# Are you serious about improving your guitar playing?



## rhh7 (Mar 14, 2008)

I have wasted over twenty years, refusing to buckle down to serious, systematic study of the guitar. I have amused myself with strumming chord progressions, strictly using barre chords, as I could not be bothered to learn open chords. I know the blues scale up and down the neck, in every key. But I have no repertoire of songs, I don't play well enough to jam with other musicians.

I finally got desperate enough to seek expert advice. One of my friends has played professionally for over 34 years. He has been a gigging musician since age 14. In his youth, he had a recording contract, and toured Canada for several years, performing 5-6 shows per week. Now he has cut back, performing "only" about a hundred shows per year.

He told me exactly what I did not want to hear. "Get yourself a Mel Bay Modern Guitar Method book, grade one, and start at page one...spend 30 minutes per day working through the book." I confess it is humbling to start so low. And I dread the prospect of working so hard for 6-12 months to advance to the level of beginner at guitar. But I am determined to do it, and Thursday I plunked down my money and ordered this book:












"The Modern Guitar Method Grade 1/Expanded Edition provides valuable enhancement to the world's most popular guitar method. This comprehensive spiral-bound volume doubles the quantity of studies and solos presented in the original edition. Every new concept is reinforced by numerous pages of fresh study material. In addition, every note contained in the original Modern Guitar Method Grade 1 is included and supported by additional playing material. Available as a book only or deluxe book/CD set. Expands entire content of the original Modern Guitar Method, Grade 1 Doubles the amount of study and solo material CD edition available. Spiral bound for durability and reading convenience Provides an incredibly solid foundation for any guitar student."

What are you doing to improve your guitar playing? Any further tips or advice would be appreciated.


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## shoretyus (Jan 6, 2007)

Ha you thought guitar was hard .. you should try trombone. I feel your pain. Just with my lips. Not to make fun of you. I am doing the scales, triads.. bla bla. All the boring stuff. But in the end it's playing with other people that gets results.

Great move with the books.


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

Never a bad plan to learn from books and to have a plan.

I try to have a plan of what I want to do, but my life doesn't always co-operate with that plan.
I have looked up stuff online and taken some stuff out of the library, and come up with some good stuff to learn some things better than I know them now.

As for Mel Bay--I didn't learn with those books, but I have seen them, and I do have a few of them with my guitar stuff. (Well I did use Roger Filiburto's books when I learned bass--and those are Mel Bay.) Good to see they have CD's now.


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## kat_ (Jan 11, 2007)

rhh7 said:


> What are you doing to improve your guitar playing? Any further tips or advice would be appreciated.


I recently reconnected with an old friend who wants to jam. Jamming with him is going to completely kick my ass.


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## Shark (Jun 10, 2010)

rhh7 said:


> I know the blues scale up and down the neck, in every key.


Do you add notes to the blues scale? That can be a fun way of quickly expanding things a bit. You will still want to get into theory as well, even just for fun (yes, it can be fun), but a few extra notes can really open up the blues. Oh, actually, before I expand on that thought, check out Robben Ford's _The Blues and Beyond_ for some incredible outside-the-standard-blues-scale lessons. His take on Revelation is awesome!

Anyways, if you get to know your modes, there are a few you can apply within the blues. The first one to add would be the mixolydian mode. In the key of A the notes are A B C# D E F# G A. The blues scale in A is, as you already know, A C D Eb E G A. So, if you combine them you get A B C C# D Eb E F# G A. That's a lotta notes to play around with!  

Put on a simple loop of an A power chord and jam various combinations of those notes over it to really absorb how they all sound. Get the sounds firmly in your head, so that you can just reach for them without having to think about what you're playing. Then do the same thing with all the modes. 

I love theory.


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## Shark (Jun 10, 2010)

Something else I like is figuring out the way notes and chords relate to each other and then substituting close ones. A good place to start is to look at how chords are built from intervals. But skipping ahead a bit, if you check out, say, the A7 chord and the Edim7 chord you'll see mostly overlapping notes. So you can substitute those two chords (well, depending on the context). Therefore, you can also substitute their arpeggios and the related scales. Anyways, big topic, but one of my faves.


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## mrmatt1972 (Apr 3, 2008)

Maybe we should form a support group for Mel Bay learners. I just found books 1-3 in my book stash (I posted about it last week) and I'm working through it. I saw the expanded packs like you are getting. online, but I think i'll get those starting in book 4.


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## shoretyus (Jan 6, 2007)

mrmatt1972 said:


> Maybe we should form a support group for Mel Bay learners. I just found books 1-3 in my book stash (I posted about it last week) and I'm working through it. I saw the expanded packs like you are getting. online, but I think i'll get those starting in book 4.


If you finish them do you get that nice guitar on the cover?


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## hollowbody (Jan 15, 2008)

I've always found that playing with others really inspires/forces me to get better. All the stuff I've had to learn for the cover bands I've played in have added to my bag of tricks, but I'm starting to think that I'm hitting a wall. Funny how this happens every now and then, eh?

I think it's time for me to hunker down and really start working on some theory. Those Mel Bay books look pretty solid. I've always heard good things about them.


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## Jim DaddyO (Mar 20, 2009)

Not doing as much as I should, but I am doing more than I used to. I get out once a week now to a mostly country jam. Mostly simple I, IV, V stuff, it is improving my timing and ear a bit.


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## PaulS (Feb 27, 2006)

A bit of theory never hurt anybody. Understanding the relationship of maj, min scales and the modes within them is a good way to expand what you play. Start a blues lick in a maj scale and end it in a minor can break things up. Chords... you can never know enough. I like to practice in a different format a lot of the times, I try to play what I hear in real time.


