Buying gear to imitate a guitarist

[milod]

I think Krock meant stomp boxes that are amp modelers - for example, there's a box that supposedly models the Deluxe Reverb.

 

When I was teaching beginners and intermediates, it was all folkie stuff, so usually I had someone who had some sort of a "folk" guitar. It also was before acoustic-electrics with piezos and there were a very few magnetic pickup variations on flattops. So basically electric stuff was irrelevant.

 

I think I'll not teach again. I had one "shot" at teaching a young friend in the past cupla years and the inclination wasn't so much to learn guitar as to learn some songs just like on the recording. Naaaah. "The video shows X playing a G chord another way?" Okay, learn by vids.

 

Me, assuming a basic ability to read music, I'd prefer teaching enough "folkie sorta stuff" so a person could string and tune a guitar, do root chords with several fingerings, basic barre chords with several fingerings, transpose instantly with 3-4 chord folkie stuff, some basic flatpick folkie styles and some basic fingerpicking folkie style. After that... it ain't really my thing other than tune-up, but then most picking, even for money, tends to be just that simple.

 

I dunno. It seems to me it makes no sense to learn that sort of "basics" with stomp boxes and eight quadrillion dollar guitars. I have some mixed emotions on tuners, but I never really used a pitch pipe for more than one string anyway, then did the rest by relative pitch.

 

But kids who don't know how to play, but go out and buy a D-28 never made sense to me in the old days and buying a top-line LP and amp for "lessons" makes even less sense now.

 

m

[Guest FarnsBarns]

I dunno. It seems to me it makes no sense to learn that sort of "basics" with stomp boxes and eight quadrillion dollar guitars. I have some mixed emotions on tuners, but I never really used a pitch pipe for more than one string anyway, then did the rest by relative pitch.

 

But kids who don't know how to play, but go out and buy a D-28 never made sense to me in the old days and buying a top-line LP and amp for "lessons" makes even less sense now.

 

m

 

Couldn't agree more! And with regards to pitch pipes, that's what I suggest as well, and I teach them both the fretting at the 5th fret(and 4th) relative method and the 5th/7th fret harmonic relative method so they can get round intonation issues on high action guitars in the future.

 

Another thing I teach them is to listen not only to the note but the harmonic oscillations (difference tones) as well.

 

I must say, I hear a lot of teachers insisting their students start out on acoustic guitars. I disagree, if a chap wants to buy a cheap electric guitar and learn to play it that's fine with me.

[Dub-T-123]

I get what you guys are saying but I don't buy any gear to cope with a lack of technical skills. I'm not trying to imply that I'm a technical master either. I did the whole self taught on a crappy guitar in a crappy amp thing the old fashioned way for years. Then I got a good guitar and played straight into a good amp for a long time. Now here I am..

 

 

I think at the root of it all, I'm a different breed than you guys. No offense, but you guys are really old. I'm not. I'm into different music and play guitar accordingly.

 

Haha the tuner/ pitch pipe discussion reminded me of the way I learned to tune a guitar when I was starting out.. I would listen to "Day Tripper" and tune my low e to that and then tune the rest of the strings from the e. Pretty ridiculous.

[Guest FarnsBarns]

I get what you guys are saying but I don't buy any gear to cope with a lack of technical skills. I'm not trying to imply that I'm a technical master either. I did the whole self taught on a crappy guitar in a crappy amp thing the old fashioned way for years. Then I got a good guitar and played straight into a good amp for a long time. Now here I am..

 

 

I think at the root of it all, I'm a different breed than you guys. No offense, but you guys are really old. I'm not. I'm into different music and play guitar accordingly.

 

Haha the tuner/ pitch pipe discussion reminded me of the way I learned to tune a guitar when I was starting out.. I would listen to "Day Tripper" and tune my low e to that and then tune the rest of the strings from the e. Pretty ridiculous.

 

I'm not that old. Can't speak for Milo, I assume that's Milo in his avatar. I'm 34.

 

I also used to use a song that I knew was in a given key to tune. That's a good thing!

[Dub-T-123]

I have to say Milo is the man. Of all the music posted by members here I think Milo's is the best for sure. I don't think he would like my band too much though haha.

 

The reason I used Day Tripper is because that was pretty much the only song I knew how to play so it was the only thing I knew that had an e in it for sure.

[Dub-T-123]

I have to say Milo is the man. Of all the music posted by members here I think Milo's is the best for sure. I don't think he would like my band too much though haha.

 

The reason I used Day Tripper is because that was pretty much the only song I knew how to play so it was the only thing I knew that had an e in it for sure.

[milod]

Dub...

 

Actually I agree that it's fine to start on an electric if run "clean" through an amp so at least the student can better tell whether he/she is fretting cleanly or not. At least for the real beginner.

 

And I have nothing against effects as soon as it may make sense for a given player/band/sound. Heck, if you're in a band that plays three songs for a benefit and an effect makes the piece better, and you can make it work after four lessons and a stomp box, I'm all for it.

 

But I don't think effects are wisely used for "lesson" purposes unless the lesson specifically is on how to use a given effect.

 

For example, I have a multi-effect box that mostly gets used with one setting - and it's just to add some thickness to my habit of very light strings. I've messed with other stuff that sounded good at one time or another and frankly after waiting a month or so, and then listening back, decided it didn't sound as good as I thought.

 

I do question using an acoustic with "regular" strings for lesson purposes if it's not likely to be the student's "real" guitar. There are a number of reasons for that. Teaching an extreme guitar version of masochism seems counterproductive since the best guitar and lighter string setup will give a student enough pain as it is, if not given a sensible training regimen.

 

But I don't think opinions on teaching and playing are even "mostly" a matter of age.

 

Yeah, I'm old, but Link Wray's "Rumble" was pretty well distorted too. Were I teaching someone how to play it, I'd want the "lesson" done originally as "straight" as possible. Then add "sound enhancement" stuff. I'd have done that 40 years ago and I'd recommend it today.

 

A long, long time ago jazz guitarist Mundell Lowe (who could, and did, play about anything, and play about anything very well) noted that there's not a "standard" way to teach guitar. There are many ways of getting this note or that, there are many kinds of guitar.

 

"We" who teach or have taught will do well to be honest about what it is we teach. In my case, I taught folkie basics and basic music that then could be modified into a other sorts of music. I emphasized sensible hand/arm positioning geometry for the player's long-term benefit. (Long story why - and it ain't just about guitar playing.)

 

Oh, Dub... also, you might be surprised at what I might like in terms of bands if I'm in the right mood for it. There's another point too - sometimes in a band situation you can have an awful lot of fun playing music you basically don't really care for. Getting paid, of course, helps make it more fun too...

 

m