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I'm starting guitar, after coming from playing trumpet classically and in jazz for about 15-16 years. I understand music pretty well, but I'm not very coordinated with both hands when trying to do music. My first question is this: Should I play the guitar so that I'm fingering things on the neck with my right hand? (My reasoning being that I already have great dexterity with my right from playing trumpet) My second question comes from noticing some problems I'm having in trying to play chords. Often times my finger can't arch high enough to get off other strings, and it makes it sound bad. I noticed at the end of my first practice that I can push the strings down and sort of away from the others and it frees up space so that I can lay my other fingers down without so much worry. Is this kosher? Is it possible and should I do it without pushing the strings away? Finally I'm tight on time and budget so I want to avoid having a teacher until later. Is there a good place to find some fundamentals I can stick to so that I don't end up saying ten years down the line that I wish I had started that way?
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Oct 5, 2010 19:37
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I wondered the same thing about fingering, but the reasoning is basically that your picking hand needs the dexterity to actually sound and express the notes. There's some of that in your fretting hand too of course, but mainly in the picking hand. I'm not exactly sure what you mean about pushing the strings - if you mean you fret strings and then push them across the neck, like pulling the string on a bow, that's bad. That's called bending the strings and it raises the pitch, which is only good when you actually want to do that! If you're talking about pushing strings you're not playing out of the way, that's not a good habit either - if you don't want a string to sound you mute it, which is touching your fingers (or some part of either hand) against the string so it sounds dead if you hit it. If you get a wrrrrk half note going on you're applying too much pressure and actually fretting it. Your fingers will get more nimble though, and try to play with the tips so your fingers are coming straight down from above, you'll be less likely to touch strings you don't want to. Practice trying to get chords to ring out nicely, every string sounding the correct note - as you work on that your fingering will get much cleaner
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Oct 5, 2010 21:50
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Stumpus posted:I'm starting guitar, after coming from playing trumpet classically and in jazz for about 15-16 years. I understand music pretty well, but I'm not very coordinated with both hands when trying to do music. My first question is this: Should I play the guitar so that I'm fingering things on the neck with my right hand? (My reasoning being that I already have great dexterity with my right from playing trumpet) quote:My second question comes from noticing some problems I'm having in trying to play chords. Often times my finger can't arch high enough to get off other strings, and it makes it sound bad. I noticed at the end of my first practice that I can push the strings down and sort of away from the others and it frees up space so that I can lay my other fingers down without so much worry. Is this kosher? Is it possible and should I do it without pushing the strings away? quote:Finally I'm tight on time and budget so I want to avoid having a teacher until later. Is there a good place to find some fundamentals I can stick to so that I don't end up saying ten years down the line that I wish I had started that way? 
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Oct 5, 2010 21:52
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So it turns out there's an off chance this might be a lefty guitar. How worth it would it be to just say gently caress it and take it and restring it to play right-handed?
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Oct 5, 2010 23:33
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Worked for Jimi and Kurt, although they went the opposite way 'round. You'll probably have to take it to a guitar shop and have someone else re-string it, though, as it's more than simply a matter of taking the strings off and reversing them.
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Oct 6, 2010 00:08
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I'm interested in buying a guitar and learning to play (and I read the OP), but I have really small hands. (My pinky is 1.75" long and my hand is 6" from wrist to the tip of my middle finger.) Several years ago I tried to play a friend's regular-sized guitar, and it was impossible for me to get those far strings with my left hand. So today I went into a guitar store and the girl there recommended I try a baby Taylor and baby Martin. For those two it seemed like I would be able to reach all the strings comfortably after some practice. They were ~$350, but I noticed that neither brand was listed in the OP where it talked about companies for good budget guitars. Do other companies make small less-expensive guitars, or is $350 a good price and those are my only options? I went to some of the websites of the companies listed in the OP, but each product list is full of cryptic letter/number names and I'm not really sure what characteristic I'm looking for beyond "pretty small." And I haven't been very successful at finding overall length when I look at individual models, which makes it hard to determine smallness. So here are my questions: Is there a generic term for little guitars like that? Do the less-expensive companies have little ones like that, or is it just those two? Is the "baby Martin" the same as the "little Martin?" Thanks!
