Quote: pebberbrown wrote in post #4Daily Practice routine - 7 modules - 7 things to do. You divide your time as you wish. Most people completely suck at technique so they should work on technique first. Hard work is indeed boring.
People want to become great players but they don't have the patience and dedication required to become a good player. It takes years of hard work spending every waking hour to become a GREAT player. Yourself and Ursin DeRoche didn't become great players by just practicing 10 minutes every day.
Welcome! Yes, feel free to ask questions. There are guitar players here with a huge amount of knowledge of the instrument. You have come to the right place to get advice about playing the instrument :-)
Players who want to get "good" need to really focus on their technique. Thumb behind the back of the neck.......use all four fingers on the fretboard. Myself, I have been playing guitar since I was 14 years old(I am 36 now). I am far from a virtuoso like Ursin DeRoche but I consider myself an above average(good) player.
Due to family and work(that thing people do to earn money to pay bills) commitments for the longest time I stopped playing guitar. Pretty much from the ages of 14 to 16, I worked solidly at playing guitar and I became a good player. I was fortunate to have a good guitar tutors when I was younger to teach me the correct way to do things.
You have to spend ALOT of time to get fluent in the more advanced techniques of the instrument(Alternate picking etc). This is true......if you don't practice constantly your picking technique will go to pieces in a very short matter of time.
With Legato and pull off technique this isn't the case from my own experience. About 4 years ago, I suffered a paralysis type injury in my right arm. Not a serious one and I have somewhat recovered from it but it has effected my picking technique. I have stiffness and muscle cramps my right arm now.
I was going to say that about the intonation. The best advice I can offer is this.......take the guitar to a decent tech to set it up, level the frets etc. It is worth the cost of doing it.
Quote: birdsoffire wrote in post #1When I got out of the military in in 1994 I had a chance to go to GIT/MI for a little while until the money ran out. I had a chance to study with some fantastic musicians (not just guitar players). I got a chance to take some lessons from some world class players. Two in particular were artists in residence for a while were Steve Lukather and Scott Henderson.
Steve Lukather talked about the importance of using chromatic scales in playing and proper technique in playing the scales. From what I remember we started out at 50 bpms in playing those scales and would not up the bpms until your technique and the scales were played perfectly. Pebber's videos on chromatic scales reminds me of sitting in that lesson room with Lukather again! I believe I still have some of the materials from those lessons.
Scott Henderson was also a beast. He wouldn't even let us pick up a guitar until we completed an ear training exercise. This was one of the most difficult classes I had to take. Scott did not just play guitar notes...he would play a Miles Davis horn solo or a Michael Brecker sax solo or a Vladimir Horowitz piano melody. We had to not only tell him the notes, but transpose those onto the guitar. Again watching some of Pebber's videos he talked about singing along with everything you play to really understand the notes you are playing.
Pebber is definitely speaking the truth. Being away from guitar for a significant amount of time and coming back to it, I really have fun watching Pebber's videos because it is like being at MI again. However I remember Steve Lukather using much more "colorful" language if we screwed up. I think I might have to subscribe to Pebber's online lessons! Love playing those chromatic exercises...
Thanks Pebber for bringing some of those great memories back!
Steve Lukather had the potential to be a much better player than he is. He is a great player but he was way too much in the boozing and cocaine.
Quote: Scottulus wrote in post #23I am not a PB student. Lol I do not follow the modules, Although I dabbled briefly to see what was what. I am here to see what, if anything, anybody has learned or can play that is of interest. Y'know, guitar and music enthusiast. Pebber has some neat ideas and a scientific mind hard-wired for complexity. It blows me away how obsessed with speed and picking people are when there is so much more to it...
Anyways, I am not a byproduct of Pebber's method. Just thought I'd clear that up.
Scotty, I have seen your videos on youtube and you are a top class guitar player and musician. There are many different approaches to becoming a great player. This much is true......without dedication and hard work and effort it is impossible to be a great player.
Ok, I just saw a topic about the CAGED system and how someone called Tom Hess totally trashed it. There are all kinds of these "wonderful" online guitar teachers who promise to turn people into virtuoso players in a matter of months. As soon as a player hears someone play that Yngwie/Neo Classical style of playing they think that is virtuoso playing.
