Guitar: A Lets Play (and Learn) Thread.

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Hey does anyone have tips on how to build stamina in my playing hand? I've learned most if not all of Creeping Death by Metallica minus the solo but I can't play it all the way through because my right hand just gets tired.
Also, other metal songs that are relatively easy to play in STD tuning would be great. I know Metallica is a good place to start.
Mixolydian said:
Absolutely. I'll PM you a video of me doing some harmonics. I'll break it down on exactly how I go about it. FTR, there are many spots on a string that can give you some sweet harmonics.
Click to expand...

Oo, think you could PM me that too?
 
Sajjaja said:
Hey does anyone have tips on how to build stamina in my playing hand? I've learned most if not all of Creeping Death by Metallica minus the solo but I can't play it all the way through because my right hand just gets tired.
Also, other metal songs that are relatively easy to play in STD tuning would be great. I know Metallica is a good place to start.


Oo, think you could PM me that too?
Click to expand...

Are you generating the picking speed from your arm? Look into scalpel and SAROD picking to generate the speed from your fingers or your wrist. You can pick at high speeds indefinitely this way. Grab a metronome and practice it slowly. Pebber Brown has some really excellent videos on the topic.

http://www.youtube.com/embed/thx-HKhb-X8
 
Sajjaja said:
Hey does anyone have tips on how to build stamina in my playing hand? I've learned most if not all of Creeping Death by Metallica minus the solo but I can't play it all the way through because my right hand just gets tired.
Also, other metal songs that are relatively easy to play in STD tuning would be great. I know Metallica is a good place to start.


Oo, think you could PM me that too?
Click to expand...

Welcome to Hetfield riffing :) he's a monster in downpicking. You really have to warm up and build up endurance over time. If you're using your entire arm to pick, stop that. It should be mostly your wrist action.
 
When I pick, I rest the other 3 fingers below the strings. It stabilizes my wrist action but I feel like that it's holding me back because when I try to pick the bottom strings, I just noticed that I've been using my arm to build speed there.

Guess I've just been having a bad habit all these years of oh and off guitar playing.

So do you guys just rest your hand on the bridge and keep your hand like a fist?


And yeah... Hetfield is a monster lol
 
Sajjaja said:
When I pick, I rest the other 3 fingers below the strings. It stabilizes my wrist action but I feel like that it's holding me back because when I try to pick the bottom strings, I just noticed that I've been using my arm to build speed there.

Guess I've just been having a bad habit all these years of oh and off guitar playing.

So do you guys just rest your hand on the bridge and keep your hand like a fist?


And yeah... Hetfield is a monster lol
Click to expand...

Sounds like you're anchoring which is fine. It serves as a reference point for your hand in relation to the strings. Just work on generating speed from your wrist and not your arm. The arm is fine for chord work but you have far less control and stamina for tremolo picking type stuff

Some people hold their hand like a fist and some people hold the pick between thumb and index and fan the other fingers out to anchor. I think both approaches are fine and they both have pros and cons. I remember Paul Gilbert once said something about playing with a floating wrist leading to ultimate speed but if you're used to anchoring, it'll take a very long time to unwire that habit
 
Sajjaja said:
When I pick, I rest the other 3 fingers below the strings. It stabilizes my wrist action but I feel like that it's holding me back because when I try to pick the bottom strings, I just noticed that I've been using my arm to build speed there.

Guess I've just been having a bad habit all these years of oh and off guitar playing.

So do you guys just rest your hand on the bridge and keep your hand like a fist?


And yeah... Hetfield is a monster lol
Click to expand...

I only anchor when I'm tremolo picking. Otherwise, I don't rest it on anything. I keep my hand pretty loose.
 
