# Practicing for a beginner



## mikegleasonjr (Dec 10, 2009)

Hi,

I joined the wonderful world of guitar "players" (double quotes are for me) this summer.

I always liked Red Hot Chilli Peppers so I bought a Strat and I'm taking lessons with an experienced guy.

But I don't know how to practice at home even if I ask my professor what should I do. He's not a classical kind of guy and I like it because it sticks more with the style of RHCP that I'm learning tunes from...

He said to me "there's a lot of things that can mess up you brain maannn in that book" referring to the "official" course book.

So should I practice a little bit of everything? Scales, chords, Barré, Tune 1, tune 2, etc rinse and repeat

Or should I try to master 1 thing first and then go on with another? Or absolutely a few ones before event thinking of trying anything else?

I'm playing every day or every other day.. can't wait to have some speed to play more than the fifth of a tune 

Thanks !


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## GuitarsCanada (Dec 30, 2005)

When I was learning to play I did two things most of the time. I always had a song that I wanted to learn note for note. So I either got a song book or whatever, that had the tab for it (I do not read music) and I would work on that song for an hour or two each day with the audio track. Frustration level can get high when you are doing this and it's best not to go any further than a few sections at a time. When you get frustrated leave it alone for the day or maybe even a few days. I always found that when I did that, the part that was driving me nuts came easier a few days later.

At night when I watched TV I would work on scales (unplugged) and just noodled on the fretboard. Not really even paying a lot of attention. Just working the hands.


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## mikegleasonjr (Dec 10, 2009)

> When I was learning to play I did two things most of the time. I always had a song that I wanted to learn note for note.


Check! Learning a few sections of Under the Bridge, Otherside, By the Way... my professor helps me a lot with few hints that only experienced players knows



> Frustration level can get high when you are doing this and it's best not to go any further than a few sections at a time. When you get frustrated leave it alone for the day or maybe even a few days. I always found that when I did that, the part that was driving me nuts came easier a few days later.


Good, I'm the kind of guy that if I don't learn something fast, I stop. It's an all or nothing decision.. But I know it and I know that guitar is a lifetime study so I'm less obsessive..



> At night when I watched TV I would work on scales (unplugged) and just noodled on the fretboard. Not really even paying a lot of attention. Just working the hands.


I'll try that... I guess it would also help getting the notes without looking at the frets... which I can't do well at the time.

Thanks!


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## lbrown1 (Mar 22, 2007)

I second that.....in a practice session focus on one thing at a time, but in your general learnings, focus on a few things.

I found that learning / practicing songs I wanted to play both kept me interested and provided clues as to how songs were constructed.....even if I originally had no idea at the time what chords made up the song or what key it was in.....or even any concept of keys or chord progressions.

then I'd practice scales - Learn and practice them scales....most importantly - Major, Minor full scales and Pentatonic scales - learn them in their "first position" (i.e. I define that as rooted off the low E string) then branch out from there...this will set the foundation for improvised leads later on....these scales follow definitive patterns on the guitar fretboard...once you become very familiar with them, your area of playable notes for a given song will just appear before your eyes in their patterns....this takes while (a tip - one thing that helped me GREATLY in understanding what to do for leads is understanding the concept of "relative Minor and Major scales")..start picking random notes within the scales, skip strings, bend strings, pull off and hammer on....you'll start to hear some cool riffs.,,,,learn and practice riffs from your favorite songs - you''ll start to notice the use of notes in a particular scale...

the I'd move onto chords - Barre rooted on 5th and 6th string, other "movable" chord fingering patters rooted off the other strings and open position chords..most importantly - practice moving from 1 chord to another...don't be intimidated by them fancy chords - start with the basics - Major and Minor - move to the more complex ones later...you'll eventually find the most common chords (even the more complicated ones) follow patterns in fingering which allows you to easily play them rooted off any note.

practice these things - and you'll set a foundation for yourself that'll allow you to play an incredibly wide variety of rock / blues based songs.

I never really took a lot of lessons - but learning and practicing the above set a great foundation........looking for patterns - that was the key for me....if I know the root and the pattern I'm after - I'm good.


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## mikegleasonjr (Dec 10, 2009)

Thank you so much guys, I'll change my training a little..

I'll stick around, great forum


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## Starbuck (Jun 15, 2007)

Dude, find something easy like Tom Petty or Neil Young. Your confidance level will improve greatly by learning a song from beginning to end. Think three chords.. There have to be a million songs that are D, A, G.


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## mikegleasonjr (Dec 10, 2009)

I agree that confidence/pleasure is a huge part in learning guitar.. I began with an acoustic and since I got my Strat, I play two times as much with it!

Thanks for the artists I'll google them


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## Swervin55 (Oct 30, 2009)

One of the biggest downfalls I find with a lot of guitar players (at all levels) is poor timing (or phrasing). It might not hurt to use a metronome when you practice to get your timing right. If your timing is solid, only then you can begin to add your own flavor... JMHO

Swervin:smile:


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## Budda (May 29, 2007)

1. Practice clean and unplugged and distorted.
2. practice with a metronome. Do not speed up until you can play the piece cleanly and consistently.
3. Rock out every once in a while!


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## mikegleasonjr (Dec 10, 2009)

I use an free online metronome on my laptop.. But I don't really pay attention to timing except when I'm doing scales...

But I just found this website that explains songs including the proper way to say out loud the timing of the song:
http://www.guitarnoise.com/easy/

I'll introduce that in my practices!

Thanks


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## lbrown1 (Mar 22, 2007)

AND - play along to songs and backing tracks - and record yourself if possible...playing along to songs (for me) acted as a more interesting way to practice timing...I just couldn't get into the metronome

recording and playing back - listening and doing corrections where the bad stuff appears was also an incredibly valuable tool.


and

I'll list the maybe not the last - but definitely MOST effective tool I had in leaning / practicing.....play with others - more or less experienced - I have learned equal amounts from either.


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