It takes years and serious practice to become a good player. If it was that easy to become a virtuoso, every player would be a great as Allan Holdworth, John McLaughlin and Shawn Lane.
"A lack of effort equals a lack of results" - Pebber Brown.
Quote: steviewonder5150 wrote in post #1Hi everybody. I have been watching Pebber's videos on YouTube for quite some time now, and I have learned that for the past 14 and a half years I haven't been holding the pick properly. I've been holding the pick like Steve Morse does, and it should go without saying that my technique comes nowhere near the proficiency of Steve's. So, I've decided to rework my picking technique. I've only been working on holding the pick properly for the past 2 days, but I can already tell it won't be an easy transition (it's a very old habit that needs to be corrected). Also, it has only been two years since I've started to develop more advanced techniques (alternate picking, legato, etc.), but for some reason I automatically defaulted to economy picking. This is something I'm also working on correcting. While picking across strings, my pick gets caught up on the previous string (ie: I'll pick 8 straight 32nd notes at around 56 bpm on the high e string, and when I cross to the B string, my pick will snag on the high e string and pick it one more time before going to the next string). I find I'm still having this problem since starting strict alternate picking. Does anyone have any advice on correcting this problem? If you can point me in the right direction (or let me know which of Pebber's videos I can watch) it would be greatly appreciated! Also, can anyone give me any advice on easing the transition to holding the pick properly? When I would hold the pick Morse style, I found I could pick 16th note triplets at approx. 100 bpm (sometimes more on a good day), but I'm having a hard time seeing how I could do this holding the pick differently. Of course, I'm beginning to assume I'm basically learning how to pick all over again. Thanks in advance to anyone who can help me out!
If you watch Ursin's and Pebber's video that Ursin posted and watch them a couple of times, they explain everything perfectly. Ursin is my guitar mentor. Ursin is a fantastic teacher.
Thanks for your answers I get your points and will not think to much about the names. And focus and the fingering and sounds.
Ivan Uploading i quite easy with youtube than you can put the link here in the forum under "video einfugen" remember to make it aa HTTP link and NOT HTTPS. I had some issues with that. How to learn this kind of stuff I leave that answer up to the specialists as I'm learning this stuff as well at the moment. But im looking forward to see a video from you.
That is the way to do it just focus on playing the scale in all of the positions in the 5 position system. Concentrate on just this for now after you have done this then you be thinking about finding out the names of the various modes and also learning what scales and modes work well with particular chords. But that is after you have got the 5 position system down.
The more you practice though the less amount of time it will take you to go onto other things.
Quote: Ray1981 wrote in post #5Funny Ivan made this thread cause i started the same day on trying to play the G maj scale in 2nds and 3rds.
@ Ursin, So starting the Gmaj scale on the F# is not the 7th mode? I thought if I play the G maj scale in 3rd but starting on the 7th tone (F#) i would have to call it F# Locrian played in 3rds. Or is F# Locrian also called G maj? Appreanatly i do not understand these modes yet for that reason I was not completly sure about my answer.
Yes, Ray.......
G Major G to G = G Ionian(G major scale)
G Major A to A = A Dorian
G Major B to B = B Phrygian
G Major C to C = C Lydian
G Major D to D = D Mixolydian
G Major E to E = E Aeolian(E minor)
G Major F sharp to F Sharp = F Sharp Locrian.
As dlraben said in his post that it isn't important to know names of stuff for now. Getting the sound of the scales in your head is the important thing to begin with and also the technique down to be able to play the scale correctly and using good form.
This is vital to help players to instantly to be able to hear and see what they are playing. Like modes for instance.....if you write down all of the modes just for one key it will help you tremedously. Honestly, you will be able to look at a piece of tabulature after a short amount of tiime doing this for instance and know exactly what scale and key the solo(s) are in. This is very useful as you can then learn very quickly how certain players gravity to certain keys and modes and intervalic idea and concepts.
It is also important to understand all of the mostly used chords in a major/minor key too. It also helps if you know some of the chord substituitions as well the to know what scales/modes work over those chords.