Never put any thought into that, but I guess I kinda anchor my fingers too. I guess it's because I started with the classical guitar and I usually rested my fingers on strings there. I usually play with my fingers floating when I pick and then kinda naturally rest my pinky on the picguard (strat). I don't know, it's hard to gauge this when I actually try to observe it. :P

Anyway, wanted to ask about amps and their wattage. Now I know there is more to amp loudness other than the amount of watts but generally, why should anyone want to go over 30 watts? It's impossible to break it up at that point without going deaf and if you need that much volume it's better to mic your amps up anyways.
We had a gig on friday and although we usually run through the amps provided by the sound guys (Marshall TLS602-s) this time they brough Fender Vibro Champs, that althogh great amps, don't have any dirt. Since I and the other guitarist don't have good distortion pedals (have to rectify that) we brought in amps of our own and I ran through my Vox VT15 that provided enough volume to be heard on stage (and I have rarely been this loud on stage) without maxing it out.
So basically what anyone need a 100W amp for?
 
"We had a gig on friday and although we usually run through the amps provided by the sound guys (Marshall TLS602-s) this time they brough Fender Vibro Champs, that althogh great amps, don't have any dirt. Since I and the other guitarist don't have good distortion pedals (have to rectify that) we brought in amps of our own and I ran through my Vox VT15 that provided enough volume to be heard on stage (and I have rarely been this loud on stage) without maxing it out.
So basically what anyone need a 100W amp for?"


A lot of 100w tube amps are for people who want absurd amounts of clean headroom. They are still pretty silly unless you're on a giant festival/arena type stage, though.
 
CrudeDiatribe said:
Headroom? Not everyone wants power amp distortion.

It also wasn't always the case that amps would be mic'd and put through a PA, and guitarists are pretty conservative in what they think they need.
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Im talking about your run of the mill usual rock band player who runs through a 100W Marshall. I mean, it's a staple and looks cool, but other than that? I ran through a 100W Marshall once. Since we always mic amps up it was ridiculously overpowered and silly. The half stack looked cool, but otherwise I'd rather have played through something smaller.

I guess the clean headroom applies, but then you'd get a amp meant for clean tones like the Fender Twin Reverb, no? (mixed up the amp name before, even then it has 85 watts)

Don't most tube amps clean up relatively well too, when turning down volume? I mean if I play songs that have both clean and dirty sections, I'd rather roll down the volume than use pedals, but thats me. Of course if wont apply when you play country/folk or something that never needs dirty sounds but then you have gear geared towards that.
 
I accidentally had a pick fall inside my amp, I can hear it in there if I shake the thing around. I tried to take the back panel off but it felt like I was breaking the thing and it wasn't budging. Not sure if it's something to be worried about (it's a tube amp).
 
My amps back panel comes off if I also loosen the screws on the side that hold the actual amp part. It is in there pretty tight. Don't know if it could do any damage, but I would take it out just in case. Maybe it can damage the speaker?
 
Mixolydian said:
I forgot to check this thread as well.

Ok, the second part of your statement comes off as confusing, but I assume you mean you're having trouble flying through scales with strict alternate picking, right? Check some of my other posts. Guitarists have a nasty habit of equating speed with skill, making everything they do a contest, and comparing their skill level with others. That usually leads them down a shallow musical path with blinders on. Many become obsessed (not saying you, but in general) with being the fastest, or most technically impressive and lose melody and musicality in the process. Don't do that. See Michael Impelliteri or Rusty Cooley for prime examples IMO.

It sounds like at slow speeds, you can get many of your desired playing goals accomplished. Good. Thats how it's supposed to be. Based off of your words (going through the scales as fast as possible), you might gey impatient when hearing your favorite guitarist rip through a scale, and then try to play as fast as possible. From mild to wild with no control. It's those middling speeds and exercises that are going to get you where you'd like to be. Worry about clear and controlled movements. Listen for sloppy notes and adjust accordingly. Focus on control.

If I completely misunderstood you. Sorry:)
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Yeah, I guess I'm guilty of this ego thing of trying to play too fast. But my other big problem is just hitting the right string with my pick, be it from a rest position or doing stringskipping in an arpeggio.

I believe you play Rocksmith 2014, right? I'm really bad at things like the Stringskipping Saloon game from the Guitarcade. Any tips on that? I saw something about "anchoring" somewhere here.
 
Nakho said:
Yeah, I guess I'm guilty of this ego thing of trying to play too fast. But my other big problem is just hitting the right string with my pick, be it from a rest position or doing stringskipping in an arpeggio.

