Teach Me A Lesson

[cruisemates]

My experience was that i took lessons when I was eleven and I got so far, basically learning things like how to count (always tap your foot, etc) and understanding rhythm. But that only took me so far.

Then a couple years later I met a friend who was self taught but he knew chords, which I did not know. He showed me a few songs and I just took off learning on my own.

There comes a point for everyone where your fingers will go where you want them to go and you start to learn how to play very quickly. First you have to learn how to use your fingers, coordinating your picking with your fret-hand, etc, but at a certain you just take off because your fingers can do what your mind wants them to do very quickly.

We had a friend in high school who picked up guitar and became phenominally good within the space of a year. We don't know how or why, he just did. (It was quite a blow to our lead guitar player at the time). We know he listened to a lot of records. I think the trick for him was that he started playing blues first - just like Clapton did. The rest of us had started with "pop" like the Beatles and standards like "Besame Mucho".

I DO think that if you want to learn to play the blues you should take lessons - but take them from a teacher who plays the way you want to play. There are a LOT of ways to play guitar and if you go the wrong direction first you might form a lot of habits that may be detrimental to your desired direction.

[davidvg]

I DO think that if you want to learn to play the blues you should take lessons - but take them from a teacher who plays the way you want to play. There are a LOT of ways to play guitar and if you go the wrong direction first you might form a lot of habits that may be detrimental to your desired direction.

+1

[Golfxzq]

UPDATE....

There's an instructional site - Jamplay.com

I DO think that if you want to learn to play the blues you should take lessons - but take them from a teacher who plays the way you want to play. There are a LOT of ways to play guitar and if you go the wrong direction first you might form a lot of habits that may be detrimental to your desired direction.

Choose you teacher carefully, interview them , take a trial lesson

Another option is to find another guitar player who is at about your level or slightly better to jam/practice with. Trading rythm and lead, sharing licks and ideas, and mutual encouragement can move you along as well as a formal teacher (sometimes), without the pressure of deadlines and expectations.

I wanted to give everyone (not only those quoted above) who provided me with such great information in response to my post back in May an update. I did not ignore all of your suggestions, I have evaluated each of your recommendations and have taken action. I am fortunate to live in a musical community and have plenty of options so I did not go the Jam Play route, although it was a great option. I have found a wonderful blues instructor in my area. I interviewed him, took a practice lesson and decided that maybe he could help me out. I have now had three lessons and I seem to get more and more out of each successive lesson. I have also connected with two other players who are a little better than I am so they challenge me each day. We all get along very well, we have exchanged recordings and have even done a little colab with a BT. I have loaded several new blues tunes onto my ipod and listen to them whenever I can.

All of these suggestions have helped me out tremendously and I just wanted to say... THANKS... to everyone who responded to my post.

[12bar]

Sounds good! You know where to ask if there's a question...

[VikingBlues]

Glad you've found a good instructor locally - that's not always an easy thing to do - enjoy.

[MikRay55]

Hey Golfx
I am with you Bro.....

[Golfxzq]

Hey Golfx
I am with you Bro.....

OK... my turn to do some encouraging. Hang in there MR55, this stuff works. I now have eight lessons behind me, have met some great guys who are just as interested in learning to play as I am, and we have even posted a small colab in the blues room. Take the advice of the guys here on 12Bar, they have all been through this stage before and know what works. If you have any questions, don't be shy about posting, there are always several here who will be able to help out.

[oneeyedslide]

I've got one of these ordered.

talentboster.jpg (42.5 KiB) Viewed 16145 times

I just know it's the magic bullet!

[oneeyedslide]

Oops! I didn't see the price until now.

[vancouverois]

Regardless the price it's the ultimate pedal

[VikingBlues]

I love the names they've come up with.

Given the best blues guitarist poll results to date, a lot of us should want this:-

srvaughanabea.jpg (64.8 KiB) Viewed 16143 times

[Blindboy]

I need at least one each of those.

[DeaconBlues]

Golf,
There's been a lot of good advice already given. I agree strongly with those who have suggested finding someone else to play/jam with. I've tried lessons from three different teachers over the years and never went back for the second lesson from any of them. Not that there was anything wrong with the teachers. I just never felt like it was the right environment for me to learn the instrument.
Being almost entirely self taught does present some problems/bad habits, as others have suggested. I can almost certainly state that it has held me back in my learning curve rather substantially. However, I have learned it at my pace, my way and it works 50% of the time.
If you play barre chords, you are way ahead of me and well on your way to proficiency. Barre chords will make your life much easier, if you play with others/jam or ever become part of a band. I never could play barre chords. That is, I could never contort my fingers into the shapes required to play them with any type of proficiency. I did learn where all the barre chord positions up and down the neck were, however, and this helps me improvise when I'm playing with others and I'm not familiar with the tune.
Not playing barre chords has presented a lot of challenges and it would have been easier to have my fingers broken and set permanently in the E barre chord shape. Instead, I dropped my 6th string to D. In dropped D, I learned the positions of chords open up and down the neck and the 6th and 5th string. Then I learned this same scale on the 5th and 4th strings.
This works fine unless you need a 7th chord, or the sound of a full chord to ring out. Next I learned the open G positions up and down the neck on the 4th, 3rd and 2nd strings. And finally, I approached the 2nd and 1st strings as an open E chord. Like I said, it would have been easier to have had the fingers broken.

The moral of this fable?

Learn barre chords.

[12bar]

Being also entirely self taught, I know what you are talking about. I started with simple chords (E, A, ...), fingers angled somehow, thumb over neck.

Then I got a book about classical guitar playing. Strictly classical. I was shocked - everything I knew was wrong. I had a hard time to learn it again, but I did. Barre chords, fingerstyle, fingertips absolutely upright etc.

