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Is this really the first non sticky post in here?

 

Awesome. Anyways, I need some good tips for becoming a better player. I know basic chords, but ultimately I'd like to be able to at the very least, pick up a guitar and be able to play with a few random people and know what I'm doing.

 

I'm workin on blues basics right now, but does anybody have any ideas/resources that might help me. I dont want to pay for lessons...

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In my eternal quest for bringing back colloquialisms:

 

"Rome wasn't build in a day"

 

So rule number 1 is devote time. Practice practice practice. Good resources are all over the internet. The Arlen Roth lessons around the Gibson site are great. They go over many of the fundamentals of playing guitar, in a lot of different styles.

 

Rule number 2, the second most important one behind playing a lot, is to listen to a lot of music. One of the creative writing professors at my university once said "it's impossible to write well without reading what the best have already written" and I think the same is true for music. Learn what the greats do, and incorporate it into your own play style.

 

There's a lot of other good things you can do. Getting a good grasp on music theory will help a bit, and the Arlen Roth lessons go into a bit of depth. Playing with other people, and in a band, will also really help you develop your skills too, especially if you don't generally play with a metronome/backing tracks. Which brings another thing to mind, play with backing tracks or even with songs from your iTunes. Playing along with the song you're trying to learn will help you tighten up your technique and help you intuit the little improvisations that the guitarist does, and eventually you'll be able to break away from just what the original version is and be able to spice up the song to your liking.

 

I'm sur eothers will have more valuable advice than me, though, but this is just the common sense type stuff that I think everyone should know.

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After you get done practicing,practice some more

For me, I have a giant collection of 60's and early 70's lp's.

I bought a usb turntable and have made cd's of all those priceless

record albums...I can play them over and over now and I don't have

to worry about damaging these one off "master recording" record albums anymore.

there are countless guitar tabs sites all over the internet-be wary, some are not very accurate,

but they are there for free-

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I used DVD guitar lessons to help me out. I knew nothing about guitar and when my friends tried to help me out I often said I understood things I didn't just because I felt bad it was taking me so long to absorb it all, plus they were trying to jump right into teaching me songs and I didn;t even really understand the basics. I realized that, like many other things in life, it was better for me to create a foundation in playing as opposed to getting in over my head and getting frustrated. The DVDs were perfect for me because they were in my own time and I could go back as many times as I want. Now my friends are really impressed with my playing and we can all jam together without me holding them back.

 

There are a lot of courses out there. I personally prefer the complete basic course by doug marks. it taught me step by step everything i needed to create my foundation in playing guitar and didn't take too long to complete.

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You're in Nashville! Step out with your guitar and play! We guitarists luv to teach... until you get to be better than the teachers! And get yourself a copy of Edly's Music Theory for Practical People by Ed Roseman to help you figure out why and how things work.

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I read an interview with Ted Nugent once. He said the key to becoming a great guitar player is to practice until you get a guitar shaped whelt on your chest and your fingers are bleeding. Then, instead of taking a break, start over!

I'm paraphrasing, but that's the gist.

Great advice.

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