Go ahead, ask me anything. Also, learn your goddamn fretboard.

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Edited your post for this bit Ricard, everyone post links to the best guitar sites, lessons, etc. If you post it into the board then a moderator or admin can edit it into this post to make a good collection of sites.



A very good site created by guitar tutors with a lot of experience. The whole thing is free and the information there is very reliable. It was created by some people from Facebook and it's really useful for beginners to pros who want to learn to shred it up.

http://www.shredknowledge.com/

Nautilus wrote:

Also, learn your goddamn fretboard.

I did! =D

Now learn some scales. In odd places. Like the C on the 10th fret of the 4th string, for example.

I don't have the patience for theory, playing hundreds of scales over and over again isn't really the reason I play guitar. Although that's probably why I suck at improvising solos

Well that shouldn't be the reason. Everyone knows the only useful reason to play guitar is to get hot chicks.

For me scales aren't as important as people say they are. Learn important scales like the minors, pentatonic, blues, and major scales but don't stress over learning every single scale there is. Most of the improvising I do is around the pentatonic scale. Learn all the positions of the pentatonic, that's imporant. Make sure you know those like the back of your hand because that makes for more interesting improvisation and soloing.

Yeah, but pentatonic scales are boring.

Scales aren't the be-all end all, but they're just tools to help you get going. More important really is a sense of melody and an understanding of what actually makes the scales, so that way you can use them in the appropriate manner.

Nautilus wrote:

Yeah, but pentatonic scales are boring.

Scales aren't the be-all end all, but they're just tools to help you get going. More important really is a sense of melody and an understanding of what actually makes the scales, so that way you can use them in the appropriate manner.

Used appropriately they can sound good. If they're used in a rock n roll style or a boring attempt at blues then it's boring but used well it can sound awesome. Songwriting is key for me in guitar playing which is primarily why I play now. A catchy or heavy riff, or a tasty vocal melody is more important than being able to play over 9000 scales.

Nautilus wrote:

Well that shouldn't be the reason. Everyone knows the only useful reason to play guitar is to get hot chicks.

Nah, if you want chicks you have to play keyboard. A cheap one... with the notes taped on. And have an afro. It totally worked foe me.

/sarcasm *sigh* but I digress...

Here's a real question: tips for starting back up after years of inactivity to get up some decent improvisational chops?

Fjm2c wrote:

Here's a real question: tips for starting back up after years of inactivity to get up some decent improvisational chops?

start simple, then work your way up obviously
start with easy punks songs (Ramones, Misfits, etc), do stuff with more riffs, play along with songs but do some improv with the solo while staying in the same scale, etc

Fjm2c wrote:

Nautilus wrote:

Well that shouldn't be the reason. Everyone knows the only useful reason to play guitar is to get hot chicks.

Nah, if you want chicks you have to play keyboard. A cheap one... with the notes taped on. And have an afro. It totally worked foe me.

/sarcasm *sigh* but I digress...

Here's a real question: tips for starting back up after years of inactivity to get up some decent improvisational chops?

Look up on youtube for some like, backing tracks. Just search for "guitar backing track" and you'll find a whole host of 'em. Mostly blues progressions and such. Basically what you've gotta do is really just practice your improv. Just play along with the video and solo. Figure out little licks and techniques you like, and store 'em away in your memory. Most guitarists have a whole bunch of "signature licks" to use during improv sessions, and they make for great little building blocks when soloing.

I also very much suggest you learn your fretboard if you haven't already - that's a huge thing. Learn scales and patterns, but more than just patterns, learn the NOTES within those patterns. That way you can start "breaking out of the box" and rely less on specific patterns. The only stuff you REALLY need right now are the pentatonic, major and minor scales. Between the three of those you can come up with some pretty amazing stuff.

I'd suggest starting slow, like on E and A blues progressions and then after you're comfortable with that start branching out with different keys and different styles. Blues is VERY improv-oriented, so it's an excellent place to start with that.

Nautilus wrote:

Yeah, but pentatonic scales are boring.

Is you crazy!? They are amazing for improv, 'course you have to be good at guitar to make it sound eargasmic. I would be exaggerating if I said that all Metal is based around the pentatonic. But yeah, all Metal is based around the pentatonic.

