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Drewprops : Rock Star
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drewprops
Space Pirate
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Atlanta
 
2011-10-26, 21:24

I've been talking about buying an electric guitar for YEARS and today I finally made that dream come true.

I did NOT buy a nice expensive rig, I bought a cheap ass Squier, so I won't lose a lot if I don't go far with it.

I also bought an iRig setup, which comes with a special plug which works with a really keen app that you run on your iPad... google it.

I know several friends who play, and one of them also teaches and I may hire him for a few lessons....
but in the meantime do you know of any good YouTube videos to get me up and running?

Right now I'm EXCEPTIONALLY good at making it go "thrummmm.... thrummmmm...."


Seriously, all you secret superstar musicians on here, pretending to be regular people, help a space pirate out.



...

Steve Jobs ate my cat's watermelon.
Captain Drew on Twitter

Last edited by drewprops : 2011-10-26 at 21:56.
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Yontsey
*AD SPACE FOR SALE*
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Cleveland-ish, OH
 
2011-10-26, 21:35

My first guitar was a squire. Great guitar to learn on. Best advice I could give is learn scales, a few chord progressions, and practice a ton to get your muscle memory down.

Die young and save yourself....
@yontsey
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Dave
Ninja Editor
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Bay Area, CA
 
2011-10-26, 21:36

Get a good chromatic tuner.
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Yontsey
*AD SPACE FOR SALE*
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Cleveland-ish, OH
 
2011-10-26, 21:43

Quote:
Originally Posted by Dave View Post
Get a good chromatic tuner.
Great call. I fancy this tuner, personally.
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Foj
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: Jul 2005
Location: Atlanta
 
2011-10-27, 18:18

If you get good enough, will you save up your doubloons for something like this??

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drewprops
Space Pirate
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Atlanta
 
2011-10-27, 18:56

I want one that looks like boobs. Do they make them like that?


...
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dmegatool
Custom User Title
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: At home
 
2011-10-27, 18:58

Try to learn songs you love !! You need to keep a blance between only doing chords/progression and songs. It will keep your interest at the top. I remember the feeling of being able to nail my favorites tunes... Awesome !

I learned all by myslelf. Once you get how tabs works (which is dead simple), the only thing missing is practice. Gotta say that when I started there was no youtube so I guess it's even easier now to just look someone do a cover and replicate that (with tabs to help).

What are you going to play ?

Me it's megadeth all around lately. Best guitar riffs ever !! They're really fun to play but how challenging.
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Dave
Ninja Editor
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Bay Area, CA
 
2011-10-27, 20:24

Quote:
Originally Posted by Yontsey View Post
Great call. I fancy this tuner, personally.
[fixed the url in your quote]
I'm partial to Korg, myself, but that one does look interesting.
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psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2011-10-27, 20:46

Good advice here, especially Yontsey's first post.

Learn actual songs, stuff you like. It's built-in satisfaction/goal-setting, IMO. And it builds on itself...your ear gets better, you learn to recognize certain progressions and changes (and anticipate them, or "hear" them before they happen in much of rock/pop/country genres). To me it's the best tool...learn from the greats. Eventually you'll have your own spin/approach to things, and that's cool too.

Guitarists who can actually play songs that people know and like are way more fun and cool to be around (and in-demand) than Vai and Malmsteen-type noodlers/shredders. That stuff is cool, I guess, but nobody wants to hear any more of that shit after about 45 seconds. You can't sit and play it around a campfire or a party and have anyone give a rip. You can, however, play a Petty, Morrison or Costello song and pretty much count on a vixen expressing interest before the night is over.



Been on a huge Nick Lowe kick lately, learning a ton of new songs from scratch, most of which I've never heard before until these past 2-3 weeks. After all this time, still great songs, chords, progressions, solos, etc. to learn and add to the goodie bag.
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bassplayinMacFiend
Banging the Bottom End
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
 
2011-10-28, 11:42

Try out Rocksmith. It's a video game that comes with a 1/4" to USB cable. The "game" teaches you to play. As it senses you becoming better with the current note load, it increases the notes. At some point, you will know how to play the whole song!

I haven't tried it personally yet, but it will be in my house by Xmas (either for me or for my son).
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drewprops
Space Pirate
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Atlanta
 
2011-10-28, 12:03

Does it work with the iPad? I'll go look it up.

Also!!!!
Very important question!!!!!!

----- should I buy a pick? ------


because they didn't give me one.



...
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Dave
Ninja Editor
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Bay Area, CA
 
2011-10-28, 12:25

Yes. I think Mark Knopfler is the only one that doesn't use a pick for electric guitar.

Picking is way easier; fingering allows for more expressiveness (IMHO).
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dmegatool
Custom User Title
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: At home
 
2011-10-28, 12:34

Depends on what type of music you play. If you're playing with some distortion, pick is a necessity. With a clean sound you can make it work with fingers. I would say that the pick is easier to start with... Ì guess. It's really two distinctive method. I would call myslelf an intermediate guitarist but I'm a total noob when it comes to play with my hand... mostly on my semi-acoustic Ovation.

