# Need some tips in learning by myself guitar



## Mechanix11 (Oct 18, 2011)

Hi, everyone
Well this is my first post.
And well recently i been playing guitar for 4 years, and well i think i dont get any progression in my learning... So i decided to teach me by myself some techniques 
So theres any tips that can help me teaching by myself something about shredding, chords, escales, etc.?

Thanks In Advance and Have A Nice Day


----------



## niffnoff (Oct 18, 2011)

If you really wanna learn about chords and scales, really you should learn some theory, it really pays off to learn basic theory so you know what you're talking about and it also gives you the ability to know what you're playing and can translate that into explanation etc.

So that'd be my first advice. Before delving into the land of "shredding" I suggest the above. Whilst after you learned some theory you should also just learn techniques, you can pick them up from songs however. To build up speed and that use metronome, etc.

But until you specify what technique you won't get much help as you are being quite vague.


----------



## Lagtastic (Oct 18, 2011)

Buy some some instructional videos from your favorite players. Watch their hands closely. Study their technique. Look at things like how they hold their wrists, how they hold their picks, and the angle they hold their fretting hand. Practice their exercises. Don't just fake your way through it while you're watching football. Think about what you are doing when you play exercises, form counts especially when you are learning.

If you want to learn how to shred, following these steps will absolutely get you there, period:

1- Go through the Paul Gilbert stuff
2- Do Steve Vai's 10 hour guitar workout 
3- Go through the Rusty Cooley stuff, one DVD per month
4- Repeat. Use Rusty's 5 minute rule. If something is giving you trouble, get an egg timer, and practice it for 5 minutes straight every day.


----------



## Mechanix11 (Oct 18, 2011)

niffnoff said:


> If you really wanna learn about chords and scales, really you should learn some theory, it really pays off to learn basic theory so you know what you're talking about and it also gives you the ability to know what you're playing and can translate that into explanation etc.
> 
> So that'd be my first advice. Before delving into the land of "shredding" I suggest the above. Whilst after you learned some theory you should also just learn techniques, you can pick them up from songs however. To build up speed and that use metronome, etc.
> 
> But until you specify what technique you won't get much help as you are being quite vague.


Nice advice man, and well in terms of shredding, the techniques i would like to improve my speed, sweep picking, alternate picking and maybe do better the pull-offs and hammer-ons


----------



## Mechanix11 (Oct 19, 2011)

Lagtastic said:


> Buy some some instructional videos from your favorite players. Watch their hands closely. Study their technique. Look at things like how they hold their wrists, how they hold their picks, and the angle they hold their fretting hand. Practice their exercises. Don't just fake your way through it while you're watching football. Think about what you are doing when you play exercises, form counts especially when you are learning.
> 
> If you want to learn how to shred, following these steps will absolutely get you there, period:
> 
> ...


Well i have been watching the Lick Library DVDs and i think they are good, but thanks for the tip dude I would check it out some of the stuff you put it there


----------



## Solodini (Oct 20, 2011)

I agree with NiffNoff to learn a bit of theory to help with scales and chords. Learning theory will also give you something to base your own ideas on when you've learned techniques. You won't need to worry about running out of licks with a certain technique as you can write your own.

There's plenty of resources for theory. SchecterWhore would usually be in here by now recommending RicciAdams' Music Theory page and I'd recommend my book which you can download a free sample of from the link in my sig. If you have any problems with it then I'll happily help, but I'd like to hear what you think of it anyway. I'm always happy to help.

For technique, I agree that DVDs can be good as something to go back to and give you an idea of the method for a technique without needing to keep paying beyond initially buying the resource. If you don't understand their explanations then pay for a couple of lessons with a teacher in person and ask them to teach you just those techniques.

The John Petrucci, Paul Gilbert and Rusty Cooley DVDs are probably your best bet for shred technique.