Monkzum wrote:

Nautilus wrote:

Yeah, but pentatonic scales are boring.

Scales aren't the be-all end all, but they're just tools to help you get going. More important really is a sense of melody and an understanding of what actually makes the scales, so that way you can use them in the appropriate manner.

Used appropriately they can sound good. If they're used in a rock n roll style or a boring attempt at blues then it's boring but used well it can sound awesome. Songwriting is key for me in guitar playing which is primarily why I play now. A catchy or heavy riff, or a tasty vocal melody is more important than being able to play over 9000 scales.

Ah, but those 9,000 scales can help you come up with catchy riffs and good melodies. A balance is always key. And I do agree with you - when I play "lead guitar" more than anything, I try to accentuate the song itself with atmospheric touches, arrangements, little fills that add to the emotion of a song, rather than just wanking a solo. There's a time and place for that, but for the most part I've grown up in a musical context that doesn't primarily allow solos, so as the "lead guitarist" I've got to find other ways to express that. I think a lot of people miss that though.

Ahmed: That doesn't make it any less boring though. It's got to be used AMAZINGLY to sound special. It's fundamental, yes, and every guitarist should know it, but sometimes it's like going to a super-fancy restaurant and ordering a hamburger, you know?

Nautilus wrote:

Monkzum wrote:

Nautilus wrote:

Yeah, but pentatonic scales are boring.

Scales aren't the be-all end all, but they're just tools to help you get going. More important really is a sense of melody and an understanding of what actually makes the scales, so that way you can use them in the appropriate manner.

Used appropriately they can sound good. If they're used in a rock n roll style or a boring attempt at blues then it's boring but used well it can sound awesome. Songwriting is key for me in guitar playing which is primarily why I play now. A catchy or heavy riff, or a tasty vocal melody is more important than being able to play over 9000 scales.

Ah, but those 9,000 scales can help you come up with catchy riffs and good melodies. A balance is always key. And I do agree with you - when I play "lead guitar" more than anything, I try to accentuate the song itself with atmospheric touches, arrangements, little fills that add to the emotion of a song, rather than just wanking a solo. There's a time and place for that, but for the most part I've grown up in a musical context that doesn't primarily allow solos, so as the "lead guitarist" I've got to find other ways to express that. I think a lot of people miss that though.

Not really to be honest, most of my riffs are highly rhythmically based as you may have noticed

I don't think, right i'll be using this scale and then I make the riff. A lot of the time I just am playing in a certain scale but I don't notice it. For me it's all about ear, I can hear what sounds good and I can often tell what's going to sound good by just looking at the distance between the notes and I can remember what they sell like. I'm happy to explore the fretboard without having a clue what's going on because I know what it'll sound like.

Fair enough.

But like, sometimes I'll sit down and be like "I wanna write a 6/8 thrash song in Dmaj7! That would sound cool!" And my knowledge of theory helps me express it adequately. It's a fantastic tool.

Nautilus wrote:

Fair enough.

But like, sometimes I'll sit down and be like "I wanna write a 6/8 thrash song in Dmaj7! That would sound cool!" And my knowledge of theory helps me express it adequately. It's a fantastic tool.

Really? That just makes everything limited as far as i'm concerned. Most of the time I think about why i'm writing a song (if you get what I mean). That usually affects what kind of riffs I write or how simplistic it is. Like one of the songs on my new album (that's coming out soon by the way) is really simple but it's fast and straight to the point and has a nice groove.

I guess it depends from person to person but I rarely think about theory when i'm writing. Also what the fuck kind of thrash would that be lol

Music theory in MY thrash?

Monkzum wrote:

Nautilus wrote:

Fair enough.

But like, sometimes I'll sit down and be like "I wanna write a 6/8 thrash song in Dmaj7! That would sound cool!" And my knowledge of theory helps me express it adequately. It's a fantastic tool.

Really? That just makes everything limited as far as i'm concerned. Most of the time I think about why i'm writing a song (if you get what I mean). That usually affects what kind of riffs I write or how simplistic it is. Like one of the songs on my new album (that's coming out soon by the way) is really simple but it's fast and straight to the point and has a nice groove.

