pappy Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 I am stuck. I have not played for over thirty plus years until maybe three years ago. And all I am doing is playing rhythms, chords, I can not believe how much I have forgotten and need some guidance Do any of you have a suggestion that will help me to play the full neck and incorporate some leads. I have been just playing chords and throwing in some easy scales , but they are pretty monotonous, and do not add any real flavor to my playing. Basically I am looking for suggestions for study to help me move beyond and not have to think twice about where the next note is. I am committing to spending as much time it will take to move forward. Although I love rhythm it is time for me to go further. I know I can count on you all for help,looking forward to suggestions. Thanks, Pappy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OldCowboy Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 Without knowing the genre that most interests you, it's hard to offer specific recommendations, but there are lots of excellent instructional CDs out there aimed at different styles and skill levels. That's where I'd begin! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pappy Posted March 13, 2016 Author Share Posted March 13, 2016 I like just about all of it. Not a big country fan. Idea of what I might sit down and play, Poison, Red Hot Chili Peppers Passenger Eric Clapton Beatles Meat Loaf CCR Animals Dylan Frampton Byrds Beach Boys Is that eclectic enough, I am a mood player,sometimes I like it heavy and loud,other times laid back and sedate. PS: THat was today! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quapman Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 I'll just throw the simplest thing out there and suggest that you memorize the 5 positions of the pentatonic scale. A quick google search will provide a plethora of examples for you. Â Once you memorize the 5 patterns you know the major and minor pentatonic. Don't worry about that part making sense. Once you memorize the patterns you can easily see how they fit. Or maybe you already know the relative minor is 3 semitones down. In which case you can easily see it in the patterns. Â They are simple patterns and will take you up and down the entire board. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pappy Posted March 13, 2016 Author Share Posted March 13, 2016 I'll just throw the simplest thing out there and suggest that you memorize the 5 positions of the pentatonic scale. A quick google search will provide a plethora of examples for you. Â Once you memorize the 5 patterns you know the major and minor pentatonic. Don't worry about that part making sense. Once you memorize the patterns you can easily see how they fit. Or maybe you already know the relative minor is 3 semitones down. In which case you can easily see it in the patterns. Â They are simple patterns and will take you up and down the entire board. THank you, I do not know the pentatonic scale, and generally played by ear and that is something I am not good at, And it really has limited my soloing efforts.I shall begin there and start my practicing with the patterns, and learning them. Unfortunately I am the type to throw the directions out and figure things on my own, but in the case of my playing, it has hampered my progress and as I stated I am stuck in a rut. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
'Scales Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 I like just about all of it. Not a big country fan. Idea of what I might sit down and play, Poison, Red Hot Chili Peppers Passenger Eric Clapton Beatles Meat Loaf CCR Animals Dylan Frampton Byrds Beach Boys Is that eclectic enough, I am a mood player,sometimes I like it heavy and loud,other times laid back and sedate. PS: THat was today! Â Hmm, that's quite a wide and deep rut you have there old mate. Obviously the solo styles and techniques may vary a bit from Poison to The Beach Boys to Dylan. Might be an idea to start with a style you'd like to focus on first. If you are at the basic/beginner/nothin comes easy end of lead playing like I am, then maybe Creedence would be a good one to consider first up? Â I'm keen to learn from the answers people provide too! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quapman Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 THank you, I do not know the pentatonic scale, and generally played by ear......... I am the type to throw the directions out and figure things on my own,....... Â Â All you have to do is memorize the patterns. Throwing out the directions and playing by ear is encouraged. All the patterns will do is guide you to places that sound good or fit. You can take it from there. After a while you won't think in patterns. You will just go there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
capmaster Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 Listen to the lead vocal melody of a song you love, over and over. Sing along or croon it to yourself until you can do it by heart. Then try to play it along with your voice. Repeat playing one octave down and one octave up. This will give you a feel for fingerings, dynamic and expression as well. Â My suggestion is using clean guitar sounds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