----------



## Mechanix11 (Oct 20, 2011)

Solodini said:


> I agree with NiffNoff to learn a bit of theory to help with scales and chords. Learning theory will also give you something to base your own ideas on when you've learned techniques. You won't need to worry about running out of licks with a certain technique as you can write your own.
> 
> There's plenty of resources for theory. SchecterWhore would usually be in here by now recommending RicciAdams' Music Theory page and I'd recommend my book which you can download a free sample of from the link in my sig. If you have any problems with it then I'll happily help, but I'd like to hear what you think of it anyway. I'm always happy to help.
> 
> ...


Thanks for the tip man, i really appreciate the help, and i would check it out the book also.
Also, i like the Lick Library DVDs so theres any good DVDs from them that can help me with the shred stuff? Also i would check some of the Paul Gilbert stuff


----------



## kenken27 (Oct 22, 2011)

Online Guitar Lessons | Cyberfret.com

I'm also self taught and I found this site years ago when I was first starting. It has basically taught me everything I know. If you're wanting to get better at hammer ons, pull offs, tapping, sweep picking, alternate picking, string skipping, etc. etc. I strongly recommend this site. I'm going to disagree with the previous posts and say not to worry about theory right now. Not because theory isn't important, but because you don't need it to write music. If you want to improvise over a piece of music then yes, but if you want to improve on your technique it's not really needed. Focus on the basics. Study your picking and fretting hands and compare what you do to what some of your guitar idols, John Petrucci for example, are doing. You can study theory all you want but if your basic technique is shit your playing will be shit. Download challenging tabs from some of your favorite bands and learn them. I use Guitar Pro 6. Learning challenging songs will improve your technique, keep you interested, and will give you some ideas along the way. For the parts of songs that are troubling you use a metronome and slow down the tempo. I recently learned Born of Osiris's New Reign and had a hell of a time getting the small solo part down. I cut the tempo of the song in half, and slowly worked up to speed. The DVDs the others have mentioned are also great for technique and speed. Get your technique down and then get into theory. I've taken 3 years of classical guitar classes, and while drastically improving my finger picking and fretting hand speed/muscle memory, I've never used theory to write music and could have easily improved my finger picking and fretting technique without theory classes. Best of luck and welcome!


----------



## Solodini (Oct 22, 2011)

I disagree in that if you become technically advanced but your theory is basic then it can be frustrating to try to advance the theory. It can feel like you're back at square one. I've had students feel that way as they've had years of playing experience and can rip through tricky tunes but struggle to understand the basics of how they're constructed.


----------



## niffnoff (Oct 22, 2011)

kenken27 said:


> Online Guitar Lessons | Cyberfret.com
> 
> I'm going to disagree with the previous posts and say not to worry about theory right now. Not because theory isn't important,* but because you don't need it to write music.*



Yeah it's not like chord structure, tempo, and time and key signature ever mattered. 

Sorry for the nit picking but theory is just as if not the BASIS of all music. That's one regret 5 years ago not picking up the theory with the guitar until last year.

If you can grab the concept of what you are playing, then you can do anything. When you are a beginner and "shred" you are gonna end up playing out of key (hell I was playing chromatic until I found out about scales) It's all fine and dandy knowing what a scale is, and adding whatever technique you think is fine there. It's another thing using it in context with what you want to do and create to advance your playing.

But this is just my opinion.


----------



## kenken27 (Oct 25, 2011)

niffnoff said:


> Yeah it's not like chord structure, tempo, and time and key signature ever mattered.
> 
> Sorry for the nit picking but theory is just as if not the BASIS of all music. That's one regret 5 years ago not picking up the theory with the guitar until last year.
> 
> ...