Another thing relating to chord progressions are passing chords. For instance in the key of C in a I,IV,V or Vdom7. C, F and G(or G7). In between the F and G(or G7) you can play F - D7, G(or G7). 1st inversion C, 1st inversion D7, 2nd inversion G(or G7) as the D7 contains F sharp which is a chromatic movement in G perfect octive
Quote: Scottulus wrote in post #6A few ideas. Yes I like the #11 on the one chord, I am not a fan of the min2nd rub between the E and the F, but if you would rather use a natural11 be my guest, nat11 on Imaj7 is not my favourite tension in this context...
Tritone Substitution Db7 for G7 (Use Db Lydian Dominant for this brief moment of soloing...) |Cmaj6/9 Amin7 | Dmin6 Db7 |
Thank you everyone for all of your input into this thread. I have attached a PDF file of some tabulature for people to check out. Regarding my first post in this topic with the Cadd9 chord and Pebber said to me it better to call it just C9 he is correct. For the longest time I knew nothing about chord extensions. Years ago, I learned to play the song Message in a Bottle by the group The Police.
The main riff of that song uses Parallel 5th's. I think they are also known as "Add9's" or sometimes "sus2's". I just assumed all chords with a 9th are known as "Add9's" but I was wrong. It is different when a chord has a third in it to make in either major or minor tonality. I have tabbed out the open riff to that song in the PDF attached as it a good exercise for using the 1st, 2nd and 4th fingers.
The second example is a 1, 6, 2, 5 chord progression in the key of C. The chords are C major 7, A minor 9, D minor 11 and G7. It is a progression that is very standard in Jazz music but wouldn't be used in regular pop/rock music. I got that from a Joe Pass guitar tuition video.
The third example is another 1, 6, 2, 5 chord progresssion in the key of E. The chords are E. C Augmented(the only substituition in the progression), F sharp minor 7 and B7.
The fourth example is how I sometimes play a Major scale in this instance in the key of A. I use 4 notes per string(using my 1st, 2nd and 4th fingers), I sllde up/down to 4th note with my fourth finger.
The fifth example is a diminished lick using the 1st, 2nd and 4th fingers. This lick is quite hard to play so do not attempt it unless you are really warmed up and keep your thumb at the back of the neck. I do this lick using hammer ons.
It is a vital thing for players to be able to use all 4 fingers on the fretboard....the thumb over the top of the neck constantly is a severe hinderance if a player wants to play modern guitar rock/metal/shred(I hate the word shred!) stuff. In all honesty though.....players in rock guitar have been all 4 fingers for at last the past 30 years. Most of what players do now is borrowed from what players such as Al Di Meola and Eddie Van Halen were doing in the late 70's.
I hope people find the examples I have attached in the PDF file helpful.
Quote: NicholasJacquet wrote in post #33I cannot quite tell if you are doing elbow sometimes...but if you are...I beg you to not...forarms rotationary muscles are best for trying to go lickety split...like turning a key actually...its a muscle thing like when you shiver from being outside in the cold...its lightning quick twich...and it doesnt require any exertion when you do it as such.
Quote: uderoche wrote in post #44Your form is good. But everything looks very tense. You need to relax. Speed will develop over days, weeks, months, years, decades. Do not chase speed. Chase precision, clarity, intonation, tone, etc.
You need to relax your entire body...arms, hands, fingers, neck. Concentrate on being relaxed.
With regards to speed, do not sit at 50bpm. Force yourself to play faster. Even if it is very sloppy and bad. Sit down and push yourself past your limitations. Get angry. Get frustrated. Then go back to 50bpm.
Your hands will never move faster if they can never feel what it's like to move faster.
People on this forum should follow this advice. If the follow this they will improve. There is alot of talk on these forums by certain people about Sarod picking. I have see you do Sarod picking(it is very impressive). I have seen other players on this forum who claim to be "Ultimate Technical Masters" of the guitar and they can't play for crap.
One such person on here can't even play a I,IV,V chord progression. I am not going to name this person. However, I do know he called you out on Facebook and made himself look like a proper clown.
The infamous battle of "Bark at the Moon". That was one of the best LULZ! of all time. 0:55, Bitch!!!! is a virtuoso compared to that idiot.
Thank you for all of the help you have given me to improve my playing. I am so grateful.
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