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Posted: 8/8/2023 2:20:50 PM EST
Since my divorce I have a lot more free time than I'd like, especially when my kids aren't with me.
I played guitar for about five years. I played almost daily, and I was pretty good. I learned entire songs (Metallica and Led Zeppelin, mostly) and plenty of nonsense power chord punk. I dabbled in some classical and fingerstyle stuff, at least when I was able to find the tabs. I was entirely self-taught and know pretty much nothing of music theory. I started playing again a few months ago since my girlfriend has a guitar and it's easy to pick up and get some of the rust off when she's in putting her daughter to bed. Since then I bought a new guitar and have been playing a little every day, as I figure it's a good use of my time compared to arguing on ARFCOM while drinking bourbon. Are there any recommended drills? Videos? Courses? Obviously just playing will help but lacking the theory I'd just be learning chord shapes and progressions for one particular song. I feel like building fundamentals is probably better because I never really learned them. |
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MN, USA
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Posted: 8/8/2023 2:47:38 PM EST
[#1]
This is a link to music theory made simple on the Gear page. There is also a musical theory for dummies book.
https://www.thegearpage.net/board/index.php?threads/music-theory-made-simple-0-index-toc.1371119/ I struggle with music theory. |
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IL, USA
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Posted: 8/8/2023 8:58:13 PM EST
[#2]
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Posted: 8/8/2023 9:45:47 PM EST
[#3]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By ajroyer: Here's some youtube I like to follow: https://youtube.com/@Effectivemusicpractice https://youtube.com/@GuitarJamzOfficial https://youtube.com/@justinguitar https://youtube.com/@MartyMusic https://youtube.com/@PaulDavids https://youtube.com/@seandaniel23 Thanks for this. I've seen Paul Davids before, but not the others. |
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MI, USA
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Posted: 8/11/2023 10:06:07 PM EST
[Last Edit: Ajek]
[#4]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By FS7: Thanks for this. I've seen Paul Davids before, but not the others. Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By FS7: Originally Posted By ajroyer: Here's some youtube I like to follow: https://youtube.com/@Effectivemusicpractice https://youtube.com/@GuitarJamzOfficial https://youtube.com/@justinguitar https://youtube.com/@MartyMusic https://youtube.com/@PaulDavids https://youtube.com/@seandaniel23 Thanks for this. I've seen Paul Davids before, but not the others. I've definitely watched videos from all of the above guys, but I like the lesson layout of justinguitar the best. It's what I used to really learn 15ish years ago, and he has streamlined things since then. I'd recommend going directly to his website if you want general lessons and looking under the "courses" dropdown rather than searching his youtube channel: https://www.justinguitar.com/ When I'm looking for a specific song, I usually just seach it on youtube and compare different lessons to see which seems closest to my ear (there's almost always minor differences among the different players). For song specific (not exactly lessons though), I really like Mr. Tabs: https://www.youtube.com/@Mr.Tabs.Guitar.Lessons https://www.youtube.com/@GuitarLessons365SongLessons can be decent, too, though I think he often made minor errors in his earlier lessons (though not as many as Marty Schwartz "MartyMusic"). |
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Posted: 8/11/2023 10:20:49 PM EST
[#5]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Ajek: I've definitely watched videos from all of the above guys, but I like the lesson layout of justinguitar the best. It's what I used to really learn 15ish years ago, and he has streamlined things since then. I'd recommend going directly to his website if you want general lessons and looking under the "courses" dropdown rather than searching his youtube channel: https://www.justinguitar.com/ When I'm looking for a specific song, I usually just seach it on youtube and compare different lessons to see which seems closest to my ear (there's almost always minor differences among the different players). For song specific (not exactly lessons though), I really like Mr. Tabs: https://www.youtube.com/@Mr.Tabs.Guitar.Lessons https://www.youtube.com/@GuitarLessons365SongLessons can be decent, too, though I think he often made minor errors in his earlier lessons. I've been a little overwhelmed with the options. But I'm making progress already. In going down those existing YouTube rabbit holes, I found some acoustic arrangements of songs from a Russian (I think) guy. One of them is Linkin Park's Breaking the Habit, and while I can't match the percussive slap and wrist thump, the chords and tempo are not advanced and I have been doing OK with it. But I've found myself rearranging while I'm playing (I bought the tabs) and I enjoy thinking "this sounds better" while I'm practicing. I will watch justinguitar as well. You aren't the first person to recommend him and I think some of the techniques will be good to learn or practice before I try to do what I want. I think my ultimate goal is to learn some of my favorite songs in polyrhythmic form, especially because I can't sing. If I could, I think singing and playing wouldn't be too hard as I can keep time pretty well. But my voice makes children cry, so there's that. |
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MI, USA
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Posted: 8/11/2023 10:29:54 PM EST
[Last Edit: Ajek]
[#6]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By FS7: If I could, I think singing and playing wouldn't be too hard as I can keep time pretty well. But my voice makes children cry, so there's that. Playing and singing is a ton a fun. While I have played publicly, my singing also makes children cry, so I don't sing in public. Seriously, the best trick is to learn a few songs that everyone knows and play them at parties/get togethers. That ensures there are enough others singing badly to drown me out...or everyone is drunk and doesn't care.  Something like "Sweet Caroline" might sound cheesy/cliche, but it's super easy and people love to sing along. |
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IL, USA
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Posted: 8/12/2023 6:04:58 AM EST
[#7]
As far as tabs and learning specific songs, I bought Ultimate Guitar app for my phone. Well worth the money. When my daughter said she wanted to learn guitar I paid for a second account for her. You can look up songs that have different chord arrangements and tabs. You can hit play and it will autoscroll to keep the music on the screen, and you can adjust how fast it scrolls. Other features too. Worth taking a look.
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Posted: 8/12/2023 11:55:46 AM EST
[#8]
I really like the Songsterr interface and the app was dirt cheap. Change keys, reduce speed, good tabs...
 Attached File |
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MI, USA
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Posted: 8/12/2023 4:33:11 PM EST
[#9]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Czechers: I really like the Songsterr interface and the app was dirt cheap. Change keys, reduce speed, good tabs... https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/300247/Screenshot_20230812-115409_Songsterr_jpg-2917045.JPG Songsterr is solid. I never paid for anything, but I frequently check the tabs there when learning a new song. |
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Posted: 8/12/2023 9:04:54 PM EST
[#10]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Ajek: Songsterr is solid. I never paid for anything, but I frequently check the tabs there when learning a new song. Never heard of this. I have heard of Ultimate Guitar (doesn't that date back to the 90's?) but not this one. I was about to torture people at the beach today because I was taking the boat out by myself but at the last minute one of my buddies texted me. So he mostly stayed on board and studied Python. |
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Posted: 8/13/2023 7:17:20 AM EST
[#11]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Ajek: Songsterr is solid. I never paid for anything, but I frequently check the tabs there when learning a new song. Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Ajek: Originally Posted By Czechers: I really like the Songsterr interface and the app was dirt cheap. Change keys, reduce speed, good tabs... https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/300247/Screenshot_20230812-115409_Songsterr_jpg-2917045.JPG Songsterr is solid. I never paid for anything, but I frequently check the tabs there when learning a new song. So this is weird. I did some upgrade couple years ago where I paid something like $4.95 once for the advanced features of Songsterr and I don't pay a monthly subscription. I must have some sort of legacy account because it looks like some of those features (pitch shift, change tempo etc.) are only available with the monthly subscription now. When I said stupid cheap I was referring to the one time fee I paid. I would NOT pay $10 a month for this over one of the more structured guitar learning online programs. |
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MI, USA
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Posted: 8/13/2023 9:10:27 AM EST
[Last Edit: Ajek]
[#12]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Czechers: So this is weird. I did some upgrade couple years ago where I paid something like $4.95 once for the advanced features of Songsterr and I don't pay a monthly subscription. I must have some sort of legacy account because it looks like some of those features (pitch shift, change tempo etc.) are only available with the monthly subscription now.  When I said stupid cheap I was referring to the one time fee I paid. I would NOT pay $10 a  month for this over one of the more structured guitar learning online programs. Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Czechers: Originally Posted By Ajek: Originally Posted By Czechers: I really like the Songsterr interface and the app was dirt cheap. Change keys, reduce speed, good tabs... https://www.ar15.com/media/mediaFiles/300247/Screenshot_20230812-115409_Songsterr_jpg-2917045.JPG Songsterr is solid. I never paid for anything, but I frequently check the tabs there when learning a new song. So this is weird. I did some upgrade couple years ago where I paid something like $4.95 once for the advanced features of Songsterr and I don't pay a monthly subscription. I must have some sort of legacy account because it looks like some of those features (pitch shift, change tempo etc.) are only available with the monthly subscription now.  When I said stupid cheap I was referring to the one time fee I paid. I would NOT pay $10 a  month for this over one of the more structured guitar learning online programs. My feeling is that there are enough free resources out there that paying a subscription is generally not worthwhile. Any money spent would be put to better use on in-person lessons, or software that isn't subscription-based (such as Transcribe!: https://www.seventhstring.com/xscribe/overview.html).  HOW I LEARN SONGS So You Wanna Be A Pro Musician #5 |
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Posted: 8/13/2023 8:08:40 PM EST
[Last Edit: cgrant26]
[#13]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By ajroyer: Here's some youtube I like to follow: https://youtube.com/@Effectivemusicpractice https://youtube.com/@GuitarJamzOfficial https://youtube.com/@justinguitar https://youtube.com/@MartyMusic https://youtube.com/@PaulDavids https://youtube.com/@seandaniel23 Yep. All good ones. I'd add Mr Tabs too for song specific lessons. Mr Tabs Youtube Channel He also does backing tracks and isolated tracks for you to play along with but you have to be a patreon subscriber to get all of that. Worth it IMO. |
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Posted: 8/13/2023 8:10:18 PM EST
[Last Edit: cgrant26]
[#14]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Czechers: So this is weird. I did some upgrade couple years ago where I paid something like $4.95 once for the advanced features of Songsterr and I don't pay a monthly subscription. I must have some sort of legacy account because it looks like some of those features (pitch shift, change tempo etc.) are only available with the monthly subscription now.  When I said stupid cheap I was referring to the one time fee I paid. I would NOT pay $10 a  month for this over one of the more structured guitar learning online programs. Same here. I paid $5.99 one time years ago and I still have access to all of that. |
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Posted: 8/14/2023 10:56:40 AM EST
[#15]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By cgrant26: Same here. I paid $5.99 one time years ago and I still have access to all of that. Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By cgrant26: Originally Posted By Czechers: So this is weird. I did some upgrade couple years ago where I paid something like $4.95 once for the advanced features of Songsterr and I don't pay a monthly subscription. I must have some sort of legacy account because it looks like some of those features (pitch shift, change tempo etc.) are only available with the monthly subscription now.  When I said stupid cheap I was referring to the one time fee I paid. I would NOT pay $10 a  month for this over one of the more structured guitar learning online programs. Same here. I paid $5.99 one time years ago and I still have access to all of that. There are some occasional incorrect tabs. But its usually something i can figure out like they have it tabbed for the wrong string. I've been on a Don Felder bent lately and noticed their Eagles tabs are pretty good. |
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Posted: 8/21/2023 3:10:28 PM EST
[#16]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By FS7: If I could, I think singing and playing wouldn't be too hard as I can keep time pretty well. But my voice makes children cry, so there's that. B.B. King didn't sing and play at the same time. He said something along the lines of "I sing and then Lucille sings." |
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Posted: 9/5/2023 10:20:38 AM EST
[#17]
I have been using the app Chordify, it has really helped me get back into after decades and fun to play with the music.
this is rhythm guitar only |
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FL, USA
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Posted: 9/5/2023 10:42:23 AM EST
[#18]
Look into Rocksmith. I play it daily, it's gamified practice for me. Is it perfect? No but it's given me structure, routine, and a reason to keep playing
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Posted: 9/5/2023 4:11:05 PM EST
[#19]
OP asks....Rick Beato delivers!!!
 How I Would Relearn The Guitar From Scratch |
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Posted: 9/5/2023 4:18:07 PM EST
[#20]
Re-learn G, C and D and then play the 87,000 songs using those chords. Once you get bored, find a song that throws in an A. Repeat until you have re-mastered all of the cowboy chords.
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AR, USA
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Posted: 9/5/2023 8:36:48 PM EST
[#21]
You don't even need to pick up a guitar to learn music theory.
I would learn things first, then apply it to guitar. For me, it was a lot easier when I made it less guitar-centric. |
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Posted: 9/6/2023 10:18:36 AM EST
[#22]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By dolfan058: Look into Rocksmith. I play it daily, it's gamified practice for me. Is it perfect? No but it's given me structure, routine, and a reason to keep playing I actually used this to help teach my wife bass, but we have the 2014 version and a bunch of stuff that isn't available in the new subscription version. Too bad they took down the server support for the old version to buy new songs I would have thrown a bunch more on there. |
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Posted: 9/6/2023 5:36:13 PM EST
[#23]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Advance: Re-learn G, C and D and then play the 87,000 songs using those chords. Once you get bored, find a song that throws in an A. Repeat until you have re-mastered all of the cowboy chords. Seems like the cowboy chords now include Ab, Eb, Eb7, Gb, Bm, Bm7, Bbm7, F#, F#7, A#, etc etc etc. |
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IL, USA
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Posted: 9/6/2023 6:10:18 PM EST
[#24]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Mach: Seems like the cowboy chords now include Ab, Eb, Eb7, Gb, Bm, Bm7, Bbm7, F#, F#7, A#, etc etc etc. Sounds like you need a capo... |
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Posted: 9/6/2023 6:16:51 PM EST
[#25]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Mach: Seems like the cowboy chords now include Ab, Eb, Eb7, Gb, Bm, Bm7, Bbm7, F#, F#7, A#, etc etc etc. My point is... Start with the three easy ones, get back in the groove and add new tools to the toolbox as your knowledge and experience grows. |
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Posted: 9/7/2023 4:18:44 PM EST
[#26]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By ajroyer: Sounds like you need a capo... Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By ajroyer: Originally Posted By Mach: Seems like the cowboy chords now include Ab, Eb, Eb7, Gb, Bm, Bm7, Bbm7, F#, F#7, A#, etc etc etc. Sounds like you need a capo... Nah, that is why God made Barr chords |
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IL, USA
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Posted: 9/7/2023 4:56:53 PM EST
[#27]
Quote HistoryOriginally Posted By Mach: Nah, that is why God made Barr chords The devil made the barr chords 🤣 (Especially F) |
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USA
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Posted: 9/8/2023 7:53:41 PM EST
[#28]
Make a hard scedule to work on the guitar for an hour or so every day. Pick something and make sure you work the stuff you learned in as you go so not to forget it.
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OH, USA
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Posted: 9/12/2023 7:57:10 PM EST
[#29]
I've been on and off for 55 years. On enough to start getting somewhere and off enough to forget most.
 This time I'm not even concerned about playing songs. My main practice involves learning the notes on the neck. I know a lot of cords but I want to understand what makes a cord.Probably the wrong approach but I'm giving it a go
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