Then I discovered the Blues and again had to learn something new. Different vibrato, string bending...

Now I'm able to play barre and bend a string.
But I consider myself still a beginner...

[Golfxzq]

WOW... DeaconBlues & 12Bar.. that just goes to show you, "There's more than one way to skin a cat".

DeaconB... I never would have figured out your method but whatever works, works. You are absolutely correct about "playing with others". My instructor, who plays professionally with a few groups, tells me this all the time. For now I am very uncomfortable even trying to play along with anyone except my instructor or my grandson (Aggiefan). Aggiefan has played with several different groups and I'm sure that it has helped his ability so I agree with this recommendation. Maybe one of these days I'll have the confidence and ability to join in with some other players.

12Bar... That's quite a process you went through. I can't imagine learning, relearning classical, then relearning Blues. But it's evident from your playing that all of your varied experiences has helped you tremendously. I had an aunt who played Spanish Classical guitar, she was very good but lived out in New Mexico so I never learned a thing from her. Besides, that was back when I was a teenager and I didn't take up guitar until I was 61. Too bad for me... I wish that I had taken it up way back then.

Anyway... everyone has their own way of learning. The instructor is helping me out for now, once that stops happening I will have to find another method. Of course, the real key is not the "method" of learning but the "amount" of learning.... practice, practice, practice.

[VikingBlues]

Being also entirely self taught, I know what you are talking about. I started with simple chords (E, A, ...), fingers angled somehow, thumb over neck.

Then I got a book about classical guitar playing. Strictly classical. I was shocked - everything I knew was wrong. I had a hard time to learn it again, but I did. Barre chords, fingerstyle, fingertips absolutely upright etc.

Then I discovered the Blues and again had to learn something new. Different vibrato, string bending...

Now I'm able to play barre and bend a string.
But I consider myself still a beginner...

This sounds so familiar! After several decades of being self taught only I took classical lessons for a few years about 5 years back. Got fairly good at it though I had no interest in going in for the Grade 4 or 5 exams that the teacher was keen I should do. BUT .... the constraints on how you played were huge - very little possible in interpretation other than tone (and there's not a huge range of that with a classical guitar) - changes in tempo were frowned upon and despised under the thinking in vogue at that time. Given Segovia's less formal style of playing I used to have some disagreements about this as the classical guitar would be almost extinct without his influence. Creativity = nil. Improvisation = nil. I was getting disillusioned by all this, then I gor a touch of repetitive strain injury, took a break, then couldn't face going back.

Then due to some prompting by my better half I started taking an interest in the blues a couple of years back. As 12bar says - "and again had to learn something new. Different vibrato, string bending...". Not to mention not playing what is written on a page note for note, but trying to create melody and licks. Best thing that happened to me in all my years of guitar playing.

I don't see myself ever being anything but a beginner - there is a huge amount to learn and from what I have heard said by very experienced players you never reach the stage where you know it all. But that's one of the things I love about blues - there's so many ways in which you can try and improve what you play. In classical the areas you could improve were SO limited.

That's quite a process you went through. I can't imagine learning, relearning classical, then relearning Blues.

It's a bit of a long route to the right destination right enough.

[12bar]

I can play a barre chord and bend a string, but I'm not perfect - in both. But it helps to be able to play notes on different frets and strings for some songs...
However, it does not help if practice is missing - see below.
I don't have a mic, so it's played on my Sheraton - a bit harder than on my classical.

download/file.php?id=813

[VikingBlues]

I can play a barre chord and bend a string, but I'm not perfect - in both. But it helps to be able to play notes on different frets and strings for some songs...
However, it does not help if practice is missing - see below.
I don't have a mic, so it's played on my Sheraton - a bit harder than on my classical.

Thanks for letting us hearthe noodle 12bar - there wasn't too much evidence of your lack of practice.

And listening to that fir me brought back some memories of several years ago!

I rather like the tone of the Sheraton playing this btw. I've always found the tones of a classical guitar a bit too understated for my tastes - I did end up investing in quite a pricey little number when I played classical but even with that one, well ......

[deltabluesrookie]

Hey guys, Golfxzq, glad you found a teacher. Figured I'd chime in to tell how I Also self teach. I did take lessions in my 20's but that ended with money issues. 20 years later (about 13 months ago) I picked it up again.
I do have a job but the family and job just prevents me from taking proper lessons on a regular basis. But like you golf, I have no intention of being a pro. I just wanna play those blues better every day.
I also hit a lot of internet guys and got to a point where I would have to shell out some cash for more. So before I did so I really tried different things and styles in blues and rock and after about six months I realized that I kept going tot he same sites for the same lessons over and over. So I shelled out the 100.00 bucks to a guy for some cd's on Delta blues. I just love the stuff. Best money I spent.
Of course I had to pick really hard stuff, Delta, the fingerpicking and the timing and really hard but I just keep practicing and I'm getting there. I did look around though for local teachers who would take me in for a lesson when I could get there but I couldn;t find anyone who really plays this stuff all the time. Plus this guy on the cd's is a regular guy, nothing flashy just lessons right from the basics to more advanced, no BS to sell me more stuff.
So the cd's is my teacher right now. Sometimes I guess the internet is a great source when locally you just cant find what ya need. At least for a beginner like me.

[Golfxzq]

Great Deltabluesrookie... glad that you found what you needed. I guess help comes from all sources. VB found his help from on line instructions, I was lucky enough to find someone local, and you got some super CD's. Actually, I'm glad to hear that there are some CD's out there worth the money. I have wondered about them. Once you shell out the cash it's all or nothing. Glad you got a good set.