I guess it depends from person to person but I rarely think about theory when i'm writing. Also what the fuck kind of thrash would that be lol

Same. My knowledge of scales and such is less 'technical' but rather observational. I remember patterns from other bits I've learnt, and base things I write from that. The result is probably a mix of multiple scales, but eh

Rosalind wrote:

Monkzum wrote:

Nautilus wrote:

Fair enough.

But like, sometimes I'll sit down and be like "I wanna write a 6/8 thrash song in Dmaj7! That would sound cool!" And my knowledge of theory helps me express it adequately. It's a fantastic tool.

Really? That just makes everything limited as far as i'm concerned. Most of the time I think about why i'm writing a song (if you get what I mean). That usually affects what kind of riffs I write or how simplistic it is. Like one of the songs on my new album (that's coming out soon by the way) is really simple but it's fast and straight to the point and has a nice groove.

I guess it depends from person to person but I rarely think about theory when i'm writing. Also what the fuck kind of thrash would that be lol

Same. My knowledge of scales and such is less 'technical' but rather observational. I remember patterns from other bits I've learnt, and base things I write from that. The result is probably a mix of multiple scales, but eh

It's probably the actual reason I suck at soloing. I'm working on it but I don't know enough theory to do it properly. I mean in the demo i'm dropping on your hinds tomorrow (or some other day if I finish it) I solo in like two songs and one of them is a cover. I'm just not so good at it.

Not sucking in guitar is hard.

Does anyone know a remotely fun way of learning the theory?
When I get home from a long day of lectures, I really can't be arsed with learning stuff. I'd much rather just play one of my favourite songs, so I'm not really making much progress.

Don't treat it like it's some boring subject you have to learn. Treat it like some awesome new song you're learning the tab to.

I'd recommend learning scales and things of that nature through tabs, but then once you learn your fretboard use it to figure out what you're doing.

Nautilus wrote:

Go ahead, ask me anything. Also, learn your goddamn fretboard.

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Edited your post for this bit Ricard, everyone post links to the best guitar sites, lessons, etc. If you post it into the board then a moderator or admin can edit it into this post to make a good collection of sites.



A very good site created by guitar tutors with a lot of experience. The whole thing is free and the information there is very reliable. It was created by some people from Facebook and it's really useful for beginners to pros who want to learn to shred it up.

http://www.shredknowledge.com/

What do accents in particular refer to when it comes to drumming? I've seen it used before (and used it before), and I kind of have an idea (I think), but if you could show me some examples and shit as well that'd be great.

Neon_Knight_ wrote:

Does anyone know a remotely fun way of learning the theory?
When I get home from a long day of lectures, I really can't be arsed with learning stuff. I'd much rather just play one of my favourite songs, so I'm not really making much progress.

I know what you mean man, I don't get anything done except during holidays because school takes up a lot of my time particularly as I get loads of homework. The best way to do it is to learn some scales and just jam on them with other songs. But really, theory is just something that's learnt, there's no real magic way of making it fun, just something you have to do.

The Entity wrote:

Nautilus wrote:

Go ahead, ask me anything. Also, learn your goddamn fretboard.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Edited your post for this bit Ricard, everyone post links to the best guitar sites, lessons, etc. If you post it into the board then a moderator or admin can edit it into this post to make a good collection of sites.



A very good site created by guitar tutors with a lot of experience. The whole thing is free and the information there is very reliable. It was created by some people from Facebook and it's really useful for beginners to pros who want to learn to shred it up.

http://www.shredknowledge.com/

What do accents in particular refer to when it comes to drumming? I've seen it used before (and used it before), and I kind of have an idea (I think), but if you could show me some examples and shit as well that'd be great.

An accent just in general is a note that's played louder/harder than the other notes around it. It's well, accented - more emphasis is put on that particular note. You just hit the drum/strum the note a little bit harder.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2_RuBLCPPjk

Here's a great example - notice how he hits the cymbals especially hard on certain parts, to bring out the rhythm more. And at 0:52 he's still playing other notes with his feet but those snare hits stand out more. It's like da-DA da da DA da DA or something,