learning guitar? looking for guitarists new and experienced. drop knowledge or learn new stuff

did rockband or rocksmith bring you or did you learn analog?


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    17

2 Paces

Well-Known Member
really wish you were local, @2 Paces!

it feels so nice, it's crazy what paying ten times will get you, lol
first guitar was $75, this one was $750 +expenses.

my wife is the definition of kickass!


I actually have two of my friends guitars here now that I'm doing a little work on. :)

Have fun with your new one! I was supposed to get one for Xmas, but nothing has caught my eye recently. My wife really wanted something to put under the tree for me, but it looks like my present will come whenever I find one I like.
 
I passed out reading this late the other night, forgot to post.
Bob, Im happy you found another passion to chase, guitar is a great way to find a new connection to all the music you've grown to love. This thread was a fun read, I was cheering once you got the fingers worked in, but love how you powered through the pain, lol. I once bled all over pops' 70s gretch while playing a battle o' bands in high school.
I was never that technical, I learned E, G, C, D chords from the old man, and went from there. Never accomplished much, but never continued playing the amount I did from 12-17. I wish I did keep it up through the years, but the apartment living was always a hindrance on my love to plug in(loud).
Now being away from that, I've been able to find time to play more.
Nowadays, I use the guitar as a therapist and sometimes a punching bag. You can really get a lot of emotion out with out even saying anything once you know your guitar a bit more.
Now on to the analog/digital guitar learning. I haven't kept up past the first few guitar hero games, but to me, it always seemed that GH could definitely teach the rhythm aspects of both hands. Now that it is fully incorporated with a real guitar, I don't see why it wouldn't be almost/as much/or better than learning from a teacher. You have the added bonus that its a game, which is slick, me and the wifie were GH junkies back in the day.
My only advice is, once you get to a certain level of comfort with the fret board, learn a few scales that revolve around the music you want to play, take all the chords you've learned, and go on your own journey, find your own style. I had a great buddy in high school, fricken prodigy, but was over taught (in my book), and seemed to be stuck in an endless Steve Vai solo, which is phenomenal, but I feel that emotion was not all there when everything is focused on super technicalities.
Anyway, that's my thoughts for ya. I really loved the enthusiasm reading through this thread. I'm happy for ya. You'll be rocking way more than those tunes by the wedding, if you keep it up.


@ jam, that was awesome! Love it, my pops had Old'nThe Way on the turn table a lot when I was a kid, always loved messing around with his banjo and mandolin.
 

Bob Loblaw

Astralnaut
thanks so much, @havealight101 !

i have nerves still when i first pick it up. having a hard time shaking it.
i do love my P.O.S. johnson for taking my aggressions out on tho, if i get frustrated trying to nail a riff or whatever i just kinda thrash at it and scream and then i'm calm and good to try again, clear-headed. i am also terrified of the creative process and trying to make friends with failure. (<-- great link). the session mode is somewhat helpful and i'm sure will be come more so. i was just 'writing a riff' and was getting frustrated at having the notes in my head, but not being able to find them on the guitar. however, i'm up to 77% on 'in bloom' sounds so insane w/ the jaguar plugged in. got in contact w/ a local luthier from friends recommendation. gonna take 'em in this week.
 
Your really going to love that Jag once the luthier takes care of it. I always wanted one of them, kurt you know...
I started on an early 90s mexi Strat @ 12, and the pops gave it to my girl @15, luckily she still likes me, so I still get to play it. My other is a ealry 80s ovation solid body electric that needs to see a luthier, memories. ..
Don't be afraid of simplicity as your learning. When I was 15 I taught my girl and a friend a few chords and a power chord, and they both surpassed my abilities with in a few years.
 
havealight101,
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Bob Loblaw

Astralnaut
yea, i already love the jag so much, can't wait 'til it rings true.
i hold w/ no small degree of reverence. i love kurt's work and unashamedly. i was 13-14 and had moved to seattle the previous yr. when grunge broke. i am sure i mentioned my 'amy grant'/ yacht rock childhood, so kurt truly spoke to the disillusioned angry kid in me. i love how much power he can put thru such simple music. love jack white for the same reason. but that reverence means i don't feel worthy playing it yet.
really glad i have my johnson to fuck around one, otherwise it'd be too intimidating on it's own.

i do get a lot more practice in w/ the RS than i would normally by leaps and bounds. you just get so much more information in a smooth system vs. reading tab, figuring out timing and strum pattern, trying, going back, etc., etc. and it really is much more enjoyable than reading tabs or normal fingering exercises. i am sure my previous RB and GH experience also helps my brain process this style easier than it would without it.

still struggling with reading those 5th and 6th string notes. being off the scale is proving difficult for my brain. although reading music does explain why tabs are 'upside down' for 'no reason' on guitar. this is a major pet peeve for me. just 'cause music is written high to low in the same way doesn't mean tabs should be! they should be the same as the damn strings, lol! anyway, rant over. (oh and band fuse would be in my collection already if you could do that!)

