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Question: Aspiring guitarist, ANY HELP!?
i have been playing for three years!. am fifteen and have played five to four hours everyday for a year!. no bull!.!.!. i dont have much of a social life!.!. or !.!.!.life!.!.!. Well anyway!.!. i can play any stupid punk music u put before me (i hate that stuff tho) i can play all As i lay dying and most of pillar and Protest the hero!.!. i am good!.!. i am not very humble!.!.!. no but seriously i am dedicated and am improving rapidly!.!. i have seven years of ryhtm drum as well and two years of piano!.!.!. my question basically is (after those boring facts) what should i concentrate on!.!.!. i love satch style but i love malmsteem as well (ya i like speed not the best!.!. i also like hendrix but i have a lvoe for speed!.) well what the heck anyway advice for me!? any sorta advice concerning guitar! any advice concerning my musical wishes!.!.!. and ya!.!.!.i am gonna make it!.!. im just asking for ur help!. give it or not!.!. neyse!. thanks!Www@QuestionHome@Com
Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
Thats really good that you're dedicted to playing!.
The only thing I can say is that playing a song because you read a TAB doesn't make you a musician!. The point of learning songs is to learn riffs, tricks, and techniques that you can apply to your own music!. Music is like a language, you have to learn words and sentences in order to make paragraphs!. Thats why you learn chords and scales (your words) licks and riffs (your sentences) that you can then put into your music and accent them with tricks and techniques (like puntuation!.)
So knowing songs is all well and good, but whats important is knowing what you are playing and why and how!. So, learn your music theory!. Scales, chords (major, minor, dominant 7th, suspended chords, barre) and then learn riffs and licks that you can put into your music!. Make sure you understand keys and what chords go together and why!.
When you can put these words and sentences together then you start to make your own music and bring your ideas to life!. Thats what being a guitarist and musician is about!. Concentrate on what will make you a musician!. I also recommend you stop using TABs and learn to transcribe by ear!. It will do wonders for your playing and all the best guitarists learn by ear!. Its hard at first!.
Check out justinguitar!.com!. There are great lessons here, and he talks about transcribing and even gives you songs to start with!. Awesome website and awesome instructor!.
As far as guitar goes, be proud of what you play and take care of it!. Wipe the strings down after you play, change them after a few months of playing when they start to lose their sound!. I personally like Ernie Balls, I've had good luck with them!. When I change my strings, I like to coat them with a string lubricant, the neck as well, and its very nice and good for the fretboard!.
Get yourself a decent amplifier!. The best guitar will be rubbish through a bad amp!.
And as your musical dreams go!.!.!.just stick with it man!. Don't ever give up, even when everyone else around you has!. Someday too, you may go out and find someone that plays guitar better than you, don't let that discourage you, just keep playing and keep learning!.
So, to sum it up!.!.!.learn your music theory, tricks licks and riffs, be proud of your instrument and take good care of it, get good amp and accessories (string winders, a good tuner, I like Korg, string lube) and just keep playing!.
And have fun
EDIT: also, don't focus too much on speed!. Focus on accuracy!. Thats what makes guys like malsteem incredible, is how fast and accurate they play!. I would recommend practicing with a metronome!.Www@QuestionHome@Com