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Oct 6, 2010 00:38
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dark_panda posted:Worked for Jimi and Kurt, although they went the opposite way 'round. You'll probably have to take it to a guitar shop and have someone else re-string it, though, as it's more than simply a matter of taking the strings off and reversing them. Yeah. Well, the other option is take it to Guitar Center and do a trade-in, and put what I was gonna spend on getting it serviced towards something that's righty. I dunno. I'll figure it out. It's http://www.silvertoneguitar.com/products/electric_ssl1/index.htm this bad boy by the way, just lefty (It is lefty). BENGHAZI 2 fucked around with this message at 01:37 on Oct 6, 2010 |
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Oct 6, 2010 01:15
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Should one strive to press the string down directly between two frets or does it matter where the string is pressed down?
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Oct 6, 2010 01:16
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Stumpus posted:Should one strive to press the string down directly between two frets or does it matter where the string is pressed down? The closer to the fret (the one further down the neck, towards the body) the better, it takes less pressure to get a nice clean note. You can try holding the string as far away from the fret as possible, playing the string and slowly releasing pressure, and see how quickly the note goes blergh Spruce posted:So here are my questions: Going to take a stab in the dark and say they're short-scale guitars (maybe also called small-body, or 3/4 size), but like you said it's not easy to tell how small! Apparently the Baby Taylor is 22-3/4" scale, so you can compare the scale length of other guitars to that. There are others (like this but I don't know how good they are Here's a category list though to narrow things down http://guitars.musiciansfriend.com/acoustic-guitars/travel-mini
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Oct 6, 2010 02:37
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^ Beaten  Stumpus posted:Should one strive to press the string down directly between two frets or does it matter where the string is pressed down? Frets are the parts between the Fret Wires. You want to put your finger ideally closer to the fret wire that your fret corresponds to. You're cutting the vibration length to that metal part, making sound. It's way easier to do barre chords closer to the fret wire as well.
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Oct 6, 2010 02:44
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Dickeye posted:Yeah. Well, the other option is take it to Guitar Center and do a trade-in, and put what I was gonna spend on getting it serviced towards something that's righty. I dunno. I'll figure it out. If it's just a beginners guitar like that and doesn't hold any sentimental value, then yeah, may as well.
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Oct 6, 2010 03:02
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dark_panda posted:If it's just a beginners guitar like that and doesn't hold any sentimental value, then yeah, may as well. Already got it figured out. Buddy wants to get an acoustic, and I'm gonna give him the lefty and thirty bucks (depending) in exchange for a Squier Strat that he was gonna trade-in. Ownage.
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Oct 6, 2010 03:51
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Spruce posted:So today I went into a guitar store and the girl there recommended I try a baby Taylor and baby Martin. For those two it seemed like I would be able to reach all the strings comfortably after some practice. They were ~$350, but I noticed that neither brand was listed in the OP where it talked about companies for good budget guitars. Do other companies make small less-expensive guitars, or is $350 a good price and those are my only options? I went to some of the websites of the companies listed in the OP, but each product list is full of cryptic letter/number names and I'm not really sure what characteristic I'm looking for beyond "pretty small." And I haven't been very successful at finding overall length when I look at individual models, which makes it hard to determine smallness. I haven't played the Baby Martin, but the Baby Taylor is a pretty good guitar. My 3 second google search reveals that it can be had for $300 online. I wouldn't be adverse to paying some premium to buying from a good local store, especially since you can check out the guitar in person. For example, I bought my Seagull S6 Slim because this particular guitar stood out to me, even having played lots of other Seagulls. Keep in mind that there are a lot of proportions on guitars that effect different things. If you have small hands proportional to your body, then the size of the body might not be that important. Regardless, the specification that determines how far it is from one fret to the other is scale length. Normal, "full" scale lengths are usually between 25.5" (Fender Stratocaster, Classical Guitars) to 24 3/2 (Gibson Les Paul), with 24" being a somewhat common short scale length, and below that being a very short scale length. I would advice against a scale length shorter than 22.5, as that's already starting to veer pretty far away from standard. Other things to be aware of is the width of the neck(specs usually given at the nut), and it's depth (usually unadvertised). Lots of people with smaller hands play full sized guitars, but there's not a very compelling reason to do so if you're uncomfortable with it now--you can reassess that when you're more comfortable Small guitars are nice to have regardless--they're easier to carry around, and for travel. I have a Martin Backpacker which I would in no way recommend unless you backpack or similar (I do), but having something that I travel with more easily is very nice. Something like the Baby Taylor would be easier to carry than a full sized acoustic, and actually sound like an OK guitar (unlike my backpacker). My quick google check revealed no other inexpensive short scale guitars. The Baby Taylor is a pretty reasonable value, though. If you realized you don't need a very short scale length, I'd recommend a Art & Lutherie Folk or Ami guitar, which have a 24.8 scale length, a little shorter than some builders, but not dramatically like the Baby Taylor. cpach fucked around with this message at 04:11 on Oct 6, 2010 |
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Oct 6, 2010 03:52
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Does anyone know anything about Electric Nylon Acoustic Guitars? They're so thin and sexy. It's like the pleasure of a Classical Neck but the body of an electric! Ohmygosh I can't believe I just typed that on a public forum!
