will be my new song this week.

[Elder Sister]

I have got to start applying myself to my guitar playing. I basically just play rhythm guitar to accompany myself, but I have a Larrivee guitar with an amazing sound and it deserves better than that.

[Jacques the Japer]

Picks are not a absolute necessity IMO, ive been picking and strumming bare fingers for years now and any attempt at using a pick just feels clumsy.

Recently added two songs to my skill collection Passengers "Hearts on fire" and Ed Shieraans "I see fire" Both have names that sound very similar, and both are absolutely awesome

[eyenon15]

20 years without a pick for me.

I used them in the beginning but I would always lose them so I quickly became a finger guy.

Been doing Pantera, Slayer, Tool etc pickless since the 90s

[aceluby]

Knopfler hasn't ever used a pick, and Bob Weir rarely does from the shots I've seen. Just different tricks to get the same effect. I concentrated on just right hand work for about a year a few years back, which helped a lot. Probably should get into that regimen again since my left hand is now faster than my right again.

[eyenon15]

I forgot I was going to say UltimateGuitar.com has good tablature for pop songs.

There's software called guitar pro that people create files that show the bass, guitar, drums, and sometimes even the vocal melody. They'll have both the sheet music and tablature.

They are user created so some will be wrong but most of the ones that have high votes are very accurate.

[Nas!]

I've been playing for about 26 years. Technically, I'm not very good, but that's never been my goal. I've pared down my collection to just a telecaster and a Taylor acoustic.

[Mr. X]

I suppose I've been playing for something like 23 years or so. I'm also not very good, but I enjoy playing.

Currently own a Guild acoustic, which I bought from a former coworker who had a guitar collecting problem, and a Squier Telecaster, which I bought in the late 90's when my friends whose guitars I borrowed all moved out of town.

[trickster]

I have been playing for about 10 years. Pick (a real heavy one) is a must for me. I usually play rhythm and sing with a couple of bands. Mainly pop and rock with some country and R&B. I can play a bit of riffs and solos. But usually avoid playing solos if I am singing. Switching between rhythm and solo while singing as the lead vocal is beyond me.

Some real good advice so far....Right hand is often neglected, but for me it is as important as the left hand. You can get the chord shapes, notes, slides and bends right with practice. But the right hand imo makes the difference between an average and a good player.

I have a Martin acoustic, a Taylor T5 semi hollow body, a PRS electric and a Les Paul Studio. I am currently getting a custom neck and electronics attached with a 3D printed polymer body and have plans to get a Fender Strat in the near future. So yeah, for someone who has a day job and earns no money from playing, I have too much invested on guitars (and amps & pedals) :blushing:

[Martini Sigil]

The term "best" is subjective... so I'll just say that as musicians... John McLaughlin & Steve Morse did some amazing things

[SkynJay]

My guitar is buried until my basement is finished. But I am looking forward to learning it the correct way this time around. In high school I bought one and had a friend show me some basic chords; i then started fingering around tabs to play songs. It sounded good to my friends but was a quick dead end. I knew nothing about theory, the fingering was horribly awkward due to not knowing what I was doing, and I gave it up for fifteen years.

I started learning to actually read sheet music this year with a violin but while fun it really made me miss my guitar. I have a bit more patience than 16 year old me. This should go better this time around.

[Muttering Bill]

I've been on and off for the past 20 years. I play when I feel like it, and don't feel bad about ignoring it for a while. Haven't barely touched them in about a year, but I'll get back to it. And probably do only that for a while when I do. I'm self taught, and don't have a very good practice regimen. Although I was a lot more serious about it for the first 7 or 8 years. I'd say I'm fairly average. There are definitely things that I need to work on. But I'm not trying to play out or join bands. It's just something that I do for fun when I want. I'm happy with what I can do.

I've got 3 guitars sitting in the bedroom waiting for attention. Nothing fancy. An Epiphone Les Paul Custom, an MIM Fender Stratocaster with some upgrades, and (my favorite) a Schecter Blackjack ATX C7.

[Guest]

Also.. the unpracriced right hand is the downfall of most guitar players. Learn to play an acoustic and an electric, learn to pick and finger pick, and listen to what the drummer says, all jokes aside he/she is probably right.

I've been playing off and on for a long time. I'm not all that good, but I have rarely been able to force myself to actually practice for hours at a time. At any rate, i think that when I was totally green I thought it was all about the left and. Maybe that was because forming chords felt so foreign at the start. But now I think my left hand is far ahead of my right because I neglected the right too much. And I'm talking just strumming and stuff with a pick to say nothing of finger-picking. Gotta get caught up with that right hand now.

ETA: Question for anyone who can answer. Is there any trick to barre chords beyond just working at it until your hand has the endurance? I feel like I've been playing way too long to still find barres challenging, but I do.