I agree that these concepts, chord structure, tempo, etc., are important. Theory is also a great way to get inspired with new ideas when you're stuck in a dry spell on writing or are tired of reusing ideas and sounds you've done before, but I don't believe theory is the basis of all music. In fact, to my knowledge theory was created as a way to communicate ideas of music in a way that everyone could understand. Kind of like a periodic table of music. This allowed musicians to understand the music that they themselves and others were playing. Music came well before any theory was ever created. Lets say you gave a guitarist with a year or so experience on the instrument a click track at 60bpm in 4/4 and tell them to play one "power chord" to the beat I'm quite positive the majority of musicians would be able to play a chord in quarter notes or half notes without even knowing they are doing so. They don't know why it works, or why the shape of a power chord works, but they do know that it sounds good. You can hear the difference between major and minor without knowing what it is. You can hear if a quick solo lick you're playing sounds like ass. As long as you listen to what you are playing, to how everything is working together, you don't have to worry about theory. Learning songs by ear is a great way of developing this. Look at Protest the Hero's Luke Hoskin for example. He has very little if any knowledge of theory, but he plays and writes like he's fluent in it. My concern with theory when learning guitar is that it can be very boring and uninspiring at times, and I feel for most musicians being enthusiastic and open-minded about their instrument is one of the most important aspects of achieving success.


----------



## Solodini (Oct 25, 2011)

I'd say boredom in learning theory is a result of the method, rather than the subject matter. My old flatmate and I independently learned theory and enjoyed it because we made efforts to use it right away. After two years, he is on of the best musicians I know. 

I think what NiffNoff meant was more that theory explains everything in music so if you learn theory correctly then there's no music which you can't, at least learn to, understand how it works, not just learn how to play it as abstract frets and strings.


----------



## SirMyghin (Oct 25, 2011)

Solodini said:


> I think what NiffNoff meant was more that theory explains everything in music so if you learn theory correctly then there's no music which you can't, at least learn to, understand how it works, not just learn how to play it as abstract frets and strings.



Except all the music that is just abstract frets and strings 

I also agree with Solodini about delivery method making theory dull. That and you have to actually want to learn it, not think 'oh that would be nice' and never put in effort.


----------



## Mechanix11 (Oct 25, 2011)

well after reading this i have to say all of you give me good replies and i think i would look more for some techniques and also read some theory about so this can help me to understand what im playing. Of course learn some scales, chords and that stuff.


----------



## FatKol (Oct 25, 2011)

I hope this is not unfair, that I'm also using that thread, but I don't like to open another one.  I've nearly the same problem. I'm playing guitar for 3 years now. I know roughly what I should learn (techniques and theory), but my main problem is that I don't know where and how I should start at both.

Though I have the music in my head I want to record and create, but I don't get it from my head onto the guitar.
You know what I mean? Sorry my English isn't the best.

(I've learned classical piano for like 8 years. I can say, that I have some kind of a "music" and "rythmic" feel, but I forgot nearly all theory what I've learned.  )

Thanks for the answers!


----------



## Solodini (Oct 25, 2011)

Play the things you know but start with different fingers from usual and find other places to play the notes which this makes out of reach in the usual way of playing it. Pinky notes will likely become index finger notes on the next string. You can work the rest out from there. Doing this will help you to see how the fingerboard is connected rather than a mass of disconnected shapes. 

To further this, find somewhere else on the fingerboard to play the party you started with and then go through the same process as before. This will also help to make your core technique much more adaptable and will make simpler picking and fretting arrangements seem easier than they would otherwise. 

Basically, learn to make the core techniques of the guitar consistent and exemplary. Think of people like Paul Gilbert: the techniques he uses are simple, in their roots, they're just carried out fluidly and to a very high level. If you know your way around the fingerboard and how to reposition what you're playing and can play interesting music which you feel expresses yourself but can still challenge you them bizarre techniques won't matter. It took a while to realise but i'm at that stage now and I love it.


----------



## FatKol (Oct 27, 2011)

Solodini said:


> Play the things you know but start with different fingers from usual and find other places to play the notes which this makes out of reach in the usual way of playing it. Pinky notes will likely become index finger notes on the next string. You can work the rest out from there. Doing this will help you to see how the fingerboard is connected rather than a mass of disconnected shapes.
> 
> To further this, find somewhere else on the fingerboard to play the party you started with and then go through the same process as before. This will also help to make your core technique much more adaptable and will make simpler picking and fretting arrangements seem easier than they would otherwise.
> 
> Basically, learn to make the core techniques of the guitar consistent and exemplary. Think of people like Paul Gilbert: the techniques he uses are simple, in their roots, they're just carried out fluidly and to a very high level. If you know your way around the fingerboard and how to reposition what you're playing and can play interesting music which you feel expresses yourself but can still challenge you them bizarre techniques won't matter. It took a while to realise but i'm at that stage now and I love it.