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Oct 6, 2010 08:44
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With the general opinion of my musically minded friends being that the neck on my current acoustic is "straight hosed dude" I've decided to look for a new one. This Ibanez EW40CBENT looks fantastic but I'm wary of how much the preamp is going to effect the acoustic quality. Should I be worried about volume or tone? It would be nice to have the option of electric, but if it's going to ruin the actual sound of the thing I won't bother. Looking around there isn't a single one of these EW models that doesn't have the drat preamp. Lame.
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Oct 6, 2010 16:01
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A preamp shouldn't make a meaningful acoustic difference, especially on a low to mid-end guitar. Those B-Band pickups are supposed to be really awesome, actually. I'd be way more concerned about a guitar top made from a hardwood, although from the specs I guess it's also laminated? That guitar is expensive for a laminated top, even with good electronics. I mean, really, if the preamp were causing a degradation of acoustic quality, you'd notice it when you tried it out. Please go try one out--shopping for acoustics really should be done by ear, unless you find a mindblowingly good deal on a very well reputed model. I'll admit that it looks good, but there are good reasons that most guitars are made with spruce/cedar/maybe redwood tops. There are some very good mahogany, maple, and koa topped guitars, but none of those woods are really similar to cocobolo. With something as unusual as this, you have to at least try it out first.
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Oct 6, 2010 22:15
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Been playing chords, and my fingers feel SO FAT. I feel like they get in the way of eachother like I had sausages instead of fingers. Does that ever go away? Especially on the A chord, my fingers feel so awkward!
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Oct 7, 2010 15:37
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You get over it, or find ways so that it doesn't matter. Like you can have a finger brush up against another string if you're fretting it on a higher fret, or you want to mute it anyways. Lately I've been playing my guitar without an amp and it still sounds so good. Nothing could have made my first guitar ever sound this good. Everyone was right, no matter how good your amp is, garbage in = garbage out.
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Oct 7, 2010 16:06
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Stumpus posted:Been playing chords, and my fingers feel SO FAT. I feel like they get in the way of eachother like I had sausages instead of fingers. I used to feel the same way. You will eventually end up with better control of your fingers. It is rather strange, because at first, even when you take a minute or two to make a cord change, your fingers still seem to get in the way. You will get it eventually. Just take the time to practice the cord changes. Ironically, I haven't played any cords but barre cords in a while, and I tried playing some Led Zeppelin songs, and its like my hands forgot how to do the basic cords in first position. So let that be a lesson to you. Always make sure to practice some of the basics every once in a while. Gripen5 fucked around with this message at 16:10 on Oct 7, 2010 |
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Oct 7, 2010 16:07
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Zo posted:You get over it, or find ways so that it doesn't matter. Like you can have a finger brush up against another string if you're fretting it on a higher fret, or you want to mute it anyways. This is very true I tend to practice mostly with out an amp. I just got a new amp after not having one for a few months and it's nice that I can finally flesh out my sound when it's amplified!