i have 'wish you were here' down pat, minus the solos. really easy song (minus the solos ;)) gonna start on patience soon, then 'son of a gun' (added request by the wife).

have been better about practicing the last few days. had a bit of a block while waiting for the guitar, but have been more comfortable since it arrived (welcome to the life of the neurotic). also been taking the opportunity to be a little more hands on w/ the jag since it is gonna see the luthier soon. feel less worried about any mis-handling.

as to the simplicity of my songs and basic knowledge and the 'steve vai guy', i am worried about learning too much that it impacts my song writing, but i also like so many kinds of music that i want to try learning most of them on some basic level. basically anything with a good guitar has me hooked, hence my choice of instrument. i know plenty of chords, now figuring out different strum patterns and they way they fit together best, messing around with it, with out fear of making cheesy shit on the way is the secondary goal to basic learning skills. still need to strengthen my hands plenty as well.

thanks for listening and

practice, practice, practice!
 
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Bob Loblaw

Astralnaut
got both my axes back from the luthiers.

sound much better now. am so in love w/ this jag. can't keep my hands off it.
fuckin' holidays were a nightmare (even tho it was quiet)
hope ur all doing well out there.
 

Negativebeef

New Member
I have heard mixed stories about rocksmith. My friend recently got into that shit and he's loving it. On the other hand, if you do a google search there are tons of people complaining about lag. Are you considering lessons on top of using rocksmith?
 
Negativebeef,

Bob Loblaw

Astralnaut
i am not experiencing lag issues, and i am on console. however i do have my audio routed to my stereo if such things become an issue. also i am using the newer version only. loaned the 1st out to a friend
 
Bob Loblaw,

dirtpie

Well-Known Member
The lead guitar player for John Prine's band is Jason Wilber who offers online guitar lessons. Jason is very talented and so well at playing many different styles of guitar (I love his slide guitar). His online lessons are great because he's willing to pretty much teach and work with you on whatever you're interested in learning. He's also a very easy going and fun person to work with. I think supplementing your learning via RockSmith with some one on one lessons would be very beneficial in truly learning the insides and outs of playing the guitar, and all the little things that one can do. I feel the lessons are very fair price as well.

Here's a nice electric solo (starts at the 7 minute point):


Some info on the lessons he offers online: http://www.jasonwilber.net/guitar-lessons.html

Here's a link to an interview that was done with Jason that has a nice bio including who he's played with, what cd's he's been parts of, and his television appearances: https://www.prx.org/pieces/72611-in-search-of-a-song-jason-wilber

This is a performance of Jason playing a solo show acoustically:


A fun performance of Paradise (boy does it look like no one knows what they're doing) at Bonnaroo with Kris Kristofferson and Old Crow Medicine Show (solo at 3:15 mark):

 

tuk

Well-Known Member
So much to see in this 2:41 clip, blink and you might miss the massive bends, 1 handed playing, playing with teeth, playing slide with mic stand, dry humping the guitar for more vibrato...or even the spaceship being brought in to land at the very end.

The noise you can hear is the modern guitar sound being invented.

 

macbill

Oh No! Mr macbill!!
Staff member
I was in my fifties when I took up acoustic guitar, and I am one uncoordinated guy, so if I can learn, pretty much anyone can. Probably for me, the single most-fun learning experience is to go to an adult summer guitar camp called Puget Sound Guitar Workshop. It's California counterpart is called California Coast Music Camp, mysteriously held in the Sierra Nevada Mt range near Auburn (it used to be held at the coast). PSGW and CCMC are non-profit orgs. I've been to them both. PSGW started over 40 years ago when some University students wanted to bring some well known guitarist to town for a workshop. CCMC started when some California folk saw PSGW and wanted to bring it to the Golden State.

They teach almost all acoustic instruments. They'll even supply you with a loaner, which is good because few people have stand-up bases. And they always, always have a beginners class in guitar. They'll loan you one, teach you how to hold it, etc. Many classes, you get so much stuff, it takes you all year to master it all.

Since they are non-profits, it is very reasonable for a week of learning. For me, it is the most fun I've ever had with all my clothes on, and even surpasses some naked goings on. The teachers are all professional musicians, some of which you may actually know.

I've also gone a few (2) times to Jorma Koukonen's Winter Sessions of Fur Peace Ranch. For many who have no idea who the heck he is, he is a founding member of Jefferson Airplane & Hot Tuna. He still tours Hot Tuna. His style nowadays is acoustic blues, more specifically, Piedmont-style blues, as opposed to Delta Blues. The Rev. Gary Davis was a huge influence. He covers a lot of his stuff. His workshops are for-profit, hence they are spendy. But he constantly has famous musicians teach at his Ohio Fur Peace Ranch.

These past years I try to go twice a summer to PSGW. This summer is no exception. I'm already signed up for Sessions 1 and 3. If you are interested, you should look them up.

www.psgw.org
http://www.musiccamp.org - copy and paste this: I keep getting some other site.
www.furpeaceranch.com
 
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