Thanks, but I expressed myself in a wrong way. I meant, that I don't know nearly a guitar technique...
I think I have to start at zero. Where do I have to begin? 

Watching on Youtube John Petrucci's "Rock Discipline" right now, is that a good way to start? 
Or what books/ DvD's can you suggest? 

Where should I start at theory? Major/Minor scales?

Sorry but I'm despairing here. I don't see the progress any more... 

If it helps, my goal is the music of Tosin Abasi (I know it's gonna take years of practice). 


Thank you,
Greets Mike.


----------



## Solodini (Oct 27, 2011)

Take a look at the sample chapters of my book st the link I'm my sig. That's where I think you should start and continue in the order presented. I suggest using your fingers to pick while going through the book so you can still play something good even if you drop your last pick in the heat of battle but if you don't care about that then going through it with simple plectrum technique if basic up-down/down-up picking is absolutely fine.


----------



## SirMyghin (Oct 27, 2011)

^^ Just want to say having looked through that book for Solodini here it is a very good and logical starting point. Something I wish had been given to me when I started (even though I would have been to stupid to read it )


----------



## Solodini (Oct 27, 2011)

Merci, Mr Kyle. If you have any problems/questions I'll happily help out. If you have any suggestions about it I'd love to hear em. Just pm me if you're interested in a full copy of the book or if there's anything else you want to discuss. I'm here to help.


----------



## Mechanix11 (Oct 27, 2011)

well after reading all the other replies i would go and check it the book that you have on your sig, Solodini. Also i buyed this book:
FastTrack Guitar Method - Book 1, Fast Track Music Instruction - Hal Leonard Online
I would like to know some opinions about it or is it a good book to start with the basics of playing guitar.


----------



## FatKol (Oct 29, 2011)

Thanks guys! I'll definitely read the book sampler! Learning with the Petrucci DVD and that book is shure a good way to start^^


----------



## Mechanix11 (Oct 31, 2011)

sorry if i told this but i want to improve my alternate and sweep picking technique, so there's any tips, dvds, or anything that can help me?
I would appreciate the help.


----------



## Mechanix11 (Oct 31, 2011)

FatKol said:


> Thanks guys! I'll definitely read the book sampler! Learning with the Petrucci DVD and that book is shure a good way to start^^


What is the name of the Petrucci DVD?? (the title)
Also i downloaded the book sample and i would check it out, also with the book i buyed


----------



## Solodini (Oct 31, 2011)

The Petrucci DVD is called Rock Discipline.
Enjoy the book! PM me if anything in it is unclear or you have any suggestions. I'm always here to help.


----------



## FatKol (Oct 31, 2011)

Mechanix11 said:


> What is the name of the Petrucci DVD?? (the title)



It's been uploaded on youtube.com


----------



## FarBeyondMetal (Nov 1, 2011)

Get a teacher...it will save you so much time and frustration


----------



## FatKol (Nov 1, 2011)

FarBeyondMetal said:


> Get a teacher...it will save you so much time and frustration



But if there is nobody, who teaches guitar in a radius of 20 kilometres or 15 miles?  

I'm still helpless... There is sooooo much to learn about theory and techniques... Damn I wish I've learned this all from beginning. That would have been a LOT easier for me. Instead of being able to play guitar in a moderate grade and don't NOTHING about theory/ techniqes...  argh


----------



## Solodini (Nov 1, 2011)

Skype, brother. Myself and SchecterWhore, as well as probably a few others, give lessons over Skype. Radius schmadius.


----------



## SirMyghin (Nov 1, 2011)

Solodini said:


> Skype, brother. Myself and SchecterWhore, as well as probably a few others, give lessons over Skype. Radius schmadius.