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Oct 7, 2010 16:07
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Ok so I'm having trouble figuring out how to strum both down AND up. Until now, I've always just strum down which is causing major issues now when I'm trying to play faster stuff. Does anyone know of any good videos or exercises I can do to try and improve my upward strumming?
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Oct 7, 2010 22:06
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Try playing the stuff you've been playing strumming down, but the opposite way. It'll sound weird as gently caress but it's good practice for strumming up. You are talking about strumming and not plucking, right? Good up and down strums are an essential skill so it's good that you're taking this on.
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Oct 7, 2010 22:08
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Paramemetic posted:You are talking about strumming and not plucking, right? Good up and down strums are an essential skill so it's good that you're taking this on. Yea, somehow I missed this really basic skill and I'm paying for it now. I'll give what you suggest a try and hopefully I can pick it up quickly.
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Oct 7, 2010 22:13
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It's a shame that guitar pro/powertab and metronomes aren't mentioned in the OP. If you're dedicated enough to stick to a daily practice routine using something like Petrucci's Rock Discipline, you can go from total beginner to playing (almost) any song that catches your fancy in about 1.5 to 2 years. Also, I'm not sure if it's already been mentioned, but http://www.justinguitar.com needs a shoutout.
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Oct 8, 2010 02:15
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Hanpan posted:Yea, somehow I missed this really basic skill and I'm paying for it now. I'll give what you suggest a try and hopefully I can pick it up quickly. In general too you should be playing most stuff with a mix of down and upstrokes - the basic rule is down on the beats, up on the 'and's (as in 1-and-2-and-3-and-4-and), keeping your hand moving like that even when there's a gap in the rhythm, so you're kind of constantly strumming either the guitar or the air. It makes playing rhythms more natural and helps if you're planning to sing too. Try busting out a few simple acoustic songs and play them like this until it feels natural, then it's just a case of building up speed! Oh while you're learning upstrokes you might want to learn palm muting too, I only ever did muting with downstrokes and whenever I have to do the ups it sounds awful. Two birds with one stone etc
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Oct 8, 2010 02:26
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Can anyone tell me a bit more about ties in Sheet Music?
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Oct 8, 2010 03:25
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Thoren posted:Can anyone tell me a bit more about ties in Sheet Music? you combine the two notes' values. If they are different notes, that's called a slur and it means to play legato.
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Oct 8, 2010 03:31
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CalvinDooglas posted:you combine the two notes' values. If they are different notes, that's called a slur and it means to play legato. Which is generally pretty hard to do on guitar unless you can slide to it or bend to it, but I think the generally accepted way of doing it is to let one note continue to ring when you begin to pluck the next note, then releasing the first one, so that the sound remains uninterrupted. The guitar just isn't very well suited to legato.
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Oct 8, 2010 03:33
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Could also hammer on/pull off for faster ties.
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Oct 8, 2010 03:35
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Paramemetic posted:Which is generally pretty hard to do on guitar unless you can slide to it or bend to it, but I think the generally accepted way of doing it is to let one note continue to ring when you begin to pluck the next note, then releasing the first one, so that the sound remains uninterrupted. The guitar is just fine for legato, and strictly speaking legato on guitar means hammer/pull or slide. It just takes practice. You can pluck legato if you really have to, but it doesn't sound as good. The technique you describe is distinct from legato. No fixed pitch instrument is going to get the same legato as a wind instrument (which are sometimes portamenti), so I wouldn't use the clarinet as the golden standard of legato. Every instrument has its own legato technique and they all sound a little different. Piano music has as many legatos/slurs as anything else, but there's nothing you can do to "slide" between pitches there. CalvinDooglas fucked around with this message at 03:40 on Oct 8, 2010 |
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Oct 8, 2010 03:37
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Edit: Never mind I am an idiot This is my first time encountering ties and they were all conveniently connected to Beamed Notes to gently caress with me. Why are they even there then? :/ Thoren fucked around with this message at 04:25 on Oct 8, 2010 |
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Oct 8, 2010 04:22
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Thoren posted:Edit: Never mind I am an idiot The "beam" doesn't mean anything except to represent 8th notes or 16th notes (or triplets etc) The ties are a complete separate thing. I started guitar after years of playing other instruments so I never realized how hard it'd be to learn guitar AND all the fundamentals of music at the same time (everything from rhythm to sheet music). Don't worry about it, just keep at it.
