Guitar Riffs vs. Complete Songs

guitar_chick · #1 04-07-2007, 01:13 PM

I'm fairly new to the electric guitar (never touched one until last Christmas), but experienced with accoustic and classical guitar. I take lessons, and my teacher is always giving me riffs and pieces of songs, while I want to learn the whole song. Is this beneficial to do little riffs? I don't feel like I can play much yet, but maybe I'm putting too much pressure too soon on myself? I see where we are jumping around and learning lots of techniques, but I wish I could really jam to something.

**elcid** · #2 04-07-2007, 01:53 PM

I use riffs as teaching tools. For example, would a student rather do hammer on/ pull off excersizes, or be able to learn hammer ons by playing something like Seek & Destroy? However, if you want to learn full songs tell your teacher that. I make all my students bring in a list of 5 or so songs they want to learn, so I know what they are interested in and dont give them songs they arent interested in. I think learning entire songs if important. The best way to teach about song structure is to take apart and analize different songs. Plus it gives you something to jam at open mic with.

guitar_chick · #3 04-07-2007, 02:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elcid

I use riffs as teaching tools. For example, would a student rather do hammer on/ pull off excersizes, or be able to learn hammer ons by playing something like Seek & Destroy? However, if you want to learn full songs tell your teacher that. I make all my students bring in a list of 5 or so songs they want to learn, so I know what they are interested in and dont give them songs they arent interested in. I think learning entire songs if important. The best way to teach about song structure is to take apart and analize different songs. Plus it gives you something to jam at open mic with.

My teacher is great about letting me play what I want. Being stubborn and almost 38, this is important to me, cause I won't practice if I don't like it. I refuse to play Ode to Joy anymore. I did that when I was 12. At Christmas he tried giving me seasonal stuff, and I went to my lesson and told him I was not playing any Christmas crap!!! He is a cool hippie-type. I just didn't know at first if the riffing was just absent-minded aloofness on his part, I have to watch him or he starts jamming away on my guitar during my paid-for lessons, but I'm starting to see some of the methods to his madness.

**elcid** · #4 04-07-2007, 02:07 PM

The only time I would ever jam on the students guitar was if they said they couldn't play something because of their guitar.
I dont know your teacher, but I have taught with some bad guys.
One guy was only playing for 3 years and he just started hanging out at the store then he started signing up students for himself, and the owner let him do it. Another guy would take a 10-15 break every 1/2 hour lesson he taught.
There may be something to him jamming away, but if it was every lesson, I would wonder about it, but like I said I dont know the guy. My teacher was this smoking hippie chick, and when your 12 being locked in a small room with a 23-24 year old woman was a dream, my guitar was (unfortunately) one of my many instruments she never touched.
I actually went back to her a few years ago to brush up on some things.

guitar_chick · #5 04-07-2007, 02:33 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by elcid

My teacher was this smoking hippie chick, and when your 12 being locked in a small room with a 23-24 year old woman was a dream, my guitar was (unfortunately) one of my many instruments she never touched.
I actually went back to her a few years ago to brush up on some things.

Interesting!!! Although, she is much older now. And, what would you be brushing up on?

Just kidding. My teacher is pretty cool, but I have to tell him what I want and need. Yesterday, I told him I wanted to talk guitar theory. I have to keep him on track sometimes. It is more like I orchestrate the lesson plans sometimes. It may be difficult for him to be structured with me, because I have experience already with the guitar. Maybe he wasn't sure where to begin? I miss how I had one hour lessons as a kid. Now, my lessons are 1/2 hour.

**elcid** · #6 04-07-2007, 02:44 PM

Believe me it wasnt for lack of trying, she still looked as every bit as good as then.
Atleast I could blame the Carple-Tunnel on practicing

It can be harder to teach someone with experience, since you dont want to reteach what they already know. Atleast being that you are an adult that would help, but just tell him that you want to learn complete songs or just find the tabs online and learn them on your own. Sometimes I have my students do that as "additional homework" so they dont waste lesson time and to help them be able to eventually learn other things on their own.

guitar_chick · #7 04-07-2007, 02:58 PM

Yeah, I went to him already knowing the fundamentals, a bunch of chords, and pretty proficient at reading standard musical notation. What I like as an adult, is I have realized that I can ask, plead, and/or demand what I want...heeheehee

One problem I have and I don't know if you have the answer, Elcid, but if I buy books with rock songs, they don't read the same as how the band actually plays them. For example, I know how to fingerpick Pink Floyd's "Hey You" and "Is There Anybody Out There" (about the only 2 full songs I know rock-wise) 'cause my teacher taught me with fret shape patterns, but when I look at music books, I don't see the same thing. They have musical notation and then they have chords up-top, but it doesn't play the same.

Am I just dense? I've stopped recently wasting money on music books, but I'm flummoxed by this. How does anybody figure this crap out from books? I would be lost without my guitar teacher!!!

**elcid** · #8 04-07-2007, 03:01 PM

Are you getting the Piano, Vocal, Guitar books or the Tab books?
Alot of the P-V-G books just have the vocal melody with chord shapes about them, they dont actually have the guitar part transcribed. I especially see that with alot of Floyd, Beatles and Zeppelin books.

PM me your email address and I will send you what I have for Hey You, then you can let me know if its the same thing. DOnt worry, contrary to my Jemsite persona, I will not send you anything dirty

guitar_chick · #9 04-07-2007, 03:05 PM

So are the Tab books more helpful in this regard? I'm not a musical prodigy with an ear yet. I get very frustrated trying to figure out strums and/or picking patterns. It p***s*s me off!!!

guitar_chick · #10 04-07-2007, 03:05 PM

...but I'm addicted to book-buying...

**elcid** · #11 04-07-2007, 03:07 PM

Yeah the tab books are pretty helpful, you can also find alot of tabs online, although they can be hit or miss as far as accuracy

Rekuss · #12 04-09-2007, 05:44 AM

I've stopped buying tab books really, If I was you I'd check out www.powertabs.net and get the powertab program. The tabs on there are brilliant. Plus it plays back the rhythm and so on which must help you in some way.

guitar_chick · #13 04-10-2007, 06:46 AM

Thanx Rekuss, I will check this out. I used to be anti-Tab, but learning to appreciate it now.

ChopTart · #14 04-10-2007, 01:11 PM

Cid's got a point. It can be considerably more enjoyable to actually apply the techniques and such when learning riffs, but later I find that it's helpful overall to force myself to learn the entire song. Like with most pieces of music, there's going to be parts that you're going to like more than others, but by making yourself take all of them, you're not only going to have the full song under your belt, but you'll also have expanded yourself a bit musically IMO.

kennydoe · #15 04-10-2007, 05:50 PM

just learn about 5 or 6 Ac/Dc/led zep type of riffs.

You don't even have to learn them exactly right.

Then go to your local music store and plug in and play them all.

Really loud.

Over and over.

and don't worry about annoying anyone.

and don't bother tuning the guitar. Tuning is for people who care that they're annoying other people.

Hope this helps!
~K