What was I thinking?
So my wife asked me what I wanted for my birthday (beside plastic models). Well, my brother-in-law is an accomplished guitar player and I thought "hey, that'd be cool".
I don't know if it was John Denver, Dave Matthews, Tim Reynolds or Vertical Horizon but in the midst of all my music listening I decided I could play the guitar so that's what I asked for. After much delay (my wife asked my brother-in-law to pick out a good model) my guitar came in two weeks ago. A real sweet guitar, a Washburn D30S Dreadnaught. (Which makes it sound like a spaceship to me, which is cool too. "Han, you can't outrun that! Its a Washburn D30S Dreadnaught!" "Well, they're in for a surprise, Punch it Chewie!")
Well, trying to learn to play is frustrating as hell. Just once I'd like to try something that's "as easy as it looks".
(Any advice from Mr. York? I recall he was a hell of a guitar player in college.)
I don't know if it was John Denver, Dave Matthews, Tim Reynolds or Vertical Horizon but in the midst of all my music listening I decided I could play the guitar so that's what I asked for. After much delay (my wife asked my brother-in-law to pick out a good model) my guitar came in two weeks ago. A real sweet guitar, a Washburn D30S Dreadnaught. (Which makes it sound like a spaceship to me, which is cool too. "Han, you can't outrun that! Its a Washburn D30S Dreadnaught!" "Well, they're in for a surprise, Punch it Chewie!")
Well, trying to learn to play is frustrating as hell. Just once I'd like to try something that's "as easy as it looks".
(Any advice from Mr. York? I recall he was a hell of a guitar player in college.)
posted by Carl at 9:05 PM
3 Comments:
Cool! I've always wanted to pick up an instrument. A string instrument like a guitar wouldn't be best for me, because of tiny hands and bum wrists, but I'd like to try a woodwind at some point.
So when are you going to link to some of your .wav files of your practices here? If you still have your sax, you could be like a one-man band! Hehheh, that would be cooooool.
Gee, put ME on the spot, why don't you? :) This is like when Kevin over at TechnoGypsy asked about how to do trills on the mandolin.
How familiar are you with the guitar, or with any other strings? Kevin only had the harp before, and it's an awkward transition.
Perhaps the best way to get a really solid foundation in playing a stringed instrument is to avoid bad habits. I myself have plenty of bad habits, especially thumb-creep, which is when your left thumb starts to peek over the neck. This is one of the most common "no-nos" for classical guitar, as it can limit your reach in any position. I had a student who was a fan of Yngwie Malmsteen who was trying to figure out how he managed his licks, so I showed this student the advantage of keeping your thumb close to the center of the back of the neck. It clicked for him right away.
Dreadnoughts can be a little awkward for me because their soundboxes are bulky and 'square', and I am only a very small animal. I've played the D30; it's a good rhythm guitar with a surprisingly bright tone. The strings can be a little stiff, though, which why it works better as a rhythm instrument than a lead.
When you play in a seated position, make sure the instrument is on your forward leg, and that the forward foot is raised slightly. The forward foot is the one you'll use to tap out beats, and it'll transfer into the guitar, allowing for a consistent meter.
As far as technique, it's hard to describe without sounding technical and dull. For example--
You might want to work your way through a chromatic "position" scale (positions are defined by how far up the neck your thumb is), in addition to referencing a chordbook. In a chromatic position scale, there are discrete frets for each of the left hand fingers in each position. Ascend a chromatic scale from the lowest to the highest note in the position,then descend to the lowest note again.
This exercise does three things: it familiarizes the player with where notes are in the position, reinforces independent finger movement smooth changes from one note to the next.
--See?
Also, The fingers of your right hand should 'trade strokes'--that is, that when you pluck a string you do not use the same finger twice in a row. It'll make your hand hurt.
Strumming, an essential part of rhythm guitar, is another skill, and while there are well-developed techniques in Flamenco, Blues, Bluegrass, Jazz, and Andina, some basics of strumming are shared by all musical styles.
I found early on that chordbooks simply didn't work that well for me, and I had to "discover" the guitar more than "practice" it.
Any specific questions? Feel free to ask any time. I may always be a student, but hey, aren't we all?
jonathon
All good advice, thanks. I'll print out your post and put it with my practice materials.
I first started from a 'Teach yourself' book (I missed the start up of guitar lessons at the local music store by a week and didn't want to wait). In October I'll begin lessons with a breathing person.
The teach yourself book was ok, but I augmented it with some 'Teach Yourself' software with videos. That's helped loads. There were things I wasn't understanding with my strumming hand that weren't clear in the text but became real clear in the videos.
Now that I have some tiny amount of knowledge (I've never handled a stringed instrument before getting this guitar, much less played one) I'm also just sitting with the guitar and playing notes and chords to get a feel for the instrument.
I'll try and mention if I make better progress or give it up all together.
Thanks for the feedback!
Carl
Post a Comment
<< Home