For theory Skype does a pretty good job, people use it for technique stuff too so it must be alright, although that one seems trickier to me.


----------



## Solodini (Nov 1, 2011)

Yeah, for technique its more tricky but I'd say you can probably film some footage at good angles in advance and use that in the lesson.


----------



## 28mistertee (Nov 2, 2011)

Solodini said:


> Skype, brother. Myself and SchecterWhore, as well as probably a few others, give lessons over Skype. Radius schmadius.



Rusty Cooley is also offering Skype lessons at the minute, I've just got myself hooked up and it seems a great way of getting taught without having to trek off anywhere if that's inconvenient.


----------



## Whitechapel7 (Nov 2, 2011)

Mechanix11 said:


> Hi, everyone
> Well this is my first post.
> And well recently i been playing guitar for 4 years, and well i think i dont get any progression in my learning... So i decided to teach me by myself some techniques
> So theres any tips that can help me teaching by myself something about shredding, chords, escales, etc.?
> ...


well welcome 
here are a few websites that helped me quite a bit. i hope it helps you as well....

http://virtualguitar.net/seven-string-guitar-scales
http://www.gootar.com/folder/guitar7.html-chords
http://www.all-guitar-chords.com/arpeggio.php-arpeggios, chords and scales, but this is on a six string

again i hope this helps


----------



## Mechanix11 (Nov 6, 2011)

and for soloing what exercises can you suggest to me?
I want to build some alternate picking and sweep picking so
anyone knows some excercises to practice with it?
also at what bpm, time practicing or repetitions i need to do everyday?


----------



## SirMyghin (Nov 6, 2011)

Mechanix11 said:


> and for soloing what exercises can you suggest to me?
> I want to build some alternate picking and sweep picking so
> anyone knows some excercises to practice with it?
> also at what bpm, time practicing or repetitions i need to do everyday?



Those are questions you will need to answer on your own, as you play, depending on what exactly your goals are. Good luck though. You will get there, eventually.


----------



## Mechanix11 (Nov 6, 2011)

SirMyghin said:


> Those are questions you will need to answer on your own, as you play, depending on what exactly your goals are. Good luck though. You will get there, eventually.


So i can make my own exercises then? and in what bpm to practice?
well thats sounds good


----------



## Solodini (Nov 7, 2011)

Writing your own exercises is always a good plan. That way, if you become bored of an exercise, you can just write a new one to replace it. If it becomes too easy, you don't need to worry about wasting time trying to FIND a suitably difficult exercise, you can just write one. Write things which are musical, rather than just mechanical, though. Pay attention to how they sound.

Speed: start as slow as you can. I don't mean "If you find it difficult, slow it down to just enough that you can play it, from 120bpm down to 100bpm", I mean as slow as you can make it, like 40bpm. This may sound strange here's a comparable example: I imagine you can throw a ball, yes? Try throwing as slowly as you can. It's really difficult! However, if you work on doing it slowly, you can make every part of the motion perfect. When you then work to speed it up, the fast version will be made up of perfect motions which will be much easier to make faster and faster.

In terms of amount of time to practise and repetitions, practise it until you can play the exercise perfectly 6 times in a row. By this I don't mean 3 perfect takes, one with a mistake in then 3 more perfect takes, I mean 6 perfect takes, no mistakes, every one perfect in a row. I say 6 because our society is decimal - it's based on the number 10 and divisions of that- so our brains react to 10 and its divisions. This means that when you reach 5, your brain will relax a bit as it's a safe milestone. As it relaxes, you'll be paying less attention so you'll be more likely to make a mistake. If you can do it perfectly the 6th time then you've probably grasped and internalised the exercise.


----------



## Killer64 (Nov 12, 2011)

It is best if you can find someone willing to show you how to do it, but here are some tips. 

1.) Chords are the basics and foundation for any guitar, no matter what style you play. 

2.) Make use of ALL four of your fingers with the hand being used on the frets. It is a bad habit I see in many fresh guitarists who tend to use one finger and slide it around to keep up when it is much easier to use two, three, or four fingers to play a part. 

