Jkman

So it's spring break right now, for me at least. I decided to do something productive and fun. What could be better? Learn to play guitar. I could get lessons, however, I don't really have the time or the money for them. I figured I could learn on my own because my brother knows some guitar and he's taught me a few things. I also couldn't find any good online lessons.

So right now i'm working on finger strength, pentatonic scales and dexterity. I'm also getting very used to not looking at my picking hand for strings so i'm pretty accurate? Anyone have any excercises for beginners or a little lesson plan I could follow step by step for things to work on?

Also, I would like to be able to play/read actual notes on a music staff. Not really tabs. But i've been in music since 5th grade so I know music pretty well, I just need to learn them on guitar X D.

Any help is appreciated!

Neapolitan

Here exercise to help you with left hand/right coordination.
Pick up/down, you can do it while watching TV that'll keep you from looking at the fretboard. Start out slow and listen for how clean you play the notes. Then you work up to playing it faster.


pick down up down up on each string

down stroke on E string
|------------------------------------------------------|
|------------------------------------------------------|
|------------------------------------------------------|
|------------------------------------------------------|
|------------------------------------------------------|
|--1---------------------------------------------------|

up stroke on E string
|------------------------------------------------------|
|------------------------------------------------------|
|------------------------------------------------------|
|------------------------------------------------------|
|------------------------------------------------------|
|----2-------------------------------------------------|

etc.

|---------------------------------------------1-2-3-4--|
|------------------------------------1-2-3-4-----------|
|----------------------------1-2-3-4-------------------|
|--------------------1-2-3-4---------------------------|
|-----------1-2-3-4------------------------------------|
|--1-2-3-4---------------------------------------------|


|--2-3-4-5----------------------------------------------|
|-----------2-3-4-5-------------------------------------|
|--------------------2-3-4-5----------------------------|
|-----------------------------2-3-4-5-------------------|
|--------------------------------------2-3-4-5----------|
|-----------------------------------------------2-3-4-5-|

|----------------------------------------------3-4-5-6--|
|--------------------------------------3-4-5-6----------|
|-----------------------------3-4-5-6-------------------|
|--------------------3-4-5-6----------------------------|
|-----------3-4-5-6-------------------------------------|
|--3-4-5-6----------------------------------------------|

etc to 8th fret or 12th fret,


do it over and over, forwards and backwards

__________________

mr dave

^ that's an awesome practice exercises. a slight twist to it is to repeat each run a few times before switching strings or frets.

also, what kind of stuff are you playing already at this point? or have you just been focusing on developing technical abilities? if you haven't started playing covers for fun and practice i strongly recommend busting out some old Led Zep stuff, it fits perfectly into developing finger strength and ability via the trusted pentatonic.

as for reading actual music transcriptions, i can't help but maybe GB will offer a little something when he sees this thread.

__________________
i am the universe

littleknowitall

When you get that adapt it and try to build on your hands co-ordination. Different patterns work very well at both improving your finger strength and picking such as in the previous exercises but also on your fingers co-ordination being something you don't have to think about.

|-----------------------------------------------2-3-4-1|
|--------------------------------------1-2-3-4---------|
|-----------------------------4-1-2-3------------------|
|--------------------3-4-1-2---------------------------|
|-----------2-3-4-1------------------------------------|
|--1-2-3-4---------------------------------------------|


|------------------------------------2---4--------------|
|----------------------------2---4-1---3----------------|
|--------------------2---4-1---3------------------------|
|------------2---4-1---3--------------------------------|
|----2---4-1---3----------------------------------------|
|--1---3------------------------------------------------|

Stuff like that and then moved up and reversed etc.Just be creative. I could write lots and lots more but I've been up all night with a bug and I really am too tired to write out lots and lots of this ****. But I hope to the extent it can that these exercises help.

Neapolitan

With finger exercises there are 24 permutations
1234 2134 3124 4123
1243 2143 3142 4132
1324 2314 3214 4213
1342 2341 3241 4231
1423 2413 3412 4312
1432 2431 3421 4321

After doing them all I decide to do them on two strings, I like to do your last exercises but I invert the pattern which is the blue exercise. After doing them on two string I decided to skip a string which is the green exercise. The last one is my favorite. I saw video of Buckethead, it was hard to understnad him but he did this thing that sounded like a computer, it was almost impossible to understand him, but I got the jist of what he said. He mentioned this episode of the "Bionic Man" where he said Steve Austin had a cyborg double and at one point the face mask was ripped off and behind the mask was a computer and it made this computer music. I have literally no idea how Buckethead did it, but just by experimenting with finger exercises I got something that reminds me of a computer.




