[realmusicians] Re: Guitar talk.
- From: Chris Belle <cb1963@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
- To: realmusicians@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
- Date: Mon, 19 Dec 2011 07:38:00 -0600
hey Tom,
yes, you discovered that getting your guitar set-up, at least the
first time, is very important.
YOu don't necessarily have to do it every year, but you'll know if
things atart to drift.
YOu know, there are so many different ways of playing the guitar, you
know Jeff heely played it in his lap laid down.
YOu know, if it works, at least to some extent, it's right.
but a good guitar instructor can show you the basics and you can
modify from there.
there is no really wrong way to play the guitar, every which way your
fings can go and are possible to go can make a chord and you can bet
somebody has used it.
Everything from plane jane chording to putting the thumb over the top
of the neck wrapping your hand around and catching that last note
that way, or using your right hand to tap harmonics like eddy van
halen on the song spanish fly,
I'm sure you've heard that, amazing what he did with a classical guitar,
anything you can imagine being done with a guitar has probably been done.
and to quote your old saying, if it sounds good, it is good.
I think though that your thoughts of getting a good local instructor
are a wise move.
Maybe I can call you on the phone and help you a bit too.
Let me get past the christmas stuff 'grin'.
At 04:37 AM 12/19/2011, you wrote:
Hey folks,
Here's a little report on my guitar adventure and a couple of questions.
I've been doing endless research on the web for weeks now trying to
have at least some idea of what I'm talking about when it comes to
guitars. And like every instrument, there's a heck of a lot more to
it than we think. Although, sheesh, you'd think I would have learned
this by now. Oh well. It's been a very interesting adventure.
Next I borrowed my nephew's guitar to give it a shot. He hasn't
played it in years. So, just like the last time I did the same I
decided after only a few days that it was simply too cruel and
inhumane punishment and couldn't imagine how guitarists do it. And
yes, I knew it should be set up, but not knowing any more than the
concept of the process, which made perfect sense, I couldn't imagine
it making any real difference on such a guitar gorilla. I think it's
an Ibanez, but I keep forgetting to ask.
So, before I gave up again I said, what the heck, and brought it in
to be set up. I got it back yesterday. All I can say is, holy guitar
tech, batman! It felt like they gave me a new guitar. The difference
was absolutely mind blowing. Heck, by last night I was whamming
through a chord progression, doing quick mutes, and even tossing in
a body slap here and there. I couldn't believe it. And my fingers
aren't even sore. I can feel that I've been playing, but I wouldn't
call it pain. And previous to this setup it was literally impossible
for me to play one chord. It took every last ounce of strength I had
in my left hand just to get one out of a dozen attempts to kind of,
almost, vaguely sound like some kind of a mangled chord. And after
that long 5 or 10 minute session I had to quit because my fingers
were screaming so loud I couldn't even hear what I was trying to do.
So I'm completely sold on annual setups. And most importantly, I
finally have some real inspiration to play the guitar.
In practical terms, yesterday was my first real day on the guitar.
So if I can get a chord progression going in one day I think I
should be able to enjoy the guitar, which is what's most important
to me. So, needless to say, I'm pumped about it.
Okay, and now for the questions.
Right now my main focus is on chord fingering. Of course coming from
the piano on which we have a linear playing surface wherein we can
play the 3 inversions of any chord from top to bottom through out
the entire range of the instrument with nothing more than rotating
finger positions, the guitar neck is more abstract to me. But I
assume there's got to be some logic to it other than memorizing a
thousand specific fingerings. I've watched a ton of YouTube videos,
and in one of them the guy referred to the most basic chords by a
specific name, which I don't remember now. And I'm not talking about
major, minor, sevenths, etc. This was specific to the fret fingering
and I assume neck position on the guitar. I know how to figure out
most chords, but don't see any logic on how to apply it to the
guitar. Of course the range you want to play in as well as
preventing your left hand fingers from getting tied up into nasty
bundles of knots are obvious. But I'm assuming there's more to go on
than that and a trial and error method.
I've spent the last couple hours googling blind accessible guitar
chord charts and just guitar chord charts, and all I got was a bunch
of tab sheets for songs with blind in the title, a bunch of stuff
from a band with blind in the name, and a ton of purely visual chord charts.
So I'm wondering if anyone has or knows where to get a readable
chord note/fingering chart. And I'd also be interested in any links
to accessible tab sheets.
And just as a final note, boy, there seems to be quite a few really
good guitar lessons available on DVD now. But it's hard to tell if
they're too tied to the video. Although I must say, I've been pretty
impressed at how many folks posting YouTube videos realize that just
watching someone play isn't going to do much of anything even for a
sighted person. So while they use the cameras as an adjunct to the
lesson, they still explain in detail exactly what they're doing with
every finger, fret, and string. But of course these are just a pile
of little snippets. And conversely, I can't believe how many YouTube
videos that say: learn how to play insert song name here, are
absolutely nothing but a video of someone playing the tune. Not a
single word is spoken. I figure these folks just want to watch themselves.
My biggest concern at this point is to get my left hand positioned
correctly. I know how easy it is for a beginner to make things work
in the wrong way when they're just learning the basics. But then it
becomes a very painful reality check when they get to the next level
and realize that their incorrect hand position makes getting there
impossible, so they have to start all over again and go through the
difficult process of trying to break a bad habit and learn a new
one. I'm actually considering trying to find a true professional
instructor, which usually isn't easy, just to get me started and
mainly to watch my every move and make sure that every physical
aspect of me and the guitar is correct. I believe this is one of the
most important aspects of playing an instrument that is most often
unknown, overlooked, or simply ignored because we don't think it's
that important.
Okay. Enough babbling for now. Thanks for listening.
Tomster the bombster, guitarist extraordinaire! Heh!
For all your audio production needs and technology training, visit us at
www.affordablestudioservices.com
or contact
Chris Belle
cb1963@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
or
Stephie Belle
stephieb1961@xxxxxxxxxxxxx
for customized web design
Other related posts:
