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  #16  
Old 02-01-2017, 08:38 AM
k_russell k_russell is offline
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I studied classical guitar in private lessons for about 10 years. Four of those years as a teenager and 6 more after college.
Expanding my technical skills further would require a full time effort from me. I prefer to keep guitar playing as a hobby.
Learning new material happens, for the most part by listening to, observing and interacting other players.
Fake books and music theory books help me to pick up tunes that are not "classical" by nature. The folks that use this forum (thanks again) are happy to provide insight and ideas. Occasionally, I find a helpful YouTube video.
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  #17  
Old 02-01-2017, 08:55 AM
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SFCRetired SFCRetired is offline
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This is from someone who has been mostly self taught.

I started with books learning on my own. it was a slow process. Then I met a few people who I picked up some things from. My ex FIL, (I miss that guy) was patient and taught me a lot on how to play basic country, carter style and some basic runs. We would sit up until 2 AM drinking coffee and playing guitar.

Then I went to a teacher for a couple of years that mainly consisted of, hey teach me this song. So he did what I ask of him.

I have learned some from DVD lessons since. Eric Lambert is great if you want to start learning the basics of Blue Grass/Flat picking. Steve Kaufman's video lessons are good but I find he gets pretty advanced pretty quickly.

My advice for anyone who wants to learn the guitar is this. Focus on theory and the mechanics of playing first and don't try to start playing songs like most people do. Once you learn how music works the playing part will be easier. Sure you might be able to play some songs, but you won't understand what you are doing and if you don't understand what you are doing you won't be able to advance on your own with your own ear. Unless of course you are just one of those people born to play the guitar. I wasn't and still am not that guy. But I am too old to go back and learn the right way.

My teacher told me once. Mike, you can play the guitar well enough to play with people so that is what you need to do. You will learn as much doing that as I can teach you. When I ask him to explain he said, when you play with people you don't want to let them down or be that guy who is the weak player so you will focus on learning. I suppose he knew what he was talking about.

The very best advice I have for anyone is, start YOUNG. You learn better when your brain is in the developing and learning phase of life. For those who are past that point, get a teacher and let them guide you and don't think you have to start playing stairway to heaven on day one.
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  #18  
Old 02-01-2017, 09:01 AM
Riverwolf Riverwolf is offline
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Most folks have to put in the time.
You have an extra five minutes? Spend it with your guitar.
Drives me nuts these people that say they practice 15-30 mins a day.
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  #19  
Old 02-01-2017, 09:04 AM
Irish Pennant Irish Pennant is offline
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I've taken private lessons from two instructors. The first wasn't a good fit and it lasted about 4 months. The second was a better fit but it wasn't my type of music, again only lasted a few months. The second instructor help to bring into focus theory, something I had been self studying. I've bought chord books and theory books. That's about all the outside instruction I've had.

I play original music. How I'm learning is by experimentation that includes noodling, recording and looping. I practice scales and chords, then combine them. I've made overlays of scales and have laid them on top of one another, created new scales based upon common notes from combined scales. For the past half year or so, I've made myself complete new pieces. Practice them until they are well ingrained before starting another one. I've been recording them and through the act of recording it's made me play with more discipline, which has improved the technical aspect of playing.

Playing at open mics and getting an occasional gig has also forced me to explore another aspect of playing, that's sound management, stage setup, presence and ambience.

I've been playing for about 7 years now, I'm seeing progress at a more rapid pace than I have anytime in the past. When I started this thing call playing the guitar, I figured it would take me about 11 or 12 years before I would be where I could actually play. I think if I keep doing what I'm doing, I'll get there.
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  #20  
Old 02-01-2017, 09:13 AM
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Hi George
I've taught for 40 years, and found that in group lesson beginner classes of 6-8 students people for 8 lessons learned just as quickly as in private lessons. And group lessons often cost a lot less than private lessons.

If you can find a group lesson in your community it is a less expensive and more social way to grow past early phases of guitar.

And if you catch on quickly then you will be ready for more specific training. But a lot of early growth issues are shared, and a group can week out not-serious from serious players and build friendships between players if your community is from a close proximity.

Just my thoughts on it…



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  #21  
Old 02-01-2017, 09:21 AM
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Currently I am with a private teacher. Bill is a great guy -- he's a professional entertainer as well as teacher and has been into music (piano to guitar etc) for nearly 30 years. Out of curiosity I have looked at some of the instructions on YouTube and find SOME of them helpful -- but I find that a majority as so different from what I do in class that it confuses me. I've decided to stick with the private lessons. But that's just me -- others may find it easier to combine methods.
Jim
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  #22  
Old 02-01-2017, 11:25 AM
OliveCorduroy OliveCorduroy is offline
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This has been great feedback for me...thank you. Aside from a lot of the comments recommending that I look into getting an instructor to help me, a lot of the comments centered around me figuring out what direction I want to go and setting goals based on that. This has helped, so here goes:

At this point, I can play my open chords (maj, min, dom7, and sus2/sus4) and I am able to make the changes between them all fairly well. I can play my barre chords(E-shape and A-shape, maj and min) and I can make those changes fairly well also. Recently, I started looking at triads(maj and min) on the highest four strings and can make them but the changes are rather slow, clean but slow. Lastly, I understand how the major scale works with chord progressions (I-ii-iii-IV-V-vi-vii) and the possible variations.

My long term goal would be to play rhythm guitar or accompanying myself or something else singing. Not so much in a full out band setting but more like in a coffee shop or open mic. like setting.