I believe you play Rocksmith 2014, right? I'm really bad at things like the Stringskipping Saloon game from the Guitarcade. Any tips on that? I saw something about "anchoring" somewhere here.
Click to expand...

Check out this video and try to apply the principles within. Anchoring does help

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcAkmwymDY8
 
Get learning movable do solfege people (do major/la minor), it's the secret to creating a solid link between your ear and the fretboard, allowing you to play effortlessly what you hear in your head.
 
Nakho said:
Yeah, I guess I'm guilty of this ego thing of trying to play too fast. But my other big problem is just hitting the right string with my pick, be it from a rest position or doing stringskipping in an arpeggio.

I believe you play Rocksmith 2014, right? I'm really bad at things like the Stringskipping Saloon game from the Guitarcade. Any tips on that? I saw something about "anchoring" somewhere here.
Click to expand...

Nope. No rocksmith, or any other music games. As for hitting the right string with your pick, don't sweat it. It will come, UNLESS you're doing exactly what I said not to, and therefore incorporating bad habits:)

Dynamite Ringo Matsuri said:
Check out this video and try to apply the principles within. Anchoring does help

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DcAkmwymDY8
Click to expand...

First of all, my second apology to you. By now, you've probably found some videos to help with harmonics. If not, as soon as I get my xbox back (if ever) from repair, I'll be happy to Skype some lessons, lest you publicly shame me.

Second, not to pick on you, but I hate those types of videos with a passion fueled by the fire of a thousand suns. PICK HOW YOU WANT TO PEOPLE. No one, and I mean NO ONE (am I being contradictory:p) should tell you how to pick.

Pick position and grip shouldn't be focused on obsessively. That's another dangerous avenue to go down.

"If I just tilt my wrist this way, or hold my pick this way, or move my finger by two degrees this way, I'll be as proficient as _____, fast as ______"

And so on.

EVERYONE has an anecdote. EVERYONE has a reason why their picking style is the best. Stop it. Do what's comfortable. Unless you're completely tensing up and spasm picking from the elbow, you're ok.

See Marty Friedman (weird picker), Frank gambale, Yngwie malmsteen, Vai, Paul gilbert, John Petrucci, Richie Kotzen, Satchel, Tony McAlpine, Danny Gatton, Shawn Lane, etc..

I could go one forever citing examples of those who have fairly different picking styles, and they are all amazing.
 
I agree, but I suppose it's also kinda why people recommend guitar teachers no? It's to save you the hassle of unlearning poor habits. I have who's been playing for ten years now, but for the first few years, all he ever did was down pick. He down picked EVERYTHING. Now, you could probably grow to be pretty proficient given enough time, but you can't say that his life wouldn't have been easier had he learned to alternate pick from the get go. I guess certain picking styles also lend themselves to certain genres. I can't see how useful it'd be to learn something like SEROD picking for a guy who plays slower, 4 bar blues or something, but it'd probably pay off for a guy who's into metal.

Anywho, I appreciate the offer once more! I just assumed you probably weren't all that interested in following up/were really busy since I never got a reply to my PM lol
 
I'm something of a permanent pre-intermediate player. Recently I've been playing lead guitar with a band (just as a hobby at open mic nights and such) and it's really fun, but I just don't feel like putting in the hours to improve. I have a Yamaha Pacifica and a Yamaha acoustic and I love them both, though.

If anyone's interested in giving me advice, you can check out some of my stuff here, but it's all pretty rough.

For any beginners, I recommend checking out Martyzsongs on YouTube, it's really easy to follow his lessons.
 
Dynamite Ringo Matsuri said:
I agree, but I suppose it's also kinda why people recommend guitar teachers no? It's to save you the hassle of unlearning poor habits. I have who's been playing for ten years now, but for the first few years, all he ever did was down pick. He down picked EVERYTHING. Now, you could probably grow to be pretty proficient given enough time, but you can't say that his life wouldn't have been easier had he learned to alternate pick from the get go. I guess certain picking styles also lend themselves to certain genres. I can't see how useful it'd be to learn something like SEROD picking for a guy who plays slower, 4 bar blues or something, but it'd probably pay off for a guy who's into metal.