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Oct 8, 2010 04:34
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Zo posted:The "beam" doesn't mean anything except to represent 8th notes or 16th notes (or triplets etc) Thanks. Right, the Beam was indicating 8th notes. The thing that tripped me up is that there are many ties connecting the 8th and quarter notes, I am a bit lost on their purpose. Music Theory severely kicks my rear end, I might try to take a college course on it for some formal learning.
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Oct 8, 2010 04:55
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Thoren posted:Thanks. Right, the Beam was indicating 8th notes. The thing that tripped me up is that there are many ties connecting the 8th and quarter notes, I am a bit lost on their purpose. Just think of it this way: even when there are no actual rest notes in the music, there's a default small bit of rest between every note, no matter if it's quarter or 8th notes (ONE and TWO and THREE and). The tie tells you to rid of that little bit of default rest and play the tied notes continuously.
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Oct 8, 2010 05:02
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Anybody have any experience with Guitar Method books? Trumpet has Arban's which is a must for a player. I've looked up a few: Berklee Press A Modern Method for Guitar - Volume 1 Alfred's Basic Guitar Method Book 1 Hal Leonard Guitar Method Book 1 I'm hesitant to buy the Hal Leonard one, as that company has struck me as the Evil Empire of music. But maybe it's good.
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Oct 8, 2010 17:56
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Thoren posted:Thanks. Right, the Beam was indicating 8th notes. The thing that tripped me up is that there are many ties connecting the 8th and quarter notes, I am a bit lost on their purpose. what is the example you're curious about? it's hard to tell say how to play it without seeing it.
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Oct 9, 2010 00:31
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Stumpus posted:Anybody have any experience with Guitar Method books? Trumpet has Arban's which is a must for a player. Is the Mel Bay one this? I started on that one, and it's OK at teaching you reading in first position and working up some chords, but most of the music is rather unappealing (at least for me) and the book overall feels very 1950s. I wouldn't particularly recommend it. If you're talking about another one then I don't know.
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Oct 9, 2010 04:51
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So, I picked up the lefty guitar. I had to restring the G, and I'm pretty sure I tightened it backwards relative to the other strings because it's upside down but eh Point is, I taught myself to restring a guitar today, and I'm working on tuning it now. gently caress yeah. Day 1: Awesome.
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Oct 9, 2010 21:47
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I've started playing guitar again the day I heard Rowland S. Howard died. I'm only really concerned with learning how to figure out his guitar parts. But the problem is I havn't transcribed anything before so I don't know how to figure songs out. My two goals are to figure out: Crime and the City Solution - Six Bells Chime http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4LyANVY1fwg It sounds like open position chords but I can't tell if its major, minor, diminished, etc. And after the chords figure out the single notes? Arpeggiate the chords? The Birthday Party - Fears Of Gun http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wgsJcZro7Yk From listening to it sounds like he's ghost strumming a triplet rhythm at 0:42 but at 1:00 he's making a really weird motion with his hand that I don't know what to make of. then it goes into a single note country rhythm (I think?) that doesn't look too hard at around 1:40 But at 1:50 I have no idea what he's doing. It sounds like the same rhythm but in chord form? Advice, help, resources, etc. Anything would be awesome. Stuff that I think I have figured out that I just want to double check: The Birthday Party - Nick the Stripper - the chord progression is just strumming open the whole time with harmonics fills. I spent over a week going through the dozens of chords I had drilled into me when I was younger and only figured it out when I strummed open slowly to see if I was in tune. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l5I2vEcVC_I&feature=related The solo is still too hard to figure out. and The Birthday Party - Dead Joe for rhythm you're just strumming the hell out of an open E chord, right? The licks are still too hard to figure out. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=duZHUVje0TM&feature=related Marquis De Sade fucked around with this message at 05:01 on Oct 10, 2010 |
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Oct 10, 2010 00:57
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Goddamn the Classical Guitar is one versatile instrument http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tg-p4c2_BlE
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Oct 10, 2010 20:50
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