jewbaby667

I've only been playin for about 6 weeks and have been tossed a wealth of info. Had a ton of free time and put in about 1 - 3 hours of practice a day. I've been to a guitar teacher for 4 of the 6 weeks. He gave me a book on progressive rhythm guitar that i've been through. It taught me pretty much all the open chords, root 6 chords, root 5 chords, and basic theory.

The chords were pretty much major, minor, 7th, 9th, Dominant 7 and the sorts like that. The book taught bluesey, twangy, country type of lessons. I'm more of a metal head, but this book taught me a ton of begginer stuff such as getting familiar with notes on the fretboard, chords, barre chords, and basicly beginner stuff that everyone needs to know.

This rant is really going somewhere, trust me . Now that i'm a little more familiar with my guitar and can make more then just aweful sounding noises with it, i'm looking for a little more direction to spend my time on. I have a really wierd, opinionated taste of music. I like hardcore death metal and third eye blind........ but i hate nickelback ehehe see its really varied and messed up.

This whole idea was brought up when my teacher asked me what i wanted to learn and i couldn't give him an answer. I enjoy playing the few scales i know and the 1234 up the board exersise. So i'm thinking of playing more lead then rythm, but i also like cranking up the mids and bass and laying down some phat palm muted power chords too.

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So, the real question is; Can i get some ideas on a way to point me in a direction of learning? I'm thinking of focusing more on lead and soloing but there is so much information that i dont know where to start?

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cados121

Start learning songs, start easy, and work up to harder ones, this will improve your feel for the guitar and it will also teach you riffs/licks to do during leads and stuff. Also practice soloing over a song or with a backing track and it will help you get a feel for doing that kind of stuff. Good luck

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bluesrocker101

Scales are a must. BUT, to be a lead guitarist, chords are critical to becoming a good solo guy. I suggest Chord/scale relationships, voice leading, voicings of various chords (particularly 7ths) and much more. By now you must be thinking "thats not metal". Well, jazz theory is a useful tool.

Also, work on your technique.

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Vittu0666

I second that. If you break down a lot of melodic metal, you'll see that they use quite a bit of theory.

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Erc

Everyone likes to play lead, its fun, you can show off and you can pretend, just for that split second, that you are truly something great, plus it gets you the girls. Unfortunately though lead playing is not a fundamental foundation, and thus for now, since you are a beginner, should turn your attention to the much more important aspect of rhythm.

Often for insturments like a bass, guitar, drums, or piano, your goal (which will almost always primarily by as an accompanist, because thats where the jobs are) is to make those you are playing with to sound even better. Take this truth to heart and practice accordingly.

What follows is of utmost important, I don't know how good you want to be, but if you are at all serious about your music, you will practice with a metronome. You should practice all scales and chords in all sort of rhythmic groupings. (and if you want to be good, in all 12 keys around the circle of fiths). Practice every song you learn, every exercise you learn and play it in all note divisions and note groupings.

Now despite rhythm being the most fundamental and most important part of music, your practice routine should never consist solely of just rhythmic practice. Thus it is okay for you to practice lead playing, but the point of my post is to stress that you must spend an appropriate amount of time practicing foundational elements. I would also like to mention that practice should never just be practice, and that being a musician, you should make it a point to ensure that your practice is indisputably musical, despite what sort of exercise you may be practicing.

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sTx

^^

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z4twenny

i say start learning some songs you like and work your way up. as for lead playing these guys say don't do it yet, i disagree. i recommend first just learn the pentatonic scale/s and find a couple songs that they will fit over and jam that out to start with then work your way up to key sigs/moving through the Co5, chordal improv and all the other "technical" stuff. remember you're playing to have fun right? so have fun!!! i'm not saying "don't work on technical stuff" just make sure you're having a good time!

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z4twenny

jewbaby667

Wow, you guys are amazing and that advise is so helpful. I don't have any rhythm, it pisses my friends off who i play with cause i F up their groove. I've not been playing that long so i understand its not there, but I do practice at least once a week for a few hours with a metronome. I practice a ton everyday on technique, trying to get my scales and strumming to sound clearer and get faster.

I'm taking a pretty serious approach to my playing. I want to know all the theory behind the music that i'm playing. It really interests me. So suggestions of further learning i get from this thread is learning the circle of fifths, scales, and chord/scale relationships. I'll tell my teacher next week i want to start working on that. I have guitar pro so i can use the scale program to start learning them. I'm going to start with pentatonics and major scales and try to learn them down the neck.

The circle of fifths is completely new to me, can someone give me a small intro so i can start searching for lessons online? And i'm guessing chord/scale relationships is what scale to play over a chord that sounds good?

I know i'm not going to become amazing overnight and have infinite patience and time to devote to my guitar. I'm hooked on playing and just wanted a direction to focus my time instead of feeling lost and not really getting any kind of progression. I do play songs to mix it up a bit, but they don't really teach me anything. It's just something to get my fingers more in shape and my hands in sync.

Thanks a ton again for all your guys helping a nooby out and pointing me in the direction for success.

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z4twenny

^ you can search UG for the circle of Fifths, it's just basic info on how 4ths/5ths work. 5ths are a very common way of progressing through keys. as for rhythm i suggest

ALWAYS PLAY WITH A METRONOME

i hope you didn't miss the part where i put

ALWAYS PLAY WITH A METRONOME

especially if your rhythm isn't very good then you should

ALWAYS PLAY WITH A METRONOME

seriously though, if nothing else get a cheap little beatbox or find some drum loops on the internet you could use. ideally you want something that you can adjust the tempo on so that if its going too fast you can slow it down (or vice versa) and make sure you start slow and work your way up. if you noticing you're missing a note here or there or not fully articulating a chord or basically anything that's an F-up then stop, slow it down and try again, repeat this process till you get it right even if you have to do it at 30 bpm (i've been playing 12 years and even still sometimes i have to drop something down super slow and work my way up) good luck man.

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z4twenny

psychodelia

^ It's good to have a ton of practice with a metronome, but you also need to do some practice without, too, to work on keeping time while unaccompanied.

edit: When practicing rhythm, it also helps to record yourself, if you can, because when we are caught up in our playing, we often miss mistakes, or changes in tempo that are not intentional.

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jewbaby667

I play with a metronome as much as i'm able. I have a roomate in a tiny dorm room and it pisses him off. He is a loser and never leaves so i can barely practice without him bitching. This summer i have my own place so i'll ramp up the metronome practice. I usually practice at 60 bpm at http://www.metronomeonline.com/.

I've been wanting to record myself play but i dont know how yet. I really dont wanna drop 100 bux on any of the connecters i've seen so far. I'll hit up the recording thread on UG to see if i can learn anything.

Been a ton of great info guys thanks again. I should be rocking pretty hard by august with a whole summer of nonstop playing under my belt.

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Peavey VK112
Fish&Chips EQ
Ibanez TS9DX
Jackson Warrior JS30 upgraded EMG 81/85
Epiphone Silverburst 1966 Reissue G-400
Washburn D12N

Playing since 03-11-07
........Uber Noob Skillz