I'm Stuck!!

[Penguin]

Hey,

I have been playing guitar for a few years. However, I realize that I can't do much. I know a bit of theory but that's as far as it goes. I can't put a good solo together. Would learning the pentatonic scales help? What do you recommend I do?!

[Davey]

lol, you're opening a huge can of worms asking a question like that around here

[toneboy]

Are you currently taking lessons?

[pawel]

Learn the pentatonic patterns and listen to as many good blues guitarists as you can (Buddy Guy, BB King, Eric Clapton). Once you learn some patterns and get around to recreating some of this lines start doing this exercise:

Randomly detune/retune your guitar (the more out of tune it is, the better), forget everything you ever learned, and come up with a melody. Do this a few times, maybe even make up a song. Think for a bit, tune back to normal and play.

It's a simple Jim Hall exercise - I'd recommend it to anyone.

[mi2tom]

Mixed and gel around with other musicians ... Do not feel ego to ask about how and why and always praise other musician "sincerely"

[Penguin]

Ibanez249, I need all the help I can get and what better place to ask than here?!

Toneboy, nope, I do not take lessons.

Pawel, my guitar is always out of tune. That's what I get for having a crappy floyd rose!

Mi2tom, I do play with other musicians. I am also in a band.

I can come up with good riffs and such but improvising is the problem. I find it hard to put together a decent solo. I also find it difficult to navigate around the fretboard. If I do manage to play something decent it's always around the 12th fret using a pentatonic scale.

[nickcoumbe]

Learn Scales. Learn about modes. Learn all the modes of a scale and how the chords relate to them. Learn about the natural sympathetic minor to a major scale.

Learn about the circle of fifths.

That will give you alot of the basic tools.

Hhowever to start with. Take a scale you are comfortable with. You know the pentatonic scale on the 12th fret, and that is E. You are probably (I assume) playing a minor shape. E minor is the sympathetic minor of G major. Learn the full scale of either with all the modes (even it is just the patterns). Take a random technique that covers the chord bases, lets say sweeping argeggios.

Practice those in all the positions. Then take a new scale, and transpose your excercise to fit that pattern.

Rinse and repeat.

[vette6600]

the best thing you can do for yourself is get a good teacher. once you have a foundation you can start to figure a lot of things out on your own at least. but, definitely find a teacher.

[toneboy]

Originally Posted by vette6600

the best thing you can do for yourself is get a good teacher. once you have a foundation you can start to figure a lot of things out on your own at least. but, definitely find a teacher.

+1 to that. I took lessons for the first 5 years of my playing and it made a HUGE difference. After that I taught myself because my teacher taught me how to do that. A good instructor can do things for you that you or a instructional DVD/on-line less can never do. They can point out errors in your technique and most of all, they can -listen- to what you are doing and what you want to do. If you're really serious about playing, take lessons for at least a few years. You will be amazed at how quickly it will improve your playing and technique.

[fettouhi]

+1 getting a teacher.

Regards

André

[Earthrug]

Learn how to read TAB. Then get some authentic tab books of a few groups you like.

[toneboy]

Learn how to read actual notes and you can learn pieces and different approaches you would not normally do on the guitar.

In high school, myself, another guitarist and a bass player learned some violin parts from Bach's Brandenburg Concerto in G major. That really opened my eyes up to pedal tones and string skipping. That was back in the early 80s even.

Sax players do things that like wide intervallic leaps that most guitarist wouldn't even think of let alone attempt.

I sometimes write things in tab and I later find are difficult to play. When I'm writing it, I'm focusing on cool sounds licks and not worrying about whether I have the cops to play it. If I like the sound of the lick, I will figure out a way to play it.

[Eggy]

Divide and conquer !!!!
Let's say you have one hour per evening to practice.
Spend the first half hour learning to do things you can't yet do.
Spend the next half hour perfecting the things you can do.

If for example you can run up and down the E minor pentatonic at the 12th fret, then you need to push yourself further and learn how to play that shap totaly legato (hammer ons and pull offs only, no picking hand). Learn alternate picking (down /up/down/up etc) and practice it until you can blaxe through it. Then alternate pick assending the scale and legato to desend then switch. Do it along to a metronome until you never miss a click.

You need to be able to disapline yourself into not moving forward until you have completed the task at hand.

...Oh and make sure you get a good teacher not some bedroom shredder wannabe who'll spend the whole time showing off whilst actualy teaching you nothing.

0.02
Ben