|--------------|--------------|---------------|---------------|
|--------------|--------------|---------------|---------------|
|--------------|--------------|---------------|---------------|
|--------------|--------------|------2-----4--|--1------3-----|
|-----2-----4--|--1-----3-----|---1------3----|------2-----4--|
|--1-----3-----|-----2-----4--|---------------|---------------|


|--------------|--------------|---------------|---------------|
|--------------|--------------|------2-----4--|--1------3-----|
|-----2-----4--|--1-----3-----|---1------3----|------2-----4--|
|--1-----3-----|-----2-----4--|---------------|---------------|
|--------------|--------------|---------------|---------------|
|--------------|--------------|---------------|---------------|


|--------------|--------------|------2-----4--|--1------3-----|
|-----2-----4--|--1-----3-----|---1------3----|------2-----4--|
|--1-----3-----|-----2-----4--|---------------|---------------|
|--------------|--------------|---------------|---------------|
|--------------|--------------|---------------|---------------|
|--------------|--------------|---------------|---------------|
|--------------|--------------|---------------|---------------|

then I skip a string


|--------------|--------------|---------------|---------------|
|--------------|--------------|---------------|---------------|
|--------------|--------------|------2-----4--|--1------3-----|
|-----2-----4--|--1-----3-----|---------------|---------------|
|--------------|--------------|--1------3-----|------2-----4--|
|--1-----3-----|-----2-----4--|---------------|---------------|

|--------------|--------------|---------------|---------------|
|--------------|--------------|------2-----4--|--1------3-----|
|-----2-----4--|--1-----3-----|---------------|---------------|
|--------------|--------------|--1------3-----|------2-----4--|
|--1-----3-----|-----2-----4--|---------------|---------------|
|--------------|--------------|---------------|---------------|


|--------------|--------------|------2-----4--|--1------3-----|
|-----2-----4--|--1-----3-----|---------------|---------------|
|--------------|--------------|--1------3-----|------2-----4--|
|--1-----3-----|-----2-----4--|---------------|---------------|
|--------------|--------------|---------------|---------------|
|--------------|--------------|---------------|---------------|

Neapolitan's version of Buckethead doing Steve Austin's cyborg double mask being ripped off.

|-----14--13------|--12----------15--|------------------|-----------------|
|-----------------|------------------|------14--13------|--12----------15-|
|-12----------15--|------14--13------|------------------|-----------------|
|-----------------|------------------|--12----------15--|------14--13-----|
|-----------------|------------------|------------------|-----------------|
|-----------------|------------------|------------------|-----------------|

|-----------------|------------------|------------------|-----------------|
|-----14--13------|--12----------15--|------------------|-----------------|
|-----------------|------------------|------14--13------|--12----------15-|
|-12----------15--|------14--13------|------------------|-----------------|
|-----------------|------------------|--12----------15--|------14--13-----|
|-----------------|------------------|------------------|-----------------|

|-----------------|------------------|------------------|-----------------|
|-----------------|------------------|------------------|-----------------|
|-----14--13------|--12----------15--|------------------|-----------------|
|-----------------|------------------|------14--13------|--12----------15-|
|-12----------15--|------14--13------|------------------|-----------------|
|-----------------|------------------|--12----------15--|------14--13-----|

__________________

bubu

chromatic scales work fine for beginners but if you really want to practice little and have big results try doing something like ..5-6 on all strings with the ring and pinky finger for both hands

it probably sounds really advanced but it isn't so, it's the basic exercise for index and middle finger, just for the other 2 you don't use as much.

This will do all the work in like ..10 minutes ( I guarantee you won't be able to do it for more than that) and then you can move on to chords and other things easily.

__________________
Acoustic Guitar

Paco De Lucia

Jkman

Thank you all. You have been a great help!

Nateon

For reading music try picking up Christopher Parkening's Guitar Method 1. You'll learn classical guitar technique and how to read music effectively. Most importantly, you'll be learning some really cool tunes from the likes of Bach and other great composers.

thomasracer56

it also depends on how creative and what you want to play. i like playing oldies and gettin' real creative, so i play to the radio (on the stereo). if you want to be real specific, i could tell you a good station i found, via pm.

jace

Dang, i am trying to learn guitar right now, but I can barely do anything. It's really hard for me but I know I should just practice more. This will probably be a pretty good help. woo whoo