3.) Practice makes perfection, find songs that you like within your ability and try to find a tab for that song. Once that song or a style gets too easy, jack up the difficulty level to improve your ability. Sometimes there may not be a tab anywhere on the internet for the song you want to learn, I tend to have this problem commonly. If there is a tab book that has the song you want to learn, playing from a tab book is learning the official way to play the song. 

4.) Practice stretching out the fingers, you want all four fingers of your fret hand to be ready to use at any time. 

5.) Practice being precise and accurate, this means when learning tabs to play the tab slowly in order to make sure you are playing it right. Keep this up regularly, and your hands will want to play the part faster and faster until you can play it without thinking about whether its right or not. 

6.) You can find examples of how to techniques by looking up videos on youtube or google, but getting someone to show you in person how to do it is a much better way to make sure its done right. 

7.) If you want practice in speed solos, one way is to get a book on scales and practice doing tremolo picking or sweep picking the scales. You can find examples of what tremolo picking and sweep picking are by looking it up on google or yahoo, but same as before much more is learned by getting someone else to show you. 

8.) Whatever you do, if you`re just starting out the last thing you want to do is go to your local guitar center, find somebody shredding, and asking them how they`re doing it. Its very likely they`re trying to show off and not likely to give a detailed explanation. 

9.) Don`t go spending money on some guitar that costs $1,000+ when you don`t know if you`re going to like playing guitar or not. Get something simple, try it out, and see if you like it. If you find out you love it and are getting to be an uber-badass guitarist, THEN go buy some signature/high-end guitar that is what you need for what you play. 

Thats about all I can think of, if you have any more questions about playing send me a private message and I will answer your question the best I can.


----------



## Mechanix11 (Nov 19, 2011)

hey guys i have a question,
is it good to practice some technique or something without using the amp?


----------



## Solodini (Nov 19, 2011)

Yep. Not always, but sometimes. For things like tapping and sweeping, you may hear more clearly what you need to mute better if you're playing unplugged or on an acoustic.


----------



## Mr. Big Noodles (Nov 19, 2011)

Solodini said:


> Writing your own exercises is always a good plan. That way, if you become bored of an exercise, you can just write a new one to replace it. If it becomes too easy, you don't need to worry about wasting time trying to FIND a suitably difficult exercise, you can just write one. Write things which are musical, rather than just mechanical, though. Pay attention to how they sound.
> 
> Speed: start as slow as you can. I don't mean "If you find it difficult, slow it down to just enough that you can play it, from 120bpm down to 100bpm", I mean as slow as you can make it, like 40bpm. This may sound strange here's a comparable example: I imagine you can throw a ball, yes? Try throwing as slowly as you can. It's really difficult! However, if you work on doing it slowly, you can make every part of the motion perfect. When you then work to speed it up, the fast version will be made up of perfect motions which will be much easier to make faster and faster.



A great analogy.

And, yeah, teaching theory over Skype is one thing, but I can't imagine doing technique. It seems to me that you would be better off trying to find someone near you that can check to see that you're loose and playing things correctly, even if they don't do the same style of music that you want to learn. The fundamentals of guitar playing are the same, no matter the genre, so it may be worthwhile to find any guitar teacher that has their technique down well and do a few lessons, if just to get an idea of what you're doing right and wrong.


----------



## sirbuh (Nov 19, 2011)

If the skype lesson idea does not work for you, then take a look at the Metal Method dvds (Stage 6 is all theory).

That said I think trying to find a teacher would be helpful and mitigate bad technique. 

All the best!


----------



## Whitechapel7 (Nov 29, 2011)

Mechanix11 said:


> and for soloing what exercises can you suggest to me?
> I want to build some alternate picking and sweep picking so
> anyone knows some excercises to practice with it?
> also at what bpm, time practicing or repetitions i need to do everyday?



if you still need a sweep excercise, this website is pretty good:
Shred Academy - Lessons database


----------