To get there, I think my short term goals would be as such:
1. Continue to strengthen straight chord progressions using open chords and barre chords.
2. Improve my strumming with more accuracy and variation.
3. Learn dynamics and how to apply them to chord progressions.
4. Learn single note picking and chord embellishments to add character and flavor to straight chord progressions.
5. Learn passing chords
6. Continue to work on triads so I can add different voicings to chord progressions.

I can find a lot of lessons on chords, progressions, and strumming so I know how to get there. Where I find the biggest struggles is finding lessons on dynamics and chord embellishments. There just doesn't seem to be very many or I am just looking in the wrong places. This frustrates me and the harder I look the more overwhelmed I get with all the material out there. Quite simply, it paralyzed me.

Again, thank you for all of your comments. I have never put in writing what it is I am trying to do. It really has helped.

Thanks, George
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  #23  
Old 02-01-2017, 11:37 AM
TominNJ TominNJ is offline
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I've tried lessons and it was a waste of money. I needed help with technique and the teachers I tried weren't able to help at all. I use dvds but I mostly just play from tab and work it out on my own.

Might not be the best way but it works for me.
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  #24  
Old 02-01-2017, 12:19 PM
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I'm another who never found lessons all that helpful. Teaching guitar isn't easy. First, the person needs to know how to play. Second, he or she needs to know how to teach. Third, the teacher needs to know how to teach in a way that works best for the learner. Fourth, the teacher needs to have familiarity with material that the learner wants to learn. Getting all of that right isn't that easy. I suppose it's easier if what you want to learn is stuff that's widely popular. Playing chords for singing, for example, is what a lot of students are after and I suspect that's a lot easier to teach than some other styles.

Tabs are abundant and often free but can be pretty baffling. Often, there's a chord shape that is the foundation for which fingers are playing which strings. That may not be obvious from a tab and going after individual string locations in isolation can be a lot more daunting that realizing that if you play a particular chord shape, the right strings and fret positions are already selected.

DVDs can be great. You see and hear what's going on. You can repeat the material over and over. Often, the tune is played through once at speed and then broken down. This gives you a couple of versions to look at and listen to in the event that one isn't clear for some reason. The key here is to find a DVD that teaches music that you want to learn and that is at an appropriate level of difficulty. That can be tricky. Also, some instructors will just be better at teaching than others and so their DVDs will be more helpful. It's not uncommon for an instructor to demonstrate a passage and then repeat part of it or all of it. But unless they're clear about what they're repeating, it can be difficult to assemble all of the bits and pieces into a coherent whole. It goes a lot more smoothly if the instructor provides lots of guidelines, like maybe teaching a new measure and then demonstrating how that measure and the one that preceded it go together. I've noticed that some instructors are getting visibly tired by the end of a long DVD lesson and start omitting some of those helpful guides. But all-in-all, I think a good DVD is a great learning tool and can be an excellent value compared to paying for the number of individual lessons that a DVD would equate to.

A way that individual lessons have worked for me is to go in for just one or two longer lessons to review fundamentals and make sure that I haven't learned bad habits. Some instructors understandably like that less than having someone they walk through the entire process week by week, but others are fine with it.

Ultimately, no matter what methods you use, progress won't be linear. As you gain more skill in one area, you may find that stuff that made no sense earlier on suddenly seems a lot less challenging. On the other hand, some things will remain a challenge for a lot longer than it seems they should. And one way of doing something that was demonstrated to you may need to be done differently because of your particular skills, dexterity, or even hand geometry.

Keep at it and you will learn. Stop, and you won't. Everybody struggles in the beginning. Those who persist improve.
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  #25  
Old 02-01-2017, 12:25 PM
Jambi Jambi is offline
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Personally, I tie one on and noodle around until cool stuff starts popping out.
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  #26  
Old 02-01-2017, 01:37 PM
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I have never had a private guitar lesson. I don't say that to brag, but to say that everything I have learned, I learned the hard way. To put that in perspective, I was very young when I started playing guitar. About 10-12 and all I wanted to do was play PP&M songs and sing. And imitate my older brother.
Through the years my playing (and singing) improved to the point that I could play/jam with others. To me, that was the best method of learning. After nearly 50 years, I still learn something by playing with others. My main goal was to play guitar to accompany my voice. I accomplished that, and it has made me happy.
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  #27  
Old 02-01-2017, 01:46 PM
WoodBlues WoodBlues is offline
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What helped me the most was taking guitar lessons with someone who really knows theory for a couple of years.
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  #28  
Old 02-01-2017, 01:49 PM
The Growler The Growler is offline
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Larry (and others) made some good points about teachers and I would echo his suggestion about group classes. I started acoustic guitar this way and having other students in the class was great. I am still good friends with the teacher and we jam, etc. whenever we can.

The great thing about classes and a teacher I think is accountability. If you're paying and have an appointment or class you need to be at, you go prepared. No goofing off and not getting your homework done.
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  #29  
Old 02-01-2017, 02:01 PM
dandy505 dandy505 is offline
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I never went the lessons route, I used books and later on DVDs (when they invented those). Now there are so many media formats to choose from, one is left without an excuse in terms of material and media formats.

A few good books that really helped me in the theory (and making it all click) were the Fretboard Logic series by Bill Edwards, and Fretboard Roadmaps by Fred Sokolow. I also really found material from Mark Hanson and Chris Proctor helped me down the fingerpicking path and for flatpicking you need to look no further than material by Steve Kaufman.

Ultimately it comes down to practice to which you are limited only by your own motivation.
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  #30  
Old 02-01-2017, 02:18 PM
Looburst Looburst is offline
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I started with books and a few videos back in the 80s. Haven't bought anything like that in years though. I get new ideas mainly from youtube these days.
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