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## Guest (Nov 14, 2010)

I know the chromatic scale up and down the neck in every key. I figured once I learned that I had all my bases covered.


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## Steadfastly (Nov 14, 2008)

I started with something similar to the Mel Bay book. It was very good. About half way through, I found this. If you follow it with your 1/2 hour everyday regimen, the course should take you around one year and you'll be a good intermediate player, and able to read music very well by that time. Perhaps you may find this useful for your next step.

Gibson's Learn & Master Guitar | Learn Guitar with DVD Lessons at Home | Acoustic & Electric


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## mrfiftyfour (Jun 29, 2008)

The Mel Bay stuff is excellent. Along with the blues scales, the major pentatonic is other must know. If fact, you should know it as well as the blues and minor pentatonics. These scales will take you through 90% of pop/rock/blues songs.


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## Shark (Jun 10, 2010)

iaresee said:


> I know the chromatic scale up and down the neck in every key. I figured once I learned that I had all my bases covered.












Actually, that reminds me of a Miles Davis quote (paraphrasing): "Every note is right in the right context". Or something like that. The gist was that any note is ok, so long as you make it sound like you mean it.

Sometimes I think guitarists play like they're trying to write based on what letters they think they should use in their sentences - "Well, I know how to use a Z, so I will find a way to work it into my next sentence". Most solos sound like people trying really hard to get the words right, without really knowing what they were trying to say in the first place.


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## lbrown1 (Mar 22, 2007)

shoretyus said:


> But in the end it's playing with other people that gets results.
> 
> .


yesssr - that's the ticket indeed!


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## bw66 (Dec 17, 2009)

shoretyus said:


> But in the end it's playing with other people that gets results.


Unless, of course, you are a solo fingerstyle guitarist.9kkhhd Then it's playing FOR other people that gets results.


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## shoretyus (Jan 6, 2007)

bw66 said:


> Unless, of course, you are a solo fingerstyle guitarist.9kkhhd Then it's playing FOR other people that gets results.


sigiifa No Hippie Girls with long skirts in Uxbridge that want to sing some folk songs? Don't believe it. 

Of course when I drove through in June you had the main street kinda tore up and I didn't get a good look.... where's Google St view... ha ha


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## bw66 (Dec 17, 2009)

shoretyus said:


> sigiifa No Hippie Girls with long skirts in Uxbridge that want to sing some folk songs? Don't believe it.
> 
> Of course when I drove through in June you had the main street kinda tore up and I didn't get a good look.... where's Google St view... ha ha


Ha! 

I was _trying _to say that a great way to work on your chops is to play solo in front of an audience - suddenly the simplest tunes become complicated.

And, yes, downtown looks much better now.


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## shoretyus (Jan 6, 2007)

Ah .. the pressure of performance.... nuthin' like performing to see if you really know the song. There is a trainwreck on every corner.


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## Mooh (Mar 7, 2007)

I have started using a prototype of my own program, but there are many satisfactory ones on the market. All of them beg for additional supplimentary material, and some are useless without a teacher. The worst are the Hal Leonard Fast Track books, not to be confused with the Hal Leonard Guitar Method. I've used Berklee, Pumping Nylon, Hal Leonard, Mel Bay, Belwin, Progressive, Alfred, Guitar For Dummies, Guitar Bible, and many general books. Since I use so much of my own stuff, it doesn't much matter what the student buys, though I usually suggest Mel Bay's Mastering The Guitar if I have a chance, but many enroll after they've bought books. What's necessary is a good home reference of music and guitar fundamentals with a few applicable pieces, exercises, scales, etc.

In my estimation the Mel Bay graded series isn't as good as the Mel Bay *Mastering The Guitar *series. There's some common stuff to both naturally, but MTG has way more material. Get the CDs too, as they can help weed out issues. *Mel Bay Guitar Journals *are good supplimentary material, though I often remove the tab if the situation requires it.

For serious adult self instruction, Berklee, Pumping Nylon, or the Mastering The Guitar books are what I suggest for starters. After that, keep buying books.

Peace, Mooh.


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## zontar (Oct 25, 2007)

I wish there were CD's when I was starting out.


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## Jocko (May 17, 2010)

I found the Mel Bay "Fretboard Roadmap" a very interesting book.


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## colchar (May 22, 2010)

My guitar teacher told me to grab the Hal Leonard method book and I managed to get all three of them bound in one volume for less than $20. It seems pretty good to me and will help me progress beyond the type of playing the original poster described.


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## snacker (Jun 26, 2008)

instead of 30 minutes every day......do 5 minutes a day - that way, it's not a chore, it's not boring and you'll stick with it - you'll also retain the information better - the best way to learn an instrument is through repetition and the best way to keep repetition from boring you to death is in short bursts


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## Fajah (Jun 28, 2006)

snacker said:


> the best way to learn an instrument is through repetition and the best way to keep repetition from boring you to death is in short bursts


I agree with part of this but I've found that repetition, be it short or long, won't advance you as a player unless it can be applied to the music that one likes to play. For example, I wanted to improve my "slap" bass technique. I bought a great book which included a CD. I started going through all the exercises and actually used it as a warm up before practicing tunes. As I got better with each pattern, I repeated them less. The more challenging ones I obviously spent more time on.

However, of all the music that I typically play in bands and jam sessions, maybe one or two tunes I can slap on. Although I did improve my skills, I eventually gave up focusing on it in favor of other techniques that's more suited to the style of music that I play.


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