So I use a pick, all the time.

Speaking of picks, you'll need to choose one There's ton of them. I play with a 1mm. You can bend it but it's really rigid. I used softer picks, mostly to play on my acoustic guitar when I only strums chords. But when it comes to double picking, you need something hard cause it won't work.

Dave Mustaine :"God created whammy bars for people who don't know how to solo."
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psmith2.0
Mr. Vieira
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Tennessee
 
2011-10-28, 14:25

I use both. Sometimes all pick, sometimes all fingers. And then "hybrid", with a pick and my other remaining fingers (bird, ring and pinky). That's usually how I play, and have for about 20 years.
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Dave
Ninja Editor
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Bay Area, CA
 
2011-10-28, 17:18

Quote:
Originally Posted by pscates2.0 View Post
I use both. Sometimes all pick, sometimes all fingers. And then "hybrid", with a pick and my other remaining fingers (bird, ring and pinky). That's usually how I play, and have for about 20 years.
Oh totally, yeah. I think that's something that people kinda just start doing once they reach a certain level of proficiency... like fretting the low string with their thumb for certain chords even though it's "bad" technique.

When I was a kid, people who did wrong were punished, restricted, and forbidden. Now, when someone does wrong, all of the rest of us are punished, restricted, and forbidden... and the one who did the wrong is counselled and "understood" and fed ice cream.
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drewprops
Space Pirate
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Atlanta
 
2011-10-28, 18:34

My Dad bought me a book of photos & diagrams for 144 chords... now I can start practicing claw positions. I think that I should figure out which chords are "common" rock chords.

Steve Jobs ate my cat's watermelon.
Captain Drew on Twitter
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RowdyScot
Ice Arrow Sniper
 
Join Date: Apr 2005
Location: Great Bay Temple
Send a message via AIM to RowdyScot Send a message via Skype™ to RowdyScot 
2011-10-28, 18:55

Some great advice here so far.
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tomoe
Veteran Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2006
 
2011-10-29, 11:36

drewprops, here's a little video for inspiration in your quest to slash.
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Dave
Ninja Editor
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Bay Area, CA
 
2011-10-29, 14:43

Quote:
Originally Posted by drewprops View Post
I think that I should figure out which chords are "common" rock chords.
A, B, C, D, E, F#, G, and their minors and 7ths will get you a fair way there.

Keep in mind when you're trying to learn a song that it might not be in standard tuning. Especially for the heavier stuff, if you find yourself playing lots of flat or sharp chords, there's a fair chance that they're not in standard tuning. A lot of rock bands tune everything a 1/2-step flat. "Drop-D", where the low E string is tuned down a step to D, is the most common alternate tuning in which the basic chord shapes don't work anymore.

When I was a kid, people who did wrong were punished, restricted, and forbidden. Now, when someone does wrong, all of the rest of us are punished, restricted, and forbidden... and the one who did the wrong is counselled and "understood" and fed ice cream.
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delphi
Member
 
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Charleston, South Carolina
 
2011-11-02, 18:25

Hey Drewprops!

Have you learned those cords yet?

Maybe you will find them in your storage space above your bed!
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drewprops
Space Pirate
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Atlanta
 
2011-11-02, 23:15

Haha!
I think that I know who delphi is! ;D


...
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dmegatool
Custom User Title
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: At home
 
2011-11-02, 23:30

What songs are you trying to learn ?

The first song I really practice was Enter Sandman by Metallica. Way to start learning ! But it wasn't that difficult and the feeling of achievement was unbelievable. Rocking with some distortion makes you cool

Dave Mustaine :"God created whammy bars for people who don't know how to solo."
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drewprops
Space Pirate
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Atlanta
 
2011-11-02, 23:38

I haven't had a lick of time to start doing anything yet, but the first band that sprang to mind is The Who, from the album Tommy. There's some pretty straightforward stuff in there, I think.


...

Steve Jobs ate my cat's watermelon.
Captain Drew on Twitter
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FFL
Fishhead Family Reunited
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Slightly Off Center
 
2011-11-02, 23:46

Quote:
Originally Posted by drewprops View Post
I haven't had a lick of time to start doing anything yet, but the first band that sprang to mind is The Who, from the album Tommy. There's some pretty straightforward stuff in there, I think.


...
Excellent choice.

I'd also spend some time back where those guys learned their stuff - blues and R&B.
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drewprops
Space Pirate
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Atlanta
 
2011-11-03, 23:22

At the rate things are going it's going to be Thanksgiving before I can pick this thing up again!! O.o


...
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dmegatool
Custom User Title
 
Join Date: Jul 2006
Location: At home
 
2011-11-22, 19:14

So... where you at now ?
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drewprops
Space Pirate
 
Join Date: May 2004
Location: Atlanta
 
2011-11-22, 22:42

sitting cross-legged in the bed?
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El Gallo
Formerly “MumboJumbo”
 
Join Date: Dec 2009
 
2011-11-22, 23:26

I thought the first two Drewprops: Rock Stars were really good. After that it seemed like they were just milking the franchise for money. I mean serious, Drewprops: Rock Star - ABBA?
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