X-Mailer: ELM [version 2.3 PL11]
Newsgroups: bit.listserv.allmusic
Date:         Thu, 13 Aug 1992 08:14:24 EDT
From:         Sonia Kovitz <skovitz@MAGNUS.ACS.OHIO-STATE.EDU>
Subject:      Re: All Guitar Players
X-To:         ALLMUSIC@AMERICAN.EDU
              "Christopher Harry" at Aug 11, 92 5:21 pm

>>            I have had my guitar for about six months now and can't find
> the money to take lessons. Can anyone set me on the right path and give me a
> direction to go about learning the guitar. Should I just sit down for a
> certain period each night and play the chords until I get the fingering
> patterns, or is there something else I should do. Until I find the money to
> take lessons (I supposed they're recommended), I don't want my guitar to be
> another dust-collector that looks good in my bedroom.
>
Chris, since I'm probably more of a greenhorn than all the hot-shot-wizards on
the list, and since I've been playing about 6 years with and without teachers
and have always been very interested in questions of HOW people learn, let me
pass along MHO not as the final answer (I'm sure you'll hear others)
but as something to test out.  Of course, the one thing you didn't say is what
KIND of music you want to play, but here goes: working on chords isn't a bad
idea but if that's ALL you do, it will be boring and not very productive in the
long run.  My idea is that to play (improvise) well and enjoy it, you need to
understand the theory underlying the relationships of all the notes on the
fretboard, not as some dull pointless task but more in the sense of: here's a
candy store, what kind of candy can I taste today... ohboy, how bout some nice
minor/major thirds, or let's play with root and sixths today...  There is a
helpful book called (I think) Rock Theory with Hendrix in a trance on the
cover, and I would recommend it.  It's really clear and takes you step by step.
Also, say you figure out the position of an E chord--where it is, how to play
it; the next step ought to be to think about which intervals are in that chord;
then you get a little diagram of say (ahem), the blues scale, and you play
around with a little chunk of that scale that's right around the notes in the
E-chord, moving to the chord, then playing with bits of the scale, back to the
chord.  You do this and keep gradually (don't be in a hurry is my most
"profound" piece of advice--be content to really explore one idea at length
rather than continuing to add new riffs or gimmicks all the time) ... keep
gradually adding another (related) chord, another piece of a scale (I would
concentrate on blues, "country" and full major scales--that'll take you a year
right there, but it's fun).  Once you get familiar with this stuff, then take a
little piece of scale, set of intervals, and explore it from every possible
direction: i.e. say that you ONLY can use these 3 or 4 notes, and then alter
the rhythm, the attack (bend, pull off, hammer on), .... just see how much you
can squeeze out of those lousy little 4 notes.  (some of my best playing has
happened this way).  Hey, I can ramble on like this forever... so I'll stop.
Does this make any sense?  Try me again if you're interested, I can also
recommend other helpful books, I can send you some of the little charts'n'stuff
I've made for myself--I am a "visual" person and I like to have a clear mental
picture of the layout of certain intervals, etc. on the neck, like a map.  Hang
in, Chris--just don't hang the guitar on the wall with a sombrero beside it.
Comments: Gated by NETNEWS@AUVM.AMERICAN.EDU