Anywho, I appreciate the offer once more! I just assumed you probably weren't all that interested in following up/were really busy since I never got a reply to my PM lol
Click to expand...

I didn't really mean technique in regards to pick motion. You can still learn alternate, down, sweep, circle, or economy picking no matter how the pick is held. I just didn't want people to go down a path that I've seen others go down (and briefly flirted with myself a long time ago). That being one where you OBSESS over where your wrist is placed in the bridge or the body or some other position for your finger placement.

Should I place my wrist here? Should I anchor my fingers? How many fingers? Where should I anchor? Should I curl my fingers inward like Paul Gilbert or flare them out like George Lynch? Should I straighten my pick fingers to the point of being rigid, or allow them to move and flex? Etc..

I'm an extremely analytical person. I went through all different styles of picking, choosing which one gave me an advantage in a certain technique department. After a year of driving myself insane, I decided to focus on forgetting about it. I placed a pick on my desk, picked it up, and however I picked it up along with how comfortable it was, was how I was going to pick.

This allowed me to once again focus on musicality and improv, plus other things that were really important. Now, technique IS important, but should never come at the expense of musical growth.

Please, take my words as they are. If you have a method that works for you, awesome. Apologies if I sound like I'm attempting to be the preeminent anything in regards to guitar playing. Not my intent. If I can help even one person on their musical journey, then I'm a happy man.

Cheers!
 
I've just started (re)learning the ol' guitar. Played for a few years about 10 years ago and haven't touched it since for one reason or another. Not sure what made me dig out my electric but I've started by plugging it into Rocksmith and I've already made loads of progress on scales compared to what I managed before.

Going through the lessons on justinguitar to figure out where I stand and what I should learn next, but I've just downloaded those desi podcasts to listen to on my way home from work.

I've bought a medium strength hand grip thing as I want to coax the pinkie finger out of retirement and the callouses are building up already!
 
I keep oscillating between periods of practice and laziness. I'm getting back into it after a few weeks of... not getting into it.

It's frustrating cause I keep having to relearn/remember stuff. I really need to just do this every single day.

Trying to use a blend of Justin Guitar and Rocksmith. At least I'm having fun making noise, hahaha
 
HellofaMouse said:
Softer picks feel like heaven compared to stiff picks tho
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cheryl_cole_really_wtf_small.gif


NotTheGuyYouKill said:
I really need to just do this every single day.
Click to expand...

Spend $15 on a stand and keep the guitar out next to your couch or bed or another place you sit to fart around (
toilet?
). You'll probably pick it up more.
 
NotTheGuyYouKill said:
I keep oscillating between periods of practice and laziness. I'm getting back into it after a few weeks of... not getting into it.

It's frustrating cause I keep having to relearn/remember stuff. I really need to just do this every single day.

Trying to use a blend of Justin Guitar and Rocksmith. At least I'm having fun making noise, hahaha
Click to expand...

Yeah... I've been there, done that, to the tune of a decade now. My mind often reels at the thought of where I could be today had circumstances been different. Long story short, either stick with it, or drop it. Guitar requires a ton of patience and diligence to become even halfway decent. I've managed to stay more regular in the last 3 months than I had in the last several years and I still find it frustrating. Just when I felt like I was doing pretty decently, I decided to plug into my amp only to find all of my crummy technique and string muting control amplified tenfold. Boy did that feel discouraging, but I guess it's just another thing to slowly work through.
 
Awesome, awesome thread. Subbed.

One problem I'm personally having is I always feel like my guitar is gonna slip from me. It's a full sized, acoustic guitar, and I'm 5'11" but it still feels like I'm too small for it or something. Gonna definitely look up posture and sitting positions.
 
Subbed as well!

Im a beginner, I've been posting in the Rocksmith thread until now, but I think this question might be better to ask here.

I have this issue where when I'm strumming a chord with my pick, I get some kind of buzz. Im pretty new to using a pick and its a relatively heavy one, if this means anything to you guys. The problem is gone when I just use my hand to strum and its also a bit worse when its a chord im somewhat unfamiliar with.