flyingarmadillo Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 I tried several of the online things - my problem is motivation. I've found that as I get older I need more of a kick in the butt. So I bit the bullet and found an instructor for a couple months of lessons. Having to pay, and getting someone to push you a bit is a big help. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Retired Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 I can sympathize with you! I was in that same rut. I quit playing for about that same time frame and forgot everything too. Here's what I did when I started again after I got my first Gibson. I tried the net stuff on different sites and tried to learn songs but it really wasn't improving too much so I found Guitar Tricks site. Just type in Guitar Tricks on your computer and it should come up. They give you a one month trial period to see if you like it. I liked it so signed up. It costs around $100.00 for a year of lessons. They take you from novice to expert and what I like is you can skip around and do whatever you want to do on it. You can go from basics, and learn the proper way to pick, learn chords, string bends, scales, Penatonic scales, strumming and all the basics or skip that and learn songs. I did some of the basic stuff and was surprised how fast that stuff came back to me. Then I learned some songs and there are many different teachers. Some teach Rock and Roll, Country, Zazz, Blues, Classic, all sorts of music and you can scroll down the list to see literally hundreds of songs. They take you step by step learning the songs, how to set your amp, tone, you can hit the Tab button to eliminate any confusion and follow along if there's doubt what strings are being covered, there is also a difficult rating from beginner songs to difficult. They rate them as, One Guitar is beginner and Five Guitar is advanced. I've been using this for three years now and have learned over 35 songs. It's went from One Guitar rated songs to Three Guitar rated songs as normal for me but have done songs rated at Four Guitars. Five is still too confusing for me and that is their toughest ones. I love it and figure you'd spend more then that for a personal teacher for lessons and they cover everything. Even if you have a problem or question they have a help center you can ask your question and get a response on your E-Mail. Hope this helps you and like I said their is no cost to try it out for a month. Check it out! Oh, forgot, they go through all the guitars in the band so like Hotel California, has 5 guitars playing a different part, so they cover what each one is doing so you can decide which part you want to learn. Rythem, Lead, Solo, Base. But Hotel California is a 4 rated song and they also have it listed as a 1 rated beginner song also and don't cover all that difficult stuff going on or the solo. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pinch Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 Try a related style of music. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Searcy Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 Get one of these. Â Â Â Trying out different tunings are a great way to pull different melodies out of the same tired, 30 year old lead runs. It's a quick way to get you to consider note combinations you would never have come up with on your own. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
daveinspain Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 In my case, although working in music all my life, I didn't start playing guitar until I was 52 years old. Talk a about teaching an old dog new tricks... I started out by looking on the web for lessons, even how to hold the pick properly. Once I knew some basics I looked for a guitar teacher, as I too am motivationally challenged. I felt I needed some one looking at what and how I played to correct whatever I was doing wrong and also push me to learn and advance. If you are lucky enough to find a good teacher that will help you a lot! Then the best thing I did was find other musicians to play with and learn songs. You will find it very rewarding and you will learn while enjoying yourself not to mention make some new friends... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kidblast Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 Have you considered taking a few lessons to get you refocused? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zigzag Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 Find a good instructor and take some lessons. You won't be sorry. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pappy Posted March 13, 2016 Author Share Posted March 13, 2016 Had a little time to contemplate the advice you all have laid out, and there is a resounding theme throughout this thread. LESSONS. So I am going into surgery the 15th for cataracts,one eye then the second the 29th. During that time I am going to look for a teacher in my local area. I have developed some bad habits in my playing and I will need a kick in the *** to get me back on the right path and someone to be accountable to. I love the advice and it has helped me to clarify the direction I need to take. You guys are all great and I have set the second week of April to begin lessons. At that point I should be well healed and back to normal eyesight in both eyes, and no excuse to not move forward. Also by laying it out here, you guys can also keep me accountable, and no excuses not to take the bull by the horns and get some much needed help. If it takes a few months or longer it will be up to me to get out of this playing rut. Plus I am tired of not making any progress and getting better. I greatly appreciate the thoughts from all of you, you guys are super. Thank you, Pappy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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