Also - are power chords always meant to be just down strums or does it depend on the song / what you want to achieve?
 
Martal said:
Subbed as well!

Im a beginner, I've been posting in the Rocksmith thread until now, but I think this question might be better to ask here.

I have this issue where when I'm strumming a chord with my pick, I get some kind of buzz. Im pretty new to using a pick and its a relatively heavy one, if this means anything to you guys. The problem is gone when I just use my hand to strum and its also a bit worse when its a chord im somewhat unfamiliar with.

Also - are power chords always meant to be just down strums or does it depend on the song / what you want to achieve?
Click to expand...

You may be getting buzz with a pick because the strings are getting hit harder, thus making them vibrate into the fret. Try pressing down harder with your fretting hand (but not to the point of discomfort). Or even strumming more gently. For a beginner, I'd definitely recommend get a very thin pick! These aren't "beginner" picks, I use them also for strumming sometimes, they're just a bit easier to use to start off with and offer a more gentle sound, even if you strum hard.

If it still buzzes, it could be a setup issue, such as the action being too low (action is how far the strings are from the fretboard. If you're a complete beginner I wouldn't suggest trying to fix this yourself, get a local music store to help you out).

Although, that said, slight buzzing is kind of part of an acoustic guitar's sound. You can't get rid of all of it when strumming, and you'll grow to even like it.
EDIT: Just realised you're talking about electric guitar. My bad! Does it buzz through the amplifier or just the guitar? If just the guitar, don't worry about it.

Regarding power chords- it's up to you!
 
Mistle said:
You may be getting buzz with a pick because the strings are getting hit harder, thus making them vibrate into the fret. Try pressing down harder with your fretting hand (but not to the point of discomfort). Or even strumming more gently. For a beginner, I'd definitely recommend get a very thin pick! These aren't "beginner" picks, I use them also for strumming sometimes, they're just a bit easier to use to start off with and offer a more gentle sound, even if you strum hard.

If it still buzzes, it could be a setup issue, such as the action being too low (action is how far the strings are from the fretboard. If you're a complete beginner I wouldn't suggest trying to fix this yourself, get a local music store to help you out).

Although, that said, slight buzzing is kind of part of an acoustic guitar's sound. You can't get rid of all of it when strumming, and you'll grow to even like it.
EDIT: Just realised you're talking about electric guitar. My bad! Does it buzz through the amplifier or just the guitar? If just the guitar, don't worry about it.

Regarding power chords- it's up to you!
Click to expand...

Thank you very much for the swift reply! It is just the guitar, can't hear anything through the amp so I guess I've got nothing to worry about. Thanks a lot for the recommendation though, I'll definitely give a thinner pick a try ASAP as I'm not really liking the sound I'm getting with the pick.
 
Martal said:
Thank you very much for the swift reply! It is just the guitar, can't hear anything through the amp so I guess I've got nothing to worry about. Thanks a lot for the recommendation though, I'll definitely give a thinner pick a try ASAP as I'm not really liking the sound I'm getting with the pick.
Click to expand...

Actually, that advice was given under the presumption you had an acoustic. For electric, a solid pick is probably better, but of course you're free to experiment. However, I'd recommend experimenting with different types of materials and seeing which you like best.

Personally, since I used a Dunlop Jazz III I've never been able to look back.
 
Nice thread, didn't know this existed.

I've been playing on and off for a couple years. Never made any real progress, but I started really attacking it recently; playing at least an hour a day. I have a friend that teaches over Skype for fair rates, so I hired him to basically help correct sloppy technique.

I just took my Ibanez electric into the local shop to have the action lowered a bit. I'm sure it will be even more enjoyable to play after that (it's this one). And last week, I used some Christmas money to purchase an acoustic-electric, which sounds really nice. Just the little differences between the acoustic and the electric make me feel like I'm starting all over again, but I think it's for the best. Finger strength should improve with it, and so should the ability to barre effectively. And even though the frets are juuuust a bit wider, you need to stretch just that much more over multiple frets, which will build dexterity. I also like the acoustic because, since it's so big compared to the electric, I'm pretty much forced to hold it the correct way (fretboard not really visible), so I have to learn to play without looking where my hands are going. You can cheat a little bit, but it would be uncomfortable to play with it tilted all the time.

I'll check out those podcasts. Knowing where the notes are on the fretboard is still sort of greek to me, so maybe that will help.

I also like martyzsongs on youtube. You'll be able to learn a bunch of different songs/riffs from him, and he breaks them down pretty well.
 
Mixolydian said:
I didn't really mean technique in regards to pick motion. You can still learn alternate, down, sweep, circle, or economy picking no matter how the pick is held. I just didn't want people to go down a path that I've seen others go down (and briefly flirted with myself a long time ago). That being one where you OBSESS over where your wrist is placed in the bridge or the body or some other position for your finger placement.

Should I place my wrist here? Should I anchor my fingers? How many fingers? Where should I anchor? Should I curl my fingers inward like Paul Gilbert or flare them out like George Lynch? Should I straighten my pick fingers to the point of being rigid, or allow them to move and flex? Etc..

I'm an extremely analytical person. I went through all different styles of picking, choosing which one gave me an advantage in a certain technique department. After a year of driving myself insane, I decided to focus on forgetting about it. I placed a pick on my desk, picked it up, and however I picked it up along with how comfortable it was, was how I was going to pick.

This allowed me to once again focus on musicality and improv, plus other things that were really important. Now, technique IS important, but should never come at the expense of musical growth.

Please, take my words as they are. If you have a method that works for you, awesome. Apologies if I sound like I'm attempting to be the preeminent anything in regards to guitar playing. Not my intent. If I can help even one person on their musical journey, then I'm a happy man.

Cheers!
Click to expand...

Just realized you posted this. I think the thing I'm after is repeatable results. I want to be able to play a passage effortlessly and correctly 10/10 times, not 7/10, not 8/10, and not 9/10. That's where I wanna be, and it's what I struggle with day after day after day. I guess in order to become effortless, you must master being slow. I personally feel like a lot of that boils down to a certain angle I hold the pick since the attack sounds more consistent rather than having a clear sound on a downstroke, and a faint/weak sound on an upstroke cause my pick is raking the string rather than actually plucking it. I find that when I play an arpeggio at a good clip, I tend to economy pick without even realizing it, or I'll wind up skipping a crucial string and it results in the aforementioned incongruous sound. It just sounds poor.

I also notice that I'm able to play certain things more effortlessly as a result since there's less travel between my motions. There's such a teeny, tiny distance in between strings that just a mm too far often results in hitting the wrong string as well. I dunno, I haven't reached a stage where everything has cohered into a consistent sound yet, so I'm not sure what it takes to get there, but at the moment, I'm just sticking with what I've learned through observation/trial/error.
 
I always found it was much easier to play softly with a hard pick than harder with a soft pick. These days I only use fingers for acoustic and mostly for electric as well. If I do use a pick it's a 1.5-2mm tortex or a coin.
 
Hero_of_the_Day said:
I prefer both.

For electric:



For acoustic:



I hate heavy picks for acoustic stuff. But, when I'm playing electric I want that stiffness.
Click to expand...

I like the Jazz III Max Grip. I alternate with the Jazz III XL because I'm not completely at ease with small picks. But the Max Grips are some of the best picks I've ever used (I'm not a fan of the Tortex line).
 
Jesus... what makes those good? Are they made of tortoise shell or something? The only picks I like are the Fender premium cellulite ones. Other picks have a weird tone/attack/feel in the hand to me.
 
ComputerMKII said:
I like the Jazz III Max Grip. I alternate with the Jazz III XL because I'm not completely at ease with small picks. But the Max Grips are some of the best picks I've ever used (I'm not a fan of the Tortex line).
Click to expand...

I can't remember why I switched to the smaller picks. There was something I was doing that I thought the smaller picks would help eliminate. Must have worked 'cause now I can't even remember what it was. It really didn't take me more than a couple days to get used to them. Now normal picks feel huge. I used to use the red (.50) tortex's for acoustic before I